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Nintendo Switch game cartridges taste offensively bad (2017)

polygon.com

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Re: Nintendo Switch game cartridges taste offensively bad (2017)

#91

Post by WastingMyTime89 »

jessriedel wrote: post #70
tialaramex wrote: post #53

Yes. In the EU product "denatured alcohol" for most purposes is likewise treated with the same agent. This replaces the widespread use of methanol and similar products which are poisonous (yes even if you call the product "meths" it probably isn't methanol in the EU today). The rationale is that poisoning people is not an appropriate reaction to attempted tax avoidance. Alcohol is only "denatured" because booze is ta…

Whether it's reasonable to use poison as a disincentive needs to depend on how often people consume it, accidentally or purposefully. If it's extremely rare, then this is a reasonable use case, even if we don't think poisoning is a reasonable punishment for tax avoidance (because, indeed, the poison is not intended to be a punishment). Likewise, we put up physical barriers like metal posts and concrete walls to dissu…

> If it's extremely rare, then this is a reasonable use case

I don’t really see the point of risking poisoning people as a way of dissuading tax dodging especially when alternatives exist. In the same way we don’t put solid barriers on roads unless people walking need to be protected - when a barrier is there to dissuade a driver it’s designed so a car runs through a barrier without hurting the driver and passengers.

Re: Nintendo Switch game cartridges taste offensively bad (2017)

#92

Post by matheusmoreira »

Alex3917 wrote: post #33
matheusmoreira wrote: post #2

> “A bittering agent (Denatonium Benzoate) has also been applied to the game card,” the spokesperson said, adding that Nintendo recommends keeping Switch cartridges away from children “to avoid the possibility of accidental ingestion.” The representative also noted that denatonium benzoate is non-toxic. That was unexpected and interesting.

Note that non-toxic does not mean edible, as the FDA recently clarified due to many people being severely poisoned from eating cakes decorated with luster dust meant for crafting. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7043a2.htm You would think that if something says non-toxic, licking it shouldn't kill you, but apparently not.

Dose makes the poison.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8351798/

> The toxicity of denatonium benzoate is low with acute po LD50's in rats of 485-740 mg/kg.

https://www.chemsrc.com/en/cas/3734-33-6_1028011.html

  TYPE OF TEST:
    LD50 - Lethal dose, 50 percent kill
  ROUTE OF EXPOSURE:
    Oral
  SPECIES OBSERVED:
    Rodent - rat
  DOSE/DURATION:
    584 mg/kg
  DOSE/DURATION:
    508 mg/kg
Non-toxic definitely means that common exposure to the product shouldn't pose serious risks to one's health. In other words, licking a Nintendo Switch cartridge should not result in a dose of denatonium anywhere near high enough to cause any deleterious health effects. Drinking entire bottles of the stuff probably will.

This luster dust apparently contains lead, how these manufacturers managed to conclude that it is non-toxic is beyond me.

Re: Nintendo Switch game cartridges taste offensively bad (2017)

#93

Post by arpa »

avianlyric wrote: post #89
jessriedel wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whether it's reasonable to use poison as a disincentive needs to depend on how often people consume it, accidentally or purposefully. If it's extremely rare, then this is a reasonable use case, even if we don't think poisoning is a reasonable punishment for tax avoidance (because, indeed, the poison is not intended to be a punishment). Likewise, we put up physical barriers like metal posts and concrete walls to dissu…

Your situations are not comparable. It's impossible for a human to tell the difference between methanol and ethanol using our readily available senses. Once the methylated spirit is removed from its container there's nothing to warn someone the alcohol is poison that will probably intoxicate, then kill or blind them. Methylated sprits substantially increase the risk of death for no other advantage than to prevent tax…

Even more so, counterfeit drinks contaminated with methanol have killed people who accidentally bought and unknowingly consumed said drinks, even in bars! Becherovka incidents come to mind.

so you're not killing tax evaders, but rather random innocents.

Re: Nintendo Switch game cartridges taste offensively bad (2017)

#94

Post by kosievdmerwe »

vel0city wrote: post #65
kosievdmerwe wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just FYI if you actually want to taste it, the bitterness is in the sticker, not the cartridge itself.

I've got a pile of Switch cartridges next to me. They're bitter all over. Trust me.

Fair enough, I just remember that I couldn't figure out the fuss until someone told me to lick the sticker.

Re: Nintendo Switch game cartridges taste offensively bad (2017)

#95

Post by TylerE »

nemothekid wrote: post #75
TylerE wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't get the Sony:Apple comparison at all. If anything, Sony is Japan's Microsoft: Do a gazillion things, many of them poorly, to such a unfocused extent that some of your divisions actually end up competition with each other. Like in Sony's case, how they've had internal battles for decades between the device side (that wants to make devices that are useful) and the content side (that wants DRM out the ass on eve…

> Do a gazillion things, many of them poorly What does Sony do poorly? Sony has the same dysfunction Apple has - everything has to be invented in house. If you told me that a company invented an high end camera that 20% more than the competitors and used proprietary connectors and memory cards, I wouldn't be surprised if that was Apple. > decades between the device side (that wants to make devices that are useful) an…

Aibo?

The Qualia fiasco?

PSPgo?

Re: Nintendo Switch game cartridges taste offensively bad (2017)

#96

Post by hbn »

RC_ITR wrote: post #4
MBCook wrote: post #3

I know this isn’t new but I still love that Nintendo did this. It’s such a Nintendo thing. They’re a toy company and think like one. Did Sony do this with the Vita cartridges? I don’t remember hearing so (and never thought to taste them?). Heh.

It's actually amazing how Nintendo's "Focus on 1P titles and make HW that is appealing to the masses" used to be its greatest disadvantage and is now probably the only reason for their existence. Kind of Japan's Apple in some ways (with SEGA unfortunately being Japan's NeXT).

It's really true, I definitely get the same feeling using Nintendo products as I do using Apple's. A constant struggle of love and hate. A company that's doing things in its space so differently than all its competitors, and is in a completely unique situation from the rest that allows them to do those things so differently. Occasionally annoying and archaic with their inability to get with the times in certain areas.

But I use their products, and love them anyway. Cause generally (with exceptions, of course) they create some of the very few computers/consoles/software out there that feels like it had someone constantly questioning whether the thing is fun/nice to use throughout the design process.

Re: Nintendo Switch game cartridges taste offensively bad (2017)

#97

Post by NovemberWhiskey »

Alex3917 wrote: post #33
matheusmoreira wrote: post #2

> “A bittering agent (Denatonium Benzoate) has also been applied to the game card,” the spokesperson said, adding that Nintendo recommends keeping Switch cartridges away from children “to avoid the possibility of accidental ingestion.” The representative also noted that denatonium benzoate is non-toxic. That was unexpected and interesting.

Note that non-toxic does not mean edible, as the FDA recently clarified due to many people being severely poisoned from eating cakes decorated with luster dust meant for crafting. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7043a2.htm You would think that if something says non-toxic, licking it shouldn't kill you, but apparently not.

One of the basic principles of toxicology is "the dose makes the poison".

From an OSHA perspective, "toxic" means (amongst other things) a mean-lethal-dose (LD50) of up to 500 mg per kilogram of bodyweight when ingested orally in lab rats.

There's all kind of stuff that doesn't meet the standard of toxic that you still wouldn't want to eat.

Re: Nintendo Switch game cartridges taste offensively bad (2017)

#98

Post by oddeyed »

When I had Covid in December, I briefly lost my sense of smell and taste (only for a few days, thankfully). I decided I would see if the Switch cartridges tasted as bad as I remembered - purely in the interests of science, of course.

I couldn't taste it at first, but then the wave of toxic unpleasantness slowly built up, even after I had moved the cartridge away from my tongue. It was different than I remembered it being, but then again it had been a few years since I tried it (probably spurred by this same headline). Really horrible. Good to know that this bitterant it still is a deterrent if you have anosmia!

Re: Nintendo Switch game cartridges taste offensively bad (2017)

#99

Post by atom-morgan »

njovin wrote: post #20
Jaxkr wrote: post #9

I waited outside GameStop on launch day to snag a Switch with my friend. We had heard about the bittering agent applied to the cartridges by day two and immediately tasted them ourselves. Hard to believe the Switch is five years old…

I have a fond memory of camping outside a Target from ~10:00p to 6:00a when the Wii was launched. We hung out with a group of strangers in camping chairs, talked about our favorite games, and tried to keep warm. When the Starbucks bakery delivery came a few hours before the store opened the driver gave us all free pastries. The Wii ended up being a very disappointing launch experience IMO but we had a fun time waitin…

I have a not so fond memory camping out in Walmart for my Wii. I think we could just stay inside since it was 24hrs and they were selling them right at midnight.

I got home, turned on the Wii, and was asked to insert a startup disc. I searched that box at least 20 times trying to find the disc with no luck.

I was a heavy user of GameSpot's forums at the time and asked about this disc. Literally everyone thought I was trolling. Nobody believed me until I uploaded photos of my TV.

Eventually my dad called Nintendo and they shipped out a new one ASAP but my 16 year old self was so pissed given all the hype going into it. Days waiting with a useless Wii staring back at me.

Startup Disc: https://lostmediawiki.com/Wii_Startup_Disc_(found_software_d...

Re: Nintendo Switch game cartridges taste offensively bad (2017)

#100

Post by magneticnorth »

setgree wrote: post #19

Can you wash off the bittering agent? The article does not specify and I want to know for…hypothetical reasons

According to another comment, the bittering agent is in the sticker, so presumably you could remove the sticker before consuming your switch cartridge.
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