As we’ve covered quite a bit in recent weeks, Roblox has been the subject of several investigations regarding lawsuits that have made various claims against the company. We won’t go into every single one on this piece, but there are some serious allegations that could hurt the game developer going forward. However, as we were researching the various topics we do for this game, we came across another lawsuit that apparently happened simply because parents thought the game, among others, was “too addictive.” Yeah, this is real, and it really makes you wonder why people think they can get away with making such claims in a lawsuit.
To be clear, Roblox wasn’t the only one put in the lawsuit. Some parents got together and made a lawsuit claiming that the game, alongside publishers like Nintendo, Xbox, Sony, and others were guilty of making games ‘addictive’ to kids and that was a crime. Even we know how ridiculous that sounds, and that’s why it shouldn’t be a surprise that the case was dismissed.
In fact, the dev team pointed out at one point that not only was it “not their fault” that the game was addicted, but they weren’t even responsible for that addiction because much of their universe is user-generated content! That’s a unique backhand to give, but it’s an effective one!
The truly sad part about this particular lawsuit is that it’s one that actually speaks to a former period of gaming history. You see, gaming used to be incredibly “niche,” as not everyone could afford a console. Then, after the “Crash of ’83,” many wondered if gaming would come back. When it did, many parents were worried, especially after certain “violent games” threatened to “scar their children forever.”
Naturally, things were done to help “gauge” what kinds of games were being made so that parents weren’t caught unawares, but the stigma against gaming has never truly gone away. There are many who still see them as “influencers of kids” in the worst ways, which is not how things work at all.
As for the “addiction” claim, sure, games CAN be addicting, but that also shows that the games themselves have such a quality that they draw people back to them. The difference between this and, say, certain illegal substances is that you can literally turn video games off. You can’t do that with the other stuff.
So long as you don’t let games consume you, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to enjoy them as much as possible.
