Shameful Human of the Week: Erik Estavillo
Erik Estavillo, figuratively pictured to the right, but not literally, is this week’s Shameful Human, although that title isn’t completely accurate. Erik is simultaneously shameful and awesome, and I feel kind of bad for calling someone so amusing “shameful.” Estavillo has no friends, no job, and nothing better to do than to sue game companies for hurting him in various ways.
This renegade plaintiff is suing Nintendo for preventing homebrew on the Wii, Sony for banning his online access on the PS3, Microsoft for the red-ring of death, and Activision-Blizzard for making characters in World of Warcraft run too slowly.
Estavillo revealed to Joystiq that “I told this other interviewer and it’s true — I actually have no friends. If anyone wants to test that, they can check my phone records — cell phone or home phone — and find out that I don’t call anyone and no one calls me. I rely on online gameplay for socialization. It’s why he has the time to launch his many lawsuits, and why it hurts him so bad to get banned from PSN. Without the ability to play online, Estavillo is unable to get any social interaction.
To help support his cases, Estavillo has subpoenaed celebrities rather than experts. This includes Wynona Ryder, for her deep knowlede of alienation stemming from her reading of Catcher in the Rye. In so doing, Estavillo seeks to bring greater awareness to the harmful effects of gaming.
Good luck Erik.
[...] live in time in which it is not uncommon for cranky nerds with nothing better to do to file frivolous lawsuits against the corporations which entertain them. What is less common is for judges not to throw out [...]