If there’s one thing I love, it’s sensationalist reporting from the mainstream media about video games and their ills against society. Once upon a time I used to find this sort of thing a frustrating annoyance, but whether it’s Fox News and their “Bulletstorm will make you rape people!” angle or Alan Titchmarsh and his laughable lack of grasp on the 21st Century in general, I can’t help but giggle nowadays.
Today’s funny piece comes courtesy of UK comic The Sun. Its target? The Nintendo 3DS.
For the benefit of our friends across the Atlantic, The Sun is the UK’s leading trashy red top “news” rag, owned and operated by international media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Popular for being thirty pence and for its long running Page 3 feature (warning: link contains naked ladies), The Sun also has the unwanted reputation of being notoriously economical with the truth. More than twenty years on from the Hillsborough disaster, The Sun is still boycotted en-masse in Liverpool, one of the largest and most vibrant cities in the UK, for its disgraceful coverage of a disaster which claimed the lives of 96 football fans in 1989.
Sound reputable? Yeah, I didn’t think so.
As the 3DS was launched a little over a week ago, it’s taken slightly longer than expected for The Sun and their ilk to start scaremongering about Nintendo’s latest handheld. Always better late than never and no less amusing for the trouble, today’s item comes courtesy of “Furious Dad” Sundeep Taylor, who apparently became ill after only three minutes of using the system and was refused a refund when he attempted to return it.
You can read the “article” here, although if you don’t want to give Murdoch another hit on his pages then the summary is pretty simple. According to The Sun, “Record return levels” have been reported for the Nintendo 3DS, which “has left thousands with dizziness and headaches”. Specialist retailer GAME refused a refund to Mr. Taylor on medical grounds (as per British law under the Sale of Goods act), but he was later happy to trade the console in for £30 less than he paid for it.
Don’t get me wrong, one thing that isn’t in dispute here is that yes, viewing 3D images can have a variety of effects on an individual. We’ve known this since 3D movies exploded into our lives at the cinema, and ever since the Nintendo 3DS first showed its face reports have suggested that many users experience different levels of discomfort, ranging from headaches and eye strain to being unable to see the 3D effect at all. This isn’t new. Indeed it’s pretty much the entire reason for the slider found to the right of the 3DS’ screen. But what of the language used by The Sun? “Record return levels.” That’s a pretty substantial claim, no?
Well no, actually. Surprisingly. While Nintendo have of course set their PR departments to defensive mode, help has also arrived in the form of major retailers across the globe, including the UK’s own GAME and US mega-chain Gamestop.
Speaking to Eurogamer earlier on today, GAME’s response was simple. “We’ve had less than five people complain that they feel sick and want to return the 3DS.”
It’s a claim supported by electronics retailer Currys, who said; “We have not noticed a big increase in returns with the 3DS.” Gamestop were equally dismissive, stating; “This is something that we are not experiencing.”
HMV too have moved to dispel the myth, adding that; “A number of customers are, however, choosing to take us up on our pre-played games offer – which is a totally different thing, where they can trade-in previously purchased games products, including the 3DS if they so choose, against any other products that we stock in-store up to a pre-determined set value”.
It’s a fair observation. Until April 7th, gamers can get a trade in price of £200 for their 3DS unit at HMV, which is more than many online retailers sell the system for brand new (including, bizarrely, HMV themselves, who flog the system online for £196.99). To me, simple maths says trade in numbers may be a little higher than normal while promotions such as this are in effect.
Without wanting to discount the possibility that retailers might be simply undertaking a damage limitation exercise – both in terms of their relationship with Nintendo and their potential sales – I can’t shake off the feeling that The Sun have once again discovered a non-story and spun it all out of proportion. Did Mr. Taylor feel sick after three minutes? Possibly. Are retailers experiencing record high returns numbers? Probably not. Are Maxconsole.com worth approaching for quotation on a national story? Absolutely not.
Email the author of this post at matc@tap-repeatedly.com
Heh. I assume the appropriate term in the UK for a media outlet acting this way is “cunts”.
Let me tell you… my only visit to the UK happened over two decades ago when my country was still believably communist and the family I spent the month I was there with was actually buying The Sun. Back in the day my country did not have real tabloid newspapers, just some trashier newspapers among boring serious stuff. So reading The Sun every day for a month was really like being teleported to another world for me… Of course, in the meantime my country got liberated from communism and now we have tabloids that would make The Sun blush. Still, nice to see the old page three wonder rag is not losing its touch.
As I said in my piece on 3DS, yes, it gives the old eyes some strain, but even I, the selfmade 3D hater had to admit it’s not that bad on the average.
As an American, I don’t often have the opportunity to sample such stellar low-brow “journalism” as that offered in the Sun simply because our “standards” say you can’t show breasts anywhere but in porn and “archeological studies” such as those floated by National Geographic. It’s my understanding that the Sun hasn’t lowered its bar for quality since Murdoch’s acquisition, it’s more a case of birds of a feather making cash together.
I first saw the headline for the 3DS claims on Edge Magazine’s site (http://www.next-gen.biz/) and found it ironic, without reading any further. When the site followed up with a new headline about retailers refuting the claim I figured they were covering up for some poor reporting. Surprise: I was right.
The whole thing makes a sad statement about how sensational media is in our “developed world” and how far many of us are unwilling to go to learn the truth. It’s a huge, easy target elephant in a room where Rupert Murdoch can tell people the sky is purple and most people will argue why “crazy liberals” are trying to make the sky blue again.
Fortunately, not all of us are as gullible as rich people would like us to be.
This is EXACTLY the quality level of journalism I have come to expect of a Murdoch media outlet. Well, it would be if I was ever willing to visit/view one of his media outlets.
What about Fox news Fang?:)
@ Mat, great stuff. The picture made me howl, he looks a broken man.
On a serious note, but having not used a 3DS, I must admit it does give me terrible migraines. The last film I saw in 3D was Alice In Wonderland. I’m unsure if it’s the glasses, the 3D or the terrible film which gave me a horrendous headache.
If you can turn it off though, I just don’t see the problem. But that would be using your brain, something most Sun readers don’t have!
There is a green diode right next to the 3D slider, with shiny big letters “3D”, so it’s pretty much impossible to forget the slider is there. You REALLY have to be a grade A idiot to stare at the 3D image that gives you pain and nausea and not do a finger flick that will take the pain away.
But then again, 3D images ARE the main selling point of this device to the general public (it surely isn’t Super Street Fighter IV or Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars) so I do kind of understand if someone desperately wants to make it work and is enraged when it ends up giving her/ him splitting headaches and projectile vomiting. If you sell a device on a pretty much non-game related feature/ gimmick, you can expect some people to return it if it turns out the feature/ gimmick doesn’t work for them…
But The Sun can be HILARIOUS. Here’s a link to an apology that I stole from the Eurogamer comments thread:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/hygiene/home/article190130.ece
My god Meho that was gold dust. Incredible, thanks.
That’s some apology, ha ha ha!
That’s almost as good as the apology over grand theft auto and Raul Moat in the Daily Star!
Haven’t you heard, Lewis? They’re making Grand Theft Auto: Rothbury instead of GTA V..