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A-holes vs. Nintendo…Who Will Win?

A-holes vs. Nintendo…Who Will Win?

Nintendo tries its absolute best to nurture a family friendly image for its company. Despite this, the company has a long history of being sued for its controller designs, with many claiming that the products have caused injury. Most of these cases seem unfounded, and might just be instances of opportunistic people looking to get big money from the Big N.

Nintendo faced its first lawsuit in 1991 when a a Michigan family sued the company on behalf of their daughter, hoping to win $10,000 USD for damages she sustained playing the Nintendo Entertainment System. Reportedly, the daughter, was experiencing numbness and tingling in her fingers after playing the console for several hours a day for several weeks on end. It’s not a surprising occurrence, considering the presence of repetitive stress disorder in a time where technology was rapidly on the rise. Nintendo responded, stating that it was the first they had heard of such an injury from their games and encouraged players to practice moderation in good things.

The trend continued through the early 90s, eventually seeing the term “Nintendinitis” coined in popular culture. It’s since gone on to gain entries in medical journals.

When the Nintendo 64, launched, Nintendo fans flocked to the Mario Party titles. This lead to another instance of a lawsuit, one that Nintendo actually managed to lose. In the earlier Mario Party titles, there were minigames that involved the rapid rotation of the controller’s analog stick. Players would, allegedly, injure their palms and thumbs trying to out compete other players during these minigames. This resulted in the State of New York suing Nintendo for damages. Nintendo also went on to produce a bunch of expensive gloves that were meant to safeguard players against injury and offered them free via a 1-800 number. Strangely, barely anyone called to request their free Mario Party glove.

A-holes vs. Nintendo…Who Will Win?

At this point, it shouldn’t be at all surprising that Nintendo’s launch of the Nintendo Wii saw its own share of complaints; despite warnings plastered everywhere and a wrist strap that encouraged safe usage. The Nintendo Wii Remote brought joy to many, but for others, it brought pain and suffering as it flew across the room into TVs, friends, and family members. This, once again, got Nintendo sued, some citing a lack of warning or a defective wrist strap as reasons Nintendo should cough up money. In response, Nintendo produced the famous remote covers known jokingly as “Wiimote condoms” in the gaming community.

When one looks over the many times Nintendo has had to go to court, it’s easy to find a common denominator; ineptitude and carelessness on the consumer end. Nintendo can only take so many steps to safeguard people from themselves. Objects that people swing around in their hands, for instance, should be held onto. The case seems to be that people who sustain injury doing something stupid are just eager to seize the moment and cushion their bank accounts. So, is Nintendo dangerous? Or are people just being opportunistic jerks?

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