So, you put the disc in and sat down to play your favorite console game. You’re playing through the story and loving every minute of it, but then you see it. That one line amongst the pages of the Gamecube instruction manual that you’re supposed to read before playing. You can’t deny that you’ve completely ignored similar lines before in other consoles, but this one in particular is a bit of a doozy.
“It is important to take a break every hour,” the Nintendo Gamecube instruction manual reads. “Breathing can become shallow while concentrating on the game, which can lead to health problems including faintness, dizziness, or fatigue.”
“It’s probably just a legal thing to avoid liability,” one user answers the original question. “If anyone develops deep vein thrombosis from excessive gaming, Nintendo will be able to point to this line in the manual and say ‘we told them to take a break’.”
“I think it’s just a tactic to keep people from rushing through,” another replies. “The company will lose a lot of money if people breeze through their games and then move on to the next thing.”
Personally, I think the most ignored instruction is the “click here to purchase winrar” prompt at the start of every Super Nintendo game.
But, the Wii also has a similar instruction to take breaks, so I think we can all agree that games are just worried about our health. I mean, I appreciate it. It’s nice to know that the company is looking out for us. I can’t help but compare it to the lack of breaks in the working world, though.
Another replies:
“I remember my mom made me and my brother stop playing the SNES every hour when we were kids because she was scared we’d have a seizure,” another replies. “Hopefully there’s a similar thing in the PlayStation 2 game booklets.”
“I also remember the Boktai game from the Game Boy Advance had a similar thing,” another replies. “It would give you a warning if you stayed outside for too long.”
“Games pleading with you not to quit have always been a thing,” another replies. “It just adds a little bit of humor to it all.”
“I remember the infamous ‘do not blow on cartridges’ instruction as well,” another replies. “Workplaces also advise taking breaks but rarely enforce it,” another replies.
Personally, I find it hard to reflect on such a comment without laughing. I’ve definitely been in the situation where I’m so lost in the game that I forget to stand up.
While some of you might be reading this and thinking to yourself, “no, I’m a real die-hard fan, the Gamecube is the best console of all time,” I think we can all agree that there are plenty of other consoles that are better, even if the Nintendo Gamecube is a classic.
Check out the original question here:
While I love the Gamecube and have many great memories of it, I also understand that not all of its games are perfect, and some of its technical specs were behind its contemporaries.
“I really miss the Gamecube,” one user replies. “But it’s also true that it lagged behind the PS2 in certain areas."
