[Lynk Former]

http://www.4colorrebellion.com/archives/...-nintendo/
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=...q=nintendo

Here's a very interesting look at Nintendo, a very villifying look, but still interesting. A lot of what is said in that BBC report is true, a lot of what was said in that BBC report is also very wrong and pointing a lot of fingers unfairly at Nintendo. After all you can't blame Nintendo for a kid suffering from a seizure because he was playing videogames, that can happen without Nintendo what they didn't tell you was that Nintendo gave a tonne of money to charities relating to epilepsy, etc...

But like I said, even though there are a huge number of very unfair comments made, it's still an interesting viewing...

[Moelman]

I agree with you Lynk. They can't, or at least shouldn't be, pointing fingers at Nintendo the way they are.

what they didn't tell you was that Nintendo gave a tonne of money to charities relating to epilepsy, etc...

I hate it when they do this. Tell us the bad stuff but not what they are doing that's good. Especially when it's something I like, like Nintendo.

But thanks for the link, still a good read.

[Eva]

Nintendo can not be at fault for a child suffering a seizure while playing video games. A child could suffer a seizure playing just about any video game, as we all know from the countless Korean citizen have suffer seizure while playing video games, that are not by Nintendo. Korean citizen are also know for even more disturbing methods of death related to video games. If you're going to blame Nintendo, then you're going to blame the entire video game industry for cause seizure to children, even though parents should moderate children playing video games far too much, but I really can't fault any video game company when a kid suffer a seize when he or she plays the video game himself or herself far too much. It's the fault of the person themselve, not the video game.

Anyway, not trying to defend Nintendo, but more so the video game company when people start playing video games for violence, death, ect... when it's not justify in my eyes.

[Lynk Former]

Exactly, there's more to the story that's being told and I think while it was very informative and accurate it failed in the sense that it made Nintendo look like it was the only company responsible.

The photosensitive epilepsy thing has been an issue for a long time and Nintendo does try to take as many measures as possible. And while there may not be a big warning label at the front of every box, there are warnings on the back and in the manual. I loved it how they were telling us that children wouldn't read this warning. Well exactly, what about parents? I'm sure they're able, or any other adult for that matter. I know my eyes always lock onto that exclaimation mark on the back of GCN games saying WARNING.

[Shannon]

I know my eyes always lock onto that exclaimation mark on the back of GCN games saying WARNING.

Oh, gosh I know! I usually open up the game's information packet before I start playing, and those things have epileptic seizure warnings all over them. They can't blame Nintendo for something they blatantly warn their users about...

But then, this reminds me of the person who sued some fast food chain after he spilled their coffee in his lap and was - gasp - burned. Sued them for the water being too hot, I believe... and go figure he was American. *shame*

[Lynk Former]

It's great how Nintendo is the only one who has all of these warnings everywhere and they're the ones getting the most crap over it.

So by that logic, take the warning messages off cigarette packs and suddenly they're not so bad for ya XD

[Moelman]

It's great how Nintendo is the only one who has all of these warnings everywhere and they're the ones getting the most crap over it.

So by that logic, take the warning messages off cigarette packs and suddenly they're not so bad for ya XD

People don't read those warnings. It seems when they see warnings, they are more likely to do it. The only warning people heed is the 'dry clean only' warning. People smoke and drink in excess, and then operate heavy machinery, etc, but when someone goes to put a dry clean only item in the wash, it's like, "Dont put that in the wash its dry clean only are you out of your mine!?!?"*

*Seinfeld material.

[AkkA]

ive seen those warnings since i was a kid, i always read through the entire instruction manual. the problem is now so many things have warnings you kinda glaze over them. the same as the EULA of a program (End User Liscence Agreement)

[MadMax]

Actually it's a lot of fun to fully read an EULA and practise bureaucracy English.

The story about "that fast food chain" being sued because of hot coffee... was that before they printed big warnings on the coffee cups saying "CAUTION HOT" or were these warnings already there?

[spectre]

I think they came about because of the lawsuit.

[Briareos]

But then, this reminds me of the person who sued some fast food chain after he spilled their coffee in his lap and was - gasp - burned. Sued them for the water being too hot, I believe... and go figure he was American. *shame*

There is just a tad more to that particular case then you probably realize.

The old lady who spilled the coffee while removing the lid to add the usual things, ended up with third degree burns in the regions of the groin, inner thigh, and buttocks. Plus there are certain other factors. Such as she was willing to settle out of court for a rather small sum, but McDonald's decided to go to court with it.

[Lynk Former]

Do PS1/2 and Xbox games (and even Sega games) come with all these warnings plastered all over their games? Someone check for me. I swear, Nintendo games are like cigarette packets, you know what I'm talking about, how they have a box with big text telling you how smoking kills, etc before you even open the packet.

[Maverick]

I got a warning with big bold letters about epilepsy on the first page of Jane's F-15 simulator's manual, when I saw it I was like wtf?

there are several recommendations like, use a small screen, lots of lights, rest 10-15 min between each hour, if your sight gets blur stop playing...

[Lynk Former]

So it's in every game or only selected games?

[Maverick]

Of all the games I bought, which aren't much, this is the only one with a warning, perhaps that's because they're several years old....

eh, looks like nobody pays attention to the warning labels on games :P

[Lynk Former]

XD Except when the media wants to jump down a companies throat about how they're supposedly harming out children with those "evil videogames."

[FirestarterCL]

Well, I just checked 2 games I had laying beside my computer (Twisted Metal and Gran Turismo for Playstation) and the first thing written in the manual for both is a warning about epileptic seizures. Twisted Metal was released in 1995, so I'd say they've been there for a while.

[Rach]

Do PS1/2 and Xbox games (and even Sega games) come with all these warnings plastered all over their games?

for ps1 games that i own (xenogears, r-type delta), there are warnings in the game manual and for ps2 games that i've played lately, there's a warning (and telling about minimun distance to watch tv and blah³) right when you load the game.

well. all those games that i mentioned are japanese games. but the american versions should have that too, right? <o>

[Lynk Former]

Yeah all games have it no matter what region they're sold.

Well in any case it's just the media using its power the wrong way.

[Eva]

Well in any case it's just the media using its power the wrong way.

When does the media ever use the it's power in the right way?

I never pay attention to warnings of video games. Since most of those warnings are common sense. They should put warnings on MMORPG for obvious reasons. If you're going to have warnings, have them on MMORPG in big bold letters. Those games really cause deaths among people.

[Lynk Former]

I only hope the next generations of parents will learn to monitor what their children play a lot better so we get fewer morons blaming videogames for the existence of the scourge of society.

[Eva]

I only hope the next generations of parents will learn to monitor what their children play a lot better so we get fewer morons blaming videogames for the existence of the scourge of society.

Yes, we can only hope, but the same pattern will probably repeat itself. The parents won't pay attention and in turn blame the video game business for some reason to cover the fact they are not paying attention. That's basically what's going on right now at this current moment.

Remember, video games are bad for you. I forgot what isn't bad for you. Public TV?

[spectre]

The problem I have with the logic that video game violence is causing all of this crazy teen violence is that, when you look at the sheer number of copies of doom, quake, UT, GTA, etc. etc. that have been sold (compared with the number of violent teen crimes and all of that nonsense they are linking to these games), and when you think that the majority of violent offenders likely have no connection to video games whatsoever, it simply doesn't make sense to me that you could logically link the one to the other.

[Lynk Former]

Here we go again...

ABC news alert: "Predators are using Nintendo DS"
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?sectio...id=3905371

Many people have sent in their complaint about this article, here's one by a guy I know on another forum...

To whom it may concern:

I just finished reading your article about the Nintendo DS and the internet privacy and safety concerns involved with it. I'm going to be frank with you: as a frequent internet users, I've heard some bullshit stories before, but this takes the cake.

Let me point out the first two errors in this article. Right in the first paragraph, you introduce Nintendo's WiFi service. Just a hint, ABC, when you're writing an article all about one specific product or service, you should at least start by KNOWING the name of that service. It's called "Nintendo WiFi Connection." If you can't even use the correct name, why should I bother reading your crap anyways? Oh, right, because as a concerned Nintendo fan, I need to be able to tell you what sort of shit you're trying to pull.

Another thing: the article focuses on the DS's built-in "PictoChat" feature. However, as you are very apparently NOT aware, PictoChat uses a local-range wireless connection, meaning that you can only chat with someone who's less than 100 ft from you, and they also have to be waiting to chat in PictoChat at the same time. Because of this, most people only use the feature when they're PLANNING to chat with friends, so the chances of meeting up with a random stranger in PictoChat are infinitesimally small. And even when you do, you have to be so close together that if you look around for anyone with another DS system, that's probably the person you're talking to. Also, because PictoChat does not use the internet, that means that you're primary source of information, one "Keith Dunn/Internet Safety Expert," is an irrelavant souce who knows little to nothing about the subject matter. Yes, I understand that the writer of this article probably has very strong credentials in the field of writing and journalism. But even in my freshman year in high school I was well educated enough that you NEVER try to make a point in an article by using a quote from someone who is not an expert on the subject of the article, which in this case, is NOT internet safety.

but, as long as we're talking about internet safety, let me tell you a thing or two about Nintendo's internet safety. So far, there are three really popular games playable over Nintendo's WiFi service. If you still don't know the name of this service, please re-read my first paragraph. One of these games, Mario Kart DS, allows NO communication between players at all. Two to four people are matched up automatically, they race, and then they are disconnected. In another game, Animal Crossin: Wild World, you can chat with other players, but only using text. Here's the little catch, though: you can only play against people if you've exchanged a certain code with them. If you don't have theirs or they don't have yours, you can't play together at all. Meaning there is a zero percent chance of ever chatting with a stranger. And in addition, the chat has a built in word filter to censor offensive words. The last game, Metroid Prime Hunters, allows voice chat over the internet, but only before and after a match. and again, though this game does allow you to play with random strangers, you can only CHAT with players if you have exchanged codes.

Nintendo has always made their best effort to protect their customer's safety, yet here you sit, attacking them without any real knowledge of the sucject matter. Hell, as I've already explained, I don't even think you know what the subject matter IS. Let me point somehting out to you: ever heard of a videogame called Halo? Microsoft's Xbox Live online service allows 100% unregulated voice chat with anyone else you're playing against, in all online-enabled games. Why hasn't anyone called out Microsoft over children's online safety?

ABC, reading this article has made me completely confident that your news team is 100% incompetent, and will rely solely on two totally unreliable sources without doing any of their own investigation. If you ever, EVER want to regain any miniscule shred of credibility you might have, I demand that you not only remove the previous article, but post a retraction apologizing for reporting information incorrectly, clearly without doing any of your own research into the subject of the article. I know you may think that one reader doesn't matter, but I also know for a fact that there are a LOT of people who actually know something about this subject, and I also know that many of these people have been sending in similar complaints about this article.

I am myself a journalist in the video game industry, and I have written many articles on the subject of video games, many relating specifically to the Nintendo DS. but would I dare write an article about sports, or politics? Absolutely not, becuase I am aware that I don't know anything about these fields. Oh, and I don't think I mentioned: I'm only 16. If your combined news team doesn't have enough common sense to not post an article on a subject you know nothing about, I don't know why you even bother reporting any news.

I would very much like to recieve your response.

Sincerely,

Connor Graham

Want to file your own complaint about this article? Here ya go: http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?sectio...id=3293957

[Maverick]

Also, beware, there are other wireless gaming systems made by different manufacturers and they may have similar issues.

is funny how they omit to name these other wireless gaming systems, is not like there're a lot of them.

[Eva]

is funny how they omit to name these other wireless gaming systems, is not like there're a lot of them.

Just goes to show how much research they did on the subject. Actually, I doubt they did any research on the subject at all this point. I think they just got the story from some person and decide to go from there. Shesh, if you're going to smash Nintendo DS, then at least do your research. Also, if you're going to attack online safety, then look no further than Microsoft's X-box Live. Of course, if they did research, they would have known. I wonder if they even know Microsoft and Sony even make consoles...