Wildly popular ‘Fortnite’ video game breaks YouTube record
'Fortnite' is fast becoming a cultural phenomenon and has set a new YouTube record for a live gaming stream. The multiplayer shooter game, which lets players navigate a vast landscape, has racked up a huge following.
A 9-year-old girl in the United Kingdom was sent to rehab after she wet herself while refusing to stop playing the popular video game “Fortnite.”
The unidentified girl reportedly downloaded the game after she received an Xbox One in January and quickly became hooked.
“She was so hooked to the game she wouldn’t even go to the toilet,” the girl’s mother told the Sunday People. “My husband saw her light on in the night and found her sitting on a urine-soaked cushion playing the game.”
'FORTNITE' PLAYER USES 'SHOPPING CART' TO MAKE VIDEO GAME HISTORY
The parents said their daughter started showing aggressive behavior after becoming hooked on the game. She would fall asleep in school and becoming aggressive with her peers. The parents also said they discovered charges amounting to $67 a month to Microsoft on the family’s credit card statement. After the girl’s father tried to take away the Xbox, she reportedly slapped him across the face for attempting to withdraw the console.
“Over the last two months I’ve been contacted by dozens of parents with children as young as 8 showing signs of addiction to ‘Fortnite,’” Steve Pope, a counselor, told the Mirror.
'FORTNITE' JUMPS FROM GAMER OBSESSION TO CULTURAL PHENOMENON
“I urge every parent out there to know what this game can do, how it sucks young children in and could ruin lives,” the girl’s mother said.
The popular online game was downloaded by 150 million people internationally this year, the Washington Post reported. The game is popular with celebrities such as Drake and Boston Red Sox pitcher David Price who was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome in May after reportedly playing “Fortnite” for too many hours.
Get a daily look at what’s developing in science and technology throughout the world.