Nintendo Facing a New Wii Remote Wrist Strap Lawsuit
Nintendo Facing a New Wii Remote Wrist Strap Lawsuit
December 12, 2008
Nintendo is facing a new class-action suit regarding the Wii's wrist strap, reports GameCyte.
GamePolitics readers may recall that in 2006 Nintendo was sued within weeks of the Wii launch when the system's original wrist straps began to fail in alarming numbers, sending Wiimotes crashing through plasma TV screens around the country.
Back then, Nintendo made replacement straps available and the lawsuit quietly faded away. It's back, however, with a new plaintiff, but the same attorney as in the 2006 case. From the GameCyte story:
Filed on December 2nd by Colorado resident Molly Elvig, the new class-action suit mostly picks up right where the old left off... Argued by the same lawyer... This time, Nintendo is also being accused of covering up evidence from the very Consumer Product Safety Commission with which they created the Wii Strap replacement program.
“Despite actual knowledge of hundreds of incidents involving broken televisions over time and subsequent to December 27, 2006,” reads the complaint, “Defendant failed to report the existence of even a single ‘Incident’ to the CPSC in its Monthly Reports to the CPSC.”
This doesn’t seem like a spurious accusation, either. Attached to the court filing as a matter of public record is the very evidence Nintendo allegedly tried to hide: actual, internal Nintendo documents 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... you don’t need to be a lawyer to see that the numbers don’t add up.
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Posted 02/09/10 at 01:16pm
Andrew Eisen: Shouldn't be. Spirit of anti-discrimination laws should include sexual orientation (and eye color). Plus there's always equal protection and such. Never know until you try.
Andrew Eisen: Shouldn't be. Spirit of anti-discrimination laws should include sexual orientation (and eye color). Plus there's always equal protection and such. Never know until you try.
Posted 02/09/10 at 01:10pm
Andrew Eisen: Should have sued (unless that wasn't an option given her financial situation or something). Might have won.
Andrew Eisen: Should have sued (unless that wasn't an option given her financial situation or something). Might have won.
Posted 02/09/10 at 01:00pm
Valdearg: Story about a Male to Female TG who was expressly told she wouldn't be given a job because she was TG. Its not the main point of the story, but explicit, perfectly legal discrimination like this exists.
Valdearg: Story about a Male to Female TG who was expressly told she wouldn't be given a job because she was TG. Its not the main point of the story, but explicit, perfectly legal discrimination like this exists.
Posted 02/09/10 at 12:53pm
Valdearg: Lol, I don't know. It may very well be legal to do so. Though that might able to fall under the "race" restriction, depending on how that point is argued.
Valdearg: Lol, I don't know. It may very well be legal to do so. Though that might able to fall under the "race" restriction, depending on how that point is argued.
Posted 02/09/10 at 12:51pm
Valdearg: I don't think they do have any legal recourse. I'll have to dig around, but I seriously believe that if the law doesn't specifically mention Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity, they can still be discriminated against in those 29 states.
Valdearg: I don't think they do have any legal recourse. I'll have to dig around, but I seriously believe that if the law doesn't specifically mention Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity, they can still be discriminated against in those 29 states.
Posted 02/09/10 at 12:51pm
Andrew Eisen: Eye color isn't covered either but I doubt it would be considered legal to refuse to hire people with green eyes.
Andrew Eisen: Eye color isn't covered either but I doubt it would be considered legal to refuse to hire people with green eyes.
Posted 02/09/10 at 12:48pm
Andrew Eisen: My explanation is longer than the Shoutbox will allow. Suffice to say that while those who are discriminated against do have legal recourse, anti-discrimination law should specifically cite sexual orientation so that there’s no question about it.
Andrew Eisen: My explanation is longer than the Shoutbox will allow. Suffice to say that while those who are discriminated against do have legal recourse, anti-discrimination law should specifically cite sexual orientation so that there’s no question about it.
Posted 02/09/10 at 12:42pm
Valdearg: "There is no federal law that consistently protects LGBT individuals from employment discrimination; it remains legal in 29 states, and in 38 states to do so based on gender identity or expression." From the Human Rights Campaign.
Valdearg: "There is no federal law that consistently protects LGBT individuals from employment discrimination; it remains legal in 29 states, and in 38 states to do so based on gender identity or expression." From the Human Rights Campaign.
Posted 02/09/10 at 12:40pm
Valdearg: @AE: Why don't you think I'm correct? I know Wiki could be flawed, but as far as it says, its up to date as of June 2009.
Valdearg: @AE: Why don't you think I'm correct? I know Wiki could be flawed, but as far as it says, its up to date as of June 2009.
Posted 02/09/10 at 12:39pm
Andrew Eisen: I don't think you're right but I really don't know and don't have the time to find out. However things actually are, it's very clear how they actually should be.
Andrew Eisen: I don't think you're right but I really don't know and don't have the time to find out. However things actually are, it's very clear how they actually should be.
Posted 02/09/10 at 12:34pm
Valdearg: "just because there's no specific state level protection for it, doesn't make discrimination right or legal." I would disagree. If there's no laws against it, it makes it perfectly legal. It's definitely not right, but perfectly legal to do.
Valdearg: "just because there's no specific state level protection for it, doesn't make discrimination right or legal." I would disagree. If there's no laws against it, it makes it perfectly legal. It's definitely not right, but perfectly legal to do.
Posted 02/09/10 at 12:33pm
Valdearg: Meaning in 29 states, private sector discrimination against gays is perfectly legal.. Sickening.
Valdearg: Meaning in 29 states, private sector discrimination against gays is perfectly legal.. Sickening.
Posted 02/09/10 at 12:33pm
Valdearg: 19 states have no protections, and another 10 only have protections for public sector jobs.
Valdearg: 19 states have no protections, and another 10 only have protections for public sector jobs.
Posted 02/09/10 at 12:32pm
Andrew Eisen: Well, most businesses have equal rights policies in place and just because there's no specific state level protection for it, doesn't make discrimination right or legal. Still, no argument against adding such protections.
Andrew Eisen: Well, most businesses have equal rights policies in place and just because there's no specific state level protection for it, doesn't make discrimination right or legal. Still, no argument against adding such protections.
Posted 02/09/10 at 12:28pm
Valdearg: More information. Apparently, it's worse than I actually thought.
Valdearg: More information. Apparently, it's worse than I actually thought.
Posted 02/09/10 at 12:28pm
Valdearg: Check the link. Apparently, its more like 20 states that have no protections.
Valdearg: Check the link. Apparently, its more like 20 states that have no protections.
Posted 02/09/10 at 12:26pm
Andrew Eisen: In the US? Not that I'm aware of. Sad if true.
Andrew Eisen: In the US? Not that I'm aware of. Sad if true.
Posted 02/09/10 at 12:25pm
Valdearg: @AE: Actually, I think, at least for now, businesses can still discriminate against gays in a few states.. Something like 5 or 8. Its part of why Gay Rights Advocates are in support of the Employee Nondiscrimination Act, or ENDA.
Valdearg: @AE: Actually, I think, at least for now, businesses can still discriminate against gays in a few states.. Something like 5 or 8. Its part of why Gay Rights Advocates are in support of the Employee Nondiscrimination Act, or ENDA.
Posted 02/09/10 at 12:22pm
Valdearg: @AE: And that's fine. Official "Church" functions are fine, despite the fact that it's discrimination, it's what I guess I would consider "acceptable" discrimination, despite the fact that I hate to use "acceptable" to define it.
Valdearg: @AE: And that's fine. Official "Church" functions are fine, despite the fact that it's discrimination, it's what I guess I would consider "acceptable" discrimination, despite the fact that I hate to use "acceptable" to define it.
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Comments
It's been two years and people are still swinging the damn things a million miles an hour? I don't even use the wrist strip anymore when I play my Wii and it's never flown into my TV. Or flown anywhere else for that matter.
It been two years and Nintendo still hasn't made an effort to fix the televisions and such that were broken as a result of their faulty wrist straps. Giving out a new wrist strap is great, Nintendo, but it won't magically fix a busted television set.
Also, in games like Wii Sport's baseball and tennis, it isn't impossible to see people swinging those controllers like mad and it is easy to see how a sweaty and small hand can send smooth plastic flying out of your hand.
Pro-tip:
Do not coat your hand in vasseline before playing with your Wii.
Unless there's porn involved.
Its a matter of physics. The amount of energy required to sent a wiimote through a TV is rather high. The remote needs to exert enough force to break the strap and still have enough momentum to fly through the TV.
Inital Momentum - Force required to break String (anyone want to do a stress test) = Momentum of the flying remote
I say, If your swinging your remote like your trying to throw a 100mph fast ball and it breaks, its your own damn fault
"I say, If your swinging your remote like your trying to throw a 100mph fast ball and it breaks, its your own damn fault"
This would be a valid point if there weren't titles that transferred speed in real world actions to speed in game. Throw the controller fast and the ball moves faster when pitching in Wii sports Baseball for example.
The amount of force required to damage an LCD TV or Rear Projection big screen television is suprisingly litte. If you got some complaining of shattering or cracking a glass tube tv, then I do have to question just what the hell they were doing.
"transferred speed in real world actions to speed in game."
Actually it does not transfer speed, it measures acceleration and relates that to speed.
With that in mind, you don't have to throw hard to get the game to recognize a fast pitch. You just rap it against the palm of your other hand and it registers like you just threw 200 mph. For swinging, small motions with a sudden stop or jerk at the end work best. People assume you need huge exaggerated motions to play, i did too when i bought it but i found that quick small movements work better. Especially if the acceleration/deceleration occur very quickly.
Point is if you want the remote to max out, just make sure your movements are sudden. This works good for baseball and tennis and such. Not so great for hotshots golf because that one actually measure the tilt in your wrist during the bottom half of the swing to see if you sliced it left or right. that golf game tired me arm out so badly i had to turn motion sensing off and just use the A button O.o
I got tired of those wii sports game REAL fast tho. My wii is mostly used for mario kart and GHOST Squad now, and the occasional smash bros brawl.
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" You just rap it against the palm of your other hand and it registers like you just threw 200 mph"
This eliminates the whole 'Mimicing motions of the actual event for fun" aspect of the experience, you know, the whole point of having the motion sensing controls in the first place.
none the less, the point is you do NOT need to be swinging the remote with more velocity than your hand can hold. The fact there is an alternative negates blame on nintendo and proves you broke your own tv out of acting without thinking.
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http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/11/13/
need i say more?
Ya i remember that one :) but what they forgot to add was you look like a tollbox getting all into it too, especially when the remote ends up in your TV.
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If those people can't grip a controller then that is their problem. I am sorry but even a toddler knows how to grip things tightly. I have a Wii and do not use the wrist strap at all while playing, neither do any of my friends while playing at my place. The only person they should blame is themselves, because they are the ones who broke their TVs, not Nintendo.
By your logic if someone falls from a scaffolding while at work and the safety line breaks as they fall, the people that made the safety line are not responsible in anyway for the death of the individual. Dude shouldn't have failed, even one year olds can walk.
Of course the wiimote is not a life and the strap is more of a curtesy, not a requirement. Blaming nintendo for the broken TV is like playing baseball in your yard and hitting the ball through your window. Gonna sue the company that made the ball for not including a tether or having a warning label that this could possibly break windows and dent cars?
Truth is nintendo could have avoided this all together by simply not including a wrist strap at all. Then you can't blame nintendo for a faulty wrist strap, you could only blame yourself for throwing the remote. Funny thing is you don't have to swing hard at all to get the remote to think you threw a 120mph fastball. All you have to do is provvide and aburpt stop, like hitting it against the palm of your hand, and it will register a hard throw.
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"All you have to do is provvide and aburpt stop, like hitting it against the palm of your hand, and it will register a hard throw."
Once again, this destroys the point of having the motion control technology that is supposed to allow you to mimic the movements on screen.
Excusing a faulty product by saying "They didn't even have to put it in there" is not a good excuse either. The product is still faulty and the result of a faulty product caused monatary damage to people's possessions.
once again, the idiot playing is at 'faulty' not nintendo. even playing regular baseball if you let go of the bat by accident and it hits your car its your own damn fault.
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"Once again, this destroys the point of having the motion control technology that is supposed to allow you to mimic the movements on screen."
And Nintendo doesnt say, "Play WiiSports and act like your trying out for the Boston Red Socks". I make the motions and get into it without throwing anything. My friends and I have never thrown a remote since Ive bought it. This whole thing about "faulty straps" are stupid people trying to cash in on a stupid lawsuit (McDonald's Coffee Lap Lady stupid)
Didn't the coffee jackass win that lawsuit?
Yes but my point stands. Its a stupid lawsuit by a stupid person hoping to cash in on the fact that they lack common sense.
The point I'm making is that in America, people get money from corporations and other groups for absolutely fucktarded reasons, which explains why things like insurance and health care are so expensive. We are a far too litigous society, and there needs to be a little bit more of the dismissal and a little bit less of the 'we'll hear your retarded case and pay for a new tv, and maybe some alcohol and drugs too you lazy sonuvabitch'.
Did you bother to read up on the details of that lawsuit?
It wasn't that the coffee was hot and she was too stupid to drink it slowly; it was superheated needlessly, and burnt her when she held it (or had it between her thighs, whatever). The point is that it was superheated, dangerously, and as a result, MacDonald's changed their policy on heating the coffee, so no-one else got burned badly.
Actually, the result of such an outcome would vary greatly. Now, assuming that it was an average person... Let's say 5'8, 200 pounds (I'm 6'1 and 140; I'm a lightweight, so if the weight I listed for the "average" person is off, well... I don't really know normal weight). I'll address it in two different sets, because by "break" I'm reading both "snap" and "fail," in which the latter of the two is much broader in scope.
Now, the safety line can fail for a number of reasons. Maybe it wasn't secured properly to the person or ancor. Maybe it was secured properly, but it was a secondary failure that caused the death (clothes ripping, maybe it was secured to ruster (and weak) metal, etc.). In these cases, the line itself did it's job, but something else caused it to fail from doing what it was made to do.
Now, in terms of "break," we can argue about material, thickness, weightload, etc. To keep things simple, it's a safety line from the all-American GenericBrand company. As such, it is made of generic materials and can easily hold a generic person, much like the unnamed average person that has unwillingly volunteered him/herself for this example. In this case, we'll assume both ends of the safety line were secured properly, as to not cause failure. There's still a major factor: disclaimers and product recommendations. If the line is old, it can ware down. Assuming that the people that use the safety line rarely need its use, then it was either normal ware-and-tare or failure on part of the GenericBrand company, as it either failed from aging or this safety line passed through inspections (or maybe GenericBrand is cutting corners). If there's a generally steady supply of workers who fall, then it damages the safety line. In short, the blame may not be with the company at all, but the company will get flak at the very least (or do some PR).
Replace this with someone falling on a patch of ice while walking on the sidewalk, and you've got a case that has a chance at willing, since it's the property owner's duty to keep the sidewalk safe to cross.
In short, it all depends one the situation, the blame, and the arguements.
Except nobody is required to play with the Wii for their livelihood.
Are Black and Decker responsible for your tv if you accidentally smash it with a drill? Or are Ford responsible for you aquaplaning off the road in bad weather? Or MacDonald's for making you obese?
It is not difficult to hold onto the Wii Remote. People don't use common sense. *Because* of that, Nintendo included the wrist strap as an extra safety measure, then they included the soft "jackets" so that when you swing the bat in Wii Sports and let go, it'll bounce. Honestly? No one needs to use the wrist strap. As long as you keep a firm grip on the Wii Remote, dry your hands when they become sweaty, and don't swing the Wii Remote around at 100mph, you'll be fine. You wouldn't swing a baseball bat with sweaty hands. You probably wouldn't use any instrument with sweaty hands if there was danger if your hands were sweaty. Same principle.
There is no magical force that is making the Wii Remote fly from your hand. There is no design flaw that makes the Wii Remote any easier to leave your hand.
I'm not a fan of Nintendo by any stretch, but they are innocent here.
Hey! Don't question an attorney looking for a nice payday!
Like John Bruce Thompson :D
Anyway, if you buy a saw, and accidentally cut you hand off. Does that mean you could sue the saw manufacturer? Some people may say it's different from this wiimote case because it's very preventable, but so is cutting off your hand.
There could be a system where you have to stand in the correct position to even start it, have more guarding, have sensors so it would stop if it sees something other then wood (I know it exists because I saw it at my father's work at "Bring you kid to work day" years ago)
The problem with your analogy is that the wrist strap has the sole intention of preventing the wiimote from just simply flying out in whatever direction due to loose grip. Many saws are made with some kind of safety measure, as well, usually being a plastic cover that flips over the blade (depending on type of saw and model) so as to minimize chance of finger removal. Granted, it isn't a 100% safety guarantee, but they are not designed nor made to be faulty in the first place.
The fact remains that there really is no other purpose for that strap than to aid in restraint of the wiimote in regards to it possibly coming loose from the hand. It's akin to advertising a body armor for military use that can have a hole in it resulting from just coughing at it. To have it be so useless even if not everyone's hands get sweaty whilst playing a Wii game is moot, given that from all adverts and appearances, the Wii games are intended to be played mimicking the actions as close to the real thing as possible.
The games are designed to be played by mimicing actions. BUt not with the force the actual real life action. When you swing the Wii Remote to through a virtual ball, you are not supposed to swing it with all your force.
Even with the faulty wrist strap, you would still need to swing pretty hard to break it. You would have to be swinging it harder than necessary to play the games. Then to still have enough momentum to crack a TV screen, you would need even more momentum.
Bottom line is these people who were breaking their TVs with Wii Remotes were playing it harder than they should have been.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
The force needed to snap the wrist strap can be surprisingly small. Plus, HDTVs can be cracked/destroyed rather easily by the smallest of forces, even a remote traveling at a moderate speed can smash a HDTV if the impact point is small enough, and the Wii remote's impact point is small enough to theoretically break the HDTV even if it was going at a speed that isn't that fast.
Yes, but you still need to let go of the Wii remote at speed (which most Wii owners have, surprisingly, not done).
k, i got a better one.
if you have an itch in your nose and a power drill and decide to get at said itch WITH that power drill, should you be able to sue for ripping half your face off like an idiot?
sad thing is... someone did this and WON, because there was no warning to not put that drill in his nose on the box or in the manual...
this lady is just sue happy it sounds like to me, nintendo did what they had to in order to get out of the troubled water and she's just mad cause she didn't get her share of it is what i'm seeing, so she and the lawyer dug around to find anything they could to reopen a stupid lawsuit.
its her and her lawyers (mostly the lawyers from the sounds) attempt to push a dumb issue further.
its like trying to sue the company that made your TV remote the first time you throw it through the TV when your team loses the big game. All because theres no warning or anything saying you shouldn't do that.
it takes a LOT of force and abuse to get those new straps to break, and a decent amount of force to shatter a tv screen, LCD or otherwise. whomever was playing that Wii needs to chill out, or put that force to good use and join a sport.
Terrible analogy. Nintendo DOES have warnings. At the beginning of every game, it says to put your wrist strap on so ithe wiimote won't fly off.
actually they only say to wear the wrist strap, they don't mention anything beyond that and making sure your space is clear.
they don't mention what to do in case your retarded enough to either not wear the strap and flail about like a madman, or abuse it enough it actually snaps and goes flying.
i have the older straps on mine still, i don't use'em personally but i have TRIED to break the bloody things and it isn't as easy as these lawsuits are making it sound.
the things pretty sturdy.
Not that I've ever had a wii-mote fly out of my hand, but I feel like this wouldn't have been such an issue if the Wii's motion sensing capabilities didn't TOTALLY SUCK!!! GAWD DAMMIT, REGISTER MY FREAKING MOTIONS!!! I'M POINTING RIGHT AT THE FREAKING TV!!!!
heres a tip.. set the sensitivity in the options.
if your to close and it expects you to be further away, it won't register correctly, and vice versa.
i figured that out when it kept flickering across the screen and going dead i had the settings set low and was to far off :p
Ya me too, i have a 62" tv and it can be a bitch with the Wii sometimes cause when you point near the bottom of the TV it can't see the sensor bar so trying to calibrate games where you aim with the wii zapper can be hard so i have to stand WAY back.
Also if you get odd movement when trying to point, remember that the front of the remote is essentially a camera that only sees infrared light from the sensor bar, but that doesn't mean it won't see other light sources. when you go to calibrate it shows you that square with the two dots, thats basically what the camera sees. If you have something else within the remote's line of sight you might see a third blip in that calibrate screen. you can use that screen to find other sources of light that might interfere with the aiming. For instance the flourescent light in my sons room was screwing up aiming on mine so anytime i play i have him close his door or turn the light off. Sunlight from a window will do the same.
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Thanks for the tips... but I've only been playing with friend's Wii's... I'm glad to see that there are options for this, but I remain completely unimpressed with the tech.
ohh i am with you on that one. The translation from remote to screen are often flawed. The Wii zapper is VERY poorly designed too. You can aim well with it at all, there are no sight to aim down! i mean i realize they wanna keep it PG but man, whats the point of the zapper without sights to aim with?? most of the time the remote is only measuring acceleration to see if you swung the remote at all and that gets translated into a button push pretty much not actual interactive actions between you and an opponents. Occasionally it does actually mimic and matter but not for the majority of titles i've played and even within a title sometimes it mimics and other time it acts as a button push. its still fun tho, mostly, kinda :P
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well... until you put your wii mote through the tv :D
well ya, there is that... or almost break your finger when you swing and slam it into the lighting fixture above the play area (my wife did that). then theres that time when you whack a soda can across the room, thats a fun one...
the Wii is DANGEROUS man...
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I've seen a lot of talk calling Nintendo to task for faulty straps. Has anyone seen any reports on why the straps are failing? I mean are the remotes breaking on the first slip or are the people breaking these straps constantly throwing the wiiremote around. I have plenty of friends who have lost Wii privileges for their inability to maintain control.
Hell I'm not even sure I could damage my lcd with that rubber condom thing the wiimote comes encased in. I also agree with some of above sentiment that if you can't grip the controller maybe you should be playing something less active. I've never lost my grip on the controller even when my palms are sweaty from exursion.
Maybe Nintendo should provide remedial game playing courses to people to explain that they do not, in fact, have to put every ounce of strength in to the wii remote to get it to react. Perhaps people forget that the accelerometers do have a maximum.
They are refering to the original launch strap. Those were replaced only a few months after launch. I don't think there have been any new reports of wrist straps breaking. Also the rubber grip that comes with the Wii Remotes are a new thing as well. They didn't come out until about a year after launch. So they were not around to protect people's tvs.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
I haven't had a lot of activity with the wii, just testing a few games out to see if I'd even be interested in buying the system. But I do know several things here.
1. The wiimote itself doesn't really have a good grip at least the one I used, also there's these skin things that I used that are meant to change color, that also don't have a very good grip.
2. When I was hanging in the lobby at the YMCA between a lot of different events, I would play table tennis with a lot of younger kids and teenagers my age. Some people swing those paddles fricken hard, like they're trying to hit a home run. Never once has anyone ever nailed me with one or even come close to letting it go. So There must be some strange way people are swinging these wiimotes?
3. Finally, I had a traditional glass screen TV once. It was damaged when we were playing catch in his house with a plastic football toy. Why it was plastic my guess was it was meant to go to something for display since it was full plastic not even hallow. It weighed maybe a pound. He tossed it to me and I didn't live up to my cat like reflexes and just a toss with a light toy broke the screen. I mean it didn't decimate it but there was a large shatter right in the corner. So I can see a wiimote smashing into the tv and damaging it.
You also say the rubber grip is new, does everyone upgrade their controllers when new stuff comes out?
It's more of a matter of legal responcibility. They come out with the new items to improve safety, but in the case of the rubber grip, it's up to the individual to buy more to upgrade their old, gripless ones. Nintendo is making the effort, but some consumers aren't reaping the benefits because of their own, personal choices (at least, that's what a legal arguement can boil down to).
All-in-all, Nintendo has done everything they can in order to prevent further incidents from happening. They are not responcible for people using their items in ways unintended. In the end, it was the individual that caused the accident, not Nintendo.
It then kind of gets to be a money issue doesn't it? I know a lot of people who chose the Wii just specifically because both the system and games are far cheaper. (or at least were, prices are closing in range now.)
The rubber grips are free. IF you bought Wii Remotes before the grips came out all you have to do is get online or call Nintendo and request them. They will send them to you free of charge. All new Wii Remotes come with the rubber grip.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
Honestly, if Ford can get away with selling cars that exploded on impact from certain directions, I think Nintendo can get away with people handling their controller improperly.
I can see this case being dropped.
First of all, you are supposed to be gripping the remote to you hand, thus holding the remote safely within your hand. I've played Wii Sports with and without the Wii Strap. I played Tennis rather avidly, and still no issue. The only time I really had to swing my arm real fast was to make that power serve and that was it, but most of the time I tend to just either do a slight swing of the arm or just a twist of the wrist. In Baseball I do just that, twist of the wrist.
The problem that I see here is that these people just lost their TV's and because of that, they don't want to pay for a new one. This is there method of getting the money to fix it, and I think thats a load of bull.
It isn't Nintendo's fault that the people who've broken their TV's and other various things. The Wii Strap is the LAST RESORT method to holding the remote in your hand, but it even has its limits just like everything else. It isn't meant ot be swung around like a bullet bouncing off walls. It's meant to be swung casually...and the casual gamers fail to understand that.
If I broke a tooth on a jawbreaker, am I going to sue the candy company that made it?
"If I broke a tooth on a jawbreaker, am I going to sue the candy company that made it?"
You prolly could because its called a jawbreaker, not a toothbreaker, so technically thats false advertising :) lol
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"If I broke a tooth on a jawbreaker, am I going to sue the candy company that made it?"
The difference being that there's nothing covering the jawbreaker to protect your teeth in case you fall down and accidentally chomp down on it, which would be what the strap is.
A more accurate comparison would be a gun with a malfunctioning safety going off in a house and breaking a window. You could argue all day about why the gun was being fired inside the house but that is dodging the main issue: why isn't the safety functioning correctly?
And as to how people can let go of their remotes: they could have arthritis or some medical condition preventing them from being as able as normal people. Even the ill have the right to have fun.
On another note, apparently they also tried to cover it up? Innocent people do try to cover things up over fear, however they are a large company with undoubtly at least 2 lawyers. Is this the advise of their legal department?
rigggght... so which part am i missing here?
This guy claims that nintendo are 'covering up' for something that they should be held responsible for..
right...
so he thinks its nintendo's fault that somebody swings it like an idiot and throws it through a tv? (tbh i dont actually believe that even if a wiimote did hit a tv it would do that much damage tbh unless thrown with immense force)
Nintendo always say play only where you have a large amount of space. And lets face it, you can play any wii game sitting down and just moving the mote about a cm if you really want to. you dont gain anything by swinging it stupidly hard.
If i make baseball bats.. should i be held liable if somebody decides to practice with it 1 foot from the TV? .. No. Same here. We have had a wii for almost 2 years and not had a single problem like this. Even kids havent ever done this. I just think its all invented claims to get money from nintendo since they are doing so well. People will say anything these days to 'blame' somebody and recieve money.
Yes, that's right. I asked if Nintendo misbehaved. At least I didn't take the insult the first person I see who disagrees with my view approach like you did.
Plenty of people also still go without their Xbox 360 RRODing.
BUt that is an actual problem wit hthe 360. It will RROD without any involvement of the player. In order to break the strap and thus your tv, you have to be using the Wii Remote like a lunatic.
AS for covering it up, I would have to wait for a little more information before I will believe it.
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I didn't say they had covered it up, I said if they did.
This is the internet, it is all about insults! besides i'm with nova on this. If you throw crap at your TV it's your own fault. More than likely people heard about the whole mess, bought a wii and broke their TV with a hammer trying to make some big lawsuit and not only win the cost of their TV but an extra million or two. Believe it or not, but people do that kind of crap. Remeber that lady that got a severed finger and threw it into some wendy's chili to try and sue wendy's and make a ton of cash? Ever see a store video of some lady spilling oil in a super market aisle and then slipping in it and acting like she broke a hip? it's just dumb people trying to cash in.
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'At least I didn't take the insult the first person I see who disagrees with my view approach like you did.'
err... mate..
you just have.
I WASNT REPLYING TO YOU!.
My post was just the next post after yours, when yours was at the bottom. Check the time stamps. Geez. It wasnt related in any way to your comment!. Look at the complete lack of indentation. WAS NOT REPLYING TO YOU.
And then you get on your high horse, that you DONT take the whole 'lets insult some1 who disagrees with my approach' thing, by.. thats rght... getting mad at me when you THINK ive replied with a different opinion to you.. which i havent... unbelievable geez.
I had my Wii for about 8 months and the wrist strap never snapped on me. You're not even supposed to violently swing the remote anyway.
Dumb people should not be aloud to play with the Wiimotes. These claims are really nothing more than lame ways to make a quick buck while ignoring that it was their own damn faults. The first strap was good enough, but Nintendo had to make stronger ones and even hand out WiiCondoms for the Wiimotes for the retarded folk who can't keep tossing their Wiimotes across the room and it's still not good enough! What the hell are these people doing that causes this? Take their Wiis away from them and slap them upside the head. My 9 year old niece knows better than these idiots and the majority of these people are probably adults who can't control themselves.
self control is for losers, gov't control is the way to go!
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I don't see why the wrist straps needed to be thickened in the first place. If you are using them correctly, there shouldn't be an issue. The original straps were pretty damn tough, and if you didn't swing the wiimote around like a dumbass, there would be no problem. It is not acceptable that some pricks flail around their Wiimotes at 90 miles per friggin hour, break their TV, and blame Nintendo for not taking immense retardation of the user into account when designing the straps.
Isn't the feeling that the Wiimote might leave your hand a good sign that you are in fact retarded?
I'm surprised no one has capitalized on the dangers of swinging your remote by selling clear plastic walls to place in front of your TV. You can all it the "Wii Shield" and it can be extendible to fit the size of your TV.
If you are wild enough to throw a $20ish piece of eletronic and plastic into a $5000+ TV, you deserve to receive a lawyer at your door telling you "Hi, I'm here to sue you and wise you up before you go retarted and blame an actually good-products making company for your carelessness."
I'm seeing a lot of mismatched metaphors here, like baseball bats and stuff. The problem is that these examples have no safety mechanisms designed to prevent them from flying out; they are designed with the mindset that the athletic would use them and have more grip on the item.
Now, the wiimote on the other hand, is designed to be a 'everyone can play it' affair. That means even people who may have medical disabilities that make them less dextrous than normal people should be able to play without danger of damaging something. Maybe someone with arthritis was playing? Or maybe it was an accident, like the player fell down and let go of the wiimote as it was being swung.
There's also some contention about how much force it takes to smash a HDTV. It's not much. Think of it this way. If you used a knife and used a small amount of force on the very tip, you can cut into some materials without much force needed at all. But spread that force out, and make it so that it's not concentrated on one point, and it won't do much damage, if at all. Since the force of a wii remote is being concentrated into a relatively small region (the 2 cm x 4 cm area at the top of the controller), it's possible that even a small force could damage things as fragile as a HDTV.
Lastly, a more apt comparison would be if a gun went off while the safety is on inside a house and a window was broken. You could argue and debate what the hell the gun was doing being fired inside a house until the cows came home, but that's dodging the bigger point: why didn't the safety work? The safety was there so as to prevent accidental (soemtimes intentional) discharges of the gun, and if it's on and doesn't work that means the company is at fault for making a faulty product.
There should be no argument on this subject, none.
If you can't hold onto the controller while playing, and pitch it into a tv, you have to be one retarded idiot.
The wii remote doesn't even need a strap, I never used it, none of my friends ever needed it. This argument is ridiculous.
With our without strap I've never had a Wiimote fly out of my hand let alone break something. Is it really Nintendo's fault that people are stupid?
/facepalm
Oh, come on. Leave Nintendo alone.
They gave out free repaired straps.
Is that not enough?
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Well my opinoin is that it is only nintendo's fault if you had some kind of party with the Nintendo company and they personally fuckd up your HDTV, then go ahead, sue the shit out of them. If not, let me give you some advice: if your swinging that remote hard enough for it to fly out of your hands, never mind break a TV, then chances are you probably look like a child with ADD who escaped from some kind of piniata party. So to save your self from complete embarassment, or better yet to save your self from breaking your own fucking TV swing the remote like a normal person.
They actually do in Wii Sports. It tells you to make sure nobody's around you when you swing.