Nintendo Apologizes for Wii Fit Telling Kid She's Fat [Archive]

PsychoSquall

07-10-2008, 09:02 PM

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Nintendo-Apologizes-for-Wii-Fit-BMI-Offenses-86028.shtml

Last week, we reported on the girl who was offended by the fact that the Wii Fit game considered her to be... a little above the recommended weight as it was constructed based on her other physical attributes. The story itself seems a bit on the fishy side but, nevertheless, the parents of other kids, presumably overweight themselves, expressed outrage at the fact that a game would dare to imply that their kids were fat.

If you ask me, this is snowballing into something newsworthy just because it's about the Wii Fit, which is a clear success as far as videogames go. The sole purpose of the game is to get people back into exercising and it's only natural that it would make an evaluation of the Body Mass Index of the person so that it can recommend the best exercises. It's absurd to ask from a game not to hurt someone's feelings. It's only numbers that the game shows and it's up to you to draw the appropriate conclusions from them.

Nevertheless, Nintendo has released a statement in which it apologizes for any sensibilities hurt. The statement reads: "Nintendo would like to apologize to any customers offended by the in-game terminology used to classify a player's current BMI status, as part of the BMI measurement system integrated into Wii Fit. Wii Fit is still capable of measuring the BMI for people aged between two and 20 but the resulting figures may not be entirely accurate for younger age groups due to varying levels of development".

Despite this, the backlash against Nintendo and its Body Mass Index continues. Tam Fry, who represents the United Kingdom's National Obesity Forum, stated that "I'm absolute aghast that children are being told they are fat. BMI is far from perfect, but with children it simply should not be used. A child's BMI can change every month and it is perfectly possible for a child to be stocky, yet still very fit".

Nintendo has announced that it does not plan to change the way the game displays BMI, since it is clear in the fact that it does not judge anyone, but only offers accurate data on the fitness level of the player.

maxx

07-10-2008, 09:15 PM

it would have been more perfect if u had the live action actor of mario from the tv show saying...

lol hey its a me mario, your fatter than an italian at his momma's house for dinner!

OrangeCat

07-10-2008, 09:17 PM

Where was this girl when she was told she was a ninja dog for picking the easier setting on Ninja Gaiden?

OC

Sano

07-10-2008, 09:23 PM

Why's a little girl using Wii Fit anyway? That's for adults who don't have time to work out. Little girl not outside jumping rope in the Summer = Fat. I'm just saying. :clown:

m121akuma

07-10-2008, 09:24 PM

Nintendo is COOOOOLD BLOOODED.

altergenesis

07-10-2008, 09:26 PM

If a video game tells you you're fat, you must be fat.

Shinkuu Tatsumaki

07-10-2008, 09:27 PM

Nintendo shouldn't have apologized. It didn't say "You are a fat child, go run some laps." or anything.

I mean, you don't hear Germans and whichever other countries on the Axis side(yeah, my history knowledge has faded) complain that gaming companies keep making WW2 games and that America enjoys re-living WW2 killing Axis powers.

scum gale 88

07-10-2008, 09:39 PM

OrangeCat

07-10-2008, 09:43 PM

nintendo has enough problems they need to fix that they should apologize for.

seriously, so if I die in a game and the game tells me I died...does that mean I can make a media hissyfit over it? because I am very much alive and Im appalled that this game tried to push its agenda on me!
No...it's just that Capcom has REALLY great fucking damage control...especially for RE4. Lawsuits settled in mere minutes of offenses of being proclaimed YOU ARE DEAD despite obviously being alive and cursing the 5th time Salvador just chopped your head off.

OC

Spirit Juice

07-10-2008, 09:47 PM

I remember the original article had a picture of the girl who looked to be average weight for someone's age (if this is the same story and if that was a picture of the girl in question... I can't remember), so I think the game just glitched out or something and thought she was overweight.

And god damn if you're fat and someone calls you fat, you should feel bad. It's not okay to be fat, so hit the gym.

majeh

07-10-2008, 09:47 PM

pics... i dont believe unless theyre there

orochizoolander

07-10-2008, 09:49 PM

There are soo many things wrong with that I dunno where to start.

First the parents who bought their kid a "game" designed to help you get in shape are offended that the game said they aren't in shape?:rofl:

Second nintendo pussied out by releasing an apology which says "Nintendo would like to apologize to any customers offended by the in-game terminology used to classify a player's current BMI status". If they're apologizing for a game saying you're fat in the nicest way possible then this country is much more politically over sensitive then anyone could've imagined.

Let's not forget the leader of the fatboy forum claiming that a game on the wii shouldn't be for kids:rofl:

would you hit it? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpEwCL9PFPU&feature=related)

ReXXXSoprano

07-10-2008, 09:51 PM

Apologize for what a doctor using the same chart would've told her otherwise. So if the doctor told her she was overweight, the girl's parents would sue the doctor. Hell Naw. The little girl needs that Wii Fit motivation to change her life before she gets something because of not listening. So overall the Big N had to concede for business purposes and not because they were in the wrong. But I guess that's the way the world is.

OrangeCat

07-10-2008, 09:53 PM

Apparently this chick didn't know the hax for making the game compliment her weight.

OC

Alex

07-10-2008, 10:04 PM

pics... i dont believe unless theyre there

there would never be pics because they would only confirm that the girl in question, is in fact, a fattie

Sano

07-10-2008, 10:05 PM

After I beat Metal Gear Solid 3 my ranking was Hyena. Now, I was not offended by the game calling me a Hyena but after that I watched Lion King and I was strangely aroused by Whoopi Goldberg's voice...

Street Fighter Alpha 3 told me I "HAD FISTS OF GOD!" so after I heard that I went back to school to challenge the bully who used to pick on me every day. I figured I had fists of god, no contest. He beat me up for the fifth time that week and it was only Tuesday. Now this was one of your really scary gangster types. Herbert Ricky Dookie Junior The Third was the toughest kid on the block. I did manage to ram my face into his really good and get a decent amount of blood on his pocket protector. That day when he went to his chess club he had a lot of questions to answer...

Kusanagi02

07-10-2008, 10:12 PM

Tiberious

07-10-2008, 11:05 PM

After I beat Metal Gear Solid 3 my ranking was Hyena. Now, I was not offended by the game calling me a Hyena but after that I watched Lion King and I was strangely aroused by Whoopi Goldberg's voice...
[...]

This... is what is known as finding out you are, in fact, a furry. There's nothing wrong with this, so long as you don't attempt to deny your furriness.

With the derailment out of the way, Nintendo lost a bit of respect from me over this kind of BS.

This kid, or her parents, bought an EXERCISE program for the console... somebody wanted to either get in shape, or stay in shape. With this country being as fat as it is, it's likely the former. So how can you get offended by a measurement taken as a 'Before' snapshot, using an index the GOVERNMENT created? It's really not Nintendo that needs to apologize, if anyone. But just try to wrangle an apology out of Uncle Sam....

Wellman

07-10-2008, 11:54 PM

BBQ

07-11-2008, 12:06 AM

Pussification of kids plain and simple. If you can't handle someone much less a game telling you that you're fat, you fail at life.

Remember being a kid and despite eating so much junk food that WOULD make you fat, going outside and playing all day would offset it. Kids today don't even go outside anymore and its a fucking shame too.

Seriously, when I was a kid and my buddy had the nes track and field game, we played that for maybe 10 minutes and then decided to go outside and play some baseball with other kids.

Now, kids lock themselves into their parent's house, play video games, get myspace accounts, eat junk food, and become another statistic of chunky fat kid in the US. Parents think, "oh lets get Tommy a wii fit and still let him continue to isolate himself, but it will get him in shape!" Only to see Tommy with tears rolling down his fat cheeks because the video game told him he was a fat ass.

That's just my speculation on youth and the parents who raise them as I've seen/heard parents do nothing to help their kids get off the couch and get them actively doing something. But then again, looking back, kids and myself didn't need our parents forcing us to get outside.

Serpent

07-11-2008, 12:17 AM

I don't know the exact measurements of ten years old but the girl from the original article seems like one of those tall chicks that peak early in height (4'9", 92 lbs.). So she isn't really a fattie.

But she is weak as hell for getting traumatized by a game. I mean the girl must be home schooled, cause unless she is a looker, fools should have clowned her for being tall or something by now. And if not I expect someone do so after this incident.

She is a girl. That means society has constantly been telling her she is great because she's female and she has no faults. The media constantly tells her that, so does school, and so do all the males around her. Obviously the "societal oppression" telling her to be thin doesn't work because all the women bitching about it are fat.

To protect females, they should not be allowed to play video games. They should also be prohibited from accessing the internet. And to protect the rest of us, they shouldn't be allowed to drive either.

We all know if the game told a boy he was fat, everyone would be making fat jokes and there would be no sympathy.

Septimus Prime

07-11-2008, 12:27 AM

Wii Fit is dope.

It does only use BMI to calculate how "fat" someone is, though, so a stocky person would be called fat.

Raziel321

07-11-2008, 02:46 AM

the parents of other kids, presumably overweight themselves , expressed outrage at the fact that a game would dare to imply that their kids were fat.

:rofl::rofl:

Rhio2k

07-11-2008, 02:47 AM

For a non-weightlifter, doesn't stocky mean "chubby"?

Mechanica

07-11-2008, 03:05 AM

For a non-weightlifter, doesn't stocky mean "chubby"?

you're thinking of husky

stocky is just like... wide set. you can be big and not fat. I dunno. body types.

Shizuma_15

07-11-2008, 03:15 AM

so they are mad cause it said the truth?

Kyoujin

07-11-2008, 04:19 AM

This is ridiculous; if a medical proffoesional tells some one thier fat, would they be sued? No, they wouldn't. I'm not saying this game has the same qualifications as a trained doctor, but the whole point of the game is weight assessment and amendment.

If you're fat, then go on a diet ya cheeseburger walrus.

Dhalsimowns

07-11-2008, 04:23 AM

FAt people offended the reality is that they are fat, haha.

Shadow Ace 50

07-11-2008, 05:36 AM

pfft..where where yall when gamestop was taking pre-orders for wii fit..just about every "husky" person who came through the door got asked if they wanted to order it...sad part was some them werent wii owners..

if anything nintendo was trying to help the girl....would you rather a game tell you your "out of shape" in private or have kids tell you..at least that would motivate her to lose some pounds before school starts up...

Demon Dash

07-11-2008, 05:49 AM

If the child can't accept the fact that they're over weight, then they shouldn't be playing Wii Fit in the first place. The whole idea is to give you a semi realistic view on the condition of your body and well, if you're going to stand on the thing and pretend you're a size zero when clearly you're carrying some weight, what can you expect? "Wii Fit says you're beautiful..." Get real, you're fucking ugly child...

Daigo Jr

07-11-2008, 05:51 AM

I Like Nintendo... They shouldn't have apologised..

AcEtUrNeDjOkEr

07-11-2008, 05:57 AM

"Hey fat girl, come here are you ticklish?
Yea, I called you fat, like at me i'm skinny
It never stopped me from getting busy"

Thats what Nintendo should of replied with.

Daidoji Kage

07-11-2008, 06:36 AM

"Who's mommy's little piggy piggy piggy?"

Black Chanler

07-11-2008, 06:53 AM

We can't get a picture of the fat kid?

koogy

07-11-2008, 07:35 AM

maybe she had some fat titties or something

nobody knows the DETAILS

Nokato

07-11-2008, 08:02 AM

If she's fat...its not the game's fault. Maybe she should do something about it. She's only crying because its true. Get the fuck up and exercise. WiiFit apparently was telling her what needed to be done.

Thank God for functionality.

surewhyyoucan

07-11-2008, 08:20 AM

"Hey fat girl, come here are you ticklish?
Yea, I called you fat, like at me i'm skinny
It never stopped me from getting busy"

Thats what Nintendo should of replied with.

"I'm a freak,
I like the girls with the boom.
I once got busy in a Burger King bathroom"

:wink:

You all are missing the big point. Girl gets upset because a video game calls her fat. Mother tries to console. No use.....her mother's words no longer provide comfort. Mother has to get Nintendo to apologize, as their word means more than those of the the child's own mother.

Forget Bush, and the current governments attempt at a Big Brother. Nintendo has already infiltrated our living rooms. Do not buy Wii Bow. I repeat. Do not buy Wii Bow.

ThePurpleBunny

07-11-2008, 08:59 AM

We can't get a picture of the fat kid?

Maybe fatass is too embarassed to have her pic taken. Which means she accepts what the game tells her, which means the game was right, which means this whole apology thing is a crock of shit.

Because if she didn't think she was fat, she'd show it and let people judge wether she's a fatass or a fatass in denial.

Sano

07-11-2008, 09:11 AM

MVC2 Adventures -

When the announcer said "I almost had a heart attack!" I called the paramedics.

During the character select screen when the lady sang "Gonna take you for a ride!" I tossed the arcade cabinet the keys to my '87 Dodge but she didn't take me anywhere.

After I lost in the game a lady sang "Don't give up!" At the time I was thinking about quiting my job and a video game told me not to so I figured it was right and you know what? It was. Working in a slaughter house and murdering unwanted puppies for one cent every 2 hours wasn't so bad, builds character.

CVS2 -

When that lady sang "This is a true love we makin' all the time!" I broke into the arcade late at night after they closed down with a bottle of wine, a condom, a diaphram, a skeleton key and a crobar. Early in the morning the owner of the arcade found me in a very compromising position and I've been banned their for life, well until the arcade closed down anyway like most arcades have. At the very least, I have a really interesting story on how I lost my virginity. I usually don't tell that tale to women I date right away, I tend to wait until the first five minutes of the first date. Hmm, no idea why I have so much trouble getting second dates...

Hey it's Friday! Like SFA3 said, "LET'S PARTY! GO FOR BROKE!" :party: So I'll be looking for some House Parties where I don't have to spend any money. The "Broke" part is hella easy nowadays, darn recession... :clown:

CyntalanMaelstrom

07-11-2008, 10:25 AM

SRK's just gettin' to this? Seen this one around a while ago.

Don't exactly have pics to prove it, but I remember the news story for this back when, and the girl was indeed what someone posted above. Really tall for her age. BMI isn't exactly the best method of guessing whether someone is overweight or not, either. What with the whole "muscle is heavier than fat" thing. There's other things that can be used to compliment the BMI to verify it, but nothing that Wii Fit could have provided.

Orochi Ken

07-11-2008, 10:30 AM

I can't believe the National Fat People Alliances across the world. As if, being fat was some kind of permanent, "this is who I am" horseshit. I have a very obese co-worker who contends that he can't help the way he is, but in reality he's just upset his metabolism is slow and can't eat burgers without his ass jiggling for a week.

Ah well, diabetes and heart disease will thin these herds (literally, herds).

iwst99

07-11-2008, 10:35 AM

SRK's just gettin' to this? Seen this one around a while ago.

SRK doesn't hang out in fat forums much.

This reminds me of the South Park Guitar Hero episode where Kyle and Stan reach 1,000,000 points...at the end it says CONGRATULATIONS....YOU...ARE...FAGS!!

So true.

Jimmy Bones

07-11-2008, 10:45 AM

That shit is too funny.

Serpent

07-11-2008, 11:09 AM

Really tall for her age. BMI isn't exactly the best method of guessing whether someone is overweight or not, either. What with the whole "muscle is heavier than fat" thing. There's other things that can be used to compliment the BMI to verify it, but nothing that Wii Fit could have provided.

Cuz BMI doesn't take height into account. If anything, being taller means she's allowed to weigh more than people her age.

And 10 year olds are apparently now bodybuilders. Ha.

She's fat, thats all there is to it.

rcaido

07-11-2008, 11:17 AM

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44669000/jpg/_44669171_wii_tabea_416.jpg

That's the pic of the girl...She dont look fat but you can tell she's a crier...

fishjie

07-11-2008, 11:17 AM

maybe this is her? (http://share.ovi.com/media/jie.funnypix/jie.13496?sort=5)

Septimus Prime

07-11-2008, 11:17 AM

BMI does take height into account. The problem is that it only calculates the ratio of weight to height.

NemoDC

07-11-2008, 07:07 PM

Nintendo is COOOOOLD BLOOODED.

This just in from Tanaka at Nintendo headquarters: "Konnichiwa bitches!"

kempobot

07-11-2008, 07:29 PM

We can't get a picture of the fat kid?

I think there are anti-pedo laws that keep us from getting dem pics. Besides, did you really want to see another fat American child? :arazz:

Black Chanler

07-11-2008, 07:50 PM

Looking at fat kids are depressing, but a pic will say everything.

Geddoe

07-11-2008, 08:18 PM

Do you people even read the article? She's not actually fat. Weighing 92 pounds when 4'9 is not fat. She's not a fat chick, she is a girl(thus emotional) with poor self image being told she is fat by a game that only looks at weight and height. Many pro athletes would be called overweight by Wii Fit, simply because muscle weighs more than fat.

Signed,
A real fat person

Serpent

07-11-2008, 08:59 PM

PsychoSquall

07-12-2008, 04:52 AM

I like how Nintendo's mascot is a fat plumber.

Bob Sagat

07-12-2008, 05:15 AM

So...

If she looked in a mirror, who would she sue? The mirror? The manufacturer of the mirror? Her eyes?

Colt Steele

07-12-2008, 06:27 AM

The game could've put a picture of a drumstick onscreen after calling her fatty and she would've forgotten all about it anyway.

Black Chanler

07-12-2008, 09:48 AM

Do you people even read the article?

Nope, too busy being in shape :rofl:.

MrBlank

07-12-2008, 10:25 AM

The game didnt say they were fat

it "Implied" they were fat...

therefore it was up to them to decide whether or not they were fat or not.

the public knows they are fat for sure

Geddoe

07-16-2008, 12:40 AM

Neither you nor the 10 year old girl are muscular, stop kidding yourselves. Fatasses.

Would I have signed the post the way I did if I thought I was muscular? No, I am just fat, with nobody but myself to blame. That doesn't make the girl a fatass, no matter how much you hate women or smaller versions of women.

Bounce

07-16-2008, 05:02 AM

Things ppl need to know about wii fit, besides the obvious- It a game:

1. It's a on BMI scale, it's not the best designed scale in the world when researched, but has some legitimacy.
2. If a game tells you "you are fat" and you are offended, get off the fucken wii and get some real fitness. All the games activies are based around real activities that would burn more calories if practiced under real conditions.
3. It's a game and you bought into some hype, go play some dance dance revolution and enjoy some cardio.