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Microsoft, Wal-Mart sued over baby's death

While the figurative jury is still out as to whether video games harm our youth by inciting them to commit violence, loiter unnecessarily, and utter profanities, a real flesh-and-blood jury may soon be deciding if one faulty Xbox was to blame for the December 2004 death of an Illinois baby. The family of young Wade Kline is suing Microsoft, retail giant Wal-Mart, and an unnamed power supply manufacturer in state court for damages "in excess of $50,000," claiming that their console -- the suit cites a 360, though it's more likely that the it was a first-gen unit sporting one of those recalled power cord -- overheated and caused the attached wall outlet to spark what turned out to be a fatal fire. This isn't the first time we've seen Xboxes and fire go to bedtogether, but it may be the first attempt to hold someone accountable for the damage done, so it'll be interesting to see how the culpability gets doled out here.