Nintendo To Replace Wiimote Wrist Straps 223
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.
You can't fix stupid (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Someone show this to Sony (Score:5, Interesting)
Though... Penny Arcade explained the reasons better... http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/11/29 [penny-arcade.com]
These are simply cases of "dumb" (Score:5, Interesting)
Everyone should also view this report:
http://www.nintendojo.com/fullfocus/view_item.php
If the default straps can take that, then people are just really dumb if they manage to break them.
Re:Someone show this to Sony (Score:2, Interesting)
It's like any other safety feature. It's supposed to provide reasonably effective protection when things go wrong.
If Ford decides to make my seat belt out of tissue paper, then they are partly to blame when I go flying through the windscreen... even though the actual collision was not their fault at all.
I've never handled a Wiimote, so I can't judge whether the strap is reasonably good or not.
But as a guideline, I'd say that it should AT LEAST be able to withstand tougher treatment than the sort of lanyard you find on a camera or a GPS unit, since you don't normally use those items by swinging them around in the air. On the other hand, it really doesn't need to be any more secure than the string on a yo-yo.
[Of course, in comparing these strings, it is not just a question of how much weight they support, but also how much they stretch. Stretchiness helps out a lot, since it spreads out what would otherwise be a large specific impulse.]
Re:not a recall (Score:3, Interesting)
Heres another idea. They could pause the game for 5 seconds if you swing too wildly. That would definitely be annoying enough to get you to slow down. They could have it set in the options panel so you choose game stutter or tone. I'll bet it would really cut down on the potential lawsuits too.
Wii straps breaking, happened to me (Score:2, Interesting)
If you have actually held the controller and looked at the straps, it is obvious they were made this way as a cost cutting measure. The one hope I have is that in the future they will do things right the first time.
Re:What the Hell is going on here... (Score:3, Interesting)
Its called Karma...
Nintendo has spent years producing high-quality products while providing excellent customer service; at the same time, I haven't heard of anyone being "screwed" by any direct or indirect action of Nintendo. You can't (necessarily) say the same about Sony.
Ultimately, you hear about people using the Wiimote at a level which could be called excessive and the wrist-strap not being able to handle the forces involved; rather than acting like Sony (or even like Apple has in the past) and saying that it is user error, Nintendo redesigned the straps and is willing to replace all existing straps for their customers. Essentially, this is like people's PSP not working in the bathtub and Sony making future PSPs waterproof
Sony's had the best launch so far. No widespread red circles of death, bad updates, controllers killing TV's...as hard as it is to admit, for the most part the PS3's in the market have worked flawlessly."
Besides people selling them on eBay does anyone even own a PS3 yet?
When the PS3 has been out for 3 months, and over 1 Million people own one, if it has no known hardware problems I think it will be a candidate for having the best build quality at launch; being that they cut their shipment from 2 Million consoles worldwide, to 500,000 in North America and Japan and only actually shipped half of those I don't think it would approach the top 10 console launches though.
Let's call a spade a spade here people...this is a mistake on Nintendo's part. To assert that people "should be more careful" is just stupid. Nintendo knew their console encouraged movement and this could potentially happen (why they included a strap in the first place) but they cheaped out on them and these are the consequences. I'm as big a Ninty fan as anyone and proud Wii owner but Let's stop drinking Ninty's kool-aid, get off our knees, and see the forest for the trees. This launch has had its share of mishaps: limited to no online play, bad update (I'm on my second Wii), straps, lower than expected shipment numbers to the UK...) yet gamers, and slashdot especially, keep giving Nintendo a pass. I don't get it.
A company has to make assumptions about reasonable use of their product
The wrist strap was designed based off of their assumptions on how most people would use the Wii and (for the most part) they were correct; they extended their assumptions to now include complete morons into their target user group and have adjusted their design appropriately.
Personally, I am an ass
If it were up to me, anyone who was stupid enough to use the Wiimote in a way where they would throw it with enough force to both break the strap and break their TV would get exactly what they earned (a broken TV and, hopefully, a broken Wiimote).
Re:Oh, please. (Score:2, Interesting)
Sony markets itself as a monolithic entity. That's why all these disparate organizations are called "Sony". I can and will hold the whole organization responsible for bad actions of its constituent parts. (Same logic applies to both the republican and democratic parties, by the way.)
"Or to put it another way, I could say the Xbox sucks ass because Windows sucks ass."
OK. But I can and do say "I won't buy an xbox because I don't approve of Microsoft's business practices."
Re:Oh, please. (Score:3, Interesting)
Hey, do what you like. I just said it doesn't make a lot of sense. You not buying an Xbox does not tell Microsoft that they have crappy business practices, it just tells them you don't like the Xbox. See, I actually would like to see these companies improve, rather than just call for their destruction. But you must do what you feel is right of course.