In truth, this is hardly surprising. The Daily Mail has always stooped low to make its point, and the newspaper can barely wait to get into the shameful, dirty business of pointing fingers and furthering its own anti-gaming agenda through the story of a teen ending his own life. Tasteful, right? Right from the first line and throughout most of the article, the Mail insists on linking Jake's death with the dispute over his Wii, wilfully ignoring the possibility that other factors may have influenced Jake's sad decision over a longer period of time.
Or, to put it another way, it's another proud day for the mainstream press.
[Via Destructoid]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-26-2008 @ 10:47PM
BananaBoat said...
Didn't you know? All of our problems are caused by video games.
Oh wait...
Reply
6-26-2008 @ 11:02PM
Josh said...
Please follow the Destructoid link for the details. Let's not give the Daily Mail any more page hits.
And as for the tragedy itself, I can only hope that Jake's family does not blame themselves for what he did.
Rest in peace.
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6-26-2008 @ 11:03PM
Shadow31 said...
So what game was the culprit? Super Mario Galaxy? Boom Blox? Wii Sports? I mean, I doubt he was going to stare at the Wii Menu, so who's to blame?
Note: this was sarcasm, I can't imagine any mentally stable human being hanging themselves because they can't play a videogame.
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6-27-2008 @ 2:40AM
lorddshadow said...
considering it said "in February" and its a computer game i doubt its one of those... :)
6-27-2008 @ 2:41AM
lorddshadow said...
whoops didn't see the sarcasm note. my bad.
6-26-2008 @ 11:04PM
vidGuy said...
Interesting that the Wii is used to hook the reader in the headline and the first paragraph when his temper and a program called Casualty are blamed throughout the rest of the text. While we are critiquing the site, I noticed that the article suggests that the Wii plays computer games; the piece also contains multiple comma splices and grammar errors. Way to go professionalism.
I have sympathy for the family and find it rather sensationalist and insensitive that the video game was ever brought into the discussion. There'd be a lot less teen suicide if parents took a more active role in their children's lives. Why weren't this kid's temper tantrum's put in check? Where were the parents when the kid was hanging from his bed kicking and strangling?
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6-27-2008 @ 5:15AM
XionPH said...
vidGuy said just about everything I wanted too. But i needed to rant a bit myself. I see a lot of media selling ad spots by sensationalizing buzz topics like video games. But you know what, before it was video games everyone was blaming rock and roll weren't they? And then before that weren't they blaming the radio? And haven't people been blaming TV since it came out.
Lets not mention that the suicide rate among teens is far far higher now then ever. Why? Perhaps because not a goddamn person is taking responsibility. The schools point to parents, parents point to schools and govt, the govt points to the political scape goat of the week and everyone points to drugs, video games, TV, and music. Most certainly that new fangled MTV.
Lets forget the research that shows video games CURB violent, and destructive. They can help alleviate depression. And some psychiatrists have actually found them useful in treating their patients. No no, that makes it too difficult to point those fingers.
It couldest possibly be that all the adults in these kids life, the media, teachers, coaches, church leaders, and parents alike are spending all their time pointing fingers rather then just freaking taking the time to listen to the kids could it? It couldn't be that the kid was so on edge that taking ANYTHING away might have made him do it and his parents needed to sit down and spend some time with him and TALK to him could it!? No. I suppose these people have to be right it's gotta be video games. After all, adults know everything, and this isn't possibly our fault.
:(
6-26-2008 @ 11:45PM
Mr.ESC said...
Teen commits suicide?
OMG PLANTS ARE ATTACKING HUMANS,ITS HAPPENING!!!
Sorry I just watched The Happening,what a sh*tty movie.
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6-26-2008 @ 11:47PM
Mr.ESC said...
That comment was of bad taste,sorry.
6-27-2008 @ 12:44PM
Max Headroom said...
Mr. ESC, you really are the dick for spoiling a movie in a TOTALLY off-topic thread, no matter how bad you think it was.
6-27-2008 @ 7:34AM
vidGuy said...
Agreed about The Happening. Worst movie for M Night and probably could win worst of 2008. They figure it out in the first 20 minutes of the movie, then there's another 75 minutes of walking around and crappy acting. No twist, no tension, no climax. Boring movie with a depressing, highly political message. Yuck.
6-27-2008 @ 4:09PM
Mduck said...
MrESC. . I actually wanted to see that movie, no matter how much you keep saying that it sucks... f*ck you
6-27-2008 @ 12:07AM
TheThirdDave said...
@ Mr. ESC: Thanks, Dickhead. I haven't seen it yet but I guess I know the twist now.
Reply
6-27-2008 @ 12:28AM
Mr.ESC said...
I'm not a dickhead and don't. The movie sucks; I wished someone had spoiled me the movie.
It is horrible, seriously. Even if you download it you will be disappointed, the best you can do is rent it when it gets out and make some funny Gifs out of it.
Finally, this is the internet live with it. People spoiled me Portal so stop being a p*ssy.
6-27-2008 @ 12:29AM
Mr.ESC said...
Also you are the dickhead.
How does that make you feel?
6-27-2008 @ 12:31AM
Mr.ESC said...
Forget what I said,don't rent it.Download it then make the gif.
It shouldn't be rented.
M. Night Shyamalan is just a few Km from Uwe Boll.
6-27-2008 @ 12:33AM
Mr.ESC said...
Oh yeah and it isn’t a plot twist. You’ll know about it after the first 15 minutes because Shyamalan sucks and can’t make a decent story.
So there j*cka$$.
I’ll stop with the incomplete comments now.
6-27-2008 @ 7:42AM
vidGuy said...
Don't worry Dave, that wasn't the twist because there is no twist. What MrEsc said is explained in the first 20 minutes of the movie. Boom, that's it. I felt like it could have been a 20 minute short and it would have actually been good.
6-27-2008 @ 12:08AM
TWiNKiE said...
Apparently, he wasn't playing a Wii game. He was playing a COMPUTER game that he had bought with money he had earned. He got mad though because he wanted to play the computer game but the TELEVISION was occupied.
That makes no sense. Just goes to show how uneducated people are about video games.
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6-27-2008 @ 3:06AM
Maff said...
are you telling me a Wii isn't a computer?
define "computer" for me then!
and what's a TV got to do with anything?
my Amiga plugs into a TV, my Windows PC plugs into a TV (by HDMI, DVI, VGA & SCART), my old spectrum ONLY plugs into a TV
6-27-2008 @ 3:20AM
TWiNKiE said...
Well it can be a Wii, or it can be a computer that's connected to the TV. The parents say computer, the article says Wii.
What should I believe? Uneducated parents, or unfit writers?
If he wanted the TV, it had to have been the Wii. I doubt that that kid has a PC set up in his living room TV.
But that's not the point. The point is, that kid is WEEEIIIIIRRRDD!!!11!!1omg
6-27-2008 @ 7:40AM
vidGuy said...
I currently have a Wii, a 360, and my PC connected to the same LCD TV. I agree though, the type of game seems to be ambiguous and the Wii could have been named simply to get attention. Rather unfortunate.
6-27-2008 @ 12:49AM
Hoaf Loaf said...
I can't imagine someone would commit suicide over not being able to play a video game. I can however, see how someone could kill himself over playing Mario Kart. I absolutely love Mario Kart, it's my favorite game, so don't get me wrong here. I'm just saying, fuck blue shells.
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6-27-2008 @ 2:32PM
Phoenixfury said...
But I love blue shells, just so as long as I'm not at the receiving end of them. :) My strategy is to gun for first after the last half of the last lap. Once I'm at that point I pray the blue shells are scarce unless I'm in second.. Then bring em' on!
As for the topic, this is so stupid... Would it be a stretch to say I avoid such papers because I think they are depressing and might be enough to make me want to off myself? Egads! What am I saying?
6-27-2008 @ 1:20AM
SImpression said...
Candy Suicide.
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6-27-2008 @ 1:33AM
Shaq-Fu said...
Mr.ESC, you forgot to mention how Bruce Willis is dead, the aliens dont like water, the village is a nature reserve, and the lady in the water was shit. If you still really want to go watch the Happening, at least help mankind and remove all reproductive organs first because you are obviously too stupid to procreate. Me? Id rather go watch Wall*E about 5 times this weekend.
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6-27-2008 @ 4:19AM
Leatherface said...
NATURAL SELECTION.
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6-27-2008 @ 4:28AM
Fantus said...
I just read the whole article but from the looks of it only the Title is used as a hook. No where in the article does it blame the game itself causing the death.
It just clever media use in the title. I was expecting something like columbine shooting style of article, but it was just a paper talking about a silly family argument and unfountunly the child ended up killing himself over it.
Its a shame, I feel sorry for the family for what they have gone though.
Reply
6-27-2008 @ 5:09AM
kieranquirke said...
I'm not sure what your point is here exactly - I'm no fan of the Mail by any stretch, but to suggest this is an attack on video gaming is extreme and quite paranoid to be honest. You could argue that using the word 'wii' in the title to specify the console is unnecessary, but in reality all this article does is tell a very sad story of a young boy ending his life in the most futile circumstances. It doesn't blame the game or gaming in general once.
Reply
6-27-2008 @ 2:58PM
SoshiKitai said...
It's their title. So instead of blaming us, blame them for trying to get readers through their title.
Quick to blame? Them.
6-27-2008 @ 4:35PM
kieranquirke said...
Read the article again. The headline is "Schoolboy found hanged after father confiscates his new wii". Apart from the slight and insignificant factual error (it was a game and not the console), the title reports exactly what happened. It does not 'blame' the games industry, video games or nintendo for what happened.
Like I said before, I'm no fan of the Daily Mail but getting all hissy about the mere mention of a game in an article detracts from what this is really about - the very, very tragic death of a young kid who did something stupid in a tantrum.
Normally wiifanboy has a good point to make when it points out the absurdities of people blaming video gaming for the ills of society, but in this case it's completely unfounded. Read the ACTUAL article properly, people, and don't just comment on what's written on the site!
6-27-2008 @ 6:47AM
Austin said...
If he really was an intelligent young man, people must him drove him to this point over an extended period of time (as you said). And faced with the situation of not being able to play his new console caused him to lose it all. It's really sad, not blaming it on games, but the fact that something like this could cause the world to lose a beautiful soul. I wish we knew what had been wrong.
I wish the writers of DailyTimes would understand that he didn't just get up and think to himself "Oh well, can't play my Wii, time to end it."
Reply
6-27-2008 @ 8:04AM
Qwikstreet said...
Mrs Roberts added that the family had watched an episode of the BBC drama Casualty together weeks, before which had featured a young person hanging themselves.
BAN THE SHOW!!!
I guess he should of saved his money for his own TV instead.
Reply
6-27-2008 @ 8:04AM
Random Hangman said...
So, if the kid had committed suicide because he'd been told to tidy his bedroom, would the Daily Mail be calling for bedrooms to be banned???
Actually... probably...
Reply
6-27-2008 @ 12:05PM
Brendon said...
Get on the trolley, people! It's jazz music and speakeasies that are to blame. 23 skidoo!
Reply
6-27-2008 @ 3:15PM
chunkylover said...
If only they'd bought Wii Play whe they got the console, then the little children could have played together.
Personally, I think the tie is to blame. I'd like to see capital punishment brought back adn the tie getting cut in half.
Reply
6-27-2008 @ 4:12PM
Mduck said...
you cant blame a console for a kid's suicide. if a wii console is the main reason why a kid committed suicide, then he has bigger problems than the ones listed by Daily Mail
Reply
6-27-2008 @ 5:10PM
Cleveland said...
I for one welcome mainstream media outlets to keep on harping on this stupid theory that video games are killers. Mainstream media is full of propaganda BS in general so the more they alienate the audience that is coming of age to be their customers (you know, the ones that actually play video games) the less credible they will be overall. Now its just a waiting game for all of the old farts that will believe everything that Fox News tells them to die off.
Reply
6-28-2008 @ 9:34AM
Ethan said...
Daily Mail stories always sound so made up. Such an A to B to C story progression. Oh lets throw in some telly for good measure. They're weakening peoples minds to sell some bits of paper.
Reply
6-29-2008 @ 8:21PM
Philip said...
As much as I admire Wii Fanboy, and agree with most of the comments they make they've pretty much got it completely wrong here.
Yes, the Daily Mail is known for being incredibly pessimistic, analy retentive and just plain bastards, but here they're only mentioning the wii as a factual part of the story, I see no blaming or even hinting at blaming at all. In fact, they cite many times that the kid saw the TV program Casualty, an ER type program, in which another child of similar age hung himself.
It's a very sad story, but you're doing yourselves no good by trying to get kudos by "sticking it back to mainstream media", and it's pretty distasteful for you to phrase your article the way it is.
I doubt the kid was planning to hang himself, especially not due to wanting to play the Wii, and just did something stupid in a tantrum.
I just hope the family doesn't disintegrate because of it.
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