Thompson attacks Wendy's over Wii promo

May 9th, 2007, 21:57 Posted By: wraggster

In his latest attack on the world of videogames, Jack Thomspon is calling on fast-food chain Wendy's to cancel a Kid's Meal Wii promotion.

Reported on GameAlmighty.com, Wendy's is including Wii-related toys such as Mario, Excite Truck, Wii Sports, and the Wii remote with the meals; but it's the console's association with Rockstar's forthcoming Manhunt 2 which has caused Thompson to call for the promotion to end.

In a letter sent to Wendy's CEO Kerri Anderson, Thompson said,

I should like to alert you to the inappropriateness of the above upcoming promotion at Wendy's, in light of the below information.

On July 10, an extremely violent video game will be released for "play" on Nintendo's kid-friendly Wii game platform. It is called Manhunt 2. It will feature, according to video game news sites, beheadings with hatchets, bludgeonings with baseball bats, the jamming of syringes into eyeballs, cutting opponents' testicles off, and "environtmental [sic] kills" in which common objects in the field of vision, such as electrical cords to strangle victims. I attach news reports in these regards.

What makes this Nintendo Wii game all the more troubling is the nature of Wii platform itself. Instead of holding in one's hand the typical game controller, the player holds motion capture devices, so that by moving one's hands and limbs one is actually acting out with one's own body the violent behavior. The American Psychological Association in August 2005 found a direct causal link between the play of violent video games and increased adolescent and teen aggression. One pro-video game industry site is referring to Manhunt 2 as a "true murder simulator" when played on Wii.

A dear friend of mine worked for Wendy's and with Dave Thomas closely for years. From that I know that Dave Thomas never would have tolerated the use of Wendy's good name to promote Nintendo's Wii, not with this game available on the Wii platform.

Please cancel the Wii Kids' Meal promotion immediately.

To date, the Wendy's promotion has not been cancelled.

via cvg

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