They Don't Call Them "Dual Shock" Controllers For Nothing...
July 01, 2005
Remember how they've always warned you not to use a telephone during a thunderstorm because the lightning could zap the telephone pole and travel down the line, through the phone, and into your body? The same thing applies for video games and holding a controller during a lightning strike. From BoingBoing:
David Robinson, 14, of Middleton, New Hampshire, was playing Grand Theft Auto 3 during a thunderstorm when he was zapped by lightning that struck outside his bedroom and traveled through his PlayStation controller. Fortunately, the shock only left Robinson exhausted and with a black spot on his left hand.
Thank goodness he's alright, but if this incident isn't a ringing endorsement of wireless controllers, I don't know what is. The controller was fried by the shock, but the PS2 itself lives on. I live in Florida, the Land of Lightning in the summertime, and afternoon storms are a daily occurrence here from June through September. It's not uncommon to unplug every electrical object of value and sit in the dark until the turbulence passes. I've spent many a storm playing a game on the old Nintendo Virtual Boy while waiting for the skies to clear.