Lawsuit filed against Nintendo, Toys R' Us over game linked to mushroom squashing

Edgewater, Nebraska (NA) -- A $765 million lawsuit was filed against the designer and a retailer of the video game series "Super Mario Bros." by the family victimized by teenagers apparently inspired by the game.

The suit claims video games manufacturer Nintendo of America, and Toys R' Us, are liable for $65 million in compensatory damages and $700 million in punitive damages.

George Kissinbalm, 41, a registered nurse, was deeply startled when vandals entered his home through plumbing and air conditioning ducts, removed an entire box of rare and expensive Chinese mushrooms from the refrigerator, and proceeded to jump on top of each and every one until they were squashed completely flat.

Best friends Simon Aaron, 16, and Samus Belmont, 14, of Altavista, FL, were sentenced in January to a 2-week term in state custody after pleading guilty in juvenile court to breaking and entering, and vandalism.

The boys told investigators they became convinced that their princess was in Mr. Kissinbalm's "castle" after noticing the enormous flagpole in his front yard and his glorious fireworks display over the New Years weekend. After being incarcerated, the two children admitted the error of their ways. "We screwed up big time," said Belmont, "We now know that our princess is in another castle, and we're very sorry."

In a suit filed Monday in Brinstar County Circuit Court on behalf of the victims, Dallas lawyer Bill Williams and local lawyer Dick Richardson alleged the game "inspires and trains players to vandalize plumbing work, squash mushrooms, murder innocent tortoises, drop lizards into flaming hot lava, climb flagpoles, vandalize and destroy brick walls, eat strange flowers and fungi, and kidnap girls."

"These kids simply decided to take the thrill of that game to Mr. Kissinbalm's home and started playing a dangerous game of Super Mario Bros. in person," Williams said in a telephone interview Tuesday.

Williams, who said he sent letters to Nintendo and Toys R' Us to drop the game series before the incident, said, "It's not like this is coming out of the blue, they chose to ignore this danger."

San Fransisco, California-based Nintendo of America and Bentonville, Arkansas-based Toys R' Us did not return calls for comment Tuesday. The lawsuit alleges the retail giant sold the game to the children about a year before the squashings.

Douglas Lowenstein, president of the industry Entertainment Software Association, called the squashings "an unspeakable tragedy" but said blaming a game played by millions for the boys' actions was "misguided and counterproductive."

"There is no credible evidence that violent games lead to violent behavior," he said. "While video games may provide a simple excuse for the teenagers involved in this incident, responsibility for violent acts belongs to those who commit them."

Williams has made similar claims in the past and lost, notably a $47 million lawsuit against video game makers of Tetris stemming from the 1995 block stacking incident near Poontang, Kentucky, by an 11-year-old girl.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the case last year that it was "simply too far a leap from stacking blocks on a video screen to stacking blocks in the middle of a crowded toy store."

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