Nintendo responds to Game Boy accident that killed UK boy
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Nintendo of Europe has offered its condolences to the family of Connor O'Keefe, the seven-year-old UK boy who was electrocuted and tragically killed last Saturday when unplugging his Game Boy power supply. Connor was vacationing with his family in Thailand when the fatal accident occurred. The UK (230V/50Hz) and Thailand (220V/50Hz) use similar voltage standards.Nintendo did not issue any further comments, claiming that details of the incident were still unclear. Police have declared the tragedy an accident. "No blame has been attached," said Lt. Colonel Sopol Borirok.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
electro^plankton @ Jan 5th 2007 1:49PM
: (
Jerk Face @ Jan 5th 2007 1:58PM
So.... if a Game Boy gets enough kills does it evolve into a DS?
Pawsaldo @ Jan 5th 2007 1:58PM
I saw the newspaper today that had Headline GAME BOY KILLED MY CHILD (Something along those lines)
and I shook my head.
though I can see some people going out of control over this :/
Inspired @ Jan 5th 2007 2:01PM
Not funny, Jerk Face.
My condolences to the family of this young boy.
Montana @ Jan 5th 2007 2:01PM
This is unfortunate, however I don't understand why the gameboy has been attached to this it was obviously because of the voltage difference, not because of faulty hardware...
pandlcg @ Jan 5th 2007 2:02PM
Here are some of the headlines that Kotaku pulled from different UK publications:
Boy, 7, dies of Gameboy power shock - Metro.co.uk
KILLED BY HIS XMAS GAME BOY - Mirror.co.uk
'Gameboy shock' kills wet boy - itv News
Only one of them even mentions that the boy was wet.
diskoboy @ Jan 5th 2007 2:04PM
Yeah. We're talking about Thailand, here....
If it wasn't for most of the resorts, Thailand would be a third world country. And it's even more amazing that Brits would still wanna go there, after the Tsunami's.
poke50uk @ Jan 5th 2007 2:10PM
tbo, for all we know he had just washed his hands.. no dryed.. i had a largish shock due to too must moisture in the air of my kitchin
Skwurl @ Jan 5th 2007 2:13PM
#2
Somebody's child just got killed. You think this is funny?
James @ Jan 5th 2007 2:13PM
This is Darwinism at work here. If you're 7 years old, you should know not to screw around near an electrical outlet while you're wet.
therpham @ Jan 5th 2007 2:14PM
This would be a non-issue if he'd been unplugging a toaster, TV, etc. Poor kid.
Jake @ Jan 5th 2007 2:18PM
Now he's playing with POWER!
I couldn't resist. Seriously though, that is a bummer for an innocent child to be lost in an accident. My condolences to the family.
Matt @ Jan 5th 2007 2:18PM
#10 WTF are you talking about? Seven-year-olds do plenty of "stupid" things which have nothing to do with their actual intelligence. Critical thinking skills don't start to develop for another year or two - that's why eight or nine is the age that kids tend to stop believing in Santa Claus.
crono141 @ Jan 5th 2007 2:22PM
The kid had just come inside from swimming, and was dripping wet. This is an electrical accident, and has nothing to do with gameboy anything.
Stupid Media.
James @ Jan 5th 2007 2:23PM
#13 - Are you kidding me? You're telling me you didn't know that water and electricity don't mix at the age of 7? That's like telling me you didn't know the stove would burn you. That's not critical thinking, it's common sense that should be taught at an early age... that's why we don't hear about kids under the age of 8 or 9 dropping all over the place from stupid actions like this.
Jerk Face @ Jan 5th 2007 2:25PM
#10 is right - Besides, every kid should know from watching Pokemon on TV that water type is weak against electricity!
Bwa ha!
CP229 @ Jan 5th 2007 2:28PM
I don't think this is real....
Because they have one in the works for GBA!!!1
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3975561392871931198&q
(I know it's fake)
Miz @ Jan 5th 2007 2:32PM
He could have been unplugging anything and the same thing would have happened. The fact that it was a Game Boy is a minor detail, it shouldn't be the focus of the story. The media is stupid and insane sometimes.
poke50uk @ Jan 5th 2007 2:35PM
#17.. a) wrong post
b) looks identical to halo zero, a fan made game that even gamespot praised
sheppy @ Jan 5th 2007 2:37PM
First off, let me say this. Jerk Face, comedy gold. It's quick, sharp, and stings the feeble minded. In fact, I think I may steal that punchline for a comic strip. Only thing I wonder now, will this GBA SP suddenly show up on Ebay as a "haunted console" auction?
And now, the rest of you idiots. Before remarking, please do yourself a favor and ask yourself these questions. Did I know this person? Do I know anyone who would tinker with electrical devices while they are wet? Since I do not have any emotional attachment to said individual, why does this one death effect me emotionally? Am I that starved for attention to try and make everyone believe this has effected me deeply and emotionally?
You don't know this kid, he did a stupid thing, and sometimes, humans can't save everyone from the reaper who specifically targets the crosseyed downs victim. If he was 24, we'd be reading about this in The Darwin Awards and laughing. But he's suddenly immune to "that's a damn dumb death" because he's 7? If we didn't have electrical devices, this same idiot would have been eaten by a bear, which brings me to my next point. Never trust bears. They are angry their nature place in "removing the stupids" has been stolen by Gameboy.
Seriously, be glad I'm not a writer here or I would have photoshopped an SP into a frame of Pokemon where Pika zaps Ash.
CP229 @ Jan 5th 2007 2:39PM
Sorry about the last post, accidentally posted in wrong article.
tryton @ Jan 5th 2007 2:48PM
Very sad indeed, I couldnt imagine loosing my child at all! My condolences
Morale @ Jan 5th 2007 2:52PM
@ 20: sheppy:
You've posted one of the few intelligent things I've ever read in all the Joystiq comments.
seedaripper @ Jan 5th 2007 2:55PM
i fuckin hate how long it takes to get a response via the emailing shit on here....boredom!
Matt @ Jan 5th 2007 2:56PM
"Since I do not have any emotional attachment to said individual, why does this one death effect me emotionally?"
Because some of us have kids or younger siblings and that facilitates empathy for those affected by this event.
For the "he should have known better" crowd:
Kids learn that stoves are hot because they know what "hot" means because they've been burned before by other hot things they encounter regularly like seatbelt latches and metal slides. There are few such object lessons in the dangers of high voltage/high current electricity for children to learn from. They depend entirely on being properly educated by their parents and other adults. If this kid didn't know any better, it's not his fault.
Skwurl @ Jan 5th 2007 3:09PM
#20
So to paraphrase your lengthy post, you're an arrogant prick.
Why not just say so from the start?
Mode7 @ Jan 5th 2007 3:09PM
I don't think it's emotional attachment that stops people from laughing at dead children. It's just a basic sense of common decency that some people here obviously don't possess.
Corbo @ Jan 5th 2007 3:09PM
@20
I think I'm more offended by your post than by Jerk Face's. At least his was quite clearly moronic and poorly thought out. You're right, nobody here has any emotional attachment to this child or his family. That's why the vast majority of people reading it probably won't comment here.
Perhaps you think that those who take a few seconds of their time to express sadness at the death of a 7 year old child are being a silly but that still doesn't justify using the same amount of time to make poor jokes about it.
Furthermore, simply not being involved in a tragedy doesn't make it any less of a tragedy. I could list a great many historical massacres and bloodbaths that I had no personal involvement in but that doesn't make them any better or worse in the grand scheme of things. I won't lose any sleep over the death of this stranger, but I won't go out of my way to mock him.
A final point. The Darwin Awards have rules about not accepting entries involving children for precisely the reason that others have given - children very often don't have the knowledge to prevent accidents like this.
PS: I hope you get eaten by a bear, if only for the irony of proving your ridiculous analogy correct.
James @ Jan 5th 2007 3:11PM
Which again is not critical thinking. I don't know a parent out there that would not tell their kid that water + electricity = bad. Furthermore, I don't know a school that doesn't teach that either. The kid didn't think and people tend to die every once in awhile when they're not thinking about what they're doing. I'm not saying it's right, but that's how it goes. I'm sorry my cold and black heart can't muster any empathy for this.
Anyways, reports on this story are so varied that the mother is even claiming he wasn't wet when he did it and other saying the hotel had bad wiring.
clanggedin @ Jan 5th 2007 3:11PM
I'm rally bugged that the parents only gave this boy a GB for X-mas and not a DS. They clearly could have afforded it since they had x-mas in Thailand.
Jose Miguel @ Jan 5th 2007 3:14PM
You go sheppy, by taking the indifferent dumbass intelligent darwinian philosophy wannabe you totally showed us how intelligent and smooth you're.
Fact is anyone caring about a young boy dying for whatever reason are idiots just because you cleverly say so, and the world will never be the same again.
Thanks god you're here to show us our stupidity, and how a death is dumb no matter who happens to die.
Now shut the hell up and grow up a little, please?
James @ Jan 5th 2007 3:15PM
#28 - You're right about one thing, Jerk Face def. didn't think out that comment. You don't evolve from kills, you evolve from the levels you get from EXP.
Billyok @ Jan 5th 2007 3:17PM
#20, please add this question:
"Am I an asshole?"
No. I'm not. And I just naturally feel compassion for a family that lost a child as result. Sorry that's out of your league. You're assuming way too much about every 7-year-old simply because your frigid mother shocked you as a baby and taught you better. Get some perspective.
al @ Jan 5th 2007 3:18PM
Well ive never got electrucuted by an Game Boy power supply before but I have pulled out a cord and my hand slipped and I hit the metal part while it was still in, and this happened to me two times and dropped to my knees those two times and my arm hurt for an hour but anyway sucks for that kid
Vidikron @ Jan 5th 2007 3:20PM
Damn, we have real pricks here... and James is apparently the leader of the pack.
Jerk Face @ Jan 5th 2007 3:22PM
James has a valid point. A kid probably wouldn't be worth that much EXP anyway. Now a BEAR.. that GBA should have shocked the hell out of a bear instead.
By the way, for the record, I definitely have two kids. One of the is seven. It's all in good fun, alright?
Billyok @ Jan 5th 2007 3:22PM
#34
I love this stupid argument. "Well X happened, but why aren't you complaining about A-W and Y and Z also? You must be a hypocrite."
Because the thread isn't about Iraq. Think about it. Attempt to, anyway. I know -- it's hard.
DS heavy @ Jan 5th 2007 3:24PM
@7 What the hell are you talking about, Thailand and many parts of asia for that matter have more facilities than many places in Europe or the states. Most cellphones? asia, most modern subways/airports/trains? asia. Most PS3s? again asia. If you could afford it to travel maybe you would know this. In short this could have happened anywhere and the blame falls entirely with the parents for letting their children play with electricity at 7 years old.
Billyok @ Jan 5th 2007 3:24PM
#37.
Let us know the next time your kid gets seriously hurt. We'll all have a laugh. And if he dies... hey, party at my place!
LordMinogue @ Jan 5th 2007 3:25PM
Huh...something my parents made abundantly clear to me at a young age is to pull plugs out by their plastic cover / rubber insulation and to not touch the exposed prongs.
Regardless, children should know not to touch electronics while wet. Darwinism...curel but necessary.
Ben @ Jan 5th 2007 3:27PM
#12 - that's not funny... it's hilarious!!!
Konchu @ Jan 5th 2007 3:28PM
This is a very sad thing to happen and I feel for the the family that is effected. This seems to be purely accidental little kids dont think of safty when they are unpluging there toys.
We can only try to teach kids to be safe and pray they do as this easily could have happened in seconds before a parent had any chance to say dont do that.
Skwurl @ Jan 5th 2007 3:29PM
#34
You have got to be fucking joking. You're going to bring Iraq into this?
Shutup. Seriously. Just...shut the fuck up.
Man, this thread is bringing out the cuss words in me.
sheppy @ Jan 5th 2007 3:29PM
The Darwin Awards don't include kids because of comment runs like this. An 8 year old chases a ball into a wheat thresher, poor dear who didn't know better. Adult man chases a 5 dollar bill into a wheat thresher, dumbass that deserved it.
And ANYBODY who claims a 7 year old doesn't understand electricity is a dumbass. Period. There, I said it. When I was growing up, parents, teachers, and even firemen visiting the school all made very strong points about why you shouldn't touch electrical devices while you are wet. Outlets were all looked down upon.
And hey, guess what? Open you GBA SP manual. Look in the precautions. HOLY SHIT! YOU MEAN THEY ACTUALLY WARN ABOUT THIS STUFF THERE TOO? With plain english for the 87% of adults that are illiterate. And illustrations for the additional parents that are functionally illiterate.
But no. The manual wasn't likely ever even removed from the plastic baggy. The schools and firemens words of avoiding such things was never heeded. And the parents? Well, considering the dumbass couldn't put 2+2 together to equal four, can't really comment on their abilities either.
Now, should this happen to a 3-5 year old, I would be right with you. But this kid was 7. My nephew who is coming up on three avoids electrical outlets when playing. He's taught that, he knows that, he won't be the guy who offs himself by removing a plug while he's a walking conductor.
James @ Jan 5th 2007 3:29PM
#36 - Yes, because I somehow inspired Jerk Face to make the pokemon comments before I even made my own.
Some people just don't get teary eyed whenever they hear about somebody dying in a rediculous accident that should have never happened if the kid thought for even one instant or was supervised by the parents.
KevMa @ Jan 5th 2007 3:29PM
That's sad, poor kid and family. I mean how unusual is this? What (bad) luck that kid had to be shocked by unplugging a Gameboy. When you think about it though shouldn't a breaker have been thrown by the large amount of electricity being discharged?
Mode7 @ Jan 5th 2007 3:32PM
Whether the kid was old enough to know better or not is besides the point. Maybe the kid wasn't too bright, are you people (you know who you) telling me that this means he somehow deserved to die?
By your bullshit darwinian theorys I assume you must also believe that anyone unable to look out for themselves should just be left to die.
Because we don't need retards contaminating the gene pool right?
Billyok @ Jan 5th 2007 3:32PM
Yes, maybe a 7-year-old should know better. But grownups should know not to cross train tracks when a frackin' train is about to roll by, but guess what? Still happens every week.
It's ridiculously stupid and totally avoidable. But that's no reason to be a dick about it and lash out at those who would rather offer condolences instead of running about screaming "I told you so!" like it impresses people.
LordMinogue @ Jan 5th 2007 3:41PM
KevMa - a breaker is a mechanical device in most structures. Current flows through a metal resistor which is two different metals rolled back to back. When the circuit shorts the metals heat and expand at different rates, such that the metal bends away and breaks the switch by (in most cases) having the force to flip the breaker switch.
Breakers in bathrooms and kitchens sometimes act fater then those in bedrooms and livingrooms for this very reason...there is a lot more water in the kitchen and bathroom.
However, a child with R = 120ohms at V = 230 yields a current of 2 amps (for the record, .08 amps is the shock you get from touching a doorknob while staticy). Thus all of the childs muscles contracted at full force at the wrong time. Chances are he burst his heart before the breaker even tripped.
I've had some bad misshaps with capacitors recently (never open your disposable camera without making sure the flash is discharged), but no permenant harm came to me because I was dry (the resistance of dry skin is over 100 times that of wet skin), reducing the current to a "never do that again" level.
Josh @ Jan 5th 2007 4:08PM
It seems, to me, strange that such a relatively minor difference in voltage could cause a fatal shock. Maybe the wiring in the Thailand hotel was faulty?