Mindshare

Topher · Post by **Topher** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 10:19 pm

Say I gave you a survey asking which product you would choose:

Product A:
- Costs less than Product B
- Known to cause damage to expensive equipment
- Known to cause serious injury

Product B:
- Costs more than Product A
- Technically superior to Product A

Which would you choose?

The question I have is why does the PS3 get all the bad media when the Wii has had such terrible side effects?

Ex:
http://www.wiihaveaproblem.com/index.php

The reason, I think, is that Nintendo has mindshare. If these kind of things happened with the PS3, it would be all over the news. \"Sony breaks its own TV!\". But since Nintendo has mindshare, people seem to be willing to forgive just about anything. Even the console breaking someones leg or destroying a $3000 TV. (I'm not saying the console busted out a crowbar, but the injuries and damage were direct results of using the device properly).

I would equate the situation to iPod batteries dieing or FireFox having a security vulnerability. Some people will complain, but most will still praise the product even with its flaws. However, if an iPod competitor has a battery die or IE has a flaw its the end of the world.

Except with the Wii, the situation is very severe. Console results in hole through a plasma TV. Why are people so willing to let these things go? Shouldn't there be a huge uprising and demand for Nintendo to recall the product? I know that they added a strong wriststrap, but that only fixes part of the problem. People still go crazy and hit cieling fans, lamps and their little brother as they whip their arm around.

I don't know of a solution and I know people can come up with lots of counter examples (such as a car and safety belt), but I was curious to hear what other people thought.

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 10:30 pm

\"You just can't fix stupid.\"

There really isn't much to say, is the Wii really defective? The amount of damage caused by a product of this nature is more or less directly proportional to the number of them in use. I imagine those electronic golf games where you would swing a real club would have caused the same amount of accidents and damage if it were given the same popularity. The reason nobody talks about it or makes any big deal out if it is because electronic golf games do not even approach the popularity of the Wii.

The only reason you even hear about the Wii and accidents is because of the huge numbers of them available, and the popularity of it. A small problem with a big product will always generate a lot more media noise then a big problem with a small product.

Samuel Dravis · Post by **Samuel Dravis** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 11:24 pm

I don't see how Nintendo can fix it. People will swing them around, and if they aren't careful they're going to get hurt or break things. Really I'm not sure how people lack that much common sense...

fliptw · Post by **fliptw** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 11:38 pm

thats like saying descent is dangerous due to the number of busted joysticks, or Windows needs a recall.

You don't need to use the wiimote that hard, but people still do. It isn't that nintendo has mindshare, its the idiots hurting themselves and reveling in the infamy that has the mindshare, the wii is just an untended vehicle for general stupidity.

If anything, its taking mindshare away from the Darwin Awards.

Sony did everything they can to make people not care about the PS3.

Top Gun · Post by **Top Gun** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 11:49 pm

You can't blame Nintendo for the behavior of dumbasses who can't even hold onto the controller while winging it around like an idiot, can you?

Chaos Death Saurer · Post by **Chaos Death Saurer** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 5:41 am

SuperSheep · Post by **SuperSheep** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 9:10 am

We just purchased a Wii and have had nothing but fun since we bought it. The games are actually fun, something that Nintendo has the knack for.

I don't know much about the PS3 other than that the couple friends I know that have them were ultra disappointed and wished they got a Wii after playing on ours.

People injuring themselves highlights a more important issue. People are too quick to point the finger at someone/something else for their mistakes.

These people don't pay attention to their surroundings. Case in point, the guy that cut his finger on a low ceiling.

I think next time I get in an accident with my car, I'll try the whole blame GMAC for it. Who knows? Maybe I can convince enough other people to blame the auto manufacturers for making cars that we can injure ourselves with that we can sue them and make a bundle!

Stupidity.

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 9:28 am

I think next time I get in an accident with my car, I'll try the whole blame GMAC for it. Who knows? Maybe I can convince enough other people to blame the auto manufacturers for making cars that we can injure ourselves with that we can sue them and make a bundle! Razz

Sue them also the next time you get a speeding ticket. I mean, why build cars that do 200+ mph when you can only do 60 right?

TIGERassault · Post by **TIGERassault** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 12:38 pm

Well, that post was ridiculous! The Wii caused few accidents since the strap replacement. Instead, these are all stories about putting their own hand through an object.
Take it like this: if you have a PS3 on a press above a fragile object, and you accidentally knock the PS3 down, crushing the object, do you complain that the PS3 is absolutely terrible?

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 1:26 pm

Wtf... OF COURSE wii will have those kinds of statistics! Kids perfer wii of ps3. AND it's not just a few kids its crap loads of kids that own it!!

NEWS FLASH!!
There is a car wreck in the USA every 4 seconds!!! STOP DRIVING YOUR CARS!!!

Floyd · Post by **Floyd** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 1:30 pm

Topher wrote:I don't know of a solution ...

i know one: people should perform the actual sport instead of simulating it

chances are that people hurt themselves less likely, because they wear proper gear AND would do it at the proper site, although i anticipate wii developers to have thought that virtual boxing wouldn't hurt

Top Wop · Post by **Top Wop** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 12:09 am

Forget people flinging Wii remotes around, how the hell can you spend $3,000 on a tv unless you are filthy rich?

Topher · Post by **Topher** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 12:17 am

How do people spend tens of thousands of dollars on cars? Or hundreds of thousands on a house? They get loans and pay it off month by month.

Grendel · Post by **Grendel** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 1:01 am

There's no such a thing as a foolproof device.

Topher · Post by **Topher** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 1:22 am

Grendel wrote:There's no such a thing as a foolproof device.

Yes, I know. Most people here have said that given enough opportunity, people will do stupid things.

Let me rephrase my question then: Why hasn't the large scale media taken this to town with headlines like "Wii dangerous for your living room?" (Must have the obligatory question mark). It's a popular product with a documented history of being a catalyst to breaking stuff.

Instead its "PS3 doesn't include a hardware scaler!" or "PS3 boxes begin to stack up at stores!"

Top Gun · Post by **Top Gun** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 1:30 am

Because the Wii is godly and the PS3 sucks ass, that's why.

fliptw · Post by **fliptw** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 1:34 am

Because you missed it Topher.

most media outlets made mention of it a few weeks back; there wasn't much in the issue to whet the media's appetite. They did put the most omnimus spin they could on it, but the report itself basically stated that it was obvious that people where overdoing it, and nintendo waved its wand, and quickly did something. Hyperactive geeks breaking their geek toys. Big whoop, says the media.

Its not like the Wiimote sneaks around at night with sledgehammer to destroy innocent sleeping HDTVs.

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 10:35 am

Can someone dig up the actual numbers of Wiimotes vs accidents caused by misuse of them? Would it really surprise any of us of the numbers of major accidents like the loss of expensive TVs and severed fingers were in a 1 in 100,000+ range?

Topher · Post by **Topher** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 8:25 pm

Here's kind of what I was getting at:

http://money.cnn.com/2006/12/28/comment ... 2006122813

\"But should Nintendo worry? Maybe a little. Some folks have a problem taking responsibility for their actions. And lawyers love that.\"

JMEaT · Post by **JMEaT** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 9:06 pm

If people are retarded enough to swing a controller around having said controller attached by a thin string to your hand, they deserve to have their 3000 dollar TV busted. It is not how the Wiimote was designed to be used and is clearly stated in the manual to not swing it by the wrist strap.

A wrist strap blunder isn't as bad as a console failing to play the backward compatible games it advertised. Or how the PS2 was possibly the junkiest console ever to reach the market. And considering the wrist strap on the Wii was mainly to prevent it from slipping from a person's hand, not to be used as a swinging lasso, yeah... Nintendo's product isn't that bad. I bought a Wii for my girlfriend for Christmas and it has the \"defective\" wrist strap and we have not had it break. Of course we use the product as intended.

Nintendo has a history of releasing solid products at reasonable prices.

Sony has a history of releasing buggy/junky products at ridiculously high prices. (But, oh, hey it's Sony! Gotta pay for that name, eh?)

I had to get a 2nd PS2 less than a year after the original stopped reading discs. To this day my 2nd PS2 needs to occasionally be turned upside-down/sideways to play some games. I still enjoy Playstation titles over Nintendo titles for the most part, but it's only because the games I want to play are only for Sony which unfortunately makes it a necessary evil.

Long post short: Nintendo's problem is the result of dumb-ass users. Sony's problem is the result of dumb-ass, cheap executives.

Top Wop · Post by **Top Wop** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 10:16 pm

Topher wrote:How do people spend tens of thousands of dollars on cars? Or hundreds of thousands on a house? They get loans and pay it off month by month.

You missed the point. A car is something that you may need. A TV isnt.

MD-2389 · Post by **MD-2389** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 6:07 am

JMEaT wrote:If people are retarded enough to swing a controller around having said controller attached by a thin string to your hand, they deserve to have their 3000 dollar TV busted. It is not how the Wiimote was designed to be used and is clearly stated in the manual to not swing it by the wrist strap.

A wrist strap blunder isn't as bad as a console failing to play the backward compatible games it advertised. Or how the PS2 was possibly the junkiest console ever to reach the market. And considering the wrist strap on the Wii was mainly to prevent it from slipping from a person's hand, not to be used as a swinging lasso, yeah... Nintendo's product isn't that bad. I bought a Wii for my girlfriend for Christmas and it has the "defective" wrist strap and we have not had it break. Of course we use the product as intended.

Nintendo has a history of releasing solid products at reasonable prices.

Sony has a history of releasing buggy/junky products at ridiculously high prices. (But, oh, hey it's Sony! Gotta pay for that name, eh?)

I had to get a 2nd PS2 less than a year after the original stopped reading discs. To this day my 2nd PS2 needs to occasionally be turned upside-down/sideways to play some games. I still enjoy Playstation titles over Nintendo titles for the most part, but it's only because the games I want to play are only for Sony which unfortunately makes it a necessary evil.

Long post short: Nintendo's problem is the result of dumb-ass users. Sony's problem is the result of dumb-ass, cheap executives.

Furthermore, the straps aren't even DESIGNED to be flung around like a slingshot. Like JMEaT mentioned, the whole purpose is to keep them from sliding off your hand. To say otherwise is like sueing GM because you decided to take a rather sharp turn at 3x the posted limit for that turn, and wrapping your vehicle around a tree. It just doesn't make sense. If little Johnny breaks your expensive 54" plasma TV because he flung the wiimote around like he was going to use it like an anchor, then I guess its not nintendo's fault now is it? It would be your fault as a parent for not: 1. Teaching your child how to properly handle the thing. 2. Not having it put up in the first place when you're not there. Since when is it nintendo's fault when its the irresponsible users to blame?

Oh, and before anyone accuses me of being a nintendo fanboy, keep in mind that the closest thing to a console I own is an ORIGINAL gameboy (that I only have one game for). I simply do not have the resources, nor the time to invest in a console.

Foil · Post by **Foil** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 10:32 am

Topher wrote:Let me rephrase my question then: Why hasn't the large scale media taken this to town with headlines like "Wii dangerous for your living room?" (Must have the obligatory question mark).

Actually, I saw about three of those blurbs/stories on local and national TV news about two or three weeks ago.

P.S. Having finally gotten a chance to play it, I'm actually thinking about asking for a Wii for my birthday. It's a blast, something my Dad would even play (he absolutely refuses to play video games, but I think this might win him over).

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