Conference rusure::nintendo

783.0. "Video games blamed for epileptic seizures" by PEACHS::MITCHAM (Andy in Alpharetta (near Atlanta)) Mon Jan 18 1993 12:16

Article 13367 of clari.news.top:
From: [email protected] (UPI)
Subject: Video games blamed for epileptic seizures
Date: 17 Jan 93 18:31:44 GMT

	TOKYO (UPI) -- A dozen youngsters developed symptoms of epilepsy 
while playing Japanese-made video games over the last seven years, according
to reports released by physicians Saturday.
	The Niigata Municipal Hospital said about 10 cases of epileptic
seizures involving children playing the games have been confirmed since
1985.
	Last week, doctors in Miyagi Prefecture said two students had
epileptic fits in 1988 and last year, apparently triggered by light
stimulation from computerized TV games.
	Masahisa Sato, a doctor at the Niigata hospital, said two or three
cases of epileptic seizure have been reported annually since 1985.
	Similar cases have been reported in the United States and Britain.
	The Health and Welfare Ministry announced recently a comprehensive
study on the impact of home video games on the physical and mental health 
of youngsters.
	The study will cover several popular game sets and a representative
selection of software, said Masako Tanimura, chief of the research 
department for developmental psychology at the National Children's Hospital 
in Tokyo, who is heading the study team.
	Every second household in Japan owns a video game unit.  Nintendo,
which has a 90 percent domestic market share for home video games, has sold 
more than 40 million sets of its equipment since 1983.
	Nintendo has placed warnings on its products in Britain that
epileptic seizures may be caused by the games.
	Sato said all the victims on the Niigata records were between 10 
and 15.  Flashing lights from television screens were believed to have
induced the epileptic seizures, he said.
	He mentioned the case of an 11-year-old boy who lost consciousness
after being overcome by epileptic symptoms three times while playing a game.
	Most victims were stricken within 30 minutes after they started
playing, he said.
	Two similar cases, one involving a university student, were reported
in Miyagi Prefecture in northern Japan in 1987 and 1992.
	Nintendo officials said an investigation will be conducted to
determine if the video games are responsible for the epileptic incidents.

    My copy of Monopoly for NES came with a warning about epileptic
    seizures.

    As did my copy of Dragon Warrior IV.
                               
    A plague upon the lawyers.