Playing Nintendo Causes Blisters? 189
drxenon writes, "In this story on AltaVista Live, the real truth about those hand injuries is made known. Nintendo is offering up to $80 million (US) worth of gloves for buyers of the "Mario Party" Nintendo64 game. Over 90 complaints have been filed concerning blisters, cuts, and other hand injuries!" The article gives info on how to get *your* gloves. If you're a Nintendo user, go for it!
XKoules (Score:1)
blisters (Score:2)
In related news... (Score:3)
-Shoeboy
Only Mario Party? (Score:1)
Re:In related news... (Score:1)
--Shoeboy
Hah! (Score:3)
I got my first gaming blisters from Gorf (the Commodore VIC-20 cartridge version) because of the stupid positioning of the fire button on the Commodore joysticks. I never even thought of suing Commodore or anyone else because of that.
Quite frankly, if you're playing a game enough to get blisters, you have way too much free time on your hands. Suing somebody for that is just frivolous.
That's great, but... (Score:3)
Screen shot for Mario Party? (Score:1)
Re:In related news... (Score:2)
My worst videogame injury (Score:1)
THUMB! not palm! (Score:1)
I find it strange that the article seems to state that the thumb, where I get blisters, has no protection. "Customers report having to use the palms..." therefore Nintendo pads the palms, but not the thumb, which is the original source of the problem?
What? (Score:2)
Playing Zelda on the Nintendo for hours at a time made my eyes hurt. But after a while, I beat it, and I didn't have to play it as much.
Maybe the controllers aren't designed for really prolonged usage, but our bodies aren't either. Some people just don't know when to quit.
Read a book, guys. Go outside. But don't sue the people who make your games just because you're lazy!
---
pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate [152.7.41.11].
Reading Slashdot gives me blisters (Score:3)
Point here
Click there
Reply in the little box
After years of Slashdot usage, I've notices that I've developed not only blisters and hand cramps, but also a bad case of schizophrenic paranoia.
I'm suing RobLimo for wrist guards, gloves, and electroshock (some of which I'll share with him). I 0wn you, Robin. I've been stalking you since your Pathfinder days, and I don't expect to stop.
The times they are a changin' (Score:1)
Honestly, the ergonomics of video game controllers have improved a hundredfold since the rectangles that were the original NES controllers. Super NES controllers were fine (or maybe I didn't play a much), and the next generation have had so much research put into them that those kids must be playing a HELL of a lot to get blisters!
Well, it's a start... (Score:1)
Seriously, though, this has some interesting consequences. Could keyboard manufacturers be held responsible for ergonomic damages due to poor keyboard design? It's a very similar concept - poor design leading to hand injury after repetitive use. Oh boy, more lawyers!
Re:In related news... (Score:2)
What was I thinking.
Probably something about feet.
Hah to you! (Score:1)
Class Action (Score:1)
I don't know how much truth there is to this, but if anyone knows where I can sign up... I'd appreciate a reply.
James
blisters? (Score:1)
Remember, most Nintendo players are teenage boys... doesnt take too much to figure....
More info (Score:3)
The correct link to the Attorney General's website (Score:1)
http://www.oag.state.ny.us
Street Fighter... (Score:1)
:: [Down], [Diagonal Down+forward], [Forward+lowpunch,medpunch,or highpunch]
The speed of your HadouKen is determined by the power you want. Low speed = High Power and vice versa.
uh oh (Score:2)
Try reading the article sometime. (Score:1)
Try not to let your knee jerk so hard next time.
what kind of gloves (Score:1)
i hope those arent latex! (not LaTeX!)
--jay
This is nothing new. (Score:1)
Can I get the gloves for my Original Nintendo box too?
Seriously, tho (Score:1)
But doesn't anyone find this incredibly ridiculous? Frick, man - if the game gives you blisters, don't f!ing play it so much.
Brutally stupid.
schmeel.
--
Info from hotline (Score:5)
Also, they seem to only want to send one glove. (They ask you to specify whether you want left or right) Maybe they'll send up to four gloves, but only one in each size / orientation.
You need to send them one of the following:
- A receipt for the game
- A credit card statement showing a purchase of the game
- A cancelled check for the game
- The UPC code, cut out of the side of the box
- The first page of the instruction booklet
- A photo of the cartridge
- A photo of your TV, with the game onscreen.
Also, they need an outline of the player's hand, traced on white paper, so they know what size.Since it's just an ordinary glove, and they're being pretty generous, please don't screw them over.
"Nintendo Thumb." (Score:1)
Finally, some relief!
--
Re:Seriously, tho (Score:1)
> The hand injuries included burns, lacerations, punctures, cuts, bleeding, and tearing and blistering of skin.
I don't believe that many people can honestly say they received lacerations from the older machines. I believe that the injuries were probably alot more serious than the typical blisters that are caused by overuse.
Re:In related news... (Score:2)
gloves, to deal with crappy tombraider inspired controls.
vaseline and kleenex for that whole killcreek naked thing.
A copy of Unreal Tournament to combat the pernicious boredom caused by playing Daikatana.
-Spazimodo
Fsck the millennium, we want it now.
Tobacco Companies.. Same Responsibility? (Score:5)
Re:THUMB! not palm! (Score:1)
Accountable for stupidity (Score:5)
I have played the game a bit, and I personnally use my thumb most of the time, however when I do use my palm, my IQ kicks in and i SIMPLY DON'T PRESS HARD! My younger cousins (ie: under 12) have problems with this, and sometimes get blisters. I have taught them to use their thumbs, or press softly... problem gone!
Companies should not be held accountable for product misuse. This is like blaiming soda bulbs for children's deaths (they are for drinks, not for rockets.) This sounds like a Geeks in Space awhile back:
Something like this (off the top of my head):
CowboyNeal: Once I was injured by a Microsoft Natural Keyboard
CmdrTaco (I think): Dude, that doesn't count when your mom wraps it round your neck...
They then talk about the time he got his hair caught in an IntelliMouse
But, would this be M$'s? fault? Of course not! Why blaim Nintendo for stupidity, or a lack of parental supervision?
Stupidity should not be allowed to rule the day.
Fingerless gloves?? (Score:1)
I've never played this particular game, but I've had plenty of controller blisters, and I *never* got them on my palms.
Always my fingers and thumbs.
Does this strike anyone as odd?
Has anyone played mario sport?
Where did you get blisters?
Re:The times they are a changin' (Score:1)
-Flerg
Re:Seriously, tho (Score:1)
If a customer of McDonald's can win a lawsuit b/c they spilled their too hot coffee, then you can easily see why Sony is so eager to give out gloves.
That's what I love about them high-school girls. I get older, they stay the same age... yes they do.
--Wooderson 1976
hahaha (Score:4)
Basic premise (Score:1)
<emad> it is a real neat idea
<emad> you go through various boards
<emad> and after each person has played their turn
<emad> you play a minigame
<emad> (there is a bunch of other stuff but I will ignore that)
<emad> there are dozens of different minigames
<emad> 2-3 of the games are I guess powergames
<emad> like say tug of war
<emad> you have to rotate the joystick as fast as possible
<emad> in order beat the other 3 guys
<emad> what ends up happening is
<emad> you go so fast
<emad> you burn you f-ing hand off
Re:THUMB! not palm! (Score:1)
I had one on my C64 which had a commando that needed to run, jump and use the monkey/ladder bars and quickly as possible. One day I was playing it with the CRAP joystick that came with the white C64 and the handle snapped right off the base while I was playing this game. Resorting to the other joystick of the two, I found that the handle was really well weighted so that you could just hold the base and roll it left and right quickly making the handle move really quickly side to side.
Remember the kids in the arcades pulling their school jumpers over their palm to allow rubbing across the buttons really quickly for those games?
Man they sucked.
new york's finest (Score:3)
boy, doesn't that make you feel so much safer?
now that you wont get injured by playing nintendo 24-7, youll never have to go outside and risk being perforated by triggerhappy plainclothes police officers with automatic pistols.
if you really want a laugh, dial the 800 number
1-800-521-0900
and listen to the safety warning. i fell out of my chair laughing. sample:
some individuals may experience skin irritation, including blisters and/or damage to the control stick if they rotate the control stick with the palm of your hand. nintendo recommends that you rotate the control stick with your thumb or holding it between your thumb and forefinger. if neither of these methods work for you, and you would still prefer to use your palm to rotate the control stick, nintendo will send you a glove upon receipt of acceptable proof of ownership...
you need to send proof of purchase + an outline of your hand, "so that nintendo can determine the size of the glove to send and whether it should be for the right or left hand". proof of purchase can even be a picture of the game or a picture of a tv screen running the game. shipping in 4-6 weeks.
this kind of stuff boggles the mind.
unc_
Re:What? (Score:2)
I've played my share of Mario Party, and one of the mini-games requires the player to rapidly rotate the joystick. This is best accomplished with the palm of the hand. During the course of a game (20-50 turns, as I seem to recall) quite a few mini-games will be played -- probably upwards of 100. Even playing just one game, if a joystick-rotating mini-game comes up, you're getting close to blister territory right there. It's not an instance of millions of Americans spending 18 hours a day in front of this game.
If I were Nintendo, I'd be more concerned with complaints about wear-and-tear on the controller itself. Mario Party basically requires you to abuse the hell out of your controller, either rotating the joystick, or furiously pressing buttons, or whatever. A few months of Mario Party, and you've got a noticibly degraded controller.
Whew. I just wrote more on that than I ever promised myself I would on that particular subject, but these complaints aren't groundless. Ya know, I could probably use one of those gloves myself. I might take 'em up on their offer.
-jay
Re:Hah! (Score:2)
But I rember Decathalon...you remember Summer Games I & II, what about Winter Games I & II? Not to mention California Games, and the mother of all spinny games...720 (that skateborading game.) I just took one of my old Coleco joysticks, which had a problem that made a button stick...however, the Coleco controller actually sent holding down the button as "auto-fire" so life got much much easier after that "malfunction."
*sigh* back in the day! (Score:2)
I remember playing Super Mario Brothers 3 and Zelda (mostly zelda - what a game! It's still a lot of fun to play the original) as a tike right up until my bedtime. Having played all day, and not wanted to have to restart from scratch, I would unplug the adapter from the back of the TV, and put a video cassette box in front of the power light so that my parents would be unaware that it was still on (they didn't like it - thought it was a fire hazzard or something). I would then get up early in the morning merely to finish my game. Sadly, many times I'd come back to find that it had crashed/frozen. Very upsetting at the time.
Back to the topic of blisters and such! :) The original NES controllers were hardly agronomic, and gave me terrible soreness after many hours of play. (we could also complain about the ~60hz refresh of the TV... after 8 or so hours, that can give you one splitting headache at relateively close range...) :) (the gameboy was even worse, for that matter...) Still, something must be said for these device's durability. I myself never owned a gameboy, but serveral of my friends have, and their gameboys took/take tremendous beatings. If any newer devices that are similar in build (say, the palm) were to get dropped, stepped on, thrown, run over, submerged in water, etc, they most certainly would be destroyed. But I've seen the gameboy go through all that and survive, and rarely have cosmetic disorder, even. (I think this is because Nintendo of America seems to have a projected audience of 5-10 year olds in mind when they make their products... just a guess.)
still, every blister I got playing those games was well worth it. It made the game a lasting memory in my mind, made it a special event. No pain, no gain. I think that giving game players gloves to use free of charge will partially ruin the game experience for many of the players, minimalizing the preserverence that goes into beating a game.
More than likely, the main people playing mario party will be little kids - Mario gets fairly irritating for me, and would even if they made a sexy game with a quake 3 style engine using the guy. Considering that Mario is a kid thing, to a great extent, many of those gloves might go completely disused. (I know I wouldn't have used a glove... you lose tactility by adding an extra layer. Even I realized that at a young age - but maybe not with that verbiage.) :)
-------
CAIMLAS
Re:NES Track & Field - Hammer Throw (Score:1)
This actually happened to me. (Score:2)
I had forgotten all about it, actually, until I read the story.
About two months ago I was playing Mario Party with my nine year old son, and he was teaching me the mini-games. I don't remember which one it was, but basically, you had to rotate the joystick faster than the other player to win. Of course, the only way to do this quickly is to place the controller in the center of your hand and rotate it that way.
Sure enough, I was rewarded for my efforts (I finally beat my kid at something on the Nintendo :-) with a large, painful blister that took a week to heal, and I can still see a faint outline where the new skin grew back.
Well, I could sue, or better yet, just use a little common sense next time.
For those who don't party (Score:5)
Many people seem to be implying with their posts that Nintendo shouldn't be responsible for people hurting themselves from playing too much. This isn't exactly the case. For those who don't play Mario Party, here's how it works:
r -$500, fit-video-games-somewhere-in-there machines.
The game is kind-of-like a board game. The object is to get as many stars as possible. The person with the most stars at the end is the "Super Star". Stars cost money, and at the end of every turn, the players play a [semi]random mini-game in competition for coins. The hand devastation comes from some minigames where the way you win is by rotating the analog stick as fast as you can. (Games like tug-of-war and pattle battle). Nintendo put grips into the tops of their analog sticks so that it would be easier to make fine controls in games like Mario World, which is really just shortsided on their part, thinking that all that stick would be good for is meneuvering in a 3D enviornment.
Anyway, after playing even one of these minigames where the object is to rotate the stick, your hand is raw. In most minigames, this is not the objective, but they are frequent enough that by the end of the whole game, you are in some serious pain (even though you had a great time).
This is probably one of the most fun nintendo games there is. Its designed for 4 players at a time, everyone can see the whole screen all the time (no split screen [ala any first person shooter or any racing game] where you get some small fraction of an already small screen), and no one can become a "master" and just make the game uninteresting for everyone else. Rent it and call some friends over. Then get some free Nintendo brand gloves too =].
This free glove thing is just a little late. They recently released Mario Party 2 (more of the same thing with some nice new stuff and more games), where all of the stick-rotating minigames have been removed.
Upside: At least Nintendo listens to their customers and tries hard to put good stuff in the box, unlike some broken, rushed-to-market, DVD, Internet, Stereo, do-everything-else-in-the-known-universe-for-unde
Dave
Re:Tobacco Companies.. Same Responsibility? (Score:1)
"Oh, so we make a product that you play obsessively and makes your hands bleed/gives you cancer? Well, we as a company can't believe that you were so fucking stupid that you didn't know anything about it so I guess we now have to give you some money... oh wait a minute why don't we give the money to your state to make advertisements that say that we're baaaaad, maybe people will continue to cut their hands on our product and we will keep giving up a piece of our profits to you, Mr. State Government...
Re:What? (Score:1)
I haven't played the game, but the N64 controller always struck me as being somewhat elaborate. If you can't do it with a directional controller and four buttons, (six buttons max) it's probably pretty complicated... Give me a standard, NES-style controller any day.
---
pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate [152.7.41.11].
Re:Info from hotline (Score:1)
Also, they seem to only want to send one glove. This will be good news for Micheal Jackson(They ask you to specify whether you want left or left) Maybe they'll send up to four gloves, but only one in each size / orientation.
You need to send them all of the following:
A receipt for the game
Your first born child
A cancelled check for the game
A signed statement from the store clerk who sold you the game, and a blood sample from him/her
The first page of the instruction booklet
A photo of the cartridge holding a newspaper.
A photo of your Moniter, with Slashdot onscreen.
A sperm sample.
A doctors note.
Also, they need an outline of the player's hand, traced on neon yellow paper with purple watermarks, so they know what size.
Since it's just an ordinary glove, and they're being pretty worthless, please screw them over.
Doom-Claw (Score:1)
Shigeru Miyamoto says.... (Score:4)
Dumb move Nintendo (Score:4)
Can we say "Class Action Law Suit"?
Legally, this may translate to an admittance of guilt on Nintendo's part. Then, they will be open for attack from users who have had more serious problems (carpal tunnel syndrome, addiction, insomnia, etc.) with any of their products. Even if these lawsuits all fail, the legal fees could get racked up quickly.
Game Design Haiku (Score:5)
rotate joystick rapidly
makes quake look like chess
hey this really happens (Score:1)
uhm, personally i always thought the game was a scam to help kids break the analog joystick faster, so they could sell more controllers
Re:My worst videogame injury (Score:1)
First, picture Cyberball. Now, do the following:
That should give you an idea. :^) (All of this was really impressive in 1978, of course.)
Back to the point, Atari Football used a trackball for a controller. A much larger and heavier trackball -- the same size as the one in Missile Command. What made it really hurt, though, was that basically all you did in the game was roll the ball as fast as you could. None of this precision "aim and fire" "gameplay" found in Centipede and Missile Command. :^)
(Question: Anyone know what the last major b/w video game was? Asteroids Deluxe? Space Invaders II? Something I've forgotten?)
--
Re:The times they are a changin' (Score:1)
I've NEVER had blisters, from the 2600 up to the N64 (and I played A HELL OF A LOT). Is everyone else's hands weak, or are mine real strong
This is so stupid! (Score:2)
Jesus Christ, I probably have carpal tunnel
syndrome from playing Asteroids. Should I
sue Atari?
Or should I just assume that I
am stupid and played a little too long? Maybe
I should have rested between games? No way!
I should get free gloves from Nintendo!
Shit, I just sprained my ankle playing softball. Should I sue the company the made the bat or the company that made the glove. Maybe I should sue the city too for having a softball league at all! After all, they should make sure I am in good enough shape to play softball.
Someone should protect me from my own stupidity!
Re:Fingerless gloves?? (Score:1)
Re:Seriously, tho (Score:1)
Re:That's great, but... (Score:1)
blister this (Score:1)
Re:Hah! (Score:1)
You're talking about the 9-pin plug used on VIC-20s, C64s, Atari 400/800s, etc.etc.etc., right?
Unfortunately, I'm talking 1980 here - in my part of the world, there was no such thing as joysticks from independent manufacturers. It was either go with the Commodore model, or buy an Atari to get the joystick that came with that.
Re:Hah to you! (Score:1)
Well done. Do you feel 1337?
(BTW, if you get blisters that quickly, you're using too much force - try and relax a little, huh?)
Re:This is so stupid! (Score:1)
$75.000? (Score:1)
Why did this investigation cost $75,000? Does it really cost that much to call up Nintendo and say, "hey, how many guys cut their hands?" Even if they called up all 90 of the cut-handed individuals, that's like a $500 phone bill (maximum) and 1 days wages for the AG or one of his workers, right?
At least Nintendo is picking up the bill...
Re:*sigh* back in the day! (Score:1)
No pain, no gain.
And what exactly did you gain from jerking off in front of a TV screen, genius?
Re:What? (Score:1)
Oh, it looks ugly as all get out, but the feel is excellent. I really wish that I could get an N64 controller for my PSX (I had an N64 till it got stolen, so I decided to see how the other half lived)
Re:Info from hotline (Score:1)
Correct me if I'm wrong... but aren't they doing this primarily to head of a potentially costly lawsuit? A potential $80 Million (most of which will likely never get claimed) looks small compared with a huge class-action lawsuit which is known to bring about huge settlements.
Don't get me wrong -- I'm not saying we should rush out and take advantage of them -- but it's not like this is done out of generosity.
This makes me weep for the days of old (Score:2)
It had 8 controls: left hand: ball headed stick for up-down with a thumb button for direction reverse; right hand: thrust, fire, inviso, smart bomb; either hand hyperspace.
I used to get left thumb and right index finger skin problems (calloses sp? and blisters) but where else could you get and hour of adrenaline rush at extreme levels of complexity for a quarter.
I miss those blisters
Me TOO!! (Score:2)
I ddin't get a blister the controller actually became part of my hand. But then I think it was partly my fault. I was a little, well, Excited? I was turnin away at the controller, got up, and started yellin, and screamin, go crazy getting myself pumped up, and intimidating my friends. Next thing I knew it was over, and I looked down and the controller was soaked in blood, and I had to pull the center joystik out of my hand, yes it had actually gone INTO my hand! I still have the scar from where this happened to me! And the worst part, I DIDN'T WIN! It was a damn tie
Anyway's, I think it would be cool if nintendo sent me a special nintendo gaming glove because I managed to get one of their controllers stuck in my hand.
Re:Activision Decathlon for Atari 2600 (Score:1)
These games aren't as popular these days so this probably won't happen.
Re:What? (Score:1)
<br><br>
All playstation games make my hands hurt & cramp up; their control just sux.
<br><br>
I used to run a Quake and then Quake2 server, and my eyes would start to hurt after about 2 hours of playing cuz I didn't blink enough. I've had problems with playing any computer game for longer than 45 minutes at a time since my Quake days. Mebbe I should sue Id for ruining my eyes. Carmack's got plenty of $$ for me to get some. Mebbe I'll settle out of court for one of his cars.....
Re:*sigh* back in the day! (Score:1)
Exactly. I remember reading in a Nintendo Power ages ago that someone once dropped a Game Boy in the toilet and it somehow got stuck (this was the original, large gameboys). They draino-ed it, tried snaking it, and eventually had to call a plummer. The plummer got the game boy out, and they let it dry and it still worked. Dunno if it's true or not though.
Big loser moderator (Score:1)
This post was on-topic.
Are you the guy who moderated me down "offtopic" on the announcement of Linux 2.3.48, where I posted a question about a compilation problem I had with it?
Universal Warning Label (UWL) (Score:1)
Everything comes with warning labels these days. We've all seen funny ones and sad ones (anything that says "For external use only" is both).
Save paper and time! Label everything with this:
If you are going to hurt yourself with this product, don't use it. Stay at least five feet away from it.
-sig-
Re:Seriously, tho (Score:1)
> genitals, since mcdonalds heated the coffee
Hint: Coffee doesn't go there!!!!!!
huh! (Score:1)
consoles seem better for people with small hands anyway
Re:blisters? (Score:1)
The fact that the blisters ARE actually generally relegated to the palm for this game (and thus the gloves they are giving out have no fingers, but a padded palm) makes your attempt at humor far less fun.
Re:Info from hotline (Score:1)
Technically, yes, but the fact that they could even be sued for this is just ridiculous. I mean, if people lack the common sense to stop playing so much of a game that its giving them blisters, they deserve to have their hand not only blister, but become infected and fall off.
So, IMO, taking advantage of Nintendo's situation, which is caused by the aweful state of US litigations, is kind of a Bad Thing.
Serious point - RSI can actually kill you. (Score:2)
In one case, a C++ developer from Chicago died when his 9mm handgun was accidentally discharged, into his chest, due to his RSI induced muscle spasm.
The autopsy report stated that death was caused indirectly by RSI, his survivors are suing the company where he worked, stating that there was no workplace RSI policy, and are also suing the suppliers of the text editor he was forced to use - something called "XEmacs" which (they allege) was so convoluted in its operation, that even simple text editing tasks could involve multiple keystrokes, and weird combinations of keys.
I think the message is clear. Emacs can kill you. Just use the one true editor, vi.
thank you.
Re:Seriously, tho (Score:1)
Sounds familiar... (Score:2)
There was a ZX Spectrum game called Daley Thompson's Decathlon, and most of the games involved you pressing Z and X alternately as fast as possible... the best solution I ever saw to this was a group of friends who figured out that on the original 'rubber-thumb' spectrum keyboards, you could wet your finger and simply slide it back and forth across the appropriate area to get really high scores!
the main problem with this was you destroyed the lettering on the Z and X keys very quickly, but then they were the left and right for almost every game, so everyone knew where they were anyway :)
Regards,
Denny
# Using Linux in the UK? Check out Linux UK [linuxuk.co.uk]
Blister are nothing.. (Score:1)
Remember Commodore 64 and all those sport games like Decathlon, try to run 10000 meters and feel the pain. If you use the original Commodore joystick (triangular stick and nice red button) You probably lose (both the race and some skin) or if You play with a better stick, You'll break the stick (well not the TAC-2).
Re:For those who don't party (Score:2)
Anyways, I'm very active on a certain (cough nintendorks.com [nintendorks.com] cough) Nintendo board, and that was one of the big complaints about MP1. I myself have not played it too much, just rented it for a few days, but a lot of the people there repeatedly gripped about having to totally screw up their controller doing all that rotating, and then the blisters that all that turning creates. Those kind of mini-games were definitly not liked. It is kind of suprising Nintendo waited this long to do this though, with MP2 already out like you said.
Re:Universal Warning Label (UWL) (Score:1)
Isn't this what... (Score:2)
-- Thrakkerzog
Back in the good ol' days... (Score:2)
Yep, back in the old days we didn't have rapid fire, and we had to learn how to press that button really fast! And we didn't have these wussy "party" games where you could sit back in your comfy couch holding your controller, we had games like Track and Field where you had to stand up and slap your hands back and forth as fast as you could! In fact, some of the kids figured out they could hold a pencil in just the right way where they could slap those buttons really fast, so those evil arcade people, they put bumps around the buttons where you couldn't do that any more!
Re:The times they are a changin' (Score:1)
Re:Seriously, tho (Score:1)
everyone I know who drinks coffee know it is served hot, why didn't this moron who spilled it
on herself realize it?
I bought a cheap cup holder, and i've never
burned my jewels.
Re:Seriously, tho (Score:1)
>genitals, since mcdonalds heated the coffee
>signifigantly above the boiling point of water.
>That is they heated it hotter than water can get
>without special equipment. It really pisses me
>off when people quote this case who no nothing
>about it.
If it pisses you off so much, why are you doing
it?
The coffee was around 180 degrees, which is well
below the boiling point, and only slightly higher
than my coffee pot (a normal Mr. Coffee consumer
model).
I'm not sure what world you live in, but using the
most popular brand of commercial coffee maker to
brew coffee that is, at most 5-10 degrees higher
than industry average does not translate to
using "special equipment" to superheat liquids
past the boiling point.
Brief History of Game Controllers and Injuries (Score:5)
Ok, a bit of a rant, but the point comes down to that I think after using all of these systems, Atari, Magnavox, Coleco, Nintendo, Sega, Sony, Bally, etc. all owe me a buttload of money for the hand problems I have today. I did have a lot of fun with them over the years, but please.. who the heck designs controllers? Whatever..
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Re:For those who don't party (Score:2)
My brother has an N64 and it has some games for it that I know to be fun, like Super Smash Brothers, Doom, Goldeneye and others. However, I've never been able to get past that awkward monstrocity of a joystick! I mean, the joypads on the two previous systems (NES, SNES) were good as were the ones created by their competitor (Sega, Sony). As far as I know, it is the only "three-legged" joystick on the market. It also seems to be counterintuitive for fighting games (although N64 seems to have been gipped out of fighting games, I'm betting partly because of the fact that the presidents of Nintendo Japan and Namco Japan don't like each other (see Game Over by David Scheff))
I'm hoping that when they come out with the Dolphin they put some serious ergonomic research into the joystick, because more than anything else its what has kept me from enjoying N64 games.
To be fair, I've had games for other systems that were hard on my hands (I can't think of any off hand, maybe some of the Bonk games mini-games). However, I'm guessing that that wierd joystick exacerbates the problem.
Doctor (Score:2)
From an old but relevant joke.
Patient: Doctor it hurts when I do this (waves arm arount).
Doctor: Well don't do that!
Kids today require suits of armor (Score:2)
*hehehe* (Score:2)
But, ya know- back in those days the _joysticks_ broke. Surely you remember that ;)
These days the controls are so battle-hardened and made smaller so they are tougher to destroy, that gamers are beating themselves against them like rams trying to knock heads with a concrete wall ;)
Thick skulled gamers are going to be thick skulled gamers, so the best thing to do would be to make the gloves etc. _cool_. "You can play Mario _without_ protection? Wuss. I'd have a hole in my hand if it wasn't for the special game clothing" ;)
Re:Tobacco Companies.. Same Responsibility? (Score:2)
I've played Mario Party, and it's not addictive.
You've got it backwards. (Score:2)
A lot of this is pushed _by_ these companies themselves- do you think Nintendo is going to counter the waves of kids tearing their flesh in efforts to win a Nintendo game, by responding 'It's just a game, settle down'? That's not going to happen- and their voice is a hell of a lot louder than yours is. Be grateful they're even offering protective gear. At least that is some compensation for what they are encouraging kids to do.
Re:Tobacco Companies.. Same Responsibility? (Score:2)
Re:Tobacco Companies.. Same Responsibility? (Score:2)
Saying no is pretty easy now that we know what's what but not everybody has always had the same information we have. Millions of packs of cigarettes were given out during both World Wars to soldiers and the government told them it was okay to smoke even though the industry had knowledge that was not the case. The industry has also targetted young people with high caliber ad campaigns designed to hook those kids who are most likely to succumb to peer pressure and who have not yet been fully aware of the risks of smoking. It would be great if everything were real black-and-white like you see it and the government never had to get involved but in reality, there are situations that are more complicated than that.