The high demand for the Nintendo Wii and Playstation 3 this holiday season resulted in deaths, robberies, and police brutality. The two video game consoles were released last November and have been in high demand ever since. Their release has revealed just how far some people will go to get one of these products.
Jan. 12, Jennifer Strange, 28, died while attempting to get her children a Wii. She entered a competition at a California radio station entitled “Hold Your Wee for a Wii.” The competition involved several people drinking copious amounts of water while trying not to use the bathroom.
Strange, the runner-up, gave up her attempt because she could not drink any more water during the competition. She was given Justin Timberlake tickets as a consolation prize. Four hours later, Strange died of water intoxication.
“The station knew this was a dangerous and potentially deadly stunt, but flippantly dismissed the dangers,” said lawyer Roger Dreyer to CNET News. “Hearing the tape (of the radio show), it’s very clear they knew of the dangers and could foresee that this could lead to Jennifer’s death.”
The Strange family is suing the California radio station.
Guilford students have also witnessed the high demand for the Wii. Senior Lauren Nagao’s family had some trouble acquiring a Wii.
“My little brother couldn’t get one for Christmas because they were out of stock. Finally, a software store called him telling him that they had gotten some in. He was fourth in a line of about 10 people and they all wanted Wii’s,” Nagao said. “When he was the last person to receive one there was a short brawl. Several people were kicked out of the store.”
The Wii’s controller has also acquired a reputation for being unsafe since its release. Junior Derek Loehr has had his own trouble with the controller.
“The Wii is a menace. I have seen a controller fly out of one of my friend’s hands and hit a wall. That wall could have easily been a person.”
The Playstation 3’s demand has caused occurrences that are even more violent. In Manchester, a man was beaten and robbed of his Playstation 3 only minutes after he bought it. He told the police that he had been taken down and beaten by five men.
Teenagers armed with a tire iron and chain assaulted two other men with a Playstation 3 in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Indiana. After the two men resisted, a fight broke out, and one of the men was stabbed.
In Ohio, two employees of a video-game shop were robbed at gunpoint by men in ski masks and sunglasses. The stolen items included Playstation 3 consoles. A similar occurrence happened in Pennsylvania where a teenager was robbed at gunpoint from his car. The masked man took his newly purchased Playstation 3.
At a Best Buy store in Lexington, Ky., there was a drive-by B.B. gun shooting. Several people were hit by the ball bearings, including a reporter.
In Virginia, police have had to use force to control mobs outside of electronics stores. Outside of a Target store, police fired a talcum-powder ball to get the attention of 350 Playstation-rioting shoppers early in the morning.
A similar occurrence took place in a Circuit City parking lot in Virginia, as police fired pepper pellets to subdue a mob of shoppers on the eve of the Playstation 3’s release.
In Wilmington, N.C., a deputy shot an unarmed student who was suspected to have stolen two Playstation 3 consoles from another student. The deputy was fired immediately and charged.
Greensboro’s Best Buy also saw the high demand for Playstation 3 consoles.
“The Playstation 3 came out on a Friday, but there were about 30 people camping out two days before that,” said Best Buy employee Grace Labith. “There was also a line wrapped around the building twice on Friday. There were police here to make sure no fights happened in the lines.