Wii TV Breakages Causes Nintendo Strap Replacements
When I was visiting my family in Vancouver I got a chance to play with my little brother’s Wii. It was really fun but I was extremely sore after. I can totally see why the straps might break, they’re really flimsy!
Games firm Nintendo has said it will replace all broken straps for its Wii console, following customer complaints.
The strap is connected to a motion sensitive remote which is used to control the on-screen action.
The announcement follows reports about the wrist straps breaking during use, leading to the controller slipping out of hands, smashing TVs and windows.
Nintendo said the straps do not present a problem if used correctly, but will still replace all broken ones for free.
In addition all new Wiis will come with an "enhanced" strap which should not be as prone to breakages.
The Japanese firm has also recalled 200,000 AC adapters for its DS and DS Lite consoles in Japan. Nintendo said the recall would not affect overseas adapters , and company executives expected only a small impact on earnings.
The problem with the straps, originally reported as a major recall, affects all Nintendo Wiis sold worldwide and almost all units currently on shelves in shops. Nintendo has targeted sales of four million Wii consoles by the end of 2006.
The console has been a huge hit for the company with more than 325,000 machines sold in Europe in just two days, more than 600,000 sold in the US and more than 400,000 on launch day in Japan.
Nintendo UK said that consumers who need to a replacement wrist strap should contact their nearest Nintendo service centre.
Wii owners outside of the UK should visit the Nintendo website for country specific information.
The Wii strap is an important safety feature of the controller - which is waved around vigorously in a typical game. Nintendo offered a series of tips for safe play:
- Always wear the wrist strap while playing.
- Keep a firm grip on the Wii Remote at all times.
- Make sure people and objects are out of the range of movement before play begins.
- Players should keep at least 1m (3 feet) from their televisions.
- Players should dry their hands if they become sweaty or wet for any reason.
- Do not use excessively rapid, violent or wide swinging motions during game play.
Games for the Wii all feature regular safety messages that remind players to keep the wrist strap on.
Nintendo said that these on-screen prompts, as well as the consoles manuals, will be updated with further advice about correct use of the wrist strap.
Source Tags: nintendo wii, wrist strap, recall
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2 opinions for Wii TV Breakages Causes Nintendo Strap Replacements
Benj Israel
Dec 19, 2006 at 10:08 pm
Hey everybody, this is Leora’s “little brother” :D
I just wanted to point out how this shows that Nintendo is serious about their customer service. As a proud Wii owner I know that there is nothing inherently wrong with the straps, although as one can see on many sites (www.wiihaveaproblem.com) there are reported cases of strap breakages. Nintendo is offering to mail free replacement wrist straps to all wii owners, simply go to http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/strapreplace.jsp and fill in the details.
Benj Israel
Dec 20, 2006 at 1:17 am
Oh and to add to my previous comment, Leora I disagree with you, the strap is not flimsy at all. If you take a look here http://www.nintendojo.com/fullfocus/view_item.php?1166055790 , you’ll see that this guy tested out the Wiimote’s strength, and found that it can hold over 25 pounds of weight. He even purposely chucked the mote several times, and the strap didn’t break. Only by using his full strength to directly pull on the wiimote was he able to snap the strap.
I’m not saying that Wii owners shouldn’t get the new strap, as free stuff is always good, but I think that it is really unnecessary.
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