Nintendo Slapped With Wiimote Strap Lawsuit Once Again

GameCyteSean writes "GameCyte is reporting that a new class-action lawsuit has challenged Nintendo's Wiimote straps once more. Interestingly, the suit was filed by the same lawyer who led the original 2006 attempt, and now argues that Nintendo hid records of broken TVs from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. From the article: 'This doesn't seem like a spurious accusation, either. Attached to the court filing (PDF) as a matter of public record is the very evidence Nintendo allegedly tried to hide: actual, internal Nintendo documents (PDF) where customer service reps received complaints of cracked televisions and broken Wiimote straps — and the corresponding Monthly Reports that Nintendo was compelled to file with the CPSC as part of their agreement.'"

Comments

Get a life

[mlwmohawk]

Seriously, if you break your TV with a remote, its your fault.

Re:Get a life

[Anonymous Coward]

This is how I picture the origins of the lawsuit: Some guy is playing a Star Wars game. He wants to make Obi-Wan do the force throw thing with his lightsaber, knowing that Obi-Wan's saber will fly back to him. So, he figures that if you need to swing the Wiimote to swing the lightsaber, logically, you must also throw the Wiimote to throw the lightsaber, and it, like the lightsaber, will return to his hand. Unfortunately, physics rears its ugly head, and he discovers that this is not the case, and decides that Nintendo owes him a new TV.

Re:Get a life

[cjfs]

Seriously, if you break your TV with a remote, its your fault.

I disagree. Clearly my inability to hold on to a remote with my greasy cheetos-covered hand is a fundamental online rights issue. Hence the tags for this story.

Re:Get a life

[Anonymous Coward]

Perhaps, although it would seem the average /. nerd isn't very susceptible to jokes.

Re:Get a life

[Metasquares]

On the other hand, that whooshing noise could either be the joke or a remote.

Re:Get a life

[Anonymous Coward]

This is how I picture the origins of the lawsuit: Some guy is playing a Star Wars game. He wants to make Obi-Wan do the force throw thing with his lightsaber, knowing that Obi-Wan's saber will fly back to him. So, he figures that if you need to swing the Wiimote to swing the lightsaber, logically, you must also throw the Wiimote to throw the lightsaber, and it, like the lightsaber, will return to his hand. Unfortunately, physics rears its ugly head, and he discovers that this is not the case, and decides that Nintendo owes him a new TV.

That makes more sense. My first reaction was he was playing a porn game and got too excited.

Posting AC so my wife won't hit me.

Re:Get a life

[Stormwatch]

These are not the jokes you are looking for.

Re:Get a life

[jcr]

It all started when he was a little kid and he dropped his ice cream. His mommy immediately gave him another one to make him quit crying.

-jcr

I'm dubious about this.

[nhaines]

Frankly, I've dropped my Wii remote a total of once, maybe twice. And I mean I let go of it while standing idle. None of my family was confused about whether they should throw the remote, and the only ones I've had to deal with were my godchildren who liked to swing the remotes while idle, and not let go while playing.

I don't find the remotes particularly difficult to grasp, and while I have replacement straps, I still have the originals on the remotes. As much as I feel bad for anyone who accidentally threw a remote through a window, lamp, or TV, I just have difficulty believing that somehow Nintendo is to blame for this, or that they should be liable.

Re:I'm dubious about this.

[Free the Cowards]

And just like the McDonald's coffee lawsuit, it continues to sound silly even after becoming familiar with all the facts.

Re:I'm dubious about this.

[Anonymous Coward]

It's INTENDED to leave my hands at a high speed in an outdoor environment.

The Wii remote is not intended to leave your hands at any speed, it is also not intended for use in an outdoor environment.

You might as well complain that the Wii remote can't be used as a kitchen utensil, despite the implied promise made by Cooking Mama.

I don't think Nintendo should be held liable for people who throw their remotes, any more than they should be liable for damages caused by other misuses, like stirring cake batter.

However, if they really have hidden evidence from the court, as they are accused of, then they should be punished for that.

Re:I'm dubious about this.

[stuntpope]

My camera came with a strap. If I were dangling my camera by its strap, not holding the actual camera body, and the strap broke and my camera smashed to the pavement, it would never occur to me to sue the camera manufacturer. My thoughts, after the "oh shit" would be, "I shouldn't have been doing that and should have been more careful."

Re:I'm dubious about this.

[Arker]

So what you're saying is it's perfectly reasonable to serve coffee so hot it can give you third degree burns?

Yes, of course. Doh. How do you make coffee? You boil water! Knock knock, anyone home? Fresh coffee is too hot to drink. Learning to uncover it and let it cool slightly before you drink it, and to take care with the first few drinks in particular to notice the temperature and if necessary back off and let it cool another couple degrees isn't rocket science, it's basic common sense.

At the time this occured I was working an early job and it was my habit to get a hot coffee at the drivethrough each day on my way to work. It came in a cup with cover and carrier and I would put it in its place, make sure it was stable, and then continue on my morning commute. By the time I got on down the road to the point where I stopped the car and then opened my coffee, it had cooled to just the perfect temperature to drink. And all was well.

Then this idiotic woman orders hot coffee, pours it down her pants, and sits there for a minute and a half to make sure her skin is seriously damaged, and makes bank on it. As a consequence, I and everyone else in the country suddenly found that, not just the chain that got sued, but every drive-through, would no longer serve fresh hot coffee, but instead could offer only pre-cooled coffee that was drinkable immediately.

If I had time to drink it immediately I wouldnt be in the drive-through.

I've heard all the apologetics that get trotted out everytime this is mentioned, and it's frankly disgusting. The fact is the woman did something really dumb and hurt herself, then sued. She should have been laughed out of court. Instead, she and her lawyer got a huge payday, and each and every one of the rest of us, millions I have no doubt, who day in and day out bought the same coffee and had no problems because we used common sense, got screwed.

Re:The way it happens

[zappepcs]

Sorry, but your friend's boyfriend should probably not be trusted with sharp objects, or to be alone in the pool and other things you don't like to see 1 year olds do. I don't care how manly you think you might be, if you can admit you have injured yourself playing a video game, you're not manly.

The Wii might be showing us who should move on to procreate and who should not for the next big step in evolution of mankind.

Okay...

[Penguinisto]

A lawsuit @ Nintendo because someone (or rather, plural someones) was (were) dumb enough to toss a remote hard enough to crack a television set!?...

Seriously.

WTF?

Now, if'n y'all don't mind, I have to go sue the folks who make Red Bull now, since their cans weren't shaped in a way to prevent me from dropping it on the table and accidentally soaking my laptop while absorbing the sheer chutzpah of the ambulance-chaser's commentary in the referenced article.

/P

Re:Okay...

[deniable]

I'm in Australia and some of us refer to the new Wiimotes with the heavily padded 'jacket' and beefy strap as Americanized Wiimotes. Sorry to you Americans who have to live amongst these people.

Re:The way it happens

[Anonymous Coward]

I put on my wizard hat...

No wonder American manufacturing is screwed

[freedom_india]

Companies get sued because customers misuse and abuse the product to the point of breaking their own things carelessly.
I wonder what would have happen if Edison were to invent the lightbulb today:
1) The Association of Candle Manufacturers(ACM) and Gas Lamps Association(GLA) would jointly conduct a sit-in strike in front of Edison's home and plants.
2) The ACM would sue Edison for producing a product that's capable of killing someone. The OSHA conducts a raid on Edison's plant, followed by an FCC investigation.
3) The GLA lobbies congress for relief. Congresscritters DeLay and Pelosi go on record stating that Edison's electric light will result in the loss of jobs for 37,300 people directly while affecting the lives of 1.3 Million employers indirectly.
4) Edison approaches SCOTUS for relief. SCOTUS grants Edison relief stating that Progress cannot be stopped.
5) Rep Vern Buchanan and Sen. Ted Stevens together sponsor a resolution calling for a $1.3 billion bailout of the Candle Makers of USA.
5(a) The GLA sues the US Govt for excluding them from the bailout.
5(b) Hillary Clinton includes GLA into the bailout with a silent slip-in into a spending bill.
6) The FCC commissioner rules that Electricity is dangerous to health and that electric lamps are prone to be broken. Forces Edison to include HUGE warnings on each packet.
7) Edison sets up DC stations and powers Congress and Senate with electric lamps to show the congress the progress that can be made. he claims it can be always "Day" for congress.
8) Congress critters not used to working long hours, silently include a bill that forces states to individually certify that 10,000 volts of DC will not kill a man for Edison's lamps to be sold. 43 states refuse. Alaska's Palin approves Edison's lamps and charges oil companies with paying for same. Orders are sealed.
9) The children of GLA makers hold a massive rally in Washington demanding schooling and lunch relief.
10) Bush calls upon Congress to pass a law that outlaws Electric lamps under intense pressure from lobbyists.
11) Obama calls Bush a roadblock to progress and exhorts congress to reject such a law.
12) A GLA dealer in MN holds a BIG rally announcing providing free gas lamps for all who sign Edison is a public enemy.
13) Edison is sued in Alaska by 100 residents who claim that throwing the lamp on the floor caused them injuries. The case is taken up by FOX News and O'reilly states Edison is a pinhead.
14) Edison beats the lawsuit at tremendous cost.
15) AIG Refuses to extend insurance cover to Edison under pressure from congress.
16) Edison renounces US citizenship and migrates to China.

Get a grip

[Anonymous Coward]

Nintendo is being sued because people are too stupid to hold on to a chunk of plastic? These people need to get a grip.

Re:Shouldn't have to tell people to not throw thin

[Elrond, Duke of URL]

I am left wondering if there would be any lawsuits if Nintendo had decided not to include the strap in the first place. Imagine a Wiimote with no strap and clear instructions that you not let go when making motions. If somebody tried to sue, Nintendo could say that the customer was duly warned and either a) let go or b) waved too forcefully.

Instead, they included a strap just in case and see where that has got them...