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.

Someone show this to Sony

[k_187]

This is how a company should react when they screw up.

Re:not a recall

[justinbach]

This is for people too stupid to hold on to something while they swing it.

While I mostly agree with you about this (I'm the proud owner of a Wii and I have *never* accidentally let go of the wiimote), there's no question that it's a good move by Nintendo because the wii was designed to be played by lots of people. Like so many others, I've been astounded by how gaming n00bs have totally taken to the wii; my gf (who was certain that the wii would be the end of our relationship) now beats me at Wii Sports Golf regularly. Obviously, I've embraced how easy to pick up and play the wii is, and am happily amazed by how many people play it at parties and get really, really into it.

Having said that (and as much as I love watching people have fun with the new toy), I get really nervous about people getting so into it that they forget they're just playing a game, and I can't count the number of times that n00bs at my house have accidentally let go of the controller, while, say, power bowling. This weekend, a wrist strap finally snapped, and though the wiimote went flying, it thankfully missed the tv and bounced harmlessly off the wall.

Class act by Nintendo! Now I can revel in watching my stupid friends play Nintendo without freaking out on the inside about whether I'm about to end up like one of these guys! [wiihaveaproblem.com]

Re:not a recall

[Dance_Dance_Karnov]

I understand what you are saying but not letting go of something has absolutely nothing to do with gaming experience. I can imagine the conversation back at NCL went like this...

boss type guy: wiimotes flying into things? I need to see strap guy about this...

strap guy: hey boss.

boss: did you test the strap to see if it could withstand the forces generated on it by a wiimote going 50+ mph?

strap guy: why would I? you aren't supposed to throw it, in fact there is a safety screen to that effect in every game, sometimes more than one.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[ProppaT]

Number one, Nintendo didn't screw up. Seriously, unless you're a pro ball player, you're not going to be able to throw that remote hard enough to get close to snapping the strap. And if you throw it enough to wear it down overtime, apparently you're not learning your lesson.

However, I do agree that Sony should learn a lesson. One thing that Nintendo has ALWAYS excelled at is customer service. Nintendo is replacing the straps as good PR, not because they need replaced. Just as Nintendo was taking trading out DS's with as little as one dead pixel on the screen when they came out. Nintendo realizes that they're in the entertainment industry and as such they need to keep their customers happy...which is nice for a change...

Beat me to it. More kudos to Nintendo.

[WidescreenFreak]

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.

Go Nintendo

[JayBlalock]

While I'm still not convinced this was really THEIR fault, once again Nintendo shows how hardware flaws SHOULD be handled. I've been a gamer since the NES, and without fail, no matter how poorly the company's been performing, they were always excellent about shipping out replacement parts - usually gratis! - when needed.

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.

Re:Beat me to it. More kudos to Nintendo.

[WidescreenFreak]

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.

"People are stupid" is not an excuse

[thatguywhoiam]

I have to disagree with most of the posts here, which will get me modded down, but whatever.

Nintendo designed the Wii with this style of play in mind. You can't just tell people not to play 'like a fucking toolbox' (little twichy motions sitting on the couch) one second and then call them stupid for jumping around and getting into their game. Its exactly what Nintendo had in mind, and the straps were crap on launch day.

Add to this the fact that some people naturally have really sweaty hands when gripping something like a Wii remote for an extended period, and of course we see broken TVs and black eyes.

Nintendo is certainly doing the right thing by replacing the straps. But scremaing 'user error' in this case is just incorrect. The game system encourages precisely this kind of movement.

Things you swing that don't have a strap...

[SilentJ_PDX]

1. Baseball bat

2. Tennis raquet

3. Squash racquet

Louisville Slugger, Head and Prince are begging for lawsuits... :)

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

But it is not really a screwup.. the straps perform perfectly with normal use.. it is the "over excited" players that break their straps. And it is also not wide spread issues.. I have only found a few (under 50) confirmed cases of the strap breaking.. and every one of the cases.. the user was whipping and throwing their arm everywhere.

I love Nintendo and I mostly agree with what you've said, but I do think Nintendo made a bit of a mis-step here. True, the owners are getting 'over excited' and they aren't using it correctly. I do feel, though, that Nintendo does share at least some of responsibility about it.

I don't imagine my opinion will be too popular, so I'll explain my thought process a little better. (Hopefully this'll prove at least that I'm not intentionally trying to troll.) I've been thinking about this a lot over the last week after being bombarded with pictures of broken TV's and black eyes. The first question I asked myself was: "How would I feel if this were Sony in Nintendo's shoes?" The answer is: "Geez, they're hyping up natural motion of the controller and it didn't occur to them to use thicker straps?!" I'm trying to be fair, I don't want to praise Nintendo for something I wouldn't forgive Sony for.

I think Nintendo should have included the thicker straps originally. But I have to be honest, this isn't exactly a big dramatic issue with me. If Nintendo had never responded to the breaking straps issue, I wouldn't have paid much attention to it. This is more of a 'hindsight is 20/20' thought than some opinion blown out of proportion.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[AKAImBatman]

Sorry, but I'd consider 'whipping and throwing of arms' normal behavior.

Go watch this video [youtube.com], then tell me it's normal behavior. (Make sure you have the sound on so you can hear the heart-sinking WHAM!) Excited or not, I don't think anyone reasonably expected players to be trying to throw 100 MPH pitches!

Although, I find it interesting that every case of strap breakage has had only one outcome for the Wiimote: It still works! I mean, if you watch the video above, you'd think that it's in a million pieces after that. Nope, he picks it up and tries to throw another 100 MPH pitch. (!)

The reason for this simply gamer emulsion. Did Nintendo really think the players weren't going to 'GET INTO THE GAME', and possibly forget about doing damage to the Wiimote, or themselves?

Of course Nintendo realized that. That's why there are 3,462.70871 warnings about clearing your space, wearing the wrist strap, not using the Nunchuck for this game, etc. Nintendo just didn't expect people to throw with enough force to break their straps and send their Wiimotes crashing through thick panes of glass.

Re:"People are stupid" is not an excuse

[MosesJones]

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.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[fistfullast33l]

I'll agree with you too. Nintendo might not have anticipated gamers getting really excited, but blaming players for having way too much fun playing games? Hello, it's a game. You want people to engage in physical activity, but not too much? The whole product has been billed as a way to break out of the static gaming environment of the past and into a more active setting, and yet they are surprised that people are excited and sweating and such?

I think that they have reacted properly but let's not place the blame on anyone here. Nintendo underestimated the response, gamers were excited and engaged, an unforseen problem happened, and Nintendo resolved it. End of story.

Re:"People are stupid" is not an excuse

[Cocoronixx]

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.

Also

[killmenow]

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.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[HappySqurriel]

I'm going to wait for the announcement 2 months from the recall about gamers who's wrists are being injured because when they throw the Wiimote the strap doesn't brake and there is too much force put on their wrist.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[Chris Burke]

Although, I find it interesting that every case of strap breakage has had only one outcome for the Wiimote: It still works! I mean, if you watch the video above, you'd think that it's in a million pieces after that. Nope, he picks it up and tries to throw another 100 MPH pitch. (!)

That's actually what I find the oddest about this situation. Nintendo has, historically, made extremely durable hardware. Much more durable than there is any sane justification for. I remember way back in the day a letter to Nintendo Power about a family who (somehow, accidentally) ran over their NES with a Lincoln Continental. They had to unscrew it and re-seat the casing so cartriges would fit, but then it worked just fine. Who on earth would expect that? Here you see someone throwing a controller full force directly into a wall, and it works just fine.

Hence I'm rather surprised that the wiimote strap wasn't over-engineered beyond what Nintendo expected people would do such that it would still manage quite well when abused in ways Nintendo hadn't imagined. If instead of videos of the wrist strap breaking, YouTube had videos of people hooking the strap over something and doing pullups on it, I would not have been surprised.

Given their history and engineering standards, it's quite possible that from Nintendo's persective they do consider this a failure on their part.

Oh, please.

[WidescreenFreak]

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.

Re:not a recall

[Chris Burke]

boss: did you test the strap to see if it could withstand the forces generated on it by a wiimote going 50+ mph?

strap guy: why would I? you aren't supposed to throw it, in fact there is a safety screen to that effect in every game, sometimes more than one.

case guy: I tested it. Case can withstand impact into cement wall when thrown by pro baseball pitcher. Both fastball and curve.

electronics guy: I also tested it. Accelerometers and PCB remain functional when experiencing forces like blow from karate master.

strap guy: Shut up, guys. You aren't helping me here.

boss: Hm, true, we have no reports of broken controllers, only straps. But we do have that warning screen right?

warning screen guy: Yes, but nobody reads warnings. Ask U.S. Surgeon General.

strap guy: Shut up!

That's basically the problem. As you can tell from the fact that even after being hurled at 50+ mph the wiimote still works, Nintendo usually has a very high standard of durability. It's unusual that Nintendo would let something like this slip. Especially when the entire purpose of the strap is to prevent the wiimote from flying off if someone accidentally lets go of it. If there was anything that should have been engineered beyond the expected limits, it's the safety strap.

I don't really think it's Nintendo's "fault", as in I don't think they are shipping a negligently shoddy product. I do expect more from Nintendo though. I do think their response is the correct one, and a classy one to boot.

Re:What the Hell is going on here...

[Chris Burke]

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.

Re:Someone show this to Sony

[MemoryDragon]

I agree, I own to Wiimotes (I love the Wii btw, excellent machine and Zelda is awesome) and it is beyound me how you can break those things at all. The strap is very strong even in its thin edition. I guess only a few straps really broke, I assume that in some of those cases the strap was deliberately broken afterwards to gather the insurance money for the broken TV. After all it is hard to lose the wiimote, but possible, but loosing the wiimote and breaking the strap is really really hard, if possible at all. I am not saying that all of the confirmed cases were fakes, but some of them probably are. Anyway, I am glad Nintendo reacts so swiftly. Nintendo is one of the few companies which still take customer satisfaction very seriously, and this reaction only shows nothing more or less, of what I would expect from them. (Sony can you hear?)

Re:Beat me to it. More kudos to Nintendo.

[rucs_hack]

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.