Parents in a tizzy about Wii Zapper

Word of the Wii Zapper has been on the Internet for a while, the the mainstream media is just now picking up on the peripheral. Some responses, like the one in New Jersey's The Star Ledger's Parental Guidance blog, are not positive.

Great, this is what we need. Children with guns learning how to aim and shoot. Then we can sit back and wonder what is happening to our country with kids killing kids......what's next? Could we make it squirt blood, too" one reader commented

A "very concerned grandparent" wrote:
"....Why don't they enclose an application to the NRA in every box as well....the marketing person who came up with this brain child of an idea should be fired."

Another reader commented, "I think it's irresponsible for Wii to come out with a controller that looks like a gun so kids can play games simulating shooting. What kind of message are we sending as parents when we buy these things for our kids?"

According to these comments, I should be a gun-toting hillbilly, sitting in my creaky rocking chair with a toothless smile as I scare off squirrels from picking up the trash on my lawn. All because I played with this as a kid:



This is one of my most cherished videogame memories from when I was little--the NES Zapper to be used with Duck Hunt, a simulation of a duck-hunting excursion. We'd all crowd around the neighbor's NES and play Duck Hunt for 30-60 minutes and then go back to playing outside and drinking Aldi's brand Kool-Aid. If you mention Duck Hunt among the crowd who had an NES as a kid, the response is always: "Duck Hunt? Holy crap, I loved that game!"

And let's not forget about the gun accessories that have been in arcades for at least a decade (I can't speak accurately for before then). Ever seen the gun that comes with Time Crisis? Now that's a firearm to get all up in arms about.

The Zapper gun idea has been around since 1985. It's nothing new and it's nothing harmful.

Now if you don't mind, there are some squirrels that need some taking care of.