Japanese Education Board Ridiculed For Photo Of Child Holding Upside Down Famicom Controller

On March 11, a photo of a child holding a Famicom controller upside-down went viral on the Internet in Japan.

The photo was taken from a supplementary reading book for elementary school children in Japan. Many Japanese, even those who aren’t core gamers, were amused by the photo of a child holding the Famicom controller in the wrong direction:

The photo has drawn so much flak that the Board of Education in Iwate prefecture issued a statement on what exactly happened during the process of taking the photo. Apparently a child was requested to hold onto the Famicom controller in order to take a photo showing what children played back in 1991.

The Board of Education then explained because children today aren’t familiar with the Famicom controller, they held it the wrong way. The board added more preparation and research should have been done to avoid a serious mistake like this.

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