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The mother, Alexandria Tobias, faces up to 25 years in prison.
Zynga, the company that makes the Farmville game, has built a money train based on it's portfolio of video games. Over 120 million people play the Farmville game, which has become one of the most popular games on Facebook. The company charges real money for people to buy virtual products, like tractors and farmland. While I've never understood the game, I know plenty of people who love it.
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Estimates are that Zynga brings in a cool million dollars per day for their distribution of the Farmland video game. The number of employees for the company has quadrupled in the last year to 775. The company is only three years old and was founded with half a billion in venture capital financing.
The death of Tobias' baby will create public questions of corporate liability for video game addiction. I fully expect to see lawsuits filed as a result of this case, and I'm sure that more egregious stories lie underneath the surface. One of the hurdles for companies like Zynga is that there are some who believe that these games are actually designed to be addictive. It only takes one major lawsuit to open the floodgates and for Zynga to be no more. I'm sure they are sleeping with one eye open after this one.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here. 
Comments: (19)
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By: ronda on 10/30/2010 12:14PM
wow this is insane. how could she do this to her own son?!
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By: ERIC PHARES on 11/01/2010 11:51PM
I don't think that video games like farmvill be held responsibal for this womens poor decsens.The women clearly had a anger problem be for farmvill.
www.teamphares.net
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By: Bill Waters on 11/05/2010 10:56AM
I do believe just like grocery stores (the way they are laid out to make you BUY more) gambling, ciggarettes, and YES video games DO play a part in how we subconciously act. This has been studied for years. Zynga knows just what it is doing as do all these other companies to get people addicted to their product. There needs to be accountability.
Yes, by the mother, but also by these companies who continue these wilfull practices.
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By: kim on 10/30/2010 4:55PM
its a shame how some people go to the extreme when it comes to playing games on facebook. i am on facebook several hours a day playing games an chatting with people from the past and present but i would NEVER go to the extreme of something like this....this is just a sad case of child neglect if i ever seen or herd of one.
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By: nene on 10/30/2010 6:13PM
wtf! thats all i have to say
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By: Black Barbie on 10/30/2010 9:18PM
That booking photo hints that Mom maybe a drug user; large, dilated pupils in a bright room. Normal pupils react by constricting when faced with a bright light, like a camera flash. If I had to make a guess, I'd say possibly meth or E.
Not that this excuses her conduct, but I'd be willing to bet that drugs or substance abuse influenced her behavior much more than Farmville. Poor baby.
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By: Jamel on 10/31/2010 12:05AM
Yeah I'm with you on this one Barbie. I think that drug use had to be a contributing factor in this sad event. To say she did this because of a video game addiction is silly.
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By: sandy mergard on 11/01/2010 8:00PM
i agree with you, she looks like a drug user, i am a white person i hope she rots in prison for killing this innocent baby, what a stupid and unforgiveable mistake she must be on some kind of drug. i am outraged over this story. and very sad i must say... especially over blaming it on a fv game. she had to be doing something she shouldnt have been doing.
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By: Archie L. Williams on 10/31/2010 7:15AM
Now I don't know about the company being liable unless they have somehow developed a new technology that allows them to create a psychological need in people. It seems to me that young lady lacked parenting skills, something that is common among people her age. If we don't start educating these kids, then this terrible thing is going to happen more and more often.
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By: sharkchops on 11/01/2010 10:38AM
I agree this has more to do with her being a poor parent than the fault of the video game. Farmville didn't force her to play the game or kill the baby. There are plenty of things in everyday life that hold peoples' attention. It could have just as well been soap operas or Cheaters. I know plenty of people who play the game and their lives are just fine. We're not talking about violent video games that grab kids' attention and teach them bad habits. This woman is an adult who shirked her responsibility as a parent for a fantasy game and lost track of reality. Trust me, Farmville will win this one.
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