Xbox 360 used as rehab device for Marine

"Although the Xbox 360 was used in this circumstance, obviously other systems would be just, if not more, effective."

Can't even make a post about a guy who got f'ing shot in the head in Iraq without slipping a fanboy jab in there. Christ. Let me guess - "driving an Excitetruck" would be better for him right?

Sigh.

Doesn't work that way.

considering this is a post about a wounded american marine. i would recommend joystiq either turn off comments or have some sort of moderation because i suspect the loonies will come out pretty quickly. There are a lot of posters who seem to enjoy the sight of wounded or dead americans.

"After being on the receiving end of a "head shot" in Iraq, Lance Cpl. John McClellan uses his Xbox 360 as a rehabilitation device..."

Don't you think that the first sentence here has an unnecessary tone of jest given the subject matter?

Don't quit you day job, Joystiq journalist. :)

Sliwinsky, I'm extremely disapointed that you would trivialize this young man's traumatic experience with an "on the recieving end of a 'head shot'" gamer quip. Maybe I'm being overly sensitive about it because I'm a veteran, but it seems a little callous to me. Politics aside, these lads deserve our deepest respect, gentlemen.

I agree with Aubrey... I'm an American and though I'm by NO MEANS patriotic I still find that a little offensive. Bad form!

DeFrank: I think this is his day job. ;)

I too must join in the chorus of people saying that the whole "head shot" thing was in bad taste and a trvialization of human life.

Of course I would bet money that were this not an american soldier, no one would give a f*ck and we would soon have corpse humping and no scoping jokes within a matter of minutes.

Maybe one day the only violence humans will know will be chain-sawing someone in half online.

I can only hope.

I don't think it matters whether or not it was an American soldier. Even if it was a Nazi soldier, there's no class in taking jabs at people's pain. These guys play with real bullets and get real injuries. We should show them some respect. Video Games are one thing, but we need to respect those who are in the line of fire.

a) this is a gamer website. Expect posts to be gamer-incentric/biased/twisted.

b) to #1 You goin\' into a rehab: Technically no, as far as the three current-gen consoles are concerned. Of the three input sustems, the XBox 360 has the least degree of movement required. Perhaps he would upgrade to Sixaxis later, and finally Wii remote for the final lap, but for initial recovery, lower degrees of movement is better.

In the alternate universe where Sliwinski didn't post the 'head shot' remark, by comment 7, 4 people posted their own.

my point? people complain too much.

From the article: "...even though his September head shot was his third gunshot wound in a year..."

Hence the quotes around Alexander's use of the term.

@ C. Grant,

Oh, so the quotes make it more professional? Good one.

That's incredible, surviving a head shot like that is rare... Let alone being able to come back and enjoy Gears of War afterwards!

The first poster amused me because he assumes Joystiq would be referring to the Wii... couldn't it also be the PS3, PS2, Nintendo DS, PSP or PC? PS3 uses motion, so could be 'better'. DS requires precision of movement, so could also test him. PC requires you to use all fingers in a coordinated way, so would also test him. Joystiq isn't guilty of 'fanboyism'; sorry mate, bad call.

Please, get rid of the "head shot" comment, it's out of line.

@ C. Grant,

I'm not sure how the fact that he's had three gunshot wounds this year correlates to the whole quotation mark thing.

What style of journalism are you people following?

PS. The DDR line was also a bit much obnoxious. I'm sure the writer thought he was being quite witty, though. :-\

I agree both the headshot and the DDR comments were out of line. I appreciate the good news that the soldier is improving and that gaming is actually helping him rehab. If the story was worded a bit better, I would be forwarding it on to local news as a positive thing for the industry. Instead it comes across as insulting and snide.

headshot comment is a bit crass and disrespectful. I hope an update with a sincere apology will appear. I'd hate to think the flak your parent company would get for allowing someone to stand by such a tasteless statement.

Video games are different than human life. So often Joystiq makes comments about taking gaming main stream and how badly the mainstream media depicts gamers. This post sets a bad example. Equating a human being to a collection of textured polygons is extremely callous and the gross lack of self awareness leads me to question Sliwinkski's intelligence.

I am always one to appreciate snarky comments and social satire but a line must be drawn.

Video games do not devalue human life in the eyes of the players. Your statement could lead an uneducated reader to think otherwise. Children and hardcore gamers are not the target audience for Joystiq and weblogsinc websites.

Leave it up.

Apologize.

and write an essay about the ramifications of statements such as that becoming the social norm.

Tasteless joystiq,

When our American volunteers are defending liberty, speech and all the things this country has to offer, you offer a back-handed quip above a recovering Marine? Show some respect for our armed services, and now that most people that have served are avid gamers (like myself).

I thought the "head shot" thing was funny, personally.

#20. and if you got drafted and your best buddy died of a head shot, would it still be funny?

Didn't think so.

Many of you are taking that headshot quip the wrong way. I sincerly doubt that the blogger has an less respect for human life than you do, but being a journalist and a gamer, I see no reason why he couldn't combine both worlds by using that phrase. I see two sides on this issue: He is quoting to take the literal out of the article source; He is bringing a bit of wit into an otherwise very serious subject. The first is just regular professionalism. The second I see no reason to rise up and start throwing your keyboards at. Yes, we all realize that someone getting shot, in the head no less, is a very serious matter. But can't you put down your, whats looking like, oversensitivity to any witty remark, even if such a remark is, as I believe, put in so that a more serious situation can be lightened? This is a gaming site, and to brighten someone getting shot in the head with "head shot" is nothing unusual in my opinion.

Sliwinski didn't use headshot in a mean way but in an appropriate manner for a videogame blog. I'd like to see how some people could re-word it even though it's just fine.

“Superman Returns”
John’s Take: “I’ve only played like two or three times. It sucks so far.”
ZING!

Hey--

For what it's worth, I wrote the article for the Tribune and was the first to use "head shot." I went with it because it described what happened and used the gaming vernacular we all love so much.

Was I out of line? John's mom doesn't think so -- I just e-mailed her this thread.

"Very COOL!!!" she wrote back. "Don't worry, we didn't think the 'head shot' phrase was disrespectful. So, if we weren't offended, they shouldn't be either."

To each their own.
Greg

I am Lcpl John McClellan's mom. I'm not a gamer, so I didn't even catch the play on words with the "head shot" quip made by the journalist. But, even now, that I know that it is a gaming term, I want you all to know that I am not offended, and neither is my son. He thought it was clever. This journalist has been fantastic in covering the story about John. I know he meant no disrespect. So cut him some slack on this one, k?

People get far to worked up when soldiers are involved. One of the things that they fight for is our right to discuss things freely. Whatever the term used, I think it's wonderful that this guy survived a headshot and is still able to play videogames and live a somewhat normal life. I think it's a nice story to read before the holidays rather than the negative you can hear on Fox or CNN.

I've been a deployed soldier myself. And I find "headshot" to be quite funny - good job on incorporating witty gamer slang. Stop dregging up faux-moral outrage over stupid stuff like this.

What #21 branded. Nuff said!