Parents blame Wii Zapper for their bad parenting
Saturday, September 15th, 2007 at 11:13am by Jack
If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions? — Scott Adams (1957 – )
As is now par for the course here in the wide, wacky world that is the United States, some New Jersey parents have decided to blame a piece of white plastic for their bad parenting skills, instead of themselves. Personal responsibility, at least here in America, is now an option, not a requirement, for citizenship.
The plastic? The Wii Zapper housing. The problem? It encourages children who use it to go out into the world and kill people, according to the clueless couch potatoes that responded to a recent question posed by Peggy O’Crowley in New Jersey newspaper the Star Ledger.
Problem is, I had the original Zapper way back in 1987, and I killed many a duck, burglar and tin can in Duck Hunt and Hogan’s Alley, but never a person. I even unplugged the Zapper from time to time, tucked the cord in my pants, and ran around the house pretending I had a magic ray gun. My dog never stood a chance as I chased him around the living room, but I never actually shot my dog with a real gun. Or my schoolmates. Or strangers at the bus stop. Why? Because my parents weren’t too busy writing banal, ill-informed letters to the editor about how the light gun they bought for me was leading to the downfall of society. Because that would have been idiotic. Responses and commentary after the jump thingy.
Please, read these with caution, because I had to take six Advil before I could get back to a condition where I could type again.
“Great, this is what we need. Children with guns learning how to aim and shoot. Then we can sit back and wonder what is happening to our country with kids killing kids……what’s next? Could we make it squirt blood, too” one reader commented
A “very concerned grandparent” wrote:
“….Why don’t they enclose an application to the NRA in every box as well….the marketing person who came up with this brain child of an idea should be fired.”Another reader commented, “I think it’s irresponsible for Wii to come out with a controller that looks like a gun so kids can play games simulating shooting. What kind of message are we sending as parents when we buy these things for our kids?”
The last one is classic. It’s irresponsible to sell something that you make a conscious decision to buy for your child?It’s called “don’t buy it then.” What message are you sending as a parent when you buy that thing for your kid? You’re sending the message that you’re an idiot, because you, by writing this letter, are protesting your own actions. YOU bought it for YOUR kid, and now you’re saying it’s a bad idea? Here’s another bad idea: you being allowed to have a kid in the first place, because you’re obviously just buying it whatever it asks for, then leaving it be in front of the TV with no supervision so it can soak in whatever it wants.
So remember, when you buy the Wii Zapper, you are now in the NRA. Or something.
September 15th, 2007 at 11:22 am
… Wow, there are way too many parents out there who follow video game news, when they don’t play themselves. Don’t they have anything better to do than comment on things they’ll never use?
September 15th, 2007 at 11:26 am
In other news the guitar hero controller teaches kids how to play guitar.
Seriously I think that there are some people who just don’t want to use that organ that’s in their head.
September 15th, 2007 at 11:28 am
Also, Wii is Satan.
September 15th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
The more I read this sort of thing the more I wanna pick up another language and leave this country for good. If there’s any reason this country is falling apart it’s because people just blame others instead. That’s all they do though… blame… then once their done blaming they turn on the TV and check out what Paris Hilton is up to and hope for the best.
September 15th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Is it just me, or does the Zapper look not much like a gun in the first place?
Jack’s got a point.
“THIS IS A VIOLENT TOY! HOW DARE TENINTO, WHY WOULD YOU MAKE THESE! Now, when I buy four for my kids, They’ll grow up to be shooting people and it’s completely out of my control! Thanks a lot Tenedo…”
September 15th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
[...] blame Wii Zapper for their bad parenting Parents blame Wii Zapper for their bad parenting If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get [...]
September 15th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Here’s the deal*, Jack:
People are naturally stupid. Sinse we are born, we are stupid, and over the time, and as years go by, we pick up this little things called logic and reason. Now, some- actually, many- hard headed people have trouble absorbing these puppies. Hence, the world as we know it…. it is sad, but it’s also the truth.
*The above writing represent my personal opinion, and may or may not represent Infendo’s or its staff.
September 15th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
This is a classic example of people not interacting with their kids enough to know whether or not that child can tell the difference between fantasy and reality. It’s important to actually play these games with your kids, or at least watch them play.
It can be fun for everyone, and you might just learn a thing or two about your own children. Plus, spew like this wont be all over the newspapers, and people can realize that in the end, the Wii Zapper is really just an extension of a toy.
Besides, aren’t squirt guns even worse? Not only are they molded to look like a gun, but they also shoot something that’s actually tangible. (not that I think there’s any realy danger in a squirt gun, but my point is, why blame video games when there’s so much worse out there. In fact, people should just stop blaming. Stupid stupid stupid people. Blech.)
September 15th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
The kicker wa that they didn’t even have ther right zapper up for hours, they had a picture of a not even released third-party zapper that looks more like a real gun(If guns where white plastic).
September 16th, 2007 at 8:01 am
Yeah, how terrible. My dad taught me how to shoot a real gun a long time ago. And even though I’ve spent quite a bit of time shooting our .45 at vaguely human shaped targets I’ve yet to go on a murderous rampage.
September 16th, 2007 at 10:40 am
Everyone has it wrong! This isn’t about kids- This is about wii grandmas! Nintendo is creating an army of geriatric merecenaries!
All I know is that my grandparents respond very well to suggestion. Now that they’ve been hooked on bowling- they’re essentially being recruited. Well that aint right.
September 16th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Dear idiot parents,
This is why we have a rating system — since we know you’re too lazy to actually read about a game or learn anything about it before you blindly cough up the bucks for whatever little Jimmy asks for, the ESRB has stamped a rating on there to make it easy to decide whether the game is something to be concerned about.
However, the ultimate responsibility always lies with the parent to explain the difference between right and wrong to their kids. If they don’t know that, it’s not the job of any major corporation like Nintendo to teach it to them. It’s YOUR JOB. Start doing it or STFU and give them up for adoption already because you are obviously an unfit parent.
The only reason a kid goes crazy and tries to hurt other people is because you neglected them and shirked your duty as a parent. You only have yourselves to blame, idiots. Stop fearing things just because you don’t understand them and try not to sound so hopelessly out of touch, and maybe your kids will actually respect you instead of mocking your baseless paranoia behind your back.
September 16th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
Jack, the difference between now and then (the NES Zapper era) is that now there are games where killing is realistically simulated. It’s not all Resident Evil and Link’s CrossBow Training. It’s Godfather: Blackhand Edition and many other games that will make use of the zapper accessory, games that are far less innocent than shooting a duck or a cartoonish cowboy on the NES ever was.
September 16th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
It’s easy not to see it from the view of the parents, isn’t it?
Just to pretend that things are the same as they were when we were kids; that the industry isn’t flooded with senselessly, realistically (key word is realistically) violent games.
September 16th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
I’m a parent of 4 children of the ages 8, 6, 4, and 2. I’m so tired of people blaming everything but themselves for their bad kids. It’s always the sugar, tv, video games, movies, or whatever except for themselves. My son one day got in trouble for tackling a kid on the playground at school. Was it because he was watching football on tv with me the day before. No. It was because I didn’t explain to him that it’s a game and you don’t go around tackling people just because they have a ball. Should the NFL be disbanded because my son tackled someone? Of course not. Parents need to start acting like parents and spend time with their kids instead of letting electronics raise them. That is the problem, not the electronics. I watched tons of violent tv and movies when I was growing up. I even played every mortal kombat that came out. I have never done anything remotly violent. That’s because I had a parent who paid attention to me. STOP IGNORING YOUR KIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nintendo is not a babysitter.
September 17th, 2007 at 1:18 am
Wow.
“This is just what we need! What has Nintendo come to?! Whoever made this up should be fired!”
Well, I’m pretty sure whoever came up with the Zapper has long left Nintendo, because last time I checked the Wii Zapper was a freaking REVIVAL of the NES Zapper! Nintendo’s come to itself, people.
“What kind of message are we sending as parents when we buy these things for our kids?”
This is brilliant. What kind of message? I thought it’d be, “Here, have fun playing your game that isn’t real.” Apparently, you’re saying you’re sending the message of, “We’re bad parents! Kill people!” You’re criticizing yourselves buying it for your kids, idiots. Just don’t buy it if you’re so anal that you’re ACTUALLY thinking they’ll be sending NRA applications next.
Idiots, pull yourselves away from American Idol for two seconds.
September 17th, 2007 at 9:39 am
“I killed many a duck, burglar and tin can in Duck Hunt and Hogan’s Alley, but never a person.”
Hah! You’d better hope the NAABP (National Association for the Advancement of Burglaring People) doesn’t read Infendo.
September 17th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Woah… You mean the Wii Zapper is out already?!?!? How did we missed that one???
And deepthought is right: first they go out in cars and run down people, now they are going to grab a real gun by mistake thinking it is a Wii Zapper and kill people for real! We GOT to stop those grandmas!!
(Oh, and poochy: I think Jack’s point is not that violent video games today are still not realistic enough, but that parents have a choice whether or not to buy violent games or peripherials to their kids based on their personal knowledge of them and their judgement of whether their kids are too impressionable to handle those kind of games.)
September 17th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
This whole ordeal reminds me of something that happened a few years back.
A bunch of parents wrote in to the local newspaper to complain about how Cartoon Network was showing material that was inappropriate for kids, and how dare Cartoon Network air this show with susceptible little kids watching that would no doubt turn kids into violent gun-toting criminals and sex fiends.
What they conveniently didn’t mention was that the block of shows they were referring to was the late-night [adult swim] block (the moniker ‘adult’ might give away that it’s not for kids to any sane parent) and the show in question (FLCL) aired at 1am, with two separate warnings at the beginning that the show was for mature audiences. What these young kids were doing up watching TV unsupervised at 1am on a weekday I’ll never know.
But to me, both this case and the Wii Zapper case feel similar in that the parents are upset with a service that they (mistakenly) thought was 100% kid-friendly. I think parents, instead of policing what their kids watch and do at all times, simply throw something ‘kid-friendly’ at their kids and walk away, with the feeling as though they’ve done their parental duties.
It’s this faulty logic that bites these parents in the butt when they discover they were incorrect, and they lash out at the companies that proved their logic wrong. Nowhere does Cartoon Network say it’s shows are for young kids all the time, and nowhere does it say that Nintendo will only publish E for Everyone rated games. The WIi is not one of those preschool kiddie-consoles with cartoony math and spelling games, nor is it produced by FIsher-Price (which is who those parents SHOULD be upset with.)
Is there a lot of ‘kid-friendly’ content? Sure. Is there a lot of adult content? No, but there is SOME (Godfather, RE4, Red Steel.) For parents to be upset that Nintendo is producing a white plastic gun model is as absurd as parents being upset that Cartoon Network airs anime at 1am. It’s just lazy parents lashing out because they’re too dumb/lazy to correctly parent their kids themselves.
But saddly, the ones who really lose out on this story are the kids of those ignorant parents from New Jersey who wrote in… they’ll be stuck playing lame Nickelodeon-licensed and PG-rated movie port Wii games for years to come…
September 17th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
Ironically, every single parent that complained also played with a toy gun when they were little. Every single one.
Are they so dense that they think toy guns are something new? Raise your hand if you never played with any sort of tuy gun when you were little. That’s what I thought.
Thank you for ranting about this so that I don’t have to.
September 17th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
What about the parents who want their children to grow up and join the Police Force. They should know how to aim and shot
September 17th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
funny how people like to skip straight from A to G. The only people who go around shooting other people are those that have issues. and those issues are and were apparent for a long time. people who randomly pick up a gun and kill people without warning are actually mentally disturbed. what all this old people complaining infers is that they don’t think they children are sane or well bred. but hell, at least we’re not making people sit in the back of the bus because of their skin color or dancing around doing LSD because everyone else is and its cool.
September 17th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
Dude, if you make a Wii zapper that squirts blood & comes w/ an NRA application; I’m so buying it!
Actually, I think the reason people feel the way they do about these games is because they’re just trying to use common sense using what they know. Us gamers know that playing these games don’t make you want to go out and shoot people, nor do they actually train you how to shoot people. Can I do perfect drifts around street corners at 50 mph b/c I beat Gran Turismo 3? Of course I can
but most of us can’t.
Anyway, back to what I was saying about non-gamers trying to use common sense; look at it how they see it. You sit on a couch instead of doing something useful or getting some exercise, you sit there looking like a zombie while bullets fly, heads get blown off, a spray of blood (actually, there’s not as much blood and gore as some would believe), and you sometimes squeal with glee / laugh at the dude that you just owned. WTF? Has society gone mad? How can this be?
Too bad most everyone’s too ignorant to see it from another person’s point of view. Usually it’s just “They’re stupid, and I’m/We’re right”. It makes it harder for everyone to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes, and it makes it nearly impossible to convince these moms that games where you murder people with big guns aren’t making it seem OK in your “fragile little minds”.
P.S. just for the record I have no problems with these games, I play them all the time, and I don’t think they’ve done anything bad for my way of thinking. I’ve played every GTA for the PS2 that has ever come out and I’ve yet to do a drive-by (probably b/c I know I’d flip my car and blow it up before I got to a Pay-and-spray
). We just need to find common grounds with these people and not put them on the defensive by saying things like “Parents blame the Wii Zapper for their bad parenting”.
September 17th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
if the only reason your kids are not killing people is they have bad aim, you’ve got bigger problems than video games.
September 17th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
I have played every game system ever developed at length. The only issue I ever had was after finding the secret dot in the Adventure title for the Atari 2600. Since that day I am prone to chronic memory loss, headaches, and the occasional waking under dawn skies behind enemy lines naked and with no ID.
But GTA Vice City, DOOM 3, Counterstrike, etc. had no violent or otherwise adverse effect on my behavior whatsoever… Duck hunt was great! What were these losers so involved in that they missed the LASER TAG and PHOTON era as a psuedo sport where we HUNTED each other. How about protesting Paintball as “militia inducing.”
In the words of the great Carlos Mencia: “Some of you F*@#ers should have been swallowed at birth!!!”
September 17th, 2007 at 11:22 pm
so…if games that simulate shooting, teach us to kill then
If you step on a blue circle, you get 3 coins
1) Guitar Hero teaches us to play guitar
2) If there is a brick over your head, jump into it and get stuff….If you see a colorful mushroom, eat it and you will be bigger….If you see a flower, eat it and you will shoot fire balls out of your hands, and if you touch a star, you can run into people to kill them
3) If you go to save a princess, it will be in another castle….many…many times
4) With technology from the 1950s, you can build an underwater city
5) Birds shoot eggs out their mouths, and butts…and live with bears, and those bears live near an evil witch who is fat, but even though she can make monsters and has mastered all the spells…she cant make herself thin and young
6) A hairy creature with 4 legs is a badass that shoots little creatures out of a crossbow, and goes from town to town making money so he looses 2 legs, so the evil people wont hunt him, and he can live “normaly”, and will eventualy be kidnapped and save a speicies
7) Vampires are real, and Dracula is reborn every f*cking year
But thats just video games…what about the games they played as children, or more modern board games…what do they teach us
1) Mice are elusive, backstabbing creatures that eat cheese and try to not get caught by a trap that takes 2 minutes to set off, and 10 minutes to reset
2) If you stop on somebody else’s property, you owe them money, and if you stop on the boardwalk, you are screwed
3) You will be charged Luxery Tax even if you only have $2
4) Money is made out of paper, and battleships are able to go on land
5) Warfare is fought by guessing where people are, telling them where they are saying they are shooting, and trusting them to tell the truth about weather or not u hit them
6) Run away from the freak (in case u cant figure it out, thats tag)
7) Run and hide…or the other people are going to laugh at you
9) World conquest is ok, and all your troops are either green, black, blue, red, yellow, or gray
And don’t even get me started on books
September 18th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
WHAT “JUMP”? YOU FUCKING RETARD.
September 18th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
SOMEONE needs a chill pill *coughSTALKERcough*. and i have no idea what “Jump” you’re talking about. more explaining, less caps, and less cursing makes everyone happy.
September 18th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
Another thing to add is that when I grew up with the NES with the classic duck hunt Mario combo, I also grew up with toy guns power rangers and TMNT. Now it is Dora the explorer and other crap like that. That is the problem with the world today no decent tv shows and all the children shows are so “educational” parents think they don’t need to do their job. Plus it isn’t a huge difference of killings since 20 years ago they are just withs guns(as as apposed to knives) and are reported on the news for 5 days straight(I hate the news never watch it EVER).
September 18th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
We all know the burdens of being smarter than the average American. We see fault in others stupid behavior in cases like this one. Ignorance is no longer bliss. Ignorance is simply placing blame elsewhere when one screws up.
September 22nd, 2007 at 1:48 am
The problem rests entirely on parents’ shoulders. Take the slightest interest in what your kids are doing and you’ll be surprised as to how smart they really are. They’re children, not fucking trophies.
There are more people in this country who have kids that shouldn’t than have guns that shouldn’t.\
You have to have a license to drive a car, hunt & fish, (not to mention the hoops you have to jump through to carry a firearm) and some places even require a license for your dog. But any two half-retarded chimpanzees with operating reproductive organs can have as many children as they want.
Letting a child live in your home until adulthood is not the same as raising a child, assholes.
September 22nd, 2007 at 11:41 pm
The Wii Zapper isn’t even that good. How could someone be idiotic enough to blame a game for their own neglect?
September 23rd, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Thank you for this post I needed a good laugh
September 23rd, 2007 at 10:13 pm
Honestly, when have young boys ever NOT wanted to play with some form of toy gun? I’ll admit right off the bat that I’m not an expert on this, but it’s pretty easy to imagine that boys have been playing with toy guns as long as there have BEEN guns.
The reason young boys enjoy / have enjoyed playing with toy guns is not that they were corrupted by playing with toy guns. See, that’s circular logic and it makes no sense.
And seriously, if you don’t want your kid to play with a toy gun, don’t fuckin’ let them. No one is going to stop you. And what exactly are you saying about your child when you act like they’re going to want to MURDER people just because they’ve handled a plastic gun? Or your own parenting for that matter? If your kid is old enough to want to play with a toy gun and they don’t understand that killing or even hurting people is BAD, then as a parent you’ve seriously overlooked something. Grow up.
September 23rd, 2007 at 11:12 pm
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article o.us poetry, but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sounds interesting.
September 26th, 2007 at 11:33 am
That was an awesome article. I can’t believe parents actually blame the manufacturers in this sort of case. Nintendo released the duckhunt gun, remember? We’re alright aren’t we? My parents bought me the duck hunt gun and it was awesome back in the 80’s. SO WHATS THE BIG DEAL WITH RETARDED PARENTS THESE DAYS????????????????????????????
October 3rd, 2007 at 6:21 pm
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October 3rd, 2007 at 6:23 pm
If you visit my website and sign guestbook i willdedicate a whole page of my website to you. all you need to do is sign the guestbook! please! again, my website is http://www.freewebs.com/thefunnycow
October 9th, 2007 at 3:15 am
I remember back when I was a little kid, my parents used to teach me the difference between real life and video games. I’ve played many a game where you pick up a gun, or even worse, command an entire army, and destroy other humans! *GASP* Yet in real life, I like to consider myself a fairly well rounded individual with enough sense not to pick up a .45 and go on a murder spree. Oh, and to those anti-video game nuts reading this right now, I’m 18, so theoretically I should fit right into your little stereotype mass murder/terrorist. Hell, violent video games are sometimes the reason that prevents me from going out and killing people.
October 10th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
Lol
How stupid are those parents? I’m sure just about every kid has a squirt-gun, which is more violent then the wii zapper…
And Nice article
October 12th, 2007 at 1:18 am
This mentality is what is killing America.
October 15th, 2007 at 12:07 am
So … I guess they have no idea what Duck hunt was? Or been to an arcade in the last … oh, i don’t know, 20 years? What’s even worse, these people get to vote :-O Oh well, I consider my hours of “shooting experience” (Both at home on my PC and console, and in the arcade) good practice for the Zombie infested, duck hunting, terrorist plauged world that they won’t be able to defend themselves from.
October 15th, 2007 at 1:52 am
These fuck-wit parents don’t seem to realise that the Zapper is designed for shooting games, I’m no genius but aren’t they usually rated 18+? If so then your kids shouldn’t be getting anywhere near the games or the Zapper, problem solved.
October 15th, 2007 at 11:57 am
“Parents blame Wii Zapper for their bad parenting”
Other News:
Wii Zapper blame parents for poor-aim children;
Ironically young children are able to differentiate between fantasy and reality, while parent’s fail the task;
Bad parenting lawsuit concludes “Nintendo did it”;
“The fact that it’s on sale means I must buy my child it, if he asks – rather than be a real parent and say no.
Sorry to say but it’s the premise of a shooting game to simulate shooting, by graphical means and by physical sensation *ie the ‘gun’ in question*.
If we were given a sword and shield would you decry Zelda games?
Given a Chocobo would you condemn Final Fantasy games?
If you can’t distinguish between games and real life, you do not have the mental capacity to:
Enjoy the game;
Play the game;
Buy the game;
Operate the console.
Some people are too young for certain games, fair enough. Why buy them the game then complain when you disapprove of it’s content, rather than just abide by the age restriction on the box?
I’ve played many games, I’ve never shot anyone. Never saved the world. Never drove a car. Never restored the Triforce to grace *in reality*. Never fought off a Zombie infestation.
The point is, I’ve had, simulated, practice but it doesn’t mean that I could do all those things.
By playing these games I do not get the urge to pick up a gun, or sword.
The word “Parenting” derives from “parent”, if that isn’t a clue to what your role is in the relationship, maybe you should reassess your situation.
- Fake
October 15th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
There are no persons to blame except THE parents. They’re only making excuses if they say otherwise… purely because they’re embarrassed to admit they’re at fault… which they are. I should know, I’m a parent!
October 15th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
that mom is a genious, if i ever make a game it will come with an application to the NRA in the box. Ohh what a wonderfull game it will be
October 16th, 2007 at 8:43 am
wow this is the dumbest thing i have ever heard of whats next i blame the xbox 360 and ps3 for cancer and global warming i used to play shooters all the time when i was young and i still but i was raised with enough common sense not to go around shooting people if i have a problem with someone i take it out with my fist.
October 16th, 2007 at 9:42 am
Seriously this whole situation is sad, the parents who state these things are bad for children have probably only ever seen one in passing and never actually played.
The Nintendo Wii only has a very select small portion of games that actually use the controller as a gun, otherwise it is the most child friendly console on the market today.
Also, I have had younger cousins over and do not play violent games, or let them play violent games. It’s as easy that, if you don’t trust them then don’t let your kids play them!
November 2nd, 2007 at 7:16 pm
“What kind of message are we sending as parents when we buy these things for our kids?”
How about you…I don’t know…..NOT BUY IT FOR THEM. what an idiot.
November 11th, 2007 at 7:20 pm
saludos levelupers que leen esto =D
November 14th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
I grew up in a military town, and always had a romanticized view of the military and warfare, but I would never go out and hurt innocent people because it seems cool. I’ve been playing shooters all my life, and never from them have I learned to load, cock, and shoot a real weapon. Hell, if I were a parent that was going to be concerned about gun violence, I would probably have a bigger problem with airsoft and paintball, since they actually work similar to real guns. (loading, cocking, aiming, etc.) Don’t get me wrong though, I don’t actually blame them, but I think that there’s a bigger problem with parents who buy their ten year old child a paintball gun and let them shoot at other real people. I play shooters, airsoft, AND paintball, and I have yet to go on a murderous rampage.
Violence has always been around children, its just that now people look for a reason as to why their kid did something stupid, and “the zapper made him do it” is easier than saying “Yeah, I should have taught him better.”
Honestly, I think it sucks when my parents punish me for doing something retarded, or wont let me get the new Grand Theft Auto game, but at least I know they’re smart enough to stand by their beliefs, and actually raise me.
November 18th, 2007 at 2:28 am
ha yeah, a couple days ago I was in a game store and a lady asked the clerk right before paying for guitar hero. “What does this teach?” and she honest to god expected a full answer. and then a few minutes later asked the same thing about the new halo.
>.
November 19th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
I would have looked her straight in the face and said “Well the first one teaches people how to play the guitar like a rock star, and the second one teaches kids how to operate weapons, drive tanks, and drive jeeps. I heard that the military uses it to train their soldiers.”
November 22nd, 2007 at 12:09 am
It’s things like this that are making me lose all my faith in Humanity.
I’ve played Duck Hunt, GTA, Halo, and the like.
They haven’t affected me in the least.
But what about games like Call of Duty and America’s Army?
What’s up with that?
November 23rd, 2007 at 2:57 pm
The whole theory that violent video games produces violence is ludicrous. I am very much not a psychopathic killer, and yet I still very much enjoy video games like Bioshock or Halo 3. It really comes down to the main point of your article. Proper parenting and instilling good morals in our children is the key to having them grow up to be well balanced non-serial killer adults.
I’ll guess that Atilla the Hun never played Doom 3, nor did Hitler ever play Call of Duty. It’s really ridiculous, but people love a scapegoat.
November 25th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
dude, I play Hitler every Saturday night in Call of Duty. He’s actually sucks, but I keep him on my friends list just because its funny to smack him around online.
November 30th, 2007 at 2:17 am
Comparing the Wii Zapper to shooting a real gun is like driving a go kart on the interstate
November 30th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
Haha, thanks. I needed a good laugh.
But seriously, what kind of idiot thinks a plastic “gun” with a ****ing analog stick on the front (not to mention being white and looking like it was manufactured by the makers of Star Trek) makes children think, “OMFG! I SAW A PIECE OF PLASTIC VAGUELY SHAPED LIKE A GUN!”
(5 minutes later)
“Bye Mom! I’m off on a murderous spree to wipe out all human life.”
November 30th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
beautiful agony free sample
December 4th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
If those “parents” really knew anything about the Wii Zapper, then they’d know that:
1) it’s just a holder for the remote and nunchuck controller
2) Wii isn’t a company … Nintendo is …
3) they’ve failed as a parent if their kids are killing other kids
4) it’s as harmless as a toy gun from “yesteryear”
5) they don’t have to buy it
6) they’ve been living under a rock if they haven’t seen other video game consoles with light guns
December 15th, 2007 at 2:30 am
Anyone stop to think that just because it is a videogame doesn’t mean it is for kids only. I am an adult and I plan on purchasing the wii zapper to play some games. It’s just a game.
December 23rd, 2007 at 10:12 pm
Everybody is over reacting here. Very few games that have the wii zapper function have you shooting people. In Link’s crossbow training, you should skeletons and other odd enemies and targets, not a single person. Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles, you shoot zombies, lots of things have zombie-killing in, its actually in shows on cartoon network. Ghost Squad, while yes, you do shoot people, but only terrorists who kidnap the president, and there is no blood in the game anyways. Medal of Honor Heroes 2, you saving your country, anything wrong with that? I’ve seen more violent shooter games that kids play in the arcade more. Light Gun games have been around in the 90’s, and nobodys complained about them then, what about the light gun on the Playstation, that actually felt more like a gun, but nobody was saying “oh wow, no my kids know how to shoot people” now that the wii zapper is out, i’ve seen people complain that you shoot things, well you never really shoot innocent people or anything, and Wii is a family friendly console, so you know there can’t be to much blood or death right? And it doesn’t even feel like a gun. Besides, let kids have fun
January 10th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Guess the Wii is really mainstream. Nobody gave a crap when the light gun peripheral(s) for Silent Scope came out a few years ago…And the key difference? That beast looked like a freakin’ sniper rifle (but a white and plasticy one to boot).
January 21st, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Guess we know which people will go first when the ducks and zombies attack.
February 21st, 2008 at 6:52 pm
I think that the wii zaper is just a tool to shoot at targets on the wii TV screan. Like on WII PLAY you can shoot the targets and no guts and blood humuans! Realy It helps you aim better then the wii remote by itself. Its the same thing as a remote and nunchuk. If people dont like it dont buy it. Dont blame Nintendo, saga or any other game company, and say “they get me to buy bad stuff for my kid” just dont buy it in the first place. You dont even have to play gorey games on the wii, its just a tool its up to you what to do with it.
March 8th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Haven’t 1st person shooter guns been in arcades for decades?
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:14 am
Hey guy’s I just found this out the other day
There’s this company called the ESRB that rate’s games based on content. If it’s more violent they say it’s only should be played by those 17 years or older *gasp*
There’s a thing called consumer discretion. Know the product before you buy it and what effects it may have on you or your loved ones.
So here’s some logical info. A plastic gun that houses a wii mote and or nunchuk. okay harmless, doesn’t do anything on it’s own. Go ahead and get 10-yr old timmy that wii zapper with Link’s Crossbow Training. But heaven forbid that if they are shooting at zombies that are turned from humans they are going to be ready to shoot their best friend and family because they learn it from a fictitious world.
So why would you buy an child with impressionable minds a game about shooting others, grant it titles like RE: UC and HotD Return prepare players for the day when Zombies rise don’t let your child play it. simple as that, look at the ratings, not very hard it’s all over every game box and tells you the age limit.
June 11th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
If you’re a parent who honestly believes that your kid is gonna play with some hunk of white lightweight plastic, then turn around and kill people, you obviously have no faith in your child or your own parenting skills.
Seriously, it’s a GAME. That’s all it is. You know, like the arcade ones and make-believe ones you played when you were a kid.
And as others have said, I’ve played some shooter games and have yet to go on a murderous bloodthirsty rampage.
[/Mini Rant]
Anyway, thanks for posting this, I got a great laugh from it!
August 19th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
What the hell?! next we’ll ban mario kart games cause it teaches kids to drive recklessly, and we’ll also have to ban Wii fit cause some dipwad parent will bitch that little johnny has mystery pains from playing it for two solid hours. and what of super mario bros, somebody somewhere thinks that game makes kids want to stomp on turtles to see coins pop out of their asses *gasp* people need to realize that games are FICTION and that if they’re small minds can’t comprehend the DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FACT AND FICTION then they shouldn’t let said mind wander without adult tour guide who can tell the two apart.
August 30th, 2008 at 8:00 am
I do not believe this
September 7th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Waay back when the NES was out, and the ORANGE lightgun was out, I shot many a duck (and at the dog if he laughed).
However, I’ve not touched a real gun ever in my life. Matter of fact, I’ve never wanted to shoot anything. OH WAIT, because my mom explained that this gun is pretend, but if it was real, then it would actually kill something, and you don’t want to kill stuff….etc, etc morals.
*head explodes because of the LOGIC*
September 17th, 2008 at 7:36 am
In America there’s a thing call the second amendment. Being able to shoot a gun is not a crime or a criminal action. The NRA isn’t a bad thing either. It’s a tool, it’s how you use it. A police officer or a soldier protects freedoms and keeps order. The only way to stop someone who has a gun is with another gun. Teaching right from wrong is more important. You can’t blame the gun. The nintendo gun isn’t even realistic anyway. If it was, it wouldn’t be wrong.
October 13th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
And this is why video games have ratings, so that small children aren’t playing graphic shooting games (which the parents must have bought), and if the child isn’t smart enough to realize it’s a game, and not how reality works, that you can’t hit reset and bring the person back, then he/she shouldn’t be playing it. Why let you’re child play a game that you disapprove of? I’ve grown up on video games as a baby sitter, I’ve never shot anyone and I’ve “lived” in resident evil. Didn’t go around shootin people cuz I thought they were zombies though.
October 18th, 2008 at 11:58 am
I can’t even think of an approrate response to this stupidity of these people. Wii Zapper teaches kids that it’s okay to shoot people? Are you kidding?!?! If you agree with that please do us all a favor; disconnect your internet, take your computer abck to the store, and go live in a cave for the rest of your life. Living in a cave will make you like a bat! Come on! I’m fifteen and if I can figure out that this is stupid why can’t everyone?!?!?!
November 6th, 2008 at 10:51 am
I am a child of 13 years old my parents have raised me very well they will buy a wii zapper or pirana because they know that I aint gonna go on a rampage killing people so any parents wondering about these things should look with their 2 eyes not 1 on the kid and 1 of the pizza in the oven.
And see if they are violent think, is jimmy violent? is jessy violent no
buy them the wii zapper if not is jason violent yes give him a kik up the
arse send him to bed unplug the tv shout (fuck you)
November 18th, 2008 at 1:37 am
parents should be taking up their responsibility of raising up their kid(s) to be responsible. it would make life easier if parents would take up the responsibility and actually parent and nurture their kids instead of blaming other things like video games or something thats conveniently there. and if the kid begs for a game, at least check out the background and rating of the game before purchasing it and it wouldnt hurt to use a bit of common sense along the way. you wouldnt be picking up the latest copy of GTA for your 10 year old kid.
kids these days should be smart enough to figure out that games are fantasy, not reality. video games shouldnt be blamed by the parents for their bad parenting. it wouldnt hurt for these parents to pick up a controller and play with their kids once in a while. i think that it would definetly help them to understand what video games really are — a form of entertainment. it would also be a great way for them to spend time with their kid(s) and bond.
November 25th, 2008 at 5:49 am
Leet your right i have the wii zapper and i only use it when i don’t give a rats ass about completing the game i have better aim with the wii mote but if you don’t want your children playing with these toys don’t buy it for them duh
January 18th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
It’s like saying that kids are gonna make bombs because they say the bob-ombs in mario bros. Also, poochy has a crusty vagina.