Comment Nintendo Killed My Daughter (revisited) (Score 1) 800
The inherent problem with the American legal system is that you can sue anyone and get away with it. In some countries, if you bring a civil lawsuit against a person or a company, you are responsible for paying their legal bills if you lose. Needless to say, in those countries, frivolous corporate lawsuits are few and far-between.
But we live in the land of democracy, free trade and the freedom to get an attorney and sue anyone we damn well please. We're Americans, we should be proud of this fact. Nowhere else in the world can you sue the manufacturers of cigarettes because you didn't quit when the quantity of tar in your lungs exceeded that of the La Brea tarpits in California.
On April 21, 2001, just a few hours shy of the two-year statute of limitations, the wife and family of a slain teacher brought a lawsuit against twenty-five media companies for a grand total of five-billion dollars in damages. Please realize that twenty more of these lawsuits would clearly put these families into the extortion-level of Dr. Evil. The lawsuit was brought mainly against video-game manufacturing companies.
Notably absent from the lawsuit was anyone directly affiliated with the killers, such as the parents. Sadly, parenting is not a $20-billion-a-year industry, as video games are; and so a lawsuit brought against people who might actually be partially responsible would make no sense (since it would make no money).
"But money may be the smallest part of the goal," says John DeCamp, the Sanders' attorney.
At this point, let me reiterate that this is a five-BILLION dollar lawsuit.
It should be added that Nintendo was named in the lawsuit. More than likely, the classic 1985 Mario & Luigi game "Wrecking Crew" brought about the killers' desire to level the Columbine high school with pipe-bombs. Granted, five-billion dollars is a lot of money, but how would you like to be known as the person who yelled, "Pokemon killed my daddy!!!"
The suit contends that the video game industry does not, nor will it, effectively regulate itself to keep violent games out of the hands of minors. This would be much easier for the video game industry if parents took an active interest in their children's lives.
The father of an injured student sent a letter to John Carmack, "just to let him know we're on his trail." Way to go, buddy, I think I saw that one on an episode of Scooby-Doo. If we take off Carmack's mask, we'll find out he's actually Mr. Smothers, the carnival-owner, right?
This man also said (there must've been a giant media junket for this lawsuit; like a coming-out party), "These kids don't need to be playing violent games. But corporations don't have social consciences." And this man is completely right. Just last week I saw Shigeru Miyamoto holding a gun to a kid's head, threatening to pull the trigger if the boy didn't purchase a copy of Soldier of Fortune.
If this lawsuit manages to not get laughed out of court, as did the similar Paducah lawsuit (which created the original 'Nintendo Killed My Daughter!' story), then we'll be living in a country where you need to go to a porn-shop just to get a copy of American McGee's Alice. Strategy guides will be in brown-paper wrappers behind the counter, and age-verification software will be necessary before proceeding into a game-news webpage.
Not that I'm trying to shift the blame away from the media (yes, I am), but the lawsuit implies that this whole Columbine thing would have never happened if not for video games. I say again, notably absent from the lawsuit are anyone who enabled, condoned, or was negligent in allowing the two killers to get their hands on firearms and explosives.
Of course, when you're five billion dollars richer, I suppose you can look past those people.
But we live in the land of democracy, free trade and the freedom to get an attorney and sue anyone we damn well please. We're Americans, we should be proud of this fact. Nowhere else in the world can you sue the manufacturers of cigarettes because you didn't quit when the quantity of tar in your lungs exceeded that of the La Brea tarpits in California.
On April 21, 2001, just a few hours shy of the two-year statute of limitations, the wife and family of a slain teacher brought a lawsuit against twenty-five media companies for a grand total of five-billion dollars in damages. Please realize that twenty more of these lawsuits would clearly put these families into the extortion-level of Dr. Evil. The lawsuit was brought mainly against video-game manufacturing companies.
Notably absent from the lawsuit was anyone directly affiliated with the killers, such as the parents. Sadly, parenting is not a $20-billion-a-year industry, as video games are; and so a lawsuit brought against people who might actually be partially responsible would make no sense (since it would make no money).
"But money may be the smallest part of the goal," says John DeCamp, the Sanders' attorney.
At this point, let me reiterate that this is a five-BILLION dollar lawsuit.
It should be added that Nintendo was named in the lawsuit. More than likely, the classic 1985 Mario & Luigi game "Wrecking Crew" brought about the killers' desire to level the Columbine high school with pipe-bombs. Granted, five-billion dollars is a lot of money, but how would you like to be known as the person who yelled, "Pokemon killed my daddy!!!"
The suit contends that the video game industry does not, nor will it, effectively regulate itself to keep violent games out of the hands of minors. This would be much easier for the video game industry if parents took an active interest in their children's lives.
The father of an injured student sent a letter to John Carmack, "just to let him know we're on his trail." Way to go, buddy, I think I saw that one on an episode of Scooby-Doo. If we take off Carmack's mask, we'll find out he's actually Mr. Smothers, the carnival-owner, right?
This man also said (there must've been a giant media junket for this lawsuit; like a coming-out party), "These kids don't need to be playing violent games. But corporations don't have social consciences." And this man is completely right. Just last week I saw Shigeru Miyamoto holding a gun to a kid's head, threatening to pull the trigger if the boy didn't purchase a copy of Soldier of Fortune.
If this lawsuit manages to not get laughed out of court, as did the similar Paducah lawsuit (which created the original 'Nintendo Killed My Daughter!' story), then we'll be living in a country where you need to go to a porn-shop just to get a copy of American McGee's Alice. Strategy guides will be in brown-paper wrappers behind the counter, and age-verification software will be necessary before proceeding into a game-news webpage.
Not that I'm trying to shift the blame away from the media (yes, I am), but the lawsuit implies that this whole Columbine thing would have never happened if not for video games. I say again, notably absent from the lawsuit are anyone who enabled, condoned, or was negligent in allowing the two killers to get their hands on firearms and explosives.
Of course, when you're five billion dollars richer, I suppose you can look past those people.
