Nintendo Slapped With Wiimote Strap Lawsuit Once Again 356
GameCyteSean writes "GameCyte is reporting that a new class-action lawsuit has challenged Nintendo's Wiimote straps once more. Interestingly, the suit was filed by the same lawyer who led the original 2006 attempt, and now argues that Nintendo hid records of broken TVs from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. From the article: 'This doesn't seem like a spurious accusation, either. Attached to the court filing (PDF) as a matter of public record is the very evidence Nintendo allegedly tried to hide: actual, internal Nintendo documents (PDF) where customer service reps received complaints of cracked televisions and broken Wiimote straps — and the corresponding Monthly Reports that Nintendo was compelled to file with the CPSC as part of their agreement.'"
Wii Sports still safer than doing real sport (Score:2, Interesting)
The wii allows you to play golf without being hit by other player's balls.
The wii allows you to box with a friend without fracturing his head.
The wii allows you to play baseball without being hit by the bat.
Seriously, even sleeping on a mattress is dangerous. 40% of people die while sleeping. How many while playing the wii?
Re:I'm dubious about this. (Score:1, Interesting)
If the Wiimote had no strap then you'd have a point, however the Wiimote does have a strap, which implies that one is needed, which implies that someone can sue if it malfunctions/breaks.
Houston, Wii Have a Problem. (Score:5, Interesting)
I've always loved reading through http://www.wiihaveaproblem.com/ [wiihaveaproblem.com] which is a collection of articles and photos of damage (personal or to TVs/Windows/tables/lights) while playing Wii.
I broke my TV! (Score:2, Interesting)
a warning label would have saved them money (Score:3, Interesting)
Isn't the problem that these things slipped out of peoples' hands while they were using it as they were supposed to?
Maybe it's just because I finished up a torts class, but it's not a huge stretch of the imagination to anticipate wiimotes flying all over the place and breaking things.
And as stupid as tort law seems when someone say, throws a wiimote into a television screen and blames Nintendo, there's an easy precaution. Nintendo could have put some clear warnings along with the wiimotes, something like "be careful not to let these fly out of your hands and break the tv, window, mirrors, or your commemorative plate collection."
The two stupid assumptions cancel each other out in tort law. It's assumed that people pay attention to these ridiculously inclusive warnings, and it's assumed that a manufacturer is responsible when people slap themselves in the face with a product (if there weren't instructions not to.)
THAT is why you find things like labels on cans of peanuts that read: "warning: contains peanuts."
Re:I'm dubious about this. (Score:3, Interesting)
Hear hear! I'm so sick of the incessant and ludicrous attempts to defend that nonsense.
Re:Get a life (Score:5, Interesting)
Say what you will about jocks, but they probably have a better practical grasp on the behavior of bodies in real-world space, and the coordination to avoid tossing a Wiimote into a television set.
Shouldn't have told them to use the strap (Score:2, Interesting)
Sure a bad strap is worse than no strap at all. It's not that the people are trying to throw it, they are using the strap to hold it in their hand, leaving their fingers free to move more quickly on the buttons. That's what the strap is for. They are using it as designed, then the strap breaks, and it has a consequence that should have been foreseen by Nintendo.
If somebody were selling deep-fry units, and included handles on the side, but the handles occasionally broke off if the unit were lifted while full of hot grease, that would be far worse than including no handles at all, right? Putting them there implies that they can reasonably be expected to work.
Finally, there is the question of hiding complaints from the court in the first suit. Even if the suit were completely stupid, you can't just hide evidence. They should have known that.
Re:Get a life (Score:3, Interesting)
You can sure as hell do more damage by a golf driver going flying at like 60MPH! I don't think the most uncoordinated humans on the planet should be embarrassing themselves by suing over letting their wiimote go.
When I was 14, my dad thought it would be a good idea to give me some golf lessons. I lived in Alabama at the time, and was practicing with some practice balls. It was really hot, and my hands got really sweaty, and my club slipped out of my hand.
Unbeknownst to me, my dad just so happened to step outside at this time. The club flew over the fence and smacked him in the side of his head. Ouch.
I have *never* had a wiimote do the same thing. In fact, the Wiimote has a pretty good grip, I think.
Original strap strength (Score:5, Interesting)
When I got my Wii early on, I ordered the new straps. They arrived, I dutifully installed them, and in the spirit of scientific inquiry, I set about trying to break the old strap.
You know what? Those things are tough. I tried a bunch of different ways to snap it and failed. (I did not resort to scissors.) Anyone who's breaking that accidentally is doing something very, very wrong.
When the padded sleeves were released I got two of those as well, dutifully put them on, and after about half an hour of gaming remembered that I was allergic to silicone. Sleeve is removed now. I wonder if I could sue Nintendo for it.
Re:Get a life (Score:3, Interesting)
Conversely, they may also be more prone to throwing the thing intentionally. I've been to Superbowl parties and seen everything from mini-hotdogs to half-full cans of beer thrown at the TV on a bad play.....
PEBWAT (Score:1, Interesting)
Problem exists between Wiimote and TV.
It's the person's fault.
A week after I got my Wii in 2006 I was playing red steel and performed a sword maneuver that includes raising both wiimotes and slashes downward. On the upswing the cord flipped behind my head and caused the cord to become taught, pulling the nunchuk out of my hand. The continued downward motion pulled the cord across the back of my neck and launching the nunchuk at my face. The impact was so hard that I had impacted cuts on the side of my nose and on my cheek.
I'm not suing because I recognize I'm the stupid idiot that used the device wrong.
This is in the same vein as the people who are too stupid to hold onto the wii mote properly or were doing stupid things that caused their straps to fray and become stressed (I'm still using the original weaker straps and they're fine).
People need to take responsibility for their own stupidity.
Re:Get a life (Score:3, Interesting)
Look, I'm all about teaching responsibility and consequences of your actions,
No, you're not.
but why are you punishing a child for an accident?
There's a huge difference between punishing him and not buying him a replacement.