Nintendo looking into broken Wii straps

Flying "Wii-motes," broken electronics cause concern at gamemaker; company has not yet announced replacement policy for broken Wii Remote straps.

The old adage "It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye" has never really applied to gaming (unless one counts the failed eye-strain-inducing Virtual Boy). But with the new technology incorporated into Nintendo's recently released Wii, gamers, ceiling fans, and televisions have inadvertently become targets of destruction.

The console's motion-sensitive controller, affectionately dubbed the "Wii-mote" by Nintendo loyalists, is used by mimicking the motions of the game played. In the pack-in Wii Sports game, for example, players make the motion of a golf swing in the golf minigame, which is then translated onscreen. Ditto for bowling, baseball, sword-slashing, and boxing.

You shoulda seen the other guy.

All that secures the TV-remote-shaped controller to players' hands is the Wii strap, a standard loop of cloth attached to the base of the controller by a thin cord. However, numerous reports have sprung up that the cord is breaking, sending the controllers flying out of the sweaty hands of gamers and into high-priced electronics, living room furniture, and the occasional innocent bystander.

Nintendo is aware of the problem, but until now has kept quiet on the matter. "We are investigating [the problem of the Wii strap]," Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told the Associated Press. "Some people are getting a lot more excited than we'd expected. We need to better communicate to people how to deal with Wii as a new form of entertainment."

Earlier this week, Nintendo spread the safety word to registered Wii users through e-mails about proper use of the Wii and its controller. The document contained the following bullet points: "Wear the wrist strap when using the Wii Remote," "Do not let go of the remote during game play," and "Allow adequate room around you during game play," along with common-sense statements like "...the [Wii Sports bowling] ball is thrown by simply releasing the B Button on the remote, not by letting go of the remote!" The Wii also offers several safety warnings when the console is booted up and before games are played.

Still, the Internet and online video sites like YouTube are full of examples of Wii accidents. One Web site, wiihaveaproblem.com, is even dedicated to Wii-Remote-related damage of all sorts. Among the victims are beer glasses, televisions, laptops, and audio equipment.

It's unclear what measures, if any, Nintendo is taking to replace broken Wii straps. According to one Internet blogger, at least one Wii owner managed to finagle a free replacement strap from Nintendo. A blogger for Inside the Vibe has posted an e-mail he received from Nintendo technical support in response to his broken Wii strap that stated, "...since you're a My Nintendo member, I have a replacement wrist strap on the way out to you by UPS."

Nintendo has not yet responded to repeated requests for the company's policy on replacing broken Wii straps.

This isn't the first time new Nintendo hardware has met with problems. Earlier this year, breaks on the hinges of DS Lites were reported by gamers. Nintendo confirmed that breaks had appeared in "less than .02 percent" of the units, but the damage was merely cosmetic and the units worked fine.

434 Comments

  • gamefreakonline

    Posted Oct 6, 2007 8:12 am PT

    god my sister broke hers dose any one remember mario party on the n64 go to my acount and tell me if you have broken your control stick by twirlining it with your hand like a spaz monkey

  • seth1689

    Posted Dec 24, 2006 5:07 am PT

    lol u ppl r dumb if u break ur tv from this its ur fault cause u dont need to swing the dam thing so hard if u play the way ur ment to u wouldnt have this problem and another thought dont keep stretching the strap so dam much and maybe it wont get week and snap common sense ppl common sense

  • bigammer915

    Posted Dec 15, 2006 4:34 pm PT

    Same thing happenned to me at teh mall when i tried it out thank god there was a screen over the TV or i would have been screwed. Trust me i thought wheni heard this hoe stupid do you have to be to do that. Trust me it aint that hard to break it. I was playing Wii tesnnis at the time and all of the sudden snap and you have no reaction time to grip down real hard. The guy wasn't happy but good thing i can run well : )

  • Jelligraze

    Posted Dec 15, 2006 8:23 am PT

    Nintendo recalls 3.2M flimsy 'Wiimote' straps

    http://www.themoneytimes.com/articles/20061215/nintendo_recalls_3_2m_flimsy_wiimote_straps-id-102394.html

  • DTerry89

    Posted Dec 12, 2006 12:00 pm PT

    well if people can not find anyway possible to keep their controller from flying into their plasma tv then maybethey should get some super glue or something. Don't spend your time trying to sue Nintendo.

  • MasterAsh42

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 10:33 pm PT

    This doesn't surprise me, given the current state of the human race, but I know Ninty will make it right in the end.

  • tdf64

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 3:00 pm PT

    nintendo should not pay attention 2 these dumbos getting their stuff broken because they cant hold their wiimote tightly, we should all just ingore this and move on

  • makemeweak

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 1:55 pm PT

    If someone breaks their electronics equipment with their wii-mote the only compensation they should receive from Nintendo is a Certificate of Stupidity.

  • MadGamer132

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 1:36 pm PT

    listen, i still going to buy it soon, and i'll be careful. man.

  • WisdomLink

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 5:48 am PT

    LOL
    how could people even break it lol

  • puppiemaster

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 2:57 am PT

    the wiihaveaproblem website is full of retards, i expect 0 of them are British

  • Majestic83

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 1:00 am PT

    That why they named it Wii. So when the strap breaks it goes Wiiiii across the room in to grandmas' head

  • Lincvattic

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 4:18 pm PT

    I think instead of fixing the wii remotes they should send the owners some sort of medication

  • siversonicboom

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 3:16 pm PT

    LOL Good Job Guys

  • demonx5584

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 1:21 pm PT

    People who blame Nintendo for their stupidity for the strap breaking is lame. Good example: girlgamer4life's post.... Your husband was probably acting like an idiot and lobbing the thing around.

  • mr17x

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 11:24 am PT

    Funniest thing ever: "...the [Wii Sports bowling] ball is thrown by simply releasing the B Button on the remote, not by letting go of the remote!"

    and the wiihaveaproblem.com site is hilarious and informative.

  • girlgamer4life

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 10:49 am PT

    Hmm,i was mad at my husband because he used my wii remote, and the dag on thing went flying across my livingroom and hit my 52 inch hd tv,Nintendo,better do something about this romote fast thank goodness i could replace the part that got damaged other wise Nintendo would have had to replace my tv...

  • puppiemaster

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 10:07 am PT

    Mercenary19 wrote
    I new the Wii-mote would be a bad idea, but not this bad lol. I do still have a place in my heart for Nintendo still, but the Nintendo Wii seems to have to many problems.

    What problems are they then? The remote straps are most likely being cut by Sony/M$ fanboys and faults blamed on Nintendo, or people were pissed and knocked the tv over. Either way they are obviously stupid idiots, although thats not a crime, its not Nintendos fault either.

    I've played the Wii loads and not found any problems with it, so I'd love some clarification on your sweeping statment, or are you just a fanboy for another system.

    PS I own others systems as well, but fanboys piss me off

  • Wolverine77

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 7:27 am PT

    the strap was included just as an extra safety procaution. So if you break the parachute, you are using it way to much. quite being lazy and keep a good grip on your wiimote, dummies.

  • therealsarsi

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 4:01 am PT

    LMAO... wii strap... doesn't sound like you even need it, and it should be easy to improvise if you do.

  • Inu7

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 1:13 am PT

    Somebody got a little too excited shaking their Wii up and down during Rayman.

  • mack10

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 12:01 am PT

    lol...bowling is done by releaseing the "B" button and not the controller itself...if any morons are actually releasing the controller then they deserve to break their 60" Plasma TV. No, but really now, this shouldn't be a problem at all and nintendo could've put a few extra bucks into better products for their straps because they are afterall still making a profit off of each system. They can't accuratley judge how people are going to play and by saying that "people are getting more excited than we anticipated...." it doesn't justify sending out an email to everyone telling them how to play the games...people can play however they want (unless they're really chucking the controller out of their hand) and that strap should be good enough to secure the Wii-mote with the user.

  • dreadlord12345

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 9:24 pm PT

    i knew this would happen since i heard about the wii mote and sheep laughed at me. what now b****s

  • TomuAbe

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 6:55 pm PT

    People need to take responsibility for their own stupid mistakes. Christ what is wrong these morons?? "I threw my remote into my 60-inch plasma screen! It's all Nintendo's fault!!"
    These kinds of people are just suit-crazy, ready to make a quick buck by playing stupid. Just like those idiots who sue McDonald's because they got fat.

  • drblood1

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 6:16 pm PT

    kids these days :/ u gotta love the classics breaking the tv with a remote and screaming OMFG WTH NOOOOOOOO *cries*

  • Gamer6534

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 5:04 pm PT

    People have to learn how to control themselves.

  • ssj598trunks

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 4:57 pm PT

    i dont even use the straps anyway and im has never flew away, maybe u guys are 2 excited when u play

  • KEITH1437

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 3:36 pm PT

    thats crazy! I sometimes don't even wear the strap but I don't swing very hard

  • Dante2710

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 2:04 pm PT

    now, that is funny

  • Leu-kun

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 11:09 am PT

    Omg!, I hope I dont get to crazy when I play the Wii.

  • asimplerapper

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 9:45 am PT

    I LOVE WII ANYWAY

  • Mercenary19

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 9:17 am PT

    I new the Wii-mote would be a bad idea, but not this bad lol. I do still have a place in my heart for Nintendo still, but the Nintendo Wii seems to have to many problems.

  • Igwababa

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 4:30 am PT

    After reading this i actually breaking the strap and couldn't get it to snap. well maybe if i tried pulling in it alot or something it might but not with normal use

  • Daelock

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 3:13 am PT

    I live in a house with five other people, we have tons of people over on an almost daily basis, all of us LOVE the Wii and play it a great deal, we have not had a single broken strap and no shattered appliances. People need to stop abusing their damn Wiimotes!

  • anamnawshad

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 2:14 am PT

    Wii players need to be more careful....

  • AZisBack

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 11:08 pm PT

    I don't remember the in Wii sports baseball when you had to let go of the remote causing tension on the strap causing it to break. Stupid spazoids

  • Tsunami_pt

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 9:18 pm PT

    Lol! I never saw this one coming...

  • antox15

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 9:16 pm PT

    My wiimote straps are not breaking ,so the losers who are going all epileptic on the wiimotes SUCK!

  • neerajkumar_4

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 8:42 pm PT

    lol!

  • thestickman

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 8:20 pm PT

    People are getting way into the game if this happens. It's not like you have to put all of your strength into swinging the remote, so if you send it flying and smash the chit out of your $5000 dollar HDTV, that's your problem for being a dummy. -.-

  • Phaje

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 7:52 pm PT

    jakob_187 and 7HR1LL3R, you guys took the words right out of my mouth. i do think they should make a stronger strap, though. aside from that, Nintendo should not be held liable for any of the damages caused. COMMON SENSE when you play, people, please. this is the gaming community on their hands and knees imploring the use of the brain while playing the Wii then everyone should have a good fun time (except those who couldn't get a Wii, like me)

  • 7HR1LL3R

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 7:33 pm PT

    jakob_187, you're absolutely right. Who are these idiots? Give your kids some prozac and tell them how to play the game. If you're an adult and you're still breaking these straps, they make straight jackets that you're sure not to break. Common sense, people. When you turn the system on, watch the instructions (if you're too stupid to read them). Heed the warnings! Don't blame Nintendo because you shattered your plasma/laptop/beer mug/etc.! Go out and spend $250 on "Dummies Guide to Walking" instead of taking all the Wii's off the shelf for gamers that would actually enjoy playing it. Maybe after you finish that book, you can read "Dummies Guide to Thinking". You should be good after that.

    Oh, and to the person (Boat3600) that posted that ignorant comment about the PSP strap...YOU'RE AN IDIOT TOO. How many games for the PSP play like any one game on the Wii? NONE, so stop making any comparisons--they're nothing like each other.

  • jakob_187

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 6:05 pm PT

    You know...why people are having problems with this kind of stuff is TRULY beyond me! I have had a Wii since launch day, and I have not seen a single thing happen like a broken wrist strap or even my Wii-mote nailing an HDTV as a result of bowling. Here is the problem: people are getting WAY too into this stuff, and they need to learn C-O-N-T-R-O-L. I mean, go and watch some of these videos on YouTube or something, and you'll see how retarded people can be. You don't need to get THAT into it, but you should get into it at least somehow.

    Moreover, Nintendo DOES have warnings before the games, during the games, and everywhere in between. One of the things they don't have is a sign saying "If you are retarded and think you have to jump around like a monkey while playing this game, then you might want to attach your Wii-mote to your hand with a strap of rugged leather", and they shouldn't need that. Then again, we live in a time and day when kids are too hyper and overly stupid.

    Even funnier...I remember about a year ago when people were talking trash about this system before they even saw a thing. And now...Nintendo is laughing all the way to the bank.

    I enjoy my Wii, and I think the incidents that are popping up about the Wii-mote flinging and such are a MUCH smaller percentage than people are leading us to believe. The media will overhype anything they can, because bad news is still news.

    I don't think Nintendo could ever be held responsible at all for some idiot getting TOO into a game. I mean, if you don't know that the Wii features motion sensitive controls by now, then you live in a cave...and don't have the electricity to run one. Outside of that, you are just trying to cash in for a new idiot box. And apparentely, that's what these people with broken TVs are...idiots.

    Learn to grip a controller and play a little less intensly.

  • Boat3600

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 5:56 pm PT

    Stronger straps, no problem. But why does a next-gen system have this problem when a system with a strap like the PSP has not ever had this problem?

  • LanceK17

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 5:48 pm PT

    Some people are just really stupid, swinging the controller like a madman, and letting go the controller while playing Wii games. WTF. No wonder wrist straps are breaking. All it takes is just small, simple motions, like a quick flick of the wrist. These few people reporting these incidents are simply not handling their Nintendo Wii's with care.

  • galerian86

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 5:44 pm PT

    well...they should just make a stronger straps then...no prob

  • halofreak3487

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 5:17 pm PT

    not a huge problem...

  • turimoster

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 4:06 pm PT

    Just... hold onto the controller. I mean, it isn't that hard. Having said that, the straps shouldn't break if you're really going for it. That would be like the sling breaking on a saxophone, and I would die of crying if that happened to me.

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