Topic: Nintendo replacing Wii straps

[idolminds]

Get yours.

Guess they admit it wasn't strong enough to handle people whipping the remote at the tv.

[scottws]

No kidding.  My brother has a Wii and I was playing it the other night.  The strap itself is fine.  But it's attached with like the thinnest piece of string I have ever seen.   I am not at all surprised it breaks.  Another problem might be the little slider.  It's supposed to make the loop small around your wrist, but it easily loosens itself.

Nintendo is going to face a bunch of lawsuits in the US.  After playing Wii Sports with my sister, I can easily see kids getting hit in the eye by another kid's Wiimote, the TVs and windows and other things breaking, even shoulder injuries.  My shoulder is still sore from playing it the other night (just due to lack of excercise on my part).

[Cobra951]

Idol beat me to it.  This story says the strap is thickened from 0.024 inch to 0.04 inch.  I saw nothing about loosening.  I was going to post this on the other thread, where I mentioned the story about the flying Wiimotes, but this will do fine.

[nickclone]

I doubt Nintendo will get sued, since no one seems to be seriously hurt and nothing expensive enough warranting anything higher than a small claims court will be needed.

[Xessive]

If I lost my flat screen TV because the damn strap tore off I'd be pretty hard-pressed to have Nintendo replace the TV. If it slipped out of my hand then it's my own fault. It's a good thing they're getting on it.

[TheOtherBelmont]

[sirean_syan]

Well shoot, it happened.

There should be some sort of rule where if you bring these sorts of things to court the judge can decide to have you turned into food for prision inmates... or catfood.

[Pugnate]

How does PA have fans? Their work is awful 99% of the time.

[nickclone]

How does PA have fans? Their work is awful 99% of the time.

Their fans are probably the same people who like "White Ninja".

[TheOtherBelmont]

How does PA have fans? Their work is awful 99% of the time.

I don't want to derail this thread so continue the discussion about the Wii straps, but awful how?  Art or humor wise?  I'm just curious.

[idolminds]

PA can be pretty hit or miss on their jokes. Sometimes they don't make any sense unless you read the main "blog" part of the site.

[TheOtherBelmont]

PA can be pretty hit or miss on their jokes. Sometimes they don't make any sense unless you read the main "blog" part of the site.

Yeah, that's something a lot of people complain about and it's a good point.  I read the newsposts so I usually get the humor.

[scottws]

Well shoot, it happened.

There should be some sort of rule where if you bring these sorts of things to court the judge can decide to have you turned into food for prision inmates... or catfood.

Nintendo's official position is that the suit is "completely without merit."  I can't imagine how they can say that given that they have acknowledged themselves that the original strap is ineffective.

Anyway, it's a shame that people have to be such blameless idiots all the time.  It's always someone else's fault when they act like a moron.

In regards to PA, I used to like them, but I think now they are just weird.  That whole cardboard tube ninja thing was fucking retarded yet they drug it out forever.

[nickclone]

Everyone should check out this article on the strength of the straps: http://www.nintendojo.com/fullfocus/view_item.php?1166055790

Nintendo has avoided console hardware problems in the past. While PlayStation owners are quite familiar with disc read errors, and Xbox 360 owners are well acquainted with the red light of death, Nintendo is known for sturdy hardware that suffers from few problems, even at launch. I've personally dropped my GameCube onto a tile floor from about three feet (I was actually using the handle, but I'm a little clumsy). Aside from the resulting chip in the casing just above the ATI logo, the Cube survived.

But this time, we are getting reports that there is one minor problem with Wii hardware -- it's too realistic. Just because the remote becomes a bowling ball, doesn't mean it should actually be thrown at the TV. A few overly involved players, however, are apparently doing just that, and they say the wrist strap just isn't strong enough.

So, for the sake of science, I've decided to sacrifice my Wii wrist straps and put them to the test.

[scottws]

Wow... Nintendojo is still around?

Heheh. I like the quip about disc read errors.  Yep, I know all about that since my PS2 suffers that very fate.  I'm not willing to bite on the $130 price tag of a new one.  They really need to drop it to $99.

[Cobra951]

Anyway, it's a shame that people have to be such blameless idiots all the time.  It's always someone else's fault when they act like a moron.

It's all about money.  That story is typical.  The damages to a single plaintiff are too small to make any payments on BMWs in the law-firm's garage.  So they have to make it a class-action suit.  Line up folks.  Your lawyers will make millions, and you'll each get enough for at least 3 trips to McDonald's.

[Quemaqua]

We're all doomed.  Great link, nick, thanks for posting it.  At this point, after very limited use of the machine at Sy's house, I can't yet imagine even loosing control of the remote to any real degree, so I fail to see how this kind of thing is even happening to people.  But, of course, they claim it is, so I have to assume it's a real possibility.  But the strap didn't seem that bad to me, so I was wondering about whether or not this was just stupid fuckers trying to make a buck.  Seems that little experiment proves it without a doubt.

Damn it.  All this Wii talk keeps making me want one.  I really had fun screwing around with Sy's, and there are a few games I'd really like to try out.

[scottws]

I could see it flying in both Wii Sports tennis and especially baseball.  I actually did lose grip on the controller during tennis.  Thankfully I was using the strap and nothing happened.

The strap is kind of annoying though.  It sounds stupid, but I can't count the number of times I tried setting the controller down and then getting up to do something only to drag the controller with me because I still had the wrist strap on.

[Pugnate]

Yeah, that's something a lot of people complain about and it's a good point.  I read the newsposts so I usually get the humor.

Yes I meant the humor. I think PCG said it best lately when they were talking about the adventure game PA is doing. "So Penny Arcade is doing an Adventure game. I just hope we don't have to read a page long explanation for every joke."

[Quemaqua]

I don't get the complaints.  I generally find PA funny.  I don't read it frequently, but it's usually relevant to something when I do, and it's nearly always funny.

[ScaryTooth]

My straps came today, woot!

[Cobra951]

After playing a bit of tennis & bowling with my girls on Christmas eve, I can see how you could easily get flying controllers.  We were all sharing the same one (the only one available).  I took the time to put on the strap every time, but it's a bit of a chore.  I felt like I was holding up production.  In the excitement, people may not bother with "strap on, strap off" every play.  The thing goes flying from lack of proper restraint, and who are they going to blame, if they can get away with shifting the blame?  A busted strap can be made to happen, no?

[idolminds]

From what I've seen the remote is made of a smooth, shiny plastic to match the machine. It might have been a good idea for Nintendo to give the surface a bit of a texture to help with grip.

[Quemaqua]

I dunno'... after using it, I still don't see it, but you're probably right that a grip would be a good idea.