WWE Video Game Death
Date: 2009-04-16 16:00:00
Source: http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/arti...
Submitted By: WWE
WWE's "Smackdown vs. Raw 2009" video game is being linked to the death of a nine-year-old boy in New York on Tuesday. The boy plunged 13 stories trying to fly with a "parachute" he made out of a plastic bag. A friend of the boy says he often played WWE's video game and allegedly wanted to imitate Jeff Hardy's Swanton bomb finishing move. The Associated Press reported on the story nationally after it made local news in New York. WWE responded to the story that more details are needed before investigators link WWE to the unfortunate death. They told the AP that "a full investigation" is needed "before conclusions are made." A spokesperson for WWE said that no characters in the Smackdown vs. Raw video game jump off buildings or use parachutes. Caldwell's Analysis: I've written this several times that WWE needs to a better job with the "don't try this at home" messages during their TV broadcasts and not shoving disclaimers onto a corporate website for parents to read. Since WWE is committed to TV-PG programming aimed at kids and families, the company needs to take out a 20-second spot during each weekly TV broadcast and inform kids not to try this at home. Unless they have some marketing research that indicates the videos have little impact on deterring these types of tragedies, WWE isn't doing enough to protect children who watch their shows. At the very least, they should be able to show the general public that provide proper disclaimers during WWE TV to reduce the risk of these incidents occuring.
