In what might possibly be the weirdest thing I’ve seen all weekend, some guy on Facebook is calling for a Nintendo 3DS boycott, claiming the company is responsible for “allowing people to die and suffer grave human rights abuses for the sake of video game console production”.
Apparently (allegedly), Nintendo is involved in trading so-called “conflict minerals” – basically, stuff mined in hellholes like the Congo. With a bit of INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISMS, I’ve turned up very little evidence for the claim, aside from a blog entry on conflict mineral activist site, the Enough Project, whose own claim has a somewhat unsubstantiated basis. According to the post:
[Nintendo] has been entirely unresponsive to NGO engagement efforts. They did not reply to letters sent by Enough and our coalition partners. They are not a member of the electronics industry corporate responsibility association that has been working on conflict minerals, or the trade associations that have engaged on U.S. legislation.
Uh, so, because Nintendo doesn’t reply to emails, and are not affiliated with any Enough Project-approved association, they’re now actively engaged with the systematic abuse and murder of the third world? Or maybe Ben Wiley just really hates Nintendogs.
In related news, Japan sold out of its entire national 3DS supply on launch day.
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