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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.
This is how a company should react when they screw up.
11 was a racehorse
12 was 12
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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.
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."
My straps were starting to fray, and I was contemplating several ghetto-style solutions...
I have already implemented this solution so I should be safe.
Things you think are in the Constitution, but are not.
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.
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".
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.
The Overrated mod is for reversing inappropriate, positive mods, not for voicing disagreement with a post.
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.
Bush: He's Liberal in all the wrong ways.
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.
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Everyone should also view this report:
http://www.nintendojo.com/fullfocus/view_item.php
If the default straps can take that, then people are just really dumb if they manage to break them.
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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.
The Overrated mod is for reversing inappropriate, positive mods, not for voicing disagreement with a post.
1. Baseball bat
:)
2. Tennis raquet
3. Squash racquet
Louisville Slugger, Head and Prince are begging for lawsuits...
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.
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
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.
Promote civility: mod down any post starting with 'ummm'.
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.
"Obscenity is the crutch of the inarticulate motherfucker." - cloak42
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.
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.
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.
The Overrated mod is for reversing inappropriate, positive mods, not for voicing disagreement with a post.
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.
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.
The enemies of Democracy are
Get another wife and fry your cat...
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.
"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."
I will bend like a reed in the wind.
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.
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!
/sarcasm
They must take responsibility and lower the quality and excitement quotient of their games, obviously.
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.
"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...
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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).