In 1997, 13 year-old Noah Wilson was stabbed in the chest with a
kitchen knife and his aorta was severed. The act was committed by
Yancy S., Noah's friend.
The victim’s mother, Andrea Wilson, sued Midway Games of
Chicago, a major games developer, publisher and marketer, which
makes Mortal Kombat for arcade machines and home consoles. She
claimed that Yancy S. identified with the game’s character “Cyrax,”
who has a “finishing move” that involves grabbing opponents around
the neck in a headlock and stabbing them in the chest. She alleged
that this is how Yancy S. killed her son and that, at the time,
Yancy S. was “addicted” to the game.
Wilson’s lawsuit, heard in a district court in New Haven,
Connecticut, argued that the company should have attached a more
explicit warning label on the game. She sought damages on grounds
of product liability, unfair trade practices, loss of consortium
and emotional distress.
The lawsuit sought to distinguish video games from other forms
of entertainment because they are interactive, permitting the
player “to control, or even assume the identity of, a digitised
game character.”
The federal judge ruled that the game is not a “product” under
the state’s relevant laws and is protected by the First Amendment.
According to The Connecticut Law Tribune, lawyers for Midway
successfully argued that the state’s products liability legislation
“cannot be contorted to include ideas or expression” in the
definition of “product”.
