Spartan_X Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 "Child Killed By Game Boy" an unacceptable headline? Late in the night, I checked Metafilter and found this: it's a post containing a link to the news article about a 7-year old who was electrocuted to death as he attempted to unplug his GBA from the wall socket. Okay. I should stress that the tragedy ultimately has less to do with the Game Boy and its adapter (although the DS charger recall threateningly springs to mind), and more to do with the wall outlet itself. The boy had been left unattended in a hotel room in Thailand, where wiring is notoriously sketchy, apparently. Plus, there's speculation that the victim himself may have been sopping wet. And then, in the same Metafilter post, another link to an article at Spong.com, with headline, Mainstream Press Uses Tragedy for Cheap Game Headline, an opinion piece about how most news headlines have been focusing on this idea of Electrocution by Game Boy. The Metafilter post is a little misleading and sensationalist itself, actually, indicating that "the gaming press are up in arms at the way [the electrocution news story has been] reported," when, to be blunt, I haven't seen any op/eds on this matter EXCEPT at Spong. (A trip to spong.com seems to suggest that Spong isn't directly part of the "gaming press" at all -- in their words, they "host and maintain the press and trade sites for giants like Eidos, THQ, Midway and Ubisoft.") That is to say, I don't think the gaming press is up in arms in the slightest. No, sir. But should it be? I read the opinion piece at Spong. I've thought about this for, well, I guess several hours now, and I think I agree with their ire, and then again, I don't. I think Spong is absolutely correct to point out that each news article (with a single exception) was quick to say in its headline, in one way or another, that a young child was essentially "killed by his Game Boy." I think I might agree with their assessment, albeit timidly, that most headlines for this story, subconsciously or not, do employ 'videogame scare tactics', you know, THIS TIME, THE BEAST HAS GONE TOO FAR! IT HAS KILLED ONE OF OUR OWN YOUNG!, suggesting that the Game Boy, the most innocuous of consoles, is every bit as evil as, I don't know, the 360 and the Playstation Porn-able. Spong challenges its readers: Just ask yourself this: Had Connor been unplugging a lamp, would The Sun have reported "Connor, 7, Killed by Lamp" and would The Guardian have published "Boy, 7, dies in lamp lighting accident"? Still, when I sit down to think of what headline I would assign to this tragedy, were I to pen a news brief of my own, the first thing off the top of my head is probably, uh, "Child Killed By Game Boy" (with the first runner-up being the tasteless, more irresponsible headline, "Boy Gets Shock of His Life"). I guess the headline "Child Killed by Thai Hotel Room" holds the same amount of truth as a "killed by Game Boy" headline, but it sounds so surreal readers would probably pass it by out of pure confusion. Anyway, what do you think? Are mainstream news outlets deliberately employing videogame "scaremongering," as Spong claims? Or is it just that it's simply difficult to come up with a different, but still snappy, headline for this particular news item? Let me know; I don't have a wholly-formed opinion yet. edit: As this story circulates today, here's the first instance I've seen (besides over at Spong) of the journalistic integrity of these headlines being questioned. Good on you, Kotaku. Source: 1UP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooya Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 There's a little scaremongering. If I were writing the title I would have written "Child electrocuted in hotel room". Not sensational at all, just simply stating what happened. Don't place blame in the headline. Make someone actually read the article for that. Because placing blame in the headline, then stating the actual facts in the article is misleading, as people often only read the headline, and then assume they know what happened, or use the headline alone as a basis for an argument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Derf Veteran Posted January 6, 2007 Veteran Share Posted January 6, 2007 Wow, I better not let me kid have a gameboy then. at least when sopping wet in a thai hotel room Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razorwing Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 well which gameboy was it? if it's the new one GBA, try and get the OLD school Game Boy. lol.. the fat one. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooya Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 well which gameboy was it? if it's the new one GBA, try and get the OLD school Game Boy. lol.. the fat one. :laugh: Do you remember the battery pack for that thing?! It was this small football on a chord, you clipped it to your belt and plugged it into the power jack of the unit. Still better than constantly switching 4 AA batteries though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razorwing Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Do you remember the battery pack for that thing?! It was this small football on a chord, you clipped it to your belt and plugged it into the power jack of the unit. Still better than constantly switching 4 AA batteries though! ohh no I didn't. :\ I always pluged into the wall adaptor. lol. I had the magnify screen thingymajig. That was cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMELTN Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 The problem is that "sex sells" anything that sounds horrible or bad, or jumps on 1 person/place/thing, sells, and causes talk, and that my friends is what news is about. I think it's horrible and its distasteful, but fact of the matter is that, its what WE want to see, the fact that our side (the gaming side) takes it as a slap in the face and why are they picking on us is great because people talk, and more people are getting linked to the story and the selected papers..... The other side ( people who hate games ) are talking just as much as us... so its great on both sides..... Its the world we live in.. and we continue to fall into it, so of course it will continue.. "News isn't about always telling the complete truth, it's about manipulating the story enough to make it interesting" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomoko Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Sadly a lot of parents will read this and come to the conclusion that the Gameboy is dangerous. :no: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldgunner Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 I was under the impression it was a 3rd party charger bought locally? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Montage Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 (edited) I have heard blame assigned to the Gameboy, the charge unit, the resort's wiring and the boys wet hand. I have read that it was a 3rd party charger. I have read that he had wet hands. You know what, it's sad, it's tragic, but it's most likely a mixture of wet hands, a poorly made charger, the socket not having an earth (as I recall, it's not a necessity in Thailand as it is in some countries) - but it's a sad accident. Any parent who reads the hedline and believes that the Gameboy unit itself is at fault (the one part of the equation I personally doubt is at fault) is not really of mental capacity to raise children. But no, the headline is not acceptable, and I am sure that Nintendo are already looking: 1) At whether it is libel 2) At the Gameboy design to see if it is possible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Flaco Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 If it wasn't "Child killed by Gameboy", we wouldn't have heard about it. Unless you live in Thailand. It's simply to make it more interesting, like most of the news these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spartan_X Posted January 6, 2007 Author Share Posted January 6, 2007 Nintendo responds to Game Boy accident Matt Martin 14:50 05/01/2007 'Details of the accident currently unclear,' says NoE Nintendo of Europe has issued a statement regarding the accidental death of a young boy killed on holiday while charging his Game Boy. "Nintendo wishes to offer its sincere condolences to the family of Connor O'Keefe," reads the statement. "Details of the accident are currently unclear so we are unable to make any further comment at this stage," it added. O'Keefe was killed last Saturday after unplugging the Game Boy in his hotel room in Thailand. Police Lt. Colonel Sopol Borirok said the incident was an accident, adding: "No blame has been attached." The story has been picked up by a number of UK newspapers, including the The Sun, The Mail and The Mirror, which splashed the story across the front page with the headline 'Killed by Game Boy.' Source: GamesIndustry.biz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Montage Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 So it's more important for news to be interesting than correct? I used to work within a newspaper. We called that poor journalism! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Flaco Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 I never said that. I simply said that without a headline like that, we wouldn't have heard of the story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mando Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Yet another example of the press sensationalising a story to get readership. The headline is unacceptable as you rightly say. He was electrocuted simple as that its not the Gameboys fault. to begin with wtf is a 7 year old boy left unattended in a hotel room, what was his parents doing!! Using their method does that mean if im crossing the road with my mp3 player playing and i get run over does that mean Creative Labs killed me? Or if i slam my Toyota Celica into a wall at 135mph does that mean Toyota should be charged with my murder? simple answer to them all NO. the way i see it its 2 layers of blame. 1) the parents for leaving unattended a minor in a hotel room. 2) The hotel if the wiring isnt up to standard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glassed Silver Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 (edited) Yet another example of the press sensationalising a story to get readership. The headline is unacceptable as you rightly say.He was electrocuted simple as that its not the Gameboys fault. to begin with wtf is a 7 year old boy left unattended in a hotel room, what was his parents doing!! Using their method does that mean if im crossing the road with my mp3 player playing and i get run over does that mean Creative Labs killed me? Or if i slam my Toyota Celica into a wall at 135mph does that mean Toyota should be charged with my murder? simple answer to them all NO. the way i see it its 2 layers of blame. 1) the parents for leaving unattended a minor in a hotel room. 2) The hotel if the wiring isnt up to standard i agree 100%ly, couldnt put it any better. in thailand security standards are not too high, and even those low standards are not given everywhere. just my 2 cents -fm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mx Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 According to Local Police, they believe he was wet from swimming, and was plugging in an electrical device. That might just explain it, but still, RIP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chanser Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 The Sun, make up so much crap just to get people to buy their newspapers. Not surprised by that headline, this shows that the tabloids know nothing about gaming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrCheese Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 ya the mirror had this as the headline yesterday but upon reading further its clear that it was as a result of other things. i.e using an unoffical FOREIGN charger, the kid being wet and the electrics being a bit dodgy. There is no way that the gameboy could kill anything there just simply isn't enough power going into it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mando Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Yet another example of the press sensationalising a story to get readership. The headline is unacceptable as you rightly say.He was electrocuted simple as that its not the Gameboys fault. to begin with wtf is a 7 year old boy left unattended in a hotel room, what was his parents doing!! Using their method does that mean if im crossing the road with my mp3 player playing and i get run over does that mean Creative Labs killed me? Or if i slam my Toyota Celica into a wall at 135mph does that mean Toyota should be charged with my murder? simple answer to them all NO. the way i see it its 2 layers of blame. 1) the parents for leaving unattended a minor in a hotel room. 2) The hotel if the wiring isnt up to standard Found this today regarding the story Officers said the boy's death was an accident caused because Connor was still wet after a dip in the pool of the hotel at which he and his parents were staying. Police believe he either plugged in the power adaptor or attempted to remove it. Either way, water from his body made contact with the electricity supply with fatal consequences.Police said the boys hotel, the Sunset Beach Hotel in Patong Beach, Phuket, was not to blame for the accident. Source Yet another reason why i havnt wasted money on a newspaper since oooh 1999 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Teej Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 (edited) RIP to the young boy, and fair play to Nintendo to actually addressing the matter, but I don't feel they should take blame for this death. Regardless, Nintendo are damn lucky this happened AFTER they got their new found popularity, otherwise they would of been severely screwed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiB3R Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 I never got to know Connor, but he was part of my extended family, I know his mum and his older sister and other members of his family. I have it on good faith that he was not wet when the accident happened. I also understand that Thai officials are trying to down-play the incident, in order to keep their now collapsed tourism industry from sustaining any further damage, by trying to minimise peoples knowledge of just how bad their regulation for electrical safety is over there. R.I.P Connor O?Keefe If you would like to leave a word of condolence for the family of this much loved little boy, then please do so. http://connor-okeefe.gonetoosoon.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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