Author Topic: Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case  (Read 16950 times)

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Offline TheYoungerPlumber

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Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« on: March 08, 2004, 07:55:13 PM »
Hearings continue on whether Nintendo of America must change its policies on preventing seizures.

Last July St. Martinville Mayor Eric Martin brought Nintendo of America to federal court after his son had a seizure, which he claims was triggered by a Nintendo game.  According to the family’s claims, Nintendo’s current labels do not adequately warn consumers of the potential dangers of playing their games.


Hearings on the law suit continued last month, until Nintendo settled for an undisclosed amount after the third day in front of a jury.  During the hearing Nintendo acknowledged that certain patterns of light can cause epileptic seizures in a small percentage of the population, and pointed out its investment into the study of epilepsy, both internally and through the funding of independent studies.  Nintendo also pointed out that it follows voluntary guidelines instituted in 1999 that have effectively reduced seizures, including the frequency and intensity of lights in its games.  The company also stated its opinion that epileptic seizures are caused by a pre-existing susceptibility, not a videogame.


Although the bulk of the trial ended Thursday, another professional witness on epilepsy will give his testimony later this month.  Following the final transcript’s completion, Judge Richard Haik will give Nintendo and Martin’s lawyers 45 days to complete and file their arguments based on the evidence and Federal law.


The judge will then determine whether Nintendo can be held accountable for the uncommon videogame-related seizure.  The biggest question of debate is whether Nintendo’s precautions and preventative steps are enough, according to law, to make the company legally irresponsible for the rare videogame-induced epileptic seizure.


If Judge Haik finds Nintendo guilty of not providing reasonable warning to its consumers, the videogame giant may have to change one or more of its policies.  The plaintiff has submitted some very significant demands to the judge, including warnings in-game, reformatting all games to reduce risk, a seizure-threat ranking system, and a trade-back/refund system for those who don’t want their highly-rated games anymore.

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Offline Gibdo Master

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RE: Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #1 on: March 08, 2004, 08:27:38 PM »
This whole thing is pathetic. Why the hell didn't Nintendo fight this instead of settling? There's no way these retards would have won. Nintendo has warnings all over the place, and what these people are asking for is ridiculous. God this makes me furious.

By the way, I've read that Sony and Microsoft don't even put warnings on anything like Nintendo do. Is this true? If so it just makes this lawsuit even more ludicrous.  
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Offline Berto2K

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RE:Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #2 on: March 08, 2004, 08:32:12 PM »
This whole court case is a pile of sht.  Nintendo had no reason to settle unless they figured it would cost more to fight it.  And if Nintendo is found guilty, there better a lot more lawsuits coming for the other game companies too.  It will be like when Enron went down and all the other companies came out and confessed to tweaking their tax info.  

Nintendo is the most family sensitive company out there except for maybe disney.  Another thing....why has the title of the game not been mentioned??  I am curious as to what would cause such havoc on this kid and his parents wanting to blame someone else for their misjudgement in not reading the warning labels and letting the kid play.
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Offline WuTangTurtle

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RE:Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #3 on: March 08, 2004, 08:34:49 PM »
your right this is pathetic, ive owned a ps2 and an xbox, and i dont recall any warnings at all.  If anything Nintendo is the most safest system to own.  If anyone is at fault it is the parent for letting the child play video games too long and have a seizure occur.  Outrageous.  So if Nintendo is sued then shouldn't every video game developer be sued.........hey wait thats a good idea....go bark up EA's tree, heck take Midway while your at it!

Edit: wait a minute Disney is not safe....almost every one of their movies contains explicit stuff(pornographic images, language)  if u look hard enough u can see a bunch of explicit stuff like on the cover of the original little mermaid vhs there is a big D#%K in there, and of course lion king spelling out SEX, trust me there is more though!

Offline Gibdo Master

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RE:Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #4 on: March 08, 2004, 08:46:08 PM »
Quote

Originally posted by: ShaolinKilla
yEdit: wait a minute Disney is not safe....almost every one of their movies contains explicit stuff(pornographic images, language)  if u look hard enough u can see a bunch of explicit stuff like on the cover of the original little mermaid vhs there is a big D#%K in there, and of course lion king spelling out SEX, trust me there is more though!


Ha ha.

Personally, I think most of that stuff is a "you see what you want to see" type thing. I mean, I doubt hardly anyone noticed that stuff until someone pointed it out to them. I know I didn't.

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Offline Uncle Rich AiAi

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RE:Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #5 on: March 08, 2004, 09:17:26 PM »
Pathetic.  I bet parents didn't monitor what their kid was playing.  So, yeah, what's the logical thing to do?  Don't blame themselves, blame Nintendo, which seems to be the popular thing to do these days.


Also, I didn't know that Sony and Microsoft don't even put warnings.  What a shame.

Offline Jensen

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RE:Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #6 on: March 08, 2004, 10:45:07 PM »
The first page in every nintendo game manual is a warning about the possibility of a seizure.  This is in addition to a small booklet of warnings that comes with every game.  There is also a warning on the back of every game box.

Here is a possible image that could be shown before the game to warn about the dangers of seizures.

WARNING: Actually... that image gives me a headache.... don't look at it for more than a second or two.  You don't have to read it :-)  

Offline Bloodworth

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RE: Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #7 on: March 08, 2004, 10:51:50 PM »
WARNING: Living persons are in danger of death and perhaps injury.
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Offline Gibdo Master

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RE:Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #8 on: March 08, 2004, 10:53:10 PM »
Quote

Originally posted by: Jensen
The first page in every nintendo game manual is a warning about the possibility of a seizure.  This is in addition to a small booklet of warnings that comes with every game.  There is also a warning on the back of every game box.

Here is a possible image that could be shown before the game to warn about the dangers of seizures.

WARNING: Actually... that image gives me a headache.... don't look at it for more than a second or two.  You don't have to read it :-)



I'm so going to sue you.
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Offline Fluke Worm

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RE:Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #9 on: March 08, 2004, 11:24:58 PM »
Think of the future of survival horror games no more half burned out flickering fluorescent lights ohh god the humanity
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Offline RABicle

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RE: Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #10 on: March 08, 2004, 11:39:08 PM »
I feel sorry for America. What did you guys do to make everyone so keen to sue someone else? Anyway this case is damn stupid and comes down to one thing, irresponsible parenting. I can remember when I was 9 and got my first Nintendo, a SNES. As I was trying to figure out how to plug it in and tune it Dad read out from the manual "A small percentage of the population may experience seizures while playing video games. If your child experiences a seizure while playing turn off the Nintendo system immediatly and see a doctor before playing again." Or something like that, it definately told you to see a doctor, NOT a lawyer. And then theres the fact taht my Dad cares about me enough to take an interest in what dangerous stuff I was getting myself into and warn me, afterall, my Mum experiences motion sickness.
The problem is, no one knows wherthor or not they are suspectible to falshing lights unless they have at some point had a seizure, so I guess this kid and his Daddy found out the hard way but you know what? Tough, get over it, your son will never be able to get a drivers licence, (in my country at least) just don't go blaming the people that alerted you of the problem. Who knows, if this sheltered child didn't have this seizure now, he could've one day got into a car, not known he was epileptic and killed someone while having a seizure. Nintendo, saving lives, making great games.

I'm curious to know which game it was too, I'm thinking Zelda for some reason.
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Offline DrZoidberg

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RE: Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #11 on: March 09, 2004, 01:38:45 AM »
make the kid play Rez for Dreamcast or Playstation 2 , anyone who's played it knows what i mean.
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Offline mouse_clicker

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RE:Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #12 on: March 09, 2004, 02:16:57 AM »
Why the hell did Nintendo settle? There was no way they could have lost, especially considering they're the only company that requires warnings of this exact nature on all game boxes for their console.

Also, I'm still in the dark as to which game this kid was playing. Does anyone know?
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Offline edgeblade69

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RE: Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #13 on: March 09, 2004, 03:00:33 AM »
Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. Anyone remember when the Columbine victims' families sued id and others because Doom "made" the shooters kill their victims. And the killings in Tennessee I believe, where they said GTA "made" them do it. I'm sorry, but a video game does not make anyone do anything.
As others have said, it's simply a case of piss poor parenting. Parents today don't know jack about raising kids. It's pathetic. It's because parents would rather let the TVs, video games, and computers watch their kids.  Because parents don't want to take the time or responsibility to raise and watch their kids themselves. Lazy parents. There is nothing wrong witht this, if the parents have taught them that what you see and do in a video game shouldn't be repeated in real life. But if they're gunna be like that, then the parents should have never had kids to begin with. You know, there's a magic invention. It's called birth control, maybe these parents should learn how to use it. We'd have far less idiots in the world if they did.
NIntendo would've mopped the floor with these morons, just like every other sap that has tried to blame "accidents" or "violence" on video games. Video games get the bad rap in our society because the medium is so successful. If this were 1984, no one would give a crap about video games.  It's like I always say, society acts like murders, robberies, shootings, seizures, etc, never happened before video games came around. Somehow I beg to differ. The fact of the matter is, they just weren't reported as often or with as much intensity. It's sad really that our society has degenerated to the point where we blame our own shortcomings as parents on mass media.

Here is an interesting read on CNN similar to what I discussed: http://money.cnn.com/2004/03/01/news/funny/violent_games.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes

Proves my point that society blames it's problems on video games. And note, this was in Sweden, not the U.S. So it's not just Americans who think video games are "the devil."
And for the record, Joe Libermann is an ass. I'm glad he isn't in the presidential race anymore. He has had it out for video games ever since Mortal Kombat. The man has probably never played any of the games he so harshly criticizes, and then on top of that he think that politicians should determine how parents raise their children.
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Offline KDR_11k

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RE: Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #14 on: March 09, 2004, 06:45:42 AM »
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Offline vudu

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RE:Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #15 on: March 09, 2004, 07:27:18 AM »
Quote

Originally posted by: Gibdo Master
Why the hell didn't Nintendo fight this instead of settling?
there's no mention of what the settlement was.  i doubt it was in the thousands of dollars.  hopefully, nintendo just offered to pay the kid's doctor bill and be done with it.  it avoids court costs, and it makes the company look responsible.

did anyone hear about the woman who had a bunch of videogames stolen and then was forced to buy them back (at a higher markup) from electronics boutique?  here's a link.  while it's a raw deal for the woman, you can understand why eb wouldn't want to lose money.  but i find it in poor taste that eb actually wanted to make a profit on the sale, instead of sell it back to her at the price they paid for it.  it just makes me think a little less of eb, and makes me want to purchase from gamestop.com instead of ebgames.com in the future.

nintendo might be trying to take the opposite approach here, and pay for something--even though it's not their fault--to be a good member of the community.  who here thinks sony would do the same?

(please note:  this is all based on my speculation that nintendo did little more than pay for the kid's hospital bill.  if, in fact, they gave the family a bunch of extra money, they're a bunch of wussies, and i'm a little saddened that nintendo wouldn't try to fight such a ridiculous case.)
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Offline Ian Sane

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RE: Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #16 on: March 09, 2004, 08:14:25 AM »
There's a thread about this on the Penny Arcade forum.  Someone found out the family's address and they're sending them the warning pamplets that came with their Cube games in the mail.  That's pretty funny and I'd do it too if I lived in the US.

I remember reading about that EB thing.  That's total BS.  Now THERE'S a situation where a lawsuit is valid particularly since EB actually broke the law.  If it happened to me I would be out in front of the store whenever I had free time publically protesting with signs and I would get my friends involved and have this big rally in front of the store until they paid me my money.

Offline theRPGFreak

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RE:Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #17 on: March 09, 2004, 08:27:32 AM »
Sue Nintendo?! YOU CAN'T SUE NINTENDO!!!
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Offline Pale

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RE:Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #18 on: March 09, 2004, 10:37:49 AM »
Quote

Originally posted by: Gibdo Master
Quote

Originally posted by: ShaolinKilla
yEdit: wait a minute Disney is not safe....almost every one of their movies contains explicit stuff(pornographic images, language)  if u look hard enough u can see a bunch of explicit stuff like on the cover of the original little mermaid vhs there is a big D#%K in there, and of course lion king spelling out SEX, trust me there is more though!


Ha ha.

Personally, I think most of that stuff is a "you see what you want to see" type thing. I mean, I doubt hardly anyone noticed that stuff until someone pointed it out to them. I know I didn't.

I feel the same way about those two examples.....but if you turn the sound up loud on the balcony scene in aladdin and put your ear next to the speaker, you definately do hear something along the lines of "Good teenagers take off their clothes."  Which i think is quite hilarious....  I think it would be even funnier if it said something sillier like, "Aladdin is a butt head", but thats just me.

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Offline Arbok

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RE:Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #19 on: March 09, 2004, 11:28:43 AM »
Why we are on the topic of Disney Urban Legends, I suggest checking this page out:

http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/films.asp

Anyway, what was the verdict on that family that sued Nintendo beacuse the child injured their hand while playing Mario Party (1) for the N64? The game had a warning in the manual about it, and even then I think Nintendo lost the suit and that is why the game is "banned" in the US. The courts can be a odd place sometimes, perhaps Nintendo was just acting through experience?
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Offline nitsu niflheim

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RE:Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #20 on: March 09, 2004, 11:45:01 AM »
Quote

Originally posted by: Gibdo Master
Why the hell didn't Nintendo fight this instead of settling? There's no way these retards would have won. Nintendo has warnings all over the place, and what these people are asking for is ridiculous. God this makes me furious.


because it is in the long run the easiest, and most cost effective thing to do.  This case could wind up costing both sides a lot of money from court fees, legal fees, so it more simple to just settle and get it over with and out of the way.

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Offline ralph98201

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RE:Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #21 on: March 09, 2004, 12:05:45 PM »
i'm gonna fork myself in the eye and sue oster for everything they're worth...
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Offline Djunknown

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RE: Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #22 on: March 09, 2004, 04:34:41 PM »
There seem to be 2 patterns here in  America

1) Sue your neighbor, employer, innocent bystander for all their worth, until they leave the court room buck-naked.

2) Be offended VERY easily so you can sue....

I swear, once I get out of college, I'm getting the hell out of here. Maybe I'll park my butt into Canada. I can endure the cold....
How in the blue Hell can you miss those frickin' warning labels!!! It's in the back of the box, its in the pamphlet included in the box, its with the rest of papers when you first get your 'Cube.

We should sue for either blatant stupidity and/or negligance.

Maybe I should've gone to law school.....  
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Offline yellowfellow

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RE:Nintendo Sued, Settles Seizure Case
« Reply #23 on: March 09, 2004, 06:01:07 PM »
this is the sorriest excuse for a cash grab since anna nicole smith's marriage to millionaire J. Howard Marshall II.  The fact that he singled out the ONLY game/console developer that actually has warnings within it's instruction manuals makes me sick and leaves me feeling like there is no justice in this world.
i think parents need to take a more proactive stance with their childrens activities, not retroactive and this exploitation of sympathy generated by a child's misfortune is exactly the "after the fact" bitching and whining of the latter, which unfortunately seems to be characteristic of too many of the american public.  read the goddamn booklets and caution your kids about what is appropriate.  parents should be protectors and guides not kid's enforcers to battle injustice and save face when the real gross negligence was the parent's lack of initial involvement.  
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