Nintendo To Replace Wiimote Wrist Straps

Kotaku has word that, after much giggling and photo-taking, Nintendo is replacing all of the Wiimote straps shipped with the original release of the console. There is a strap replacement form available, to get new straps sent to you. From the article: "Once your replacement wrist strap has shipped, you will receive a confirmation email from Nintendo. We expect to begin shipping replacement straps around December 21st. It will take 5 to 9 days for delivery depending on your location. Please do not contact Nintendo regarding your replacement wrist strap until after that time period has passed. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your interest in our products." Update: 12/15 17:07 GMT by Z : I used the right term here in the text, but Edge Online notes that recall is not the right term to use here. Title corrected.

Comments

Someone show this to Sony

[k_187]

This is how a company should react when they screw up.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[AnswerIs42]

But it is not really a screwup.. the straps perform perfectly with normal use.. it is the "over excited" players that break their straps. And it is also not wide spread issues.. I have only found a few (under 50) confirmed cases of the strap breaking.. and every one of the cases.. the user was whipping and throwing their arm everywhere.

Though... Penny Arcade explained the reasons better... http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/11/29

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[ProppaT]

Number one, Nintendo didn't screw up. Seriously, unless you're a pro ball player, you're not going to be able to throw that remote hard enough to get close to snapping the strap. And if you throw it enough to wear it down overtime, apparently you're not learning your lesson.

However, I do agree that Sony should learn a lesson. One thing that Nintendo has ALWAYS excelled at is customer service. Nintendo is replacing the straps as good PR, not because they need replaced. Just as Nintendo was taking trading out DS's with as little as one dead pixel on the screen when they came out. Nintendo realizes that they're in the entertainment industry and as such they need to keep their customers happy...which is nice for a change...

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[Megane]

This is how a company should react when they screw up.

This isn't the first time they've done such a thing, nor the biggest. The Famicom recall of 1983 set a precedent, after which Microsoft's failure to promptly recall the Xbox when it had launch problems probably was what really cost themthe Japanese market. After that, recalling a bunch of piddly wrist straps that cost more to ship than they do to manufacture is nothing.

And in fact, this is how Japanese businesses typically behave in the Japanese market. Taking responsibility, sometimes more than they deserve blame for, and making it right, even if it means the president of the company has to go from Okinawa to Hokkaido and personally ring doorbells and apologize to everyone who was wronged.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[Psiven]

Nintendo doesn't really beta test because they are so secretive. The most they tested was letting board members and employee familys come in to play.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[MaWeiTao]

And in fact, this is how Japanese businesses typically behave in the Japanese market. Taking responsibility, sometimes more than they deserve blame for, and making it right, even if it means the president of the company has to go from Okinawa to Hokkaido and personally ring doorbells and apologize to everyone who was wronged.

No, this isn't how every Japanese business behaves. Many companies have covered up and denied problems, it's no different than Western companies. In fact, it's customary for companies there to cover up problems, quietly address them and release those fixes in subsequent models. Mitsubishi a few years ago was discovered to be covering up defects in their automobiles. I think one of their own veteran test drivers, who had been very loyal to the company ultimately helped to disclose these problems. There have been cases where people have gotten sick at restaurants and they offer a palty sum of money, not even enough to cover medical expenses. And, the last time I check Sony was a Japanese company and they've tried covering up countless problems and in fact have often failed to recall defective products.

If anything, it's easier for companies to get away with this in Japan than it is in the US because Japanese are a lot less likely to become vocal and try to fight a big company. They certianly don't engage in lawsuits like Americans do.

I do agree, however, that when someone is has been uncovered of wrongdoing they will openly apologize for it. In the US corporate management will deny everything and make excuses to the bitter end. In Japan they'll hold a press conference and make a direct apology to everyone, stating how they've shamed themselves, their family and their company. You'd never see that in the US. Then again, many Americans think money is the best form of apology and a CEO apologizing would be seen as an admission of guilt and thus paving the way for a lawsuit.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

But it is not really a screwup.. the straps perform perfectly with normal use.. it is the "over excited" players that break their straps. And it is also not wide spread issues.. I have only found a few (under 50) confirmed cases of the strap breaking.. and every one of the cases.. the user was whipping and throwing their arm everywhere.

I love Nintendo and I mostly agree with what you've said, but I do think Nintendo made a bit of a mis-step here. True, the owners are getting 'over excited' and they aren't using it correctly. I do feel, though, that Nintendo does share at least some of responsibility about it.

I don't imagine my opinion will be too popular, so I'll explain my thought process a little better. (Hopefully this'll prove at least that I'm not intentionally trying to troll.) I've been thinking about this a lot over the last week after being bombarded with pictures of broken TV's and black eyes. The first question I asked myself was: "How would I feel if this were Sony in Nintendo's shoes?" The answer is: "Geez, they're hyping up natural motion of the controller and it didn't occur to them to use thicker straps?!" I'm trying to be fair, I don't want to praise Nintendo for something I wouldn't forgive Sony for.

I think Nintendo should have included the thicker straps originally. But I have to be honest, this isn't exactly a big dramatic issue with me. If Nintendo had never responded to the breaking straps issue, I wouldn't have paid much attention to it. This is more of a 'hindsight is 20/20' thought than some opinion blown out of proportion.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[AKAImBatman]

Sorry, but I'd consider 'whipping and throwing of arms' normal behavior.

Go watch this video, then tell me it's normal behavior. (Make sure you have the sound on so you can hear the heart-sinking WHAM!) Excited or not, I don't think anyone reasonably expected players to be trying to throw 100 MPH pitches!

Although, I find it interesting that every case of strap breakage has had only one outcome for the Wiimote: It still works! I mean, if you watch the video above, you'd think that it's in a million pieces after that. Nope, he picks it up and tries to throw another 100 MPH pitch. (!)

The reason for this simply gamer emulsion. Did Nintendo really think the players weren't going to 'GET INTO THE GAME', and possibly forget about doing damage to the Wiimote, or themselves?

Of course Nintendo realized that. That's why there are 3,462.70871 warnings about clearing your space, wearing the wrist strap, not using the Nunchuck for this game, etc. Nintendo just didn't expect people to throw with enough force to break their straps and send their Wiimotes crashing through thick panes of glass.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[drsquare]

You know very well that if it was Sony's wriststraps breaking in exactly the same way, the fanboys would be tearing them to pieces. But because it's Nintendo they get away with it. But then it wouldn't be a Zonk article without the obligatory Sony-bashing, even when the story has nothing to do with Sony.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[fistfullast33l]

I'll agree with you too. Nintendo might not have anticipated gamers getting really excited, but blaming players for having way too much fun playing games? Hello, it's a game. You want people to engage in physical activity, but not too much? The whole product has been billed as a way to break out of the static gaming environment of the past and into a more active setting, and yet they are surprised that people are excited and sweating and such?

I think that they have reacted properly but let's not place the blame on anyone here. Nintendo underestimated the response, gamers were excited and engaged, an unforseen problem happened, and Nintendo resolved it. End of story.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[Thraxen]

That's not what cost XBox the Japanese market at all. The first Xbox didn't have any widespread issues. Also, the PSX, PS2, and PS3 all had widespread problems that Sony chose to ignore for a long time and they all sold just fine.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[Anonymous Coward]

Sure, if the controller goes flying, it is the fault of the user. But the strap still shouldn't break too easily.

It's like any other safety feature. It's supposed to provide reasonably effective protection when things go wrong.

If Ford decides to make my seat belt out of tissue paper, then they are partly to blame when I go flying through the windscreen... even though the actual collision was not their fault at all.

I've never handled a Wiimote, so I can't judge whether the strap is reasonably good or not.

But as a guideline, I'd say that it should AT LEAST be able to withstand tougher treatment than the sort of lanyard you find on a camera or a GPS unit, since you don't normally use those items by swinging them around in the air. On the other hand, it really doesn't need to be any more secure than the string on a yo-yo.

[Of course, in comparing these strings, it is not just a question of how much weight they support, but also how much they stretch. Stretchiness helps out a lot, since it spreads out what would otherwise be a large specific impulse.]

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[DeadMilkman]

What the heck are you talking about?

Nintendo ALWAYS does massive beta test, PUBLIC beta tests, Real world usage beta test.

There were all KINDS of wonderful secretive "get the word out" Wii parties going on. (part of the Wii ambassador program)

Here I'll link a few:
http://gonintendo.com/?p=6254
http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/top/secret-wii-partie s-start-in-september-194866.php
http://forums.nintendo.com/nintendo/board/message? board.id=General&message.id=38275
http://picturethis.clubmom.com/picture_this/2006/0 9/picture_nintend.html

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[Thraxen]

Actually, I guess I should say that the first Xbox didn't have any widespread launch issues. A couple months after launch the XBox's with Thomson drives started having issues (DDEs), but considering the PS2 suffered from the same problem I don't think you can claim that MS's lack of response to issues it what what them the market.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[k_187]

Given Sony's current track record, if it was Sony's wrist straps breaking, they wouldn't have even admitted that they were breaking, let alone replacing them. Hell, from what I've gathered, this isn't that big of a problem for Nintendo AND THEY'RE STILL FIXING IT. Sony only catches shit for their screw-ups because they deserve it.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[Anonymous Coward]

And in fact, this is how Japanese businesses typically behave in the Japanese market. Taking responsibility

Sony is Japanese.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[stoolpigeon]

so all the people i've watched busting straps on youtube are pro ball players? wow. what teams do they play for?

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[HappySqurriel]

I'm going to wait for the announcement 2 months from the recall about gamers who's wrists are being injured because when they throw the Wiimote the strap doesn't brake and there is too much force put on their wrist.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[kabocox]

And in fact, this is how Japanese businesses typically behave in the Japanese market. Taking responsibility, sometimes more than they deserve blame for, and making it right, even if it means the president of the company has to go from Okinawa to Hokkaido and personally ring doorbells and apologize to everyone who was wronged.

It's that attitude that will win in the US consumer market as well. When you have one company that will bend over backwards from CEO down to make it right, consumers remember. I hope this attitude spreads to US companies and CEOs.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[Chris Burke]

Although, I find it interesting that every case of strap breakage has had only one outcome for the Wiimote: It still works! I mean, if you watch the video above, you'd think that it's in a million pieces after that. Nope, he picks it up and tries to throw another 100 MPH pitch. (!)

That's actually what I find the oddest about this situation. Nintendo has, historically, made extremely durable hardware. Much more durable than there is any sane justification for. I remember way back in the day a letter to Nintendo Power about a family who (somehow, accidentally) ran over their NES with a Lincoln Continental. They had to unscrew it and re-seat the casing so cartriges would fit, but then it worked just fine. Who on earth would expect that? Here you see someone throwing a controller full force directly into a wall, and it works just fine.

Hence I'm rather surprised that the wiimote strap wasn't over-engineered beyond what Nintendo expected people would do such that it would still manage quite well when abused in ways Nintendo hadn't imagined. If instead of videos of the wrist strap breaking, YouTube had videos of people hooking the strap over something and doing pullups on it, I would not have been surprised.

Given their history and engineering standards, it's quite possible that from Nintendo's persective they do consider this a failure on their part.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[Thansal]

heh, I also rember that one.

Also a quick google for "gameboy iraq" will pull up a number of refferences to the gameboy that the Nintendo World Store in NYC has on display. The thing is fusedtogether after going through a bombing of a barak in desert storm. The awsome part is that it still plays tetris (sure, it needs an AC adapter, and some of the lines are dead, but it is still awsome :P)

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[drinkypoo]

Number one, Nintendo didn't screw up. Seriously, unless you're a pro ball player, you're not going to be able to throw that remote hard enough to get close to snapping the strap. And if you throw it enough to wear it down overtime, apparently you're not learning your lesson.

So what you're saying is that pro ball players shouldn't play the Wii? I thought it was the console for everyone!

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[webrunner]

Most of the problem is with Bowling. The trick is this:

1. In bowling, you try to swing as hard as possible
2. At the bottom of your swing, you are told to release the B button. The B button is the index finger, and if you release it too much then you significantly lower the amount of grip you have.
3. If you lose your grip at the bottom, it'll head straight for the television.

It's still ridiculous but it's more understandable, knowing this.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[dctoastman]

Actually, he was playing tennis. But the point holds. You are not Agassi.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[Mattintosh]

With any luck, Nintendo will head that one off at the pass by releasing a neck strap instead.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[anotherone]

I do agree, however, that when someone is has been uncovered of wrongdoing they will openly apologize for it. In the US corporate management will deny everything and make excuses to the bitter end. In Japan they'll hold a press conference and make a direct apology to everyone, stating how they've shamed themselves, their family and their company.

And then, dressed in a ceremonial kimono, he will plunge the tanto into his abdomen and drag it across, opening a deep painful wound. After the cut has been made his second will perform the daki-kubi, nearly decapitating the businessman with a precision slash of the sword.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[MemoryDragon]

I agree, I own to Wiimotes (I love the Wii btw, excellent machine and Zelda is awesome) and it is beyound me how you can break those things at all. The strap is very strong even in its thin edition. I guess only a few straps really broke, I assume that in some of those cases the strap was deliberately broken afterwards to gather the insurance money for the broken TV. After all it is hard to lose the wiimote, but possible, but loosing the wiimote and breaking the strap is really really hard, if possible at all. I am not saying that all of the confirmed cases were fakes, but some of them probably are. Anyway, I am glad Nintendo reacts so swiftly. Nintendo is one of the few companies which still take customer satisfaction very seriously, and this reaction only shows nothing more or less, of what I would expect from them. (Sony can you hear?)

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[Mursk]

I'm not sure of the difference between the old and new straps, but it's possible that a new strap design could also mitigate the problem of breaking the piece of plastic on the remote itself. Keep in mind that at the point where the two parts meet and one or the other is breaking, changing one of them can affect both.

Again, however, I'm unfamiliar with the design of both the strap and the remote. I'm just throwing it out there.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[triffid_98]

Is this why it took a class action lawsuit to get Sony to warranty the notoriously fragile DVD players in the first-gen PS2's?

And in fact, this is how Japanese businesses typically behave in the Japanese market. Taking responsibility, sometimes more than they deserve blame for, and making it right, even if it means the president of the company has to go from Okinawa to Hokkaido and personally ring doorbells and apologize to everyone who was wronged.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[Mister Whirly]

Sony = new /. Microsoft?

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[TheJorge]

Although, I find it interesting that every case of strap breakage has had only one outcome for the Wiimote: It still works! Um, not necessarily true. My little brother lost handle of the wiimote on a backhand in tennis, sent it against a wall, and I was without a console (only had one controller) until I won an overprice eBay auction for a replacement. The thing didn't shatter, but it also didn't work, either.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[AKAImBatman]

Interesting. That's the first report I've heard of one breaking. Pretty much every other report ends with, "We [picked it up/dislodged it/surgically removed it] and it still worked!"

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[Soul-Burn666]

I remember reading stories about Wavebirds that flew a couple of rooms away and into a wall, leaving more scratches on the wall than on the controller.... and still working from there!

That's why i'm actually quite surprised, negatively, about the DS-lite hinge problem. It just cracked wide open on mine! Luckily, it's not that important.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[sa1lnr]

"there is too much force put on their wrist"

That won't be a problem for a lot of us on here. ;)

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[fistfullast33l]

Okay you're officially an idiot.

Go watch this video [youtube.com], then tell me it's normal behavior. (Make sure you have the sound on so you can hear the heart-sinking WHAM!) Excited or not, I don't think anyone reasonably expected players to be trying to throw 100 MPH pitches!

Isn't this baseball? Do real pitchers in baseball throw 100MPH? Wouldn't you expect that someone playing a virtual simulation which is supposed to let them play the game like the pros to want to pitch like the pros? Regardless of whether the game is realistic or not, Major league licensed or not, to put a game in front of someone and say, "We didn't expect them to want to throw that fast!" is kind of ignorant in my opinion. I'm pretty sure that's why the fast pitch game at the carnival is so successful.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[The Raven]

The reason for this simply gamer emulsion.

Well, that sounds kinda reasonable to me. Gamer's are generally kinda fat, so if we put them in a blender and make an emulsion out of their body I'd guess that it would be a pretty slippery substance.

Or, maybe you meant 'immersion'?

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[PoderOmega]

Well, my NES never fell apart, but I had to blow on cartridges until my face turned blue. I wonder if that was placebo or if that ever worked?

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[vio]

They probably do share some of the responsibility, but this recall so early in the game is pretty good of them.

I do remember seeing the straps for the first time and going "wow, that's pretty thin..." but its proved to be pretty solid so far (no idea how it will fare after years of use...). A thicker strap would have been nice (and will be...).

I can't help to think how many of these so-called "cases" of flying wiimotes aren't quite as honest expected, however... it'd be pretty easy for me to snap the strap by hand after I accidentally whip my wiimote into my TV out of sheer negligence...

There are other dangers, too... last night I came home and my gf tells me "there was an accident..." I was thinking "ohhh crap!"... ends up she was swinging for a tennis ball a little too enthusiastically and nailed her glass of water so hard it just shattered and went flying everywhere... pfew, thank goodness it was empty :D

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[h4ck7h3p14n37]

Excited or not, I don't think anyone reasonably expected players to be trying to throw 100 MPH pitches!

*LOL* It's quite easy to throw pitches that fast, and you don't even have to move your arm! Simply hold the Wiimote vertically and then flick your wrist down; that's it! You'll get the maximum pitch speed every time.

I think a lot of people playing the Wii have yet to realize that you don't need to make huge movements with the Wiimote.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[k_187]

Sigh, responding to trolls. I'm not a microsoft fanboi. I'm a nintendo fanboi. Get it right next time.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[Dirtside]

Neck straps, historically, haven't worked very well.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[AvitarX]

But baseball bats don't have straps and weigh a lot more than Wiimotes, it is not hard to not let go of something.

Also, I am very sceptical that anyone truly did this, and it's not just people looking for attention. Has anyone anylized how strong the strap is and how much force it would realy take to break it by pretending to pitch?

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[Chris Burke]

Well, my NES never fell apart, but I had to blow on cartridges until my face turned blue. I wonder if that was placebo or if that ever worked?

No, that actually worked.

The problem with the NES was that the connectors were poorly designed with that stupid spring-loading mechanism. Instead of forming a tight connection with the cartridge like all later Nintendo cartridge systems -- including a re-design of the NES late in its life with a top-loading slot -- the original NES depended on the spring-like connector to create pressure. This mean the connection was never terribly good, and a little bit of corrosion or pieces of dust or whatever would break contact. When you blew on the cartridge, you might have dislodged dust, but more importantly the humidity in your breath got the contacts wet and thus they conducted better.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[brkello]

He was playing tennis...he wasn't pitching. Anyways, it didn't look like he was doing anything too crazy. This is the sort of behavior Nintendo shows in their commercials. Maybe not quite to that level...but still. I think the video shows that this is a problem and good that Nintendo is making them better.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[Macgrrl]

So I went to see my physio on Monday night last week fo my regular monthly appointment. It was exactly 4 days since the Australian release of the Wii. We were chatting in passing that my husband was crawling around the house from too much Wii Sports Bowling and my physio tells me they had already had half a dozen people trough with sports injuries from using the Wii.

This tells me two things, people are REALLY getting into it, and secondly that more people are buying the console than I expected.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[Psiven]

Nintendo ALWAYS does massive marketing, PUBLIC marketing, Real world usage marketing.

There, fixed the spelling for you ;)

The events you referenced are not beta tests, and given that they occured just 2 months prior to launch, would be pretty foolish. Those are software previews on finished hardware. Iwata himself stated in his "Iwata Asks" series that they did not beta test the remote prior to its unveiling. Even the name was chosen solely by it's board without focus testing.

PA got it right

[ack154]

I think this about sums it up.

Though no matter what the fault here, good for Nintendo to listen to the consumers and actually do something about it. Good PR, IMO.

Re:PA got it right

[amstrad]

And this one: You Know It To Be True

Re:PA got it right

[ack154]

Ya, I forgot about that one. Nice save. :)

Both of them really do add up to "not necessarily Nintendo's problem." Which is why it's very cool of them to step up and make their customers happy. Of course... I'm sure a new TV for a couple of them would make them more happy, but hey, it's a start.

Re:PA got it right

[nickyj]

I hope they finish off that comic, I would like to see it in a completed way.

Re:PA got it right

[miro f]

who said thats redundant? i dont think that word means what you think it means.

according to google, redundant is defined as:

The exact same data stored in more than one location in the same hard drive or database.
Repeated or duplicated unnecessarily.

considering I have seen this exact same link on /. at least 4 times just in this article, and another 5 times in every other article about the wiimote wrist straps (about 5 of them) I would say the word means exactly what the moderator thinks it means

OMG!!!

[OxygenPenguin]

Seriously, my girlfriend and I were just talking about whether or not Nintendo would cave in to the mountain of people throwing their wiimotes through their big screen tv's or no. I'm glad that I don't have one right now, because she definitely would....

Re:OMG!!!

[Schapht]

That's my kinda woman!

not a recall

[Dance_Dance_Karnov]

This isn't a recall. This is for people too stupid to hold on to something while they swing it. The strap was designed to prevent people from dropping it, not to stop a remote traveling at 60+ MPH.

"As of Monday, anyone who has any problems or concerns about the integrity of their Wii Remote wrist straps can call Nintendo Customer Services for a replacement strap. This is not a product recall. The current wrist strap is fine - it has passed all safely standards and does the job. This is simply a precaution because we are aware of the concerns over their safety. All new Wii Remotes and Wii consoles will ship with the new, thicker wrist strap. Even though the original straps are perfectly adequate for normal play, we can't control the exuberance of players."

Re:not a recall

[justinbach]

This is for people too stupid to hold on to something while they swing it.

While I mostly agree with you about this (I'm the proud owner of a Wii and I have *never* accidentally let go of the wiimote), there's no question that it's a good move by Nintendo because the wii was designed to be played by lots of people. Like so many others, I've been astounded by how gaming n00bs have totally taken to the wii; my gf (who was certain that the wii would be the end of our relationship) now beats me at Wii Sports Golf regularly. Obviously, I've embraced how easy to pick up and play the wii is, and am happily amazed by how many people play it at parties and get really, really into it.

Having said that (and as much as I love watching people have fun with the new toy), I get really nervous about people getting so into it that they forget they're just playing a game, and I can't count the number of times that n00bs at my house have accidentally let go of the controller, while, say, power bowling. This weekend, a wrist strap finally snapped, and though the wiimote went flying, it thankfully missed the tv and bounced harmlessly off the wall.

Class act by Nintendo! Now I can revel in watching my stupid friends play Nintendo without freaking out on the inside about whether I'm about to end up like one of these guys!

Re:not a recall

[Total_Wimp]

Actually, the documentation says otherwise, as does the construction of the strap itself. Nintendo clearly meant this strap to keep it from flying out of the operator's hands during normal use. Unfortunately, they also designed several of their games to encourage quite vigorous arm actions. "60+ MPH" movements are most certainly "normal" in this context.

BTW, ever notice that the Wiimote is smooth plastic without a hint of texturing or a rubberized surface to help hold it in place? I see this as an "upgrade" opportunity for the future, because we all know it doesn't make sense to call it a "recall".

TW

P.S. My very much not "stupid" friend has a dent in his ceiling. Thankfully his TV is intact.

Re:not a recall

[Dance_Dance_Karnov]

I understand what you are saying but not letting go of something has absolutely nothing to do with gaming experience. I can imagine the conversation back at NCL went like this...

boss type guy: wiimotes flying into things? I need to see strap guy about this...

strap guy: hey boss.

boss: did you test the strap to see if it could withstand the forces generated on it by a wiimote going 50+ mph?

strap guy: why would I? you aren't supposed to throw it, in fact there is a safety screen to that effect in every game, sometimes more than one.

Re:not a recall

[HappySqurriel]

Yeah, I've been wondering to what extent a company should have to anticipate how badly abused their product will be; if you assume that the Wii wrist strap needed to be able to tolerate a 280 pound man widly throwing a Wiimote, wouldn't you also assume that a Plasma/LCD screen should be able to tolerate the impact of the Wiimote on the screen?

There is probably no nice, clean aswer to this, but I wonder to what extent companies should be liable for damage caused by their product when used inappropriately.

Re:not a recall

[Total_Wimp]

Safety screen. Funny. My guess though, is that most people don't know the exact MPH definition of "vigorous" and possibly don't know exactly how many MPH their arms are capable of. Maybe with that in mind, and the fact that the "safety screen" doesn't physically restrain them, people might possibly make the assumption that the way they're swingin' the thing is the way that thing was meant to be swung.

TW

Re:not a recall

[IceCreamGuy]

I don't know if you own a Wii or not, but I think you're being a little opinionated about the issue. We've never had any incidents at my place, however it's pretty easy to see how one could let go of the remote. For instance, in bowling you release the trigger button to release the ball; when you really get into it, you sometimes bowl pretty hard and it's not difficult to imagine letting go of the entire remote when you let go of B. After all, you're supposed to be bowling, letting go of the ball, and you're already letting go of the trigger, which is your main grip on the remote. It certainly, however, was not merely "designed to prevent people from dropping it..." to get to any actual sports gameplay, you have to sit through at least three unskippable, five-seconds-at-least full-screen warnings about putting on and tightening the wrist strap every time you boot up the console. I'm pretty sure they had more in mind than just dropping it. On that matter as well, It's pretty obvious you could drop a remote from ten feet onto cement and it would be fine, they're very sturdily built. Personally, I'm going to get the new wrist straps to give me free reign to be "stupid."

Re:not a recall

[IceCreamGuy]

They already have those (I got some with the Triforce) and they're amazing. They're really comfy and pretty stylish, most people that haven't seen the Wii before just assume that's how they come. Froogle "Wii remote covers" and you can find a couple different brands. If I had to buy a Wii again I would get these first thing.

Re:not a recall

[LordSnooty]

None, by definition someone using the equipment 'inappropriately' is not following guidelines laid out in the manual, for example. Otherwise they'd be using it 'appropriately'.

Re:not a recall

[El Gigante de Justic]

I think what would have prevented some of this problem is if Wii Sports included reminders to make smooth gentle motions, like it mentions in the manual. Wii Sports is most player's first exposure on the Wii and most people will do stupid stuff like swing their arm as hard as they can because 1) they don't understand how the technology actually works and how it has a built in acceleration limit and 2) they haven't figured out yet that movign your arm that hard is actually less effective and will make your shoulder hurt.
      For any of the Wii sports games, like baseball, it's much more effective to just make wrist flicks for "fast" motions, because the system is measuring acceleration of the wii-mote, not the actual motion of your arm. As for the wrist straps being sufficient for normal gameplay - this is entirely true because Wii Sports is basically the only game that invokes a significant amount of arm flailing. If you actually tried moving your arm that much in Zelda, you'd be warn out pretty quickly; that's why most action games so far recognize a "jiggle" motion.

Re:not a recall

[Headcase88]

Maybe they should make new Wii remotes that emit some sort of electrical shock if you're using it wrong. Here's a bonus: make the power of the electrical shock proportional to how stupidly they're swinging the remote. If the maximum shock is strong enough, we can bring some Darwinism into play.

Re:not a recall

[Chris Burke]

boss: did you test the strap to see if it could withstand the forces generated on it by a wiimote going 50+ mph?

strap guy: why would I? you aren't supposed to throw it, in fact there is a safety screen to that effect in every game, sometimes more than one.

case guy: I tested it. Case can withstand impact into cement wall when thrown by pro baseball pitcher. Both fastball and curve.

electronics guy: I also tested it. Accelerometers and PCB remain functional when experiencing forces like blow from karate master.

strap guy: Shut up, guys. You aren't helping me here.

boss: Hm, true, we have no reports of broken controllers, only straps. But we do have that warning screen right?

warning screen guy: Yes, but nobody reads warnings. Ask U.S. Surgeon General.

strap guy: Shut up!

That's basically the problem. As you can tell from the fact that even after being hurled at 50+ mph the wiimote still works, Nintendo usually has a very high standard of durability. It's unusual that Nintendo would let something like this slip. Especially when the entire purpose of the strap is to prevent the wiimote from flying off if someone accidentally lets go of it. If there was anything that should have been engineered beyond the expected limits, it's the safety strap.

I don't really think it's Nintendo's "fault", as in I don't think they are shipping a negligently shoddy product. I do expect more from Nintendo though. I do think their response is the correct one, and a classy one to boot.

Re:not a recall

[Total_Wimp]

Actually, this is a great, potentiality workable idea if you replace "shock" with "sound". An audible tone, especially if it was a really annoying one, would not only encourage you to swing slower, but encourage peer pressure from those on the sidelines. Heck, if I was the owner of the box and my buddy was constantly making the Wiimote sound off, I might want to direct him over to the safer Gamecube instead.

Heres another idea. They could pause the game for 5 seconds if you swing too wildly. That would definitely be annoying enough to get you to slow down. They could have it set in the options panel so you choose game stutter or tone. I'll bet it would really cut down on the potential lawsuits too.

Re:not a recall

[miro f]

agreed

I had a couple of family friends over the other day. And they brought kids. Around the age of 8 and 10.

I haven't felt scared for my television as much as that day. Luckily it all went fine but you have to remember that kids are going to be using this system and they can really put some force behind a controller, and their young little hands might not have the coordination to ensure the remote doesn't go flying.

Re:not a recall

[miro f]

as an addition to this, I want to get a replacement strap as soon as possible, but according to the form you can only get one in USA or Canada. Anyone have any idea how us Aussies can get a replacement strap?

just in time

[WormholeFiend]

My straps were starting to fray, and I was contemplating several ghetto-style solutions...

Re:just in time

[antiaktiv]

Super glue?

Re:just in time

[LiquidCoooled]

You still have about 2 weeks before your replacement arrives (assuming you are in USA/Canada - thats all the options on the site give)
Unless you want to risk disaster you should consider looking for a replacement anyway.
If you have an old camera or umbrella handy, most of the straps I see are similar to requirements, maybe yours could work as a temp replacement.

Be creative.

Re:just in time

[duguk]

Yep, just US and Canada - if you're in the UK like me then you'll need reinforced glass in from of the TV.

I jest! But I want my new shiny wriststrap! Whaddaido?!

Monkeyboi

Re:just in time

[dangitman]

Glass cannot defeat mighty Wiimote! You need a steel plate in front of the TV.

Alternate solution

[Mr. Sketch]

I have already implemented this solution so I should be safe.

Re:Alternate solution

[frankthechicken]

That just wasn't hard core enough for me, I decided to Rhino glue the remote to my hands, though I have now been given the unfortunate nickname of Edward Wiihands

You can't fix stupid

[MysticOne]

My wife and I got a Wii on launch day in the US, and haven't ever had a problem with the Wiimotes flying out of our hands. We've played some vigorous Wiisports sessions, lots of Zelda, Rayman, all sorts of stuff. The closest we ever came to a mishap was when I misjudged my position in relation to our ceiling fan, and smacked the light with the Wiimote. The strap isn't meant to keep the Wiimote from flying away when you throw it, but to prevent you from dropping the Wiimote. The people in all the videos, when they're actually wearing the straps, aren't casually letting go. They're throwing the fuckers as hard as they can. Personally, I think if you're stupid enough to do that, you probably need to just go without a Wiimote until you've learned your lesson.

Re:You can't fix stupid

[weszz]

anyone happen to have a real video of someone playing and throwing the remote, not intentionally?

I'm thinking that maybe a bowling motion, you are trained to open your hand, but i can't see at really high speeds...

baseball you open your hand, and at high speeds, but like tennis, you don't throw the racket...

Re:You can't fix stupid

[mpathetiq]

Here ya go!

Re:You can't fix stupid

[Fozzyuw]

They're throwing the fuckers as hard as they can.

'Nuf said!

Re:You can't fix stupid

[Kenshin]

Best quote from the comments there:

"The strap is meant to prevent you from dropping it accidentally, not from attempting to THROW IT HARD ENOUGH TO RIP THROUGH TIME."

Soooo unlucky....

[lurvdrum]

I'm just finding it hard to credit the number of people claiming that their wiimote "flew out of their hands and into the telly...". Maybe there's just an awful lot of people who really fancy a new telly off the insurance? No one seems to be complaining that "My wiimote flew off the strap and broke that nasty ornament over the fireplace I've always hated since the day my Aunt gave it to me".

Re:Soooo unlucky....

[joshetc]

I have the feeling the reason is because most people tend to face their TV when using their Wii rather than the fireplace.

Re:Soooo unlucky....

[lurvdrum]

Were it not for the fact that the wiimote is designed to detect movement in all three spatial dimesnsions. Do these people turn sideways on to the telly every time they want to make a sideways movement of the wiimote...?? Or maybe they've only discovered the "stabbing" movement so far...

Re:Soooo unlucky....

[ookaze]

I have the feeling the reason is because most people tend to face their TV when using their Wii

And yet, some of them broke their light in the ceiling ...
Seems even more unlikely.

Re:Soooo unlucky....

[poot_rootbeer]

No one seems to be complaining that "My wiimote flew off the strap and broke that nasty ornament over the fireplace I've always hated since the day my Aunt gave it to me".

Video games are traditionally played facing a television set, not facing a fireplace.

(With the obvious exceptions of "Nasty Ornament Shooting Gallery" and "Super Nasty Ornament Shooting Gallery".)

Re:Soooo unlucky....

[rbarreira]

most people tend to face their TV when using their Wii rather than the fireplace.

This reminds me of some scene in the book Gulliver's travels... :P

Beat me to it. More kudos to Nintendo.

[WidescreenFreak]

You're absolutely correct. It's not Nintendo's fault that people are getting too emotionally involved with their games.

But this replacement is something else that makes Nintendo win kudos from me. Not only are they not playing the CPU/graphics/power marketing bullsh*t, they're actually going to take the time and financial expense of replacing items that as far as I'm concerned they are not responsible for replacing. They're taking the high road. In fact, they tower above those idiots at Sony. Remember their rootkit attitude? "If you don't know it's there, it shouldn't bother you. What's all the fuss about?"

Just because of things like this, I'll be more apt to pay for things like the virtual console instead of trying to hack it to play older games for free. Actions like this deserve loyalty and honest purchases.

Go Nintendo

[JayBlalock]

While I'm still not convinced this was really THEIR fault, once again Nintendo shows how hardware flaws SHOULD be handled. I've been a gamer since the NES, and without fail, no matter how poorly the company's been performing, they were always excellent about shipping out replacement parts - usually gratis! - when needed.

Plastic controller covers, Gameboy scratch-protector screens, cracked button in the N64 controller... I've never had to pay for a replacement bit. (whereas other companies would probably make me buy a new controller rather than send me a button) Just speaking from personal experience, but this is quite possibly the #1 reason I'm still a Nintendo fanboy after all these years.

I really feel like companies these days have forgotten the old adage about "you have to spend money to make money." When I was twelve years old, dropped my Gameboy, and cracked the plastic screen cover, they COULD have been jerks and made me pay ten bucks for it. But they didn't. They even swallowed the shipping charges. And then I bought a SNES... and an N64 (sigh)... and a Gamecube...

You get the idea.

Whereas every time I've needed something from Microsoft, it's been like pulling teeth and... (looks around) GEE! No X-Boxes here!

Customer loyalty isn't a myth.

Re:Go Nintendo

[0kComputer]

Whereas every time I've needed something from Microsoft, it's been like pulling teeth and... (looks around) GEE! No X-Boxes here!

What did you need from microsoft that they didn't provide? I'm not accusing you of lying, but your story sounds fishy since MS has just recently really gotten into the hardware game. I've actually heard that their xbox customer service is pretty good.

Re:Go Nintendo

[JayBlalock]

I'm not just referring to Microsoft the video game company. I mean, Microsoft the Behemoth. Maybe the X-Box has great customer service. I wouldn't know, since all my experiences with Windows have been so bad.

I use Windows because I have no choice. I don't use an X-box BECAUSE I have a choice.

And if you say I'm comparing apples to oranges, you miss the point of my post completely. Nintendo has been good to me as a company, and therefore I continue to support them. Microsoft has not, therefore I support them only through what I cannot avoid.

These are simply cases of "dumb"

[GweeDo]

I have had a Wii since launch day. It has 60+ hours of use already by myself (25 year old avid gamer), my 5 year old niece, my wife (loves her Monkey Ball), my 57 year old father-in-law, my 15 year old cousin, ect, ect, ect. Not once has the WiiMote left anyone's hands (even with some pretty freaking fast pitches!). Not once has their been a fear of damaging my generic 27" TV or my Cousin's 42" Plasma.

Everyone should also view this report:
http://www.nintendojo.com/fullfocus/view_item.php? 1166055790
If the default straps can take that, then people are just really dumb if they manage to break them.

Re:These are simply cases of "dumb"

[grumbel]

Not once has the WiiMote left anyone's hands

Do you expect that to stay the same for the next 5+ years? You know, you only need to let the Wiimote slip once to kill your expensive Plasma. If your strap survived the first three weeks, thats all good and fine, but 250 more weeks still to go.

The strap is there to prevent Wiimote accidents from doing harm to the environment, just because you havn't yet witnessed one of those accidents doesn't really prove anything.

Re:These are simply cases of "dumb"

[GweeDo]

Don't worry, I know why the strap is there and make sure it is always secured. I am just saying that the amount of force/misuse needed to break these thing is crazy as seen in my original post.

Re:Beat me to it. More kudos to Nintendo.

[WidescreenFreak]

Not only are you completely wrong, the fact that you don't have the balls to post under your real user ID doesn't give you any credibility anyway. See, unlike those who think, "Hey, if I can get it for free, I should get it for free!", an idea that is somewhat prevalent on Slashdot, I firmly believe that the best way to keep a company that you appreciate in business is to -- horrors! -- actually buying from them is actually a good way to do that!

Imagine that.

My karma's fine, so I have no need for astroturfing. How's your karma? Oh, wait. You posted AC. Nevermind.

"People are stupid" is not an excuse

[thatguywhoiam]

I have to disagree with most of the posts here, which will get me modded down, but whatever.

Nintendo designed the Wii with this style of play in mind. You can't just tell people not to play 'like a fucking toolbox' (little twichy motions sitting on the couch) one second and then call them stupid for jumping around and getting into their game. Its exactly what Nintendo had in mind, and the straps were crap on launch day.

Add to this the fact that some people naturally have really sweaty hands when gripping something like a Wii remote for an extended period, and of course we see broken TVs and black eyes.

Nintendo is certainly doing the right thing by replacing the straps. But scremaing 'user error' in this case is just incorrect. The game system encourages precisely this kind of movement.

Re:"People are stupid" is not an excuse

[MysticOne]

The system does not encourage you to *throw* the Wiimote. I play pretty vigorously with the Wiimotes we have, and that doesn't cause any problems unless you're actually trying to throw the thing. I've yet to see a video where somebody was playing and didn't seem to be throwing the Wiimote as hard as they could.

Re:"People are stupid" is not an excuse

[MosesJones]

So why don't baseball bats have straps? Or Tennis racquets? Or golf clubs? Or drumsticks?

You'd almost think that people managed to hang onto these things because letting go is stupid. IMO the problem is that Nintendo put straps on to stop accidental dropping they tried to be helpful and its backfired. The should have just removed the straps so people didn't think "hey this strap must be able to with stand me throwing it really hard, I mean I do that with my digital camera all the time don't I?"

These people are muppets, probably Gonzo.

Re:"People are stupid" is not an excuse

[SheeEttin]

No, the controllers were not meant to be thrown.

For example, take that commercial with the two Japanese businessmen. The woman, when bowling, does not let go of the controller. She imitates the motion of bowling, but she does not let go of the controller.

While you may throw a football, you don't want to throw something like a controller.

Re:"People are stupid" is not an excuse

[Cocoronixx]

I'd say because when engaging in these activities, you don't need to lift your thumb off of the bat/racquet/club/stick at the precise moment that it is traveling the fastest, or at any point for that matter! Neither me, or anyone else playing with my Wii have dropped the Wiimote while playing, but I would have to say in the heat of the moment, pulling your finger off of that button in the middle of a fast swing you do sometimes get the urge to pull multiple fingers off of the button, resulting in an almost dropped Wiimote. I also find more I am 'In the Zone' I am more likely to be swinging/swatting/whipping fast, while at the same time devoting less attention to overcome the urge to release more fingers.

Re:"People are stupid" is not an excuse

[thatguywhoiam]

So why don't baseball bats have straps? Or Tennis racquets? Or golf clubs? Or drumsticks?

Well, for one thing, these items do go flying on a regular basis. But they are outside, on a green or in a court, not 3 feet from your plasma screen.

Secondly, there are no buttons that you are fiddling with while swinging your tennis racket or golf club, which certainly has an effect.

Re:"People are stupid" is not an excuse

[ZombieRoboNinja]

Believe it or not, Penny Arcade (of "fucking toolbox" fame) is not a subsidiary of Nintendo.

Re:"People are stupid" is not an excuse

[AaronStJ]

Not that I disagree with you're point at all, but racquetball racquets do actually have safety straps. Just thought it was an interesting bit of trivia.

Re:"People are stupid" is not an excuse

[trdrstv]

racquetball racquets do actually have safety straps. Just thought it was an interesting bit of trivia.

That's Interesting. Mine doesn't have a strap, but I guess that's my fault for buying a cheap one. D'Oh!

Things you swing that don't have a strap...

[SilentJ_PDX]

1. Baseball bat

2. Tennis raquet

3. Squash racquet

Louisville Slugger, Head and Prince are begging for lawsuits... :)

Re:Things you swing that don't have a strap...

[WillyMF1]

This is different. There are the nice TVs of a bunch of bloggers involved.

Re:Things you swing that don't have a strap...

[justinbach]

1. Baseball bat 2. Tennis raquet 3. Squash racquet

Alright, who can tell me which of those things DON'T have a nice rubber or tape grip on them?

Anyone?

Anyone?

Bueller?

Re:Things you swing that don't have a strap...

[ProfessionalCookie]

Baseball. (you're an idiot if you mod this insightful)

Re:Things you swing that don't have a strap...

[ad0gg]

When my tennis racket slips out my hand while playing, there's no $2500 plasma tv for it to smash. At worst i snap the frame of my $100 racket. I wonder why racket ball rackets have straps?

Ghetto Solution

[WillyMF1]

I wouldn't mind seeing a ghetto style BLING-BLING solution. Pimp my Wiimote!!!

Re:Ghetto Solution

[Headcase88]

Well... duct tape is shiny.

mario party

[erbbysam]

This isn't the first time that they have done this, anybody remember those blistering mario party minigames that they actually gave out controller gloves for?

In other news...

[EarwigTC]

I keep punching my crotch way harder than it's supposed to be punched, and it huurts. I would like Levis to send me some better jeans.

Poorly designed minigames

[zstlaw]

I was at a friends house playing Rayman recently and I have to say some of the mini-games require absurdly fast motion of the remote. I attempted to use subtlety and control. Then I tried speed with small motions. Finally when both those approaches failed to get top rankings, I used huge motions at top speed and took the top places in several minigames.

Now I have only played for a couple hours. And some games did require coordination or accuracy, but others definitely involved waving your limbs like a madman. I believe this is an issue with game design, not necessarily the Wii. And with the Wii having so many minigames it makes sense that some will have the mechanic wave the controller as fast as possible. A story based game wouldn't have this problem, nor sports, nor first person shooters. But how many collections of minigames are out for the Wii already? I know I have seen several. Also remember that minigames have different mechanics than most gamers are used to. (bop the mole, play the drums, shake the bottle, etc)

I haven't dropped a controller myself, but the design of some games makes it perfectly understandable that it happens. If worn the wrist strap should be sufficient, but when you are passing the controller at a party, someone is going to not tighten the strap all the way or have sweaty hands. And honestly most people aren't going to "buckle up" just for a short video-game session. Just having the wrist strap on isn't enough, it needs to be tightened and that is uncomfortable. So breakage will happen.

Also

[killmenow]

It's different because people who tend to actually use baseball bats, tennis racquets, etc. are athletic people with a modicum of coordination...as opposed to video gamers who tend to be uncoordinated nerds (like myself) who suck at swinging baseball bats, tennis racquets, etc. in the real world too.

Even still, this uncoordinated person, his teenage uncoordinated son, nine year old uncoordinated daughter, and six year old uncoordinated son all have been playing Wii Sports since November 19th and none of us have managed to let go of a wiimote.

I still think alcohol is involved in more of these "woops, my wiimote just crashed into my TV!" moments than the people reporting such events are letting on.

Har har

[IsoRashi]

http://www.bbspot.com/News/2006/11/japanese-kids-s upergluing-wii-remote.html

Becareful with casual derogatory labels.

[Semptimilius]

I used to feel people who lost their grip on their remotes were stupid. Or naturally clumsy. Or speading FUD or looking for lawsuit material. Until it happened to me whilst playing tennis. My hand was extremely sweaty during one very long rally. All it took was one backhand too many in this sweaty situation and -VOOP- goes the wiimote. The strap did break, and I don't think that offending swing was particularly vigorous. Nothing was broken, and, fortunately, I can tie knots. I think it's just poor design. What's the average tensile strength of that string? Inserting and removing it from the plastic clip on the nunchuk could easily fray the string. They could have used an aramid fibre like Kevlar. Or a rubber (or ridged) surface for the wiimote itself, for grip.

Re:Becareful with casual derogatory labels.

[s31523]

It is only a matter of time before someone brings a lawsuit against Nintendo. If the strap really does break that easily, take the original Wiimote and show a jury how easy it breaks and bam, lawsuit won. If it's true, Nintendo should pay up to replace things that get broken. I'd be pissed if I was swinging my Wiimote with "normal" force and the strap broke causing the wiimote to smash my nice new $2000 flat-screen TV.

Re:Becareful with casual derogatory labels.

[phoenix.bam!]

Using the Wiimote with normal force also includes you not letting go of it. If you use the Wiimote in such a way that you throw it at your TV screen you just threw it at your tv! It's like blaming a seat belt for making you chip a tooth in a car accident when you hit a tree going 100mph.

Oh, please.

[WidescreenFreak]

But, unlike "fanbois", Nintendo has my loyalty because they've earned it, not because it might or might not be fashionable or because it's the coolest thing or because it makes me seem 1337 or whatever. That's an important difference, especially when most XBox 360 and PS3 fans appear to have their fandom based more on the geek factors - speed, power, graphics, etc. Whereas I'd prefer to have a company that offers both excellent customer service and newest-generation technology, if only given a choice of one I'll take the company that actually treats me like a customer.

That said, my loyalty to them is by no means undying. My support for them could change on a dime. If Nintendo starts acting like jerks, any loyalty to them will disappear, unlike what true "fanbois" would do, which would most likely be to make excuses.

How ironic that on a site that seeps Linux fandom on a regular basis I should be chastised for showing my support a company who currently deserves my support. I wonder if you feel the same kind of disdain for those who are as quick to blame Nintendo.

Re:Oh, please.

[thatguywhoiam]

How ironic that on a site that seeps Linux fandom on a regular basis I should be chastised for showing my support a company who currently deserves my support. I wonder if you feel the same kind of disdain for those who are as quick to blame Nintendo.

Oh, sure. For instance the whole DS hinge-cracking thing. They handled that well.

I probably came across more snarky than i intended, but its a bit sad that we have to step back and admire a company for simply behaving responsibly; this is how they should all behave. I do think you can put some blame on them as they must have done user testing, and that strap really is kinda flimsy. But more than Nintendo I think the issue falls on the design of certain games. Rayman comes to mind, that sequence with the cow/chain thing that makes you whirl the Wii remote over your head - that's just asking for trouble.

But you are pretty quick to take shots at Sony - the scaling issue, for instance, which seems fixed. They did the right thing as well, no?

Re:Oh, please.

[WidescreenFreak]

Oh, sure. For instance the whole DS hinge-cracking thing. They handled that well.

I will not confess to know everything about that except that it happened, so do enlighten me.

Rayman comes to mind, that sequence with the cow/chain thing that makes you whirl the Wii remote over your head - that's just asking for trouble.

Not as long as you keep a firm grip on the Wiimote. ;)

But you are pretty quick to take shots at Sony - the scaling issue, for instance, which seems fixed. They did the right thing as well, no?

Did not Ars Technica claim that the "fix" actually didn't do a whole hell of a lot? And what does my disgust for a company that installed a root kit on people's PCs and then had the audacity to state the equivalent of "What's the big deal?" have to do with my support for a company that's replacing wrist straps when they don't have to?

Re:Oh, please.

[gripen40k]

Nintendo has my loyalty because they've earned it, not because it might or might not be fashionable or because it's the coolest thing That's why I have an iPod in the back pocket of my super tight black jeans, a macbook in my retro messenger bag, and long strait hair that is dyed black with little red bits and worn so that it covers my left eye. I do it 'cause... they.. earned it... I guess...
 
I only tease, but what would a Nintendo fanboy look like?

Re:Oh, please.

[WidescreenFreak]

:)

I think you took my "fashionable" comment a bit too literally. :)

Re:Oh, please.

[thatguywhoiam]

I will not confess to know everything about that except that it happened, so do enlighten me.

Linky. At first they wanted to charge $50 to fix a product defect that was purely cosmetic; in the end I think they offered to simply replace affected models - although it took a lot of prodding, they did the right thing in the end.

Rayman comes to mind, that sequence with the cow/chain thing that makes you whirl the Wii remote over your head - that's just asking for trouble.

Not as long as you keep a firm grip on the Wiimote. ;)

...which is where we differ, but point taken.

Did not Ars Technica claim that the "fix" actually didn't do a whole hell of a lot?

I'm not sure about the article you mentioned. I do know that it is a (truly) tiny # of affected televisions, and if it didn't affect you, really, what do you care? We're talking customer impressions and rewarding loyalty, as you said earlier. My understanding of the issue is that it is basically an artifact of incomplete HDTV implementations in the early days of selling those. Its comparable to the PAL issues in Nintendo's retro games lineup - not really their fault, an artifact of the 50-60Hz difference for those games, but still a bit tricky to fix.

And what does my disgust for a company that installed a root kit on people's PCs and then had the audacity to state the equivalent of "What's the big deal?" have to do with my support for a company that's replacing wrist straps when they don't have to?

Common mistake. Sony BMG is the company you are thinking of. You simply cannot address 'Sony' as a whole in that way. I know that sounds like a rabid justification but it is absolutely true. (A multi-headed hydra like Sony regularly sues itself.) Or to put it another way, I could say the Xbox sucks ass because Windows sucks ass. Doesn't make a lot of sense. But hey, do what you like. I stopped buying Sony BMG products ages ago. SCEA doesn't dick me around, and Nintendo doesn't dick me around, so I spend money on them. (Incidentally the newest thing I own is a DS; other than that I have no horse in this race, so to speak.)

Re:Oh, please.

[Moofie]

"You simply cannot address 'Sony' as a whole in that way."

Sony markets itself as a monolithic entity. That's why all these disparate organizations are called "Sony". I can and will hold the whole organization responsible for bad actions of its constituent parts. (Same logic applies to both the republican and democratic parties, by the way.)

"Or to put it another way, I could say the Xbox sucks ass because Windows sucks ass."

OK. But I can and do say "I won't buy an xbox because I don't approve of Microsoft's business practices."

Re:Oh, please.

[thatguywhoiam]

OK. But I can and do say "I won't buy an xbox because I don't approve of Microsoft's business practices."

Hey, do what you like. I just said it doesn't make a lot of sense. You not buying an Xbox does not tell Microsoft that they have crappy business practices, it just tells them you don't like the Xbox. See, I actually would like to see these companies improve, rather than just call for their destruction. But you must do what you feel is right of course.

Re:Oh, please.

[Moofie]

Why would I give Microsoft money, if I think they'll use it for things I don't want?

Taxation is compulsory. Buying an xbox is not.

How am I going to make Microsoft improve by buying an xbox? They don't care about what I want. I care about what I do with my money, and I won't share it with them.

Re:Oh, please.

[h4ck7h3p14n37]

OK. But I can and do say "I won't buy an xbox because I don't approve of Microsoft's business practices."

Okay, but why not buy one from eBay? Microsoft doesn't see any money from that sale.

Re:Oh, please.

[Moofie]

Because they make money from the games and peripherals I'd buy, and I simply don't want one in my house. Why do you care?

Re:Oh, please.

[Dirtside]

You not buying an Xbox does not tell Microsoft that they have crappy business practices, it just tells them you don't like the Xbox.

That's why you write Microsoft a letter explaining that you will never buy an Xbox because of their crappy business practices. And you include a photocopy of the receipt for the Wii that you did buy because you approve of Nintendo's.

Re:Oh, please.

[h4ck7h3p14n37]

Why do you care?

Because I'm in a similar situation. I didn't want to give Microsoft any money, so I didn't buy an Xbox. However, I also collect game consoles, so I'd like to have an Xbox in the collection. I figured that so long as I bought the equipment used it would be okay.

Re:Oh, please.

[Moofie]

OK, so you decided what you wanted to do, and justified it. Whatever works for you. It doesn't work for me.

...after much giggling and photo-taking???

[shoolz]

Can somebody clue me in? I'm not exactly sure what this is in reference to. Am I the only one who doesn't get the joke?

"People are stupid" IS an excuse

[MrPerfekt]

You're trying to tell me Nintendo designed the Wii with THIS in mind?! Are you wacky?

In my experience, the controller doesn't even track movements that fast very well so all you're doing is overexerting yourself and making yourself look even more ridiculous. I'm stumped as to why swinging the controller AS HARD AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN could be construed as 'normal' gameplay. It says everywhere in the manual and in gameplay, swing gently. A gentle motion is far more accurate than this WiiMote hurdling exercise shown in the video and doesn't result in the wrist-strap dying a horrible death trying to restrain an 80-mph 8oz plastic shard from flying towards your TV.

After about 25 hours of play, the remote has -never- come close to leaving my hand, I've played all the games reasonably well and, yes, after a while my hand does sweat. The video is a prime example of what is going on. I think Chuck Norris would even have a good deal bit more restraint.

Re:"People are stupid" IS an excuse

[thatguywhoiam]

You're trying to tell me Nintendo designed the Wii with THIS [youtube.com] in mind?! Are you wacky?

No no, of course not, that guy is an idiot, and it is unreasonable to try and design with that in mind. But this is the same video everyone points to - I really don't think its representative of the Nintendo user base. Its one idiot on a video. On the other hand, Nintendo obviously feels that the issue is pressing enough to bother with the new strap, so the problems are there.

Look I really don't get how people manage to throw these things either, it would never have occurred to me that this would be an issue, but that's why you do testing, and their testing failed insofar as they shipped a flimsier strap than they needed. No biggie. I blame games like Rayman and the methods they came up with more than Nintendo itself to be honest.

Re: You don't "Fiddle with Buttons in Wii Sports"

[trdrstv]

Well, for one thing, these items (baseball bats, Tennis racquets, golf clubs, drumsticks) do go flying on a regular basis. But they are outside, on a green or in a court, not 3 feet from your plasma screen.

Secondly, there are no buttons that you are fiddling with while swinging your tennis racket or golf club, which certainly has an effect.

For Wii Sports you Do not 'Fiddle' with buttons while you are in game. Hell, 3 of them you can play without touching Any buttons.

Tennis - Though you can toss the ball up to serve by pressing the A button, if you gesture up with your racquet your character will throw the ball in the air.

Boxing - Uses no buttons what-so-ever for in game action.

Baseball - Uses no buttons what-so-ever for for batting. For Pitching, you can change your pitches with the digital pad before any pitching motion is ever made. You hand should be secure on the remote at that point. You actually can play a full game of baseball without touching any buttons if you don't mind only throwing fastballs.

Golf - Requires only 1 button be HELD during gameplay so the computer knows the difference between a swing, and a practice swing. Holding the remote so your thumb covers the A button, doensn't constitute 'fiddling'.

Bowling - Hold the remote securely with your thumb and forefingers to bowl. The only one that gets used during motion is the Trigger (your index finger) and that's a simple, press and release. Your thumb and rest of your fingers should easily be able to hold onto the remote.

Did this kid get one?

[crvtec]

I wonder if this kid has a Wii and what he's done... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bmSPgAUHXU

Re:Did this kid get one?

[Phisbut]

I wonder if this kid has a Wii and what he's done... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bmSPgAUHXU

That's quite funny, but it's the evidence we've all been looking for: Videogames make people violent.

Re:Oh, this was on final Jeopardy last night!

[Psykechan]

What is a baseball bat, Alex? Not all bats have a grip on them.

The Wii remote is designed with a lip on the bottom where the B button is located. Using your index finger you should easily maintain control over the remote. If you can't, then it's your ineptness that is causing the damage and not the safety strap.

Seriously, why don't the sweaty people invest in gloves. Isn't that what the professional players wear?

Re:What the Hell is going on here...

[Chris Burke]

Had this been Sony the post would have been 1,563 comments long with 95% of them saying, "Sony sucks and should burn in hell", "rootkit"!

Yeah, because if this had been Sony there wouldn't have been a recall, they would flat-out state that it is the customer's fault, and do nothing to fix the problem. Why would the rootkit come up? Well, what was their response?

The fact that Nintendo is fixing the problem -- in fact, already fixed it on newly shipped wiimotes, this recall only affects purchasers of the initial lots -- is the only reason they're getting a pass and some people are calling the wiimote-flingers dumb. If Nintendo was giving their customers the finger like Sony does, you would see a different reaction.

The reason you don't get it is because you think that everything is equal and you can ignore context. Nintendo and Sony are not the same company, and this is an example of why.

Only in america...

[not-enough-info]

"The decision comes after reports that some users in the United States threw their controllers when playing with Wii sports software," Minagawa said.
  Nintendo rejects reports of Wii recalls I find it depressing and embarrassing that this is the first thought I had even before finding this article.
I fully expect other countries to have idiots as stupid as ours, but why oh why must ours be the loudest?

Re:What the Hell is going on here...

[MemoryDragon]

Actually Sony would push your through 15 layers of automated tech support questions before a person tells you politely screw yourself...

Astroturfing????

[Were-Rabbit]

Wait ... so, if someone posts a response to a higher-level message, that action is automatically astroturfing and deserving of condemnation? Interesting. By all means do post your threshhold for when it is and it is not appropriate to post a response to an early post. I'm absolutely fascinated to see when self-censorship is expected just to avoid a ridiculous label from people such as yourself.

Interesting dichotomy

[Were-Rabbit]

Now, this is fascinating. (Emphases mine.)

True, the owners are getting 'over excited' and they aren't using it correctly.

but then you contradict yourself with

Nintendo does share at least some of responsibility about it.

No, Nintendo doesn't share any responsibility, especially when you admit that customers are not using the Wiimote in a manner that is appropriate. You can't have it both ways. If the people playing the games are using it responsibly and the Wiimote still flies out of their hands, then, yes, I would agree that Nintendo bears responsibility. But it's ridiculous to say that Nintendo is responsble for the inappropriate behavior of its customers. Applying that belief to other items that we purchase creates a dangerously, slippery slope and I don't think any of us want to go down.

"Even though people were inappropriately using a toaster as a hand warmer and the toaster manufacturer had very clear statements that the toaster is not to be used as a hand warmer, the toaster manufacturer should have known that as a heat source people might use it for this function; therefore, they bear some responsibility in my client's 2nd degree burns". It's no different than your argument, but I'll bet you would side with the toaster manufacturer, not the idiot who burned himself.

The Wiimote is either being used as instructed or it's not. There's no grey area here. If it's used as instructed and there's a problem, that's Nintendo's problem. If it's not used as instructed, Nintendo has no responsibility. At least they're getting some great PR out of this by handling it over and above how they could have.

Re:Interesting dichotomy

[yakineko oni]

Dear Were-Rabbit;

Thanks for your idea, but had you gone on to read the post you were responding to, you would have noticed that the poster went on to explain the position taken, with the summary in the following statement:

...hyping up natural motion of the controller and it didn't occur to them to use thicker straps?!

The issue is not that people are blaming Nintendo for the wild n crazy gesturing of the players (which would be silly), the issue is that Nintendo knew they were emphasizing the wild n crazy movements, and didn't say "oh, maybe we should use thicker straps for that..."

In your example, the toaster is NOT meant to be used as a hand warmer, while the Wiimote is, in fact, intended to be wielded as a whatever-they're-doing-with-it-cause-it's-part-of- the-game. The difference is that if you're going to stick your hand into a toaster, make sure it's made for sticking your hand into, or at least make sure that the cord is durable enough to stay attached to the toaster while you flail about wildly, trying to dislodge said heating device from your burning flesh.

All that being said, I'm pleased that Nintendo is being understanding about this whole silly strap business, and I am looking forward to being able to break my own household appliances when I can afford a Wii. ^_^

p.s. I am not trying to troll, only clarify. kthnx.

Re:Interesting dichotomy

[fistfullast33l]

No, Nintendo doesn't share any responsibility, especially when you admit that customers are not using the Wiimote in a manner that is appropriate. You can't have it both ways. If the people playing the games are using it responsibly and the Wiimote still flies out of their hands, then, yes, I would agree that Nintendo bears responsibility. But it's ridiculous to say that Nintendo is responsble for the inappropriate behavior of its customers

I find this response funny because it's the exact opposite that I'm arguing. I know it's not popular to bash Nintendo here, but I'm going to point out something that I said in my post in line with yours. No one is really to blame here for these incidents, but I do think it's ridiculous to say (which is also Nintendo's stance, I might add) that these users are "inappropriately" using the Wiimote. You can't make a game involving physical activity and assume the user is passive and going to not get into the game.

You can't assume the user isn't going to want to jump up and down and cheer and shout and all that. In fact, you should assume it as it means the user is enjoying your system. To argue that they're being to aggresive is just plain stupid. If you watch a couch potato surfing the television, do they look engaged? Do they look like they're having fun? No. When they laugh or cry or shout at a television, then you know they're engaged and being entertained. You should assume that every gaming session should be like watching a sporting event or laughing at a comedy show because those are really the height of emotion involved in watching television, and interactive video games should really shoot to top that. To assume anything else is really ignorant in my opinion. How can you tout a new system as being the height of interactivity and then call it inappropriate when they reach new heights of said interactivity?

Re:Interesting dichotomy

[Planesdragon]

Nintendo doesn't share any responsibility, especially when you admit that customers are not using the Wiimote in a manner that is appropriate. You can't have it both ways

You're obviously not familiar with strict liability.

Let's go for a worst-case scienerio -- somone playing a Wii has the strap break, the Wii-mote flys out an open window, and in a freak accident hits the driver of a passing vehicle on the head, causing him then to run into a nearby tree and total his $30,000 car and require a $250,000 surgery.

The gentleman, or his insurance company, files suit against the homeowner and Nintendo. Nintendo tries to argue what you say -- that the 'mote wasn't being used properly. The judge rejects that, and requires them to remain a party to the lawsuit, as it was the failure of their product which caused the injury.

Yes, Nintendo can shift some of the blame back to the homeowner, and likely winds up settling in any case, but they aren't even close to totally off the hook just because they stuck a warning label on there.

Re:Interesting dichotomy

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

"...but then you contradict yourself with..."

That is not a contradiction. The strap is on the controller in the first place because the nature of the beast causes people to tempt fate. They shouldn't need a strap at all, afterall they'd be abusing it if they threw the remote sans strap. The reason it comes with one in the first place is that the remote is geared to those sorts of gestures.

"Even though people were inappropriately using a toaster as a hand warmer and the toaster manufacturer had very clear statements that the toaster is not to be used as a hand warmer, the toaster manufacturer should have known that as a heat source people might use it for this function; therefore, they bear some responsibility in my client's 2nd degree burns". It's no different than your argument, but I'll bet you would side with the toaster manufacturer, not the idiot who burned himself.

Umm, no, this is not similar to my argument. A better example is Christmas tree lights. You're not supposed to chain more than a given amount together. It says so very clearly. Yet, they still contain fuses to prevent them from overloading the circuit. The reason this is necessary is that the nature of the product tempts people to use it incorrectly.

"The Wiimote is either being used as instructed or it's not. There's no grey area here. "

Wrong. In that case a company could make a product as cheaply and un-safely as possible and all they'd have to do is put a disclaimer up. It doesn't work like that. Disclaimers are only part of the solution, not the complete answer.

Re:Interesting dichotomy

[Phisbut]

The issue is not that people are blaming Nintendo for the wild n crazy gesturing of the players (which would be silly), the issue is that Nintendo knew they were emphasizing the wild n crazy movements, and didn't say "oh, maybe we should use thicker straps for that..."

However, Nintendo was emphasizing the wild n crazy movements while keeping the Wiimote in your hand. It is possible that they actually never though "Many people will not use the product as instructed and we should use thicker straps for them".

I play tennis and badminton, and never have I thrown my racket into my opponent's face. That's because I know how to hold on to something. Heck, nobody can swing a tennis racket faster and stronger than professional tennis players, and I've never seen them throw a racket across the court at mach 2.

Re:Interesting dichotomy

[KeiichiMorisato]

So let's say I'm playing with a football and I throw it and cause the same damage etc. as your example. Do I get to sue the company that made the football? Will that company take partial responsibility? Heck I'm even using the football the way it was designed for!

Re:Not Wiimotely Twue

[MemoryDragon]

Get another wife and fry your cat...

Wii straps breaking, happened to me

[MrMojado]

I was one of the people that had a wrist strap break. The remote also went through my 52 inch rear projection tv. My friend was the one that sent the controller flying. We were playing the wii sports baseball homerun derby game. The object of this game is to swing as hard as you can, to get the furthest possible home runs. Personally I think that the wrist straps were extremly poorly designed, and that were were not using the system outside of its normal use. Now I do not expect Nintendo to reimburse me for what some will see as horseplay, but I do imagine that a class action suit will be coming about.

If you have actually held the controller and looked at the straps, it is obvious they were made this way as a cost cutting measure. The one hope I have is that in the future they will do things right the first time.

Re:Wii straps breaking, happened to me

[DaAdder]

The point of the game, I imagine, is to be able to swing the wiimote *while* keeping it in your hand.

I seriously think this was just an oversight from the developers, how much more does really a slightly thicker strap cost? Virtually nothing.

I don't believe nintendo imagined people sweaty-palmed gamers throwing their wiimote as hard as the humanly could without *any* concern for being able to keep it in their hand. I know I wouldn't.

How often to you get a tennis racket or a baseball bat in the face from some overexcited sportster? Well maybe not you, but have you ever heard of it happening?

Board Meeting

[Wiarumas]

I can imagine Nintendo's board meeting...

"Wait.. so... people actually aren't capable of holding onto an object?"

"...yes... apparently the market we are selling to aren't the most physically capable beings."

*Sigh* "Ok... fine. Let's make it more durable so even people who aren't capable of holding onto something can play Wii."

Re: You don't "Fiddle with Buttons in Wii Sports"

[thatguywhoiam]

For Wii Sports you Do not 'Fiddle' with buttons while you are in game. Hell, 3 of them you can play without touching Any buttons.

Wow. Thou dost protest a little too much. Besides not addressing my other point - that you are fucking outside with the other examples - you seem to think that Wii Sports is the only thing you play with a Wii.

Re: You don't "Fiddle with Buttons in Wii Sports"

[trdrstv]

Besides not addressing my other point - that you are fucking outside with the other examples ...

You play the drums outside?

Re:Beat me to it. More kudos to Nintendo.

[rucs_hack]

I regularly pay a little more for stuff I buy and get it from local retailers rather then online or cheap mega stores.

Reason being, in some shops I get a friendly hello when I walk in, and often stand and chat to shop owners that I have a decent relationship with. It costs more yes, but good relationships and customer service mean a lot to me.

Companies who look after their customers well are few and far between in the large corporate world, so if Nintendo are trying to do this, then I appreciate it.

Re:What the Hell is going on here...

[Icepole4]

Seriously now, how many cartridges have you had to blow out 10 times, or tip just right in the console or throw away completely because it wouldn't work. Don't know about you but I've had quite a few. At least I know that as long as I keep it relatively scratch free my 10 year old disc will work in a PS1, PS2 or PS3.

You pansy. It IS a recall...

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

Update: 12/15 17:07 GMT by Z : I used the right term here in the text, but Edge Online notes that recall is not the right term to use here. Title corrected.

First, I can't say I've even seen a "correction" on SlashDot. Ever. One has to wonder what advertiser threatened to pull what ads to make this near Act of God happen.

Second, it IS a recall. From some actual news sources...

Nintendo recalls Wii straps, DS adapters
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artic le/2006/12/15/AR2006121500932.html

(Shitloads more like it from Google)
http://news.google.com/news?q=wii+recall&num=20&hl =en&lr=&safe=off&sa=X&oi=news&ct=title

Here's a nice one about how Nintendo's PR stiffs are trying to spin the term "recall" into "replace" headlines (probably to avoid denting holiday sales):
http://www.pcworld.ca/news/column/876ff8f90a010408 00b24c9aa9c24043/pg0.htm ...and it looks like Slashdot is perfectly happy to remain a press release ho.

Re:You pansy. It IS a recall...

[specialbrad]

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/recall

A recall actually requires the old product to be returned. They are simply providing replacement straps, they don't want the originals back. It's a replacement.

Re:You pansy. It IS a recall...

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

A recall actually requires the old product to be returned

Thanks - I needed the laugh.

Beside the Nintendo recall, here are just a couple of other electronic recalls that didn't require the marks, I mean consumers, to return the crappy product.

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml02/02115. html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06536. html

Re:You pansy. It IS a recall...

[Mad Merlin]

First, I can't say I've even seen a "correction" on SlashDot. Ever. One has to wonder what advertiser threatened to pull what ads to make this near Act of God happen.

While corrections are uncommon, they're definitely not unheard of. I've seen at least half a dozen before.

I must have small muscles.

[donut1005]

I am still in the camp that all these people breaking their [insert here] by losing their grip on the Wiimote is ludicrous. I have had my Wii since launch and I have not even once had a situation where the strap saved me from heaving the Wiimote becuase I lost grip. I haven't lost my grip yet. I am more worried about wacking the person next to me!

Could Nintendo made a better wrist strap? YES. Is it their fault that meatheaded people are swinging their arms like idiots when I can make the same results by moving the Wiimote only inches? WELL, they should have thought of that. Are they doing the right thing regardless of the variables? YES. I don't think they need to, but its really cool to see a company step up and take care of something before they are TOLD to.

Re: You don't "Fiddle with Buttons in Wii Sports"

[thatguywhoiam]

You play the drums outside?

You really are just going to dodge, aren't you.

I'll go through this one more time. Your examples (tennis, baseball, drumming) are things you don't do in your living room, where your expensive TV lives. Also, while you may be able to play Wii Sports with not a lot of buttons, Wii Sports is not the only game people play. Rayman is big for instance, and requires you to do all kinds of wacky things with the controller (like whirling it around).

Got it, fanboy?

No, probably not. Nevermind.

Re:What the Hell is going on here...

[Chris Burke]

Sony and Nintendo are the same company. At the end of the day they don't care about us as consumers, they care about MAKING A PROFIT period!

The question is how do they go about it.

If you don't think there is any difference at all between the behavior of Sony and Nintendo, then you either have been paying absolutely zero attention and are saying "They're the same because I don't know any better", or you are the one who is smoking.

Nintendo Wii

[Udderdude]

New ad campaign ..

Nintendo Wii : So fun, you might just break something.

Re:What were they thinking

[friedmud]

Really?

I'm 6'5" myself and drive an Impreza WRX... and fit in it really well. Like you said it has a lot of headroom... and I find that it has plenty of legroom. The newer models have even _more_ legroom (2"!) than before.

I guess all of your height must be in your legs. I tend to be fairly evenly split. I have a friend who's as tall as me, but his head touches the ceiling in my car! (He has a _really_ long torso).

Anyway... until the American car companies figure out how to provide a good looking sporty 4-Door with over 200hp for a reasonable price, I'll continue buying Japanese... and if that means I have to squeeze in a bit then so be it ;-)

Derek

Re:What the Hell is going on here...

[Chris Burke]

Just fyi, that has nothing to do with the cartridge, and everything to do with the poorly-designed connector on the NES itself. The SNES and N64 do not suffer from these problems, and cartridges still work fine. As do NES cartridges if you have a work-around for the connector, like a Game Genie. Cartridges, for all their faults, are quite reliable. It's extremely difficult to scratch one, for example.

I doubt you could find a PS1 that has been in use for 10 years that still works. Very few people I know owned only one PS1 or PS2. The PS2 seems especially prone to failure, as I know several who are on their 3rd or 4th one. In some ways, though, this is a general problem with optical drives which contain moving parts and will eventually fail. Failing optical drives is the main problem for Gamecubes and Xboxen as well.

You're all wrong!

[Oriumpor]

Nintendo is responsible as all hell, their games are too good obviously! Why else would people be hurting themselves getting all excited over a silly game! They must be using foul technology to trigger endorphine and adrenaline release to make their games more exciting and addicting!

They must take responsibility and lower the quality and excitement quotient of their games, obviously. /sarcasm

FFS you shouldn't need to tell people a billion times not to chuck something. Such that when they do, and that something collides with something else the person should be thinking "OMG I'm an idiot." not "OMG sue the bastard who made that something!" I guess this is what we get for having gulgafrinchams in our midst.

Re:What the Hell is going on here...

[HappySqurriel]

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaait a minute people. Nintendo doesn't properly test and ships a shaky/cheap strap prone to breakage and all we have is praise for them?! How does Nintendo get a pass on this as "how to handle the situation". Had this been Sony the post would have been 1,563 comments long with 95% of them saying, "Sony sucks and should burn in hell", "rootkit"! Heck to be honest outside of shipment numbers...

Its called Karma...

Nintendo has spent years producing high-quality products while providing excellent customer service; at the same time, I haven't heard of anyone being "screwed" by any direct or indirect action of Nintendo. You can't (necessarily) say the same about Sony.

Ultimately, you hear about people using the Wiimote at a level which could be called excessive and the wrist-strap not being able to handle the forces involved; rather than acting like Sony (or even like Apple has in the past) and saying that it is user error, Nintendo redesigned the straps and is willing to replace all existing straps for their customers. Essentially, this is like people's PSP not working in the bathtub and Sony making future PSPs waterproof ...

Sony's had the best launch so far. No widespread red circles of death, bad updates, controllers killing TV's...as hard as it is to admit, for the most part the PS3's in the market have worked flawlessly."

Besides people selling them on eBay does anyone even own a PS3 yet?

When the PS3 has been out for 3 months, and over 1 Million people own one, if it has no known hardware problems I think it will be a candidate for having the best build quality at launch; being that they cut their shipment from 2 Million consoles worldwide, to 500,000 in North America and Japan and only actually shipped half of those I don't think it would approach the top 10 console launches though.

Let's call a spade a spade here people...this is a mistake on Nintendo's part. To assert that people "should be more careful" is just stupid. Nintendo knew their console encouraged movement and this could potentially happen (why they included a strap in the first place) but they cheaped out on them and these are the consequences. I'm as big a Ninty fan as anyone and proud Wii owner but Let's stop drinking Ninty's kool-aid, get off our knees, and see the forest for the trees. This launch has had its share of mishaps: limited to no online play, bad update (I'm on my second Wii), straps, lower than expected shipment numbers to the UK...) yet gamers, and slashdot especially, keep giving Nintendo a pass. I don't get it.

A company has to make assumptions about reasonable use of their product ...

The wrist strap was designed based off of their assumptions on how most people would use the Wii and (for the most part) they were correct; they extended their assumptions to now include complete morons into their target user group and have adjusted their design appropriately.

Personally, I am an ass ...

If it were up to me, anyone who was stupid enough to use the Wiimote in a way where they would throw it with enough force to both break the strap and break their TV would get exactly what they earned (a broken TV and, hopefully, a broken Wiimote).

Re:What the Hell is going on here...

[HappySqurriel]

try again, according to the NPD number 197,000 PS3's were sold at launch. Correct me if I am wrong but at its height I only saw about 1,000 PS3's up for sale on ebay. Leaving 196,000 in the wild. Let's say 2,000 parents have this sitting under their tree for little Billy, leaving 195,000 not including the Asian launch. That's not a million but with all the bleeding edge tech in the PS3 to say we've had as few problems as have been reported I think is impressive

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/wii/ps3-wii-ebay-figu res-unveiled-218150.php

11.30.2006

In the weeks leading up to Black Friday (and the weekend itself), the PS3 shifted 28,233 units over eBay

So approximately 15% of all PS3's sold in November were resold on eBay in November...
When you include Craig's list and people who attempted to sell their system locally a safe assumption would be 20%-25% of PS3s were resold in November...
When you add people who bought them for Christmas the number of unopened systems would jump to 30%-40% ...

So (in general) there would be 100,000-115,000 PS3 systems that have seen more that a week or two of actual use; in Contrast the number of Wii systems seeing similar use would be somewhere between 400,000-500,000 units. To what extent do you think having less systems on the market would lead to their being less errors reported about a system?

Re: You don't "Fiddle with Buttons in Wii Sports"

[trdrstv]

I'll go through this one more time. Your examples (tennis, baseball, drumming) are things you don't do in your living room, where your expensive TV lives. Also, while you may be able to play Wii Sports with not a lot of buttons, Wii Sports is not the only game people play. Rayman is big for instance, and requires you to do all kinds of wacky things with the controller (like whirling it around).

The original argument focused on Wii Sports, but let's count all the games that require (and I use that term pretty loosely) 'Enthusiastic use' (Violent movements) towards your TV.

Wii Sports Baseball (Pitching) - Which in reality you don't have to do. You can line up to the left or right of the TV, and still get the same effect. - No button pressing involved.

Madden 07 (passing) - A 'Bullet pass' in particular. Though you don't have to throw towards the TV, some people do. - Once again you don't press a button.

Rayman Raving Rabbits (The Cow Toss) - Funny you mentioned this one as I actually beat this game, and can only think of that mini game that reguired any potential 'toss into TV' motions. In general this is more natural to do while standing up, however even sitting down I'd be swinging the remote above my head and would land above the TV. I will give you the benefit of the doubt that you could play this sitting down and have a bigger TV than me. To throw the cow you have the remote gripped by 4 fingers and you press A with your thumb. Hardly fiddling.

Let's count the games that actually require you to release the remote... let's see it's... Zero.

In theory there are other gestures played in other games like tennis or golf where you can play and swing the remote violently and release at just the wrong time to cause damage. I have paused a game and wiped my hands off so the remote doesn't "get too loose in my hand", and in actuality I think some rubber gripping on the edges would be helpful but getting back to the intial discussion, you don't make 'Wild gestures' with the remote while 'fiddling with the buttons' which was the initial discussion.

Stay on Target.

Pretty darn close...

[ke4roh]

NEWS from CPSC
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs
Washington, DC 20207

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15, 2006
Release #07-061

Firm's Hotline: (800) 859-4519
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

Nintendo of America Initiates Replacement Program for Wrist Straps Used
with Controllers for the Wii Video Game System

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in
cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary
replacement program for the following consumer product.
Name of Product: Wrist Straps Used with Controllers for the Nintendo Wii
Video Game System

Units: About 2 Million

Distributor: Nintendo of America Inc.

Issue: If consumers swing the hand-held "Wii Remote" game controllers
using excessive force and accidentally let go, the cord connecting the
controller to the wrist strap can break, potentially causing the
controller to strike bystanders or objects.

Incidents/Injuries: Nintendo has received reports of cords on wrist
straps breaking, including three reports of minor injuries not requiring
medical attention. All of these incidents occurred when consumers were
playing the game, "Wii Sports."

Description: The wrist straps are sold with Nintendo's Wii video game
system (pronounced "we"). Its controller, called the Wii Remote, is
shaped like a TV remote. Sensors determine the Wii Remote's position in
3-D space, which means that a tennis swing, for example, is done through
movement of a consumer's hand rather than by just fingers and thumbs.
The cords on the wrist straps included in this program are 0.6mm in
diameter. The replacement cords are 1.0 mm in diameter (see photo
below).

Sold by: The Wii video game systems have been sold since November 19,
2006 for approximately $249. The Wii Remote has separately been sold
from November 19, 2006 for approximately $39. All Wii video game systems
purchased after December 11, 2006 should have the new 1.0 mm cord. All
individually sold Wii Remotes purchased after December 18, 2006, should
have the new 1.0 mm cord.

Manufactured in: Japan and China

Remedy: Consumers should contact the firm for a replacement wrist strap.

Customer Contact: For more information, contact Nintendo toll-free at
(800) 859-4519 between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. PT, or visit their Web site at
www.support.nintendo.com

To see this Press Release on CPSC's web site, including a picture of the
product involved, please go to:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07061. html

Re:What the Hell is going on here...

[trdrstv]

Just so you know a 3-5% failure rate is considered exceptional in the manufacturing world.

Actually that is standard, not exceptional. Exceptional is less than that.

Re:What the Hell is going on here...

[MemoryDragon]

To clear up the situation, the Wii has around 2 million confirmed sold machines, 50 cases of strap breaking have been confirmed so far....

Re:What the Hell is going on here...

[MemoryDragon]

Probably more, the number of Wiis sold, is roughly 2 mio and i assume given my experiences (most of the first shipments in the store I visited were gobbled up by students) half of them already are given proper use. Now we have 50 confirmd cases of broken straps and almost zero of any real hardware problems, I would say this is a quality product.

Re:Beat me to it. More kudos to Nintendo.

[Generic Player]

Some people just think "I already paid for this game, I am not going to pay for it again".

...and all three of them...

[!eopard]

...do not have a handle made out of smooth plastic. My Wiimote slipped out of my hand when I was playing tennis. Hadn't washed my hasnds since dinner, plus a little bit of sweat and there you go, a nice slightly greasy remote that is tough to hold on to. I can see why some people would loose a grip, especially when pitching. Lesson = wash your hands before playing.

Bad ideal.

[insomniac8400]

All that is going to happen is people are going to test this new strap to it's limit and try to get it to break. They will probably be successfull and make a couple youTube videos, and nintendo hopefully will ignore it the second time. There is nothing wrong with the first strap, if your going to be an idiot and throw your wii remote, you deserve a broken tv.

Just in time.

[CCFreak2K]

All I want for Christmas is a safe-ty strap.

Re:What the Hell is going on here...

[Guppy06]

"That's exactly what anonymous is talking about, this false sense that Nintendo is somehow this holier than though company of the people. Sony and Nintendo are the same company."

Dead pixel on a DS at launch? Nintendo said "Here's your new DS."

Dead pixel on a PSP at launch? Sony said "Well, gee, that's just the nature of the beast, all LCDs do that. It's not covered by the warranty, you'll just have to put up with it. What? Our competitors are replacing theirs, no questions asked? Damn, guess we'll have to do the same to keep face. But don't even think about complaining about the triangle button, that just adds to the aesthetic appeal!"

Face it: people around here like Nintendo more than Sony because Nintendo has far superior customer relations. You may have some weird BDSM preference, but I actually like being respected by people I give money to.

Re:Beat me to it. More kudos to Nintendo.

[rucs_hack]

In one particular local store, I not only get what I want, but sometimes they come across stuff I'd like and put it by for when I come in (this being a bookstore).

I also have a local butcher who likes to know exactly what you plan to do with the meat he's selling you so he can give you exactly the right stuff.

It all depends on how good the store owners in question are though.

Re:Beat me to it. More kudos to Nintendo.

[Phisbut]

WTF does astroturfing mean?

Wikipedia is your friend.

Here is how I broke my TV

[MemoryDragon]

I was playing Wii basketball, and slam dunked the wii mote into the TV, the problem was the strap survived, the wii mote as well, the tv didnt.

Media Ploy Anyone?

[AUDIOMIND]

Anyone else see a ploy by Nintendo here to (ab)use the media as their own personal publicity machine?

Not to take away from their honorable choice to replace the straps, but, 'I'm just saying'.