(News by White-haired Journalist)

Wii Zapper, Nintendo’s latest gadget, gets flamed by some people even before its release this November. Apparently, New Jersey parents seem to be mad about the new Nintendo accessory that holds both the nunchuck and the wiimote to make it look like a gun.

Here are some of the negative responses taken from New Jersey’s The Star-Ledger:

“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”

“….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.”

“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?”

However, these responses may be the case of�misleading sentence construction of Star Ledger’s question. Originally taken from GamePolitics, according to them, this was Star Ledger’s original question: “Wii announced over the summer that it’s coming out the a [sic] gun-like remote, so kids can play shooter games, with, well, a shooter. What do you think about making a wand in the shape of a weapon so play is more realistic? …Is it harmful? …Will you buy one for your kids?”

White-haired Journalist: It seems to me that this is a case of misinformed information and the incorrect sentence construction leading to persuasion. First of all, the Wii Zapper is not focused on kids. I didn’t remember Nintendo saying something like “Hey kids, good news to all of you! The Wii Zapper coming in November is just for you!” Also, sentences like these are very biased: “What do you think about making a wand in the shape of a weapon so play is more realistic? …Is it harmful? …Will you buy one for your kids?” If one wants to really get an honest opinion of buyers of what they think of a product, a simple sentence will do the trick like “What do you think of the Wii Zapper?” There are many misinformations on the media right now regarding elements that affect a child’s growth so staying away from these kinds of issues will produce better answers from the masses. Unless of course there’s a hidden agenda as to why the question is constructed that way.

And as to the issue with children being violent simply by using guns in their game play? I don’t think so. If so, we should also stop production of Plato’s books as it sometimes lead to confusion and violence among people because they won’t agree with how they understood Plato’s statement� I saw one philosopher punch another one just because of an argument with one of Plato’s teachings� Does that make Plato’s book a fuel for violence?

Kid holding a Wii knife, a quasi-future gadget by Nintendo to make cooking games more realistic: Hey mom look at me! I can cook simple meals now!

Mom: No son! Don’t! You’ll be a serial killer by holding a knife!

XD

(Sources: GamePolitics, Nj.com)

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Technorati tags: Star Ledger, Wii, Nintendo, Wii Zapper

This entry was posted on Monday, September 17th, 2007 at 5:10 am and is filed under Gaming News, Game reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.