Are people trying to break their Wiimote wrist straps? |
We have three teenage boys, one of which weighs over 200 pounds and they can all be rough on stuff. Our oldest son has sweatier hands so if anybody is going to be throwing the Wiimote across the room it would be him. Has he? Nope.
Over the years we’ve burned through numerous game controllers, headsets, charge and play kits, etc, but so far we haven’t had any problems with the Nintendo Wiimote. I’m sure it’s been dropped a couple times being passed from player to player, but it definitely hasn’t been used like a projectile across the room to destroy our TV.
Really, I have to wonder if people are trying to break these things? Like the game within the game is to play so completely out of control that the Wiimote shatters your uber expensive big screen TV. Hey, you get pictures for bragging about how easy it was to break something you wanted to break.
Yes, the wrist strap is thin, but come on Wii-hulks. If you want to break something like this — anything that’s essentially a toy — it’s going to be relatively easy to do. And then there is news all over the place of a supposed Wiimote “recall” and yet I couldn’t find anything on the Nintendo website about it nor the official Nintendo press website.
There are over 700+ diggs on an ad-infested blog post (four ads and no content above the fold, intelliTXT ads in the post, argh) with there not really being a recall but a replacement program. Isn’t a recall defined as a company suggesting for health/safety reasons (usually) to send stuff back because it’s defective?
There is a toll free number according to this Chicago Tribune story:
Replacement details can be found at Wii.Nintendo.com or by by calling (800) 859-4519. Buyers are asked to fill out a form and send it to Nintendo. Users should hold onto their controller as the gamemaker will send out a new strap within five to nine days, the company said.
Wii.Nintendo.com isn’t an active link as noted in the story, but www.nintendo.com/channel/wii works. It doesn’t have anything about the strap recall, however.
Nintendo replacement plan
Before publishing, I found this link to the Wii Remote Wrist Strap Replacement Request Form conveniently nestled under the “customer service / Wii” link at Nintendo.com. Why none of the various blogs and news outlets I read this morning bothered to link to this page from Nintendo is odd. Not as odd as the straps breaking, though.
Where art thou Wiimote?
Frankly I’m more concerned about buying additional Wiimotes. We only have one and haven’t seen any replacement Wiimotes in any retail stores since launch day. We should have bought more than one at that time but we didn’t.
I wrote in our IRC chat earlier this morning that I don’t remember another game console launch where it was this difficult to find accessories. Even the Xbox 360 had plenty of controllers floating around last November. I can go out and buy PS3 controllers at several places, but Wiimotes in stores? Good luck.
Anybody else remember a controller/accessory shortage like this in videogame history? Nintendo might have two firsts on their hands: Wiimote Shortage and Wiimote Rampage.
Update 12/19/06 11:38am PST: Here come the lawyers. Apparently a class action lawsuit has been filed. [sigh]
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I have two girls (6 and 7) who turn into Venus and Serena when they play tennis.
They’ve never let go of the controller, much less thrown it across the room.
I thing people are being silly about the whole thing and news outlets are half reporting the story by labeling it a “recall”. I heard this on the radio this morning and it made me angry to hear such sloppy reporting.
Here’s an interesting link to a test that was performed with the strap:
http://www.nintendojo.com/fullfocus/view_item.php?1166055790
BTW…remotes are pretty easy to find here. We’ve gotten two and I’m just waiting to plop down another $80 for two more. I also need to get at least one more nunchuk, so there’s another $20…
Oh, the price of fun!
Comment by Wayne — December 18, 2006 @ 6:48 pm PST
Where you at, Wayne, that these remotes are in such plentiful supply at stores? I’m about 45 minutes south of the Microsoft campus.
Comment by TDavid — December 18, 2006 @ 7:11 pm PST
Richmond, VA.
Walmart, TRU and EBGames had them in stock this weekend.
Comment by Wayne — December 18, 2006 @ 8:29 pm PST
Well unfortunately that’s a little far for a car ride from here (the other side of the country) but I’m glad somebody can get them at local retailers
Comment by TDavid — December 18, 2006 @ 9:20 pm PST
[…] Class action stupidity Also updated my rant made earlier this week against people getting too excited and intentionally breaking their Wiimote straps with a story about a class action lawsuit. I have one word to add to that story: despicable. The primary people who make money in class action lawsuits aren’t the people — even if they were somehow damaged by defective Wiimote straps (which I seriously dispute as reality) — it’s the lawyers. Nintendo has already created a replacement program for those who are worried about doing damage with their Wiimote weapons of mass gamestruction. Enough, already. Related PostsAre people trying to break their Wiimote wrist straps?Wii Virtual Console 4 games added 12/11Egosurfing via newly launched AOL local search […]
Pingback by Wii can browse Opera-style this Friday at last » Make You Go Hmm — December 19, 2006 @ 11:04 pm PST
*FOLLOW UP*
We spent the day with my wife’s immediate family and about 4 hours of Wii time was logged from ages 6-62.
Near the close of the evening, my 6 year old was playing tennis and the remote slid from her hand…sure enough, the strap broke.
It looks as though the strap has a small plastic wire (fishing line type) that is surrounded by softer material.
I’m sure it becomes weaker over time with usage and it can be a problem.
No big deal and hopefully the new straps will correct the issue.
Comment by Wayne — December 23, 2006 @ 10:08 pm PST
[…] - The FTC and somebody please give me something positive to write about Sony (24) [dec 13] - Tree damage, grid crippled (5) [dec 17] - Are people trying to break their Wiimote wrist straps? (5) [dec 18] “I have two girls (6 and 7) who turn into Venus and Serena when they play tennis. They’ve never let go of the controller, much less thrown it across the room. I thing people are being silly about the whole thing and news outlets are half reporting the story by labeling it a “recall”. I heard this on the radio this morning and it made me angry to hear such sloppy reporting.” – Comment by Wayne — December 18, 2006 @ 6:48 pm […]
Pingback by Hmmcast #30: Unplugged » Make You Go Hmm — January 1, 2007 @ 11:35 am PST