Wii Recall in the UK *Updated* Now with a class action lawsuit filed in the US

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

I suspect nintendo put the strap there to stop the wiimote from falling to the floor if people didn't hold on to it well enough.

Why care about that if your attitude is that "accidents are the user's fault"? They drop the remote and break it, why should Nintendo care? Why is a strap a good idea for stopping the remote falling, but not a good idea to stop people flinging it across the rooms when they use the Wii as most people do?

That people would act foolishly and wave their arms around like helicopter blades and not hold on to their motes, thus sending them flying like torpedoes might not actually have entered into their realm of thought.

That's pretty foolish then, because you only have too look at people playing with the Wii too see that's exactly how they use it. It's even been on the news coverage during the launch.

The strap is perfectly dimensioned to catch the mote should it fall. is even the thicker srap really thick enough to stop the thing from flying if you play slingshot with it? I somehoe doubt it.

Bouncing, what will you say when a thick strap breaks. will you THEN agree that yes, users are indeed at fault if they act like idiots, or will it still be nintendo's fault for not making the strap strong enough?

If you buy a Ferrari sports car and push the gas pedal too much and crash it the same day, is it your fault for being a crappy driver, or the car manufacturers, for making the engin etoo large? Same thing really.

No it's not. The strap is a safety device that fails when it is used in that capacity. Nintendo doesn't agree with you. That's why they are replacing the straps worldwide and making the new one stronger.

In your analogy, you buy a Ferrari sports car, push the gas pedal too much and crash it the same day, but you only get hurt because the seat-belt and airbag don't work in exactly the circumstance they are supposed to save you in. Who's fault is it then? You for having an accident you didn't mean to have, or the car manufacturer for giving you a safety device that doesn't work the way it should during events that are so predictable the manufacturer gives you (in this case faulty) safety systems to deal with it?

 

[AntShaw]

I suspect nintendo put the strap there to stop the wiimote from falling to the floor if people didn't hold on to it well enough...snip...

Bouncing, what will you say when a thick strap breaks. will you THEN agree that yes, users are indeed at fault if they act like idiots, or will it still be nintendo's fault for not making the strap strong enough?

If you buy a Ferrari sports car and push the gas pedal too much and crash it the same day, is it your fault for being a crappy driver, or the car manufacturers, for making the engin etoo large? Same thing really.

If people would only put a finger on tge B-button.. That will stop it from going woosh like superman.

Peace.

I hate to say it, but your insane. Blaming people for being idiots is one thing, but blaming people for a device that is faulty is another story. If LOTS of people are playin, and the strap is breaking, faulty device.

You know what companies do when they release faulty products into channel?? They recall them back and replace with fixed devices. This is common business.

Car airbags save lives, like Wii bands should save TVs.

 

[ninzel]

I have no doubt the whole thing is BS. I have 2 of them and I had to pull really hard to break one even after having used it for a long time playing WiiSports.I pulled so hard that the strap was cutting into my fingers so I ended up having to use blunt end of a knife and even them it required a good deal of force to break it. This whole thing was undoubtedly started by people trying to discredit Nintendo or people looking for attention,or people who screwed up and are trying to pass the buck. Try it for yourself.
The ironic thing is that this has given Nintendo a golden opportunity to demonstrate fantastic customer service.I'm positive Nitendo knows this is a scam,but why argue and make yourself look like a company who doesn't care. There weren't mass demonstration for new straps,because it's BS. There weren't petition or lawsuits,becasue it's BS.
This whole thing will backfire and end up making Nintendo look very good by being proactive and spending millions.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I have no doubt the whole thing is BS. I have 2 of them and I had to pull really hard to break one even after having used it for a long time playing WiiSports.I pulled so hard that the strap was cutting into my fingers so I ended up having to use blunt end of a knife and even them it required a good deal of force to break it. This whole thing was undoubtedly started by people trying to discredit Nintendo or people looking for attention,or people who screwed up and are trying to pass the buck. Try it for yourself.

The fact that your two took effort to break doesn't disprove that some may be faulty. eg. Just because my two friends have never had troubles with their PS2's, that doesn't prove that my PS2 isn't faulty. It's possible that a percentage of the thin strings have a defect reducing their effectiveness, where a thicker string would have extra redundancy and resilience. I don't think it can be passed of as entirely fake, especially after IGN reported the problem. This isn't just internet noise.

 

[AntShaw]

I have no doubt the whole thing is BS. I have 2 of them and I had to pull really hard to break one even after having used it for a long time playing WiiSports.I pulled so hard that the strap was cutting into my fingers so I ended up having to use blunt end of a knife and even them it required a good deal of force to break it. This whole thing was undoubtedly started by people trying to discredit Nintendo or people looking for attention,or people who screwed up and are trying to pass the buck. Try it for yourself.
The ironic thing is that this has given Nintendo a golden opportunity to demonstrate fantastic customer service.I'm positive Nitendo knows this is a scam,but why argue and make yourself look like a company who doesn't care. There weren't mass demonstration for new straps,because it's BS. There weren't petition or lawsuits,becasue it's BS.
This whole thing will backfire and end up making Nintendo look very good by being proactive and spending millions.

Was in the midst of replying in detail, but I will assume by your smiley all you are trying to do is whack the bees nest.

I sure hope so.

 

[ninzel]

Was in the midst of replying in detail, but I will assume by your smiley all you are trying to do is whack the bees nest.

I sure hope so.

God no,I just think the whole thing is quite a joke. Like I said,try it yourself and see how much force it takes to break one.

 

[Pete]

Ever seen someone smashing a shot in the tennis game?

I sense an opportunity for Babolat to expand into new markets.

Some corrections for the OP. This seems less like a "Wii Recall" than a "Wiimote strap replacement." I see nothing about a recall (unlike the DS AC adapters), and nothing about the Wii console itself. It seems specific to broken Wiimote straps, though I believe you can call Nintendo and get any original strap replaced, not just broken ones. This has been reported in the USA, too, so this seems to be worldwide (obvious from the #s reported).

 

[Shifty Geezer]

God no,I just think the whole thing is quite a joke. Like I said,try it yourself and see how much force it takes to break one.

Like I said, try every strap out there to be sure that none have some defect that renders them very weak.

Just 'coz yours work, and even the dozen friends' you try, doesn't mean a significant number of flaws can't exist. A 3% error rate could easily go missed in a small sample, yet result in lots of broken HDTVs and be unexceptable from a console where you're supposed to swing the controller around. It's like Sony's battery packs. Only a few were dodgy, but that meant a problem spread throughout the entire userbase such that the batteries had to be replaced whether faulty or not.

 

[ninzel]

Like I said, try every strap out there to be sure that none have some defect that renders them very weak.

Just 'coz yours work, and even the dozen friends' you try, doesn't mean a significant number of flaws can't exist. A 3% error rate could easily go missed in a small sample, yet result in lots of broken HDTVs and be unexceptable from a console where you're supposed to swing the controller around. It's like Sony's battery packs. Only a few were dodgy, but that meant a problem spread throughout the entire userbase such that the batteries had to be replaced whether faulty or not.

We will have to agree to diagree,although your second example made more sense than the PS2 one(complex vs simple devices should yeild much different error rates),I would still like to see some hard numbers. Not anecdotal samples on the net.

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

We will have to agree to diagree,although your second example made more sense than the PS2 one(complex vs simple devices should yeild much different error rates),I would still like to see some hard numbers. Not anecdotal samples on the net.

The only people who have hard numbers are Nintendo, and they won't divulge them. You can however say the problem is enough for them to change the design and do a worldwide exchange. Unless you know better than Nintendo.

 

[ninzel]

The only people who have hard numbers are Nintendo, and they won't divulge them. You can however say the problem is enough for them to change the design and do a worldwide exchange. Unless you know better than Nintendo.

Did I ever imply I know more than Nintendo,no quite the opposite so get off of it. What I think is the case is that Nintendo saw that this kind of thing even being bogus can get out of hand and hurt their image. So why take any chances. Be proactive cut it off before it get's out of hand,even if it cost them $10,000,000 it's small price to pay to show how they deal with issues. IF they had fought it they would have been shown to be correect in the long run,but in the meantime the systems image and theirs would have been damaged.
Sometimes in cases like this,when the cost is so low and the correction so small it's better to not fight.

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

Did I ever imply I know more than Nintendo,no quite the opposite so get off of it. What I think is the case is that Nintendo saw that this kind of thing even being bogus can get out of hand and hurt their image. So why take any chances. Be proactive cut it off before it get's out of hand,even if it cost them $10,000,000 it's small price to pay to show how they deal with issues. IF they had fought it they would have been shown to be correect in the long run,but in the meantime the systems image and theirs would have been damaged.
Sometimes in cases like this,when the cost is so low and the correction so small it's better to not fight.

Alternatively, as per Occam's Razor, the straps break during normal use for what Nintendo considers to be a significant number of people, and is replacing them accordingly. Nintendo say they are replacing the straps because they can break, yet you are claiming there is some other reason than what Nintendo say, so yes, you are implying that you know better than Nintendo. Or you are just calling them liars.

There's no point asking for "hard numbers" when you know they are not publicly available.

 

[ninzel]

Alternatively, as per Occam's Razor, the straps break during normal use for what Nintendo considers to be a significant number of people, and is replacing them accordingly. Nintendo say they are replacing the straps because they can break, yet you are claiming there is some other reason than what Nintendo say, so yes, you are implying that you know better than Nintendo. Or you are just calling them liars.

There's no point asking for "hard numbers" when you know they are not publicly available.

"Nintendo is offering to replace the original version of the wrist straps for the Wii Remote with a newer version. We have received some reports that when consumers swing the Wii Remote with the original version of the wrist-strap using excessive force and accidentally let go, the cord connecting the controller to the wrist strap can break, potentially causing the Wii Remote to strike bystanders or objects. "
http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/wiiplay.jsp

And Nintendo has been careful to say this is not a recall even though some sites reported it that way initially. Read between the lines . They are not acknowledging fault. This is simply about heading off bad PR. You don't argue with your customers over small stuff like this,and you don't call your customers dishonest idiots ..but I can.

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

"Nintendo is offering to replace the original version of the wrist straps for the Wii Remote with a newer version. We have received some reports that when consumers swing the Wii Remote with the original version of the wrist-strap using excessive force and accidentally let go, the cord connecting the controller to the wrist strap can break, potentially causing the Wii Remote to strike bystanders or objects. "
http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/wiiplay.jsp

And Nintendo has been careful to say this is not a recall even though some sites reported it that way initially. Read between the lines . They are not acknowledging fault. This is simply about heading off bad PR. You don't argue with your customers over small stuff like this,and you don't call your customers dishonest idiots ..but I can.

As I pointed out earlier in the thread, this is how people play with Wii. Just as people bash keyboards or mash joystick buttons, people jump and leap about and sometimes lose their grip on the Wii cotroller. Telling people not to do it, while presenting them with a gaming system that is designed to do exactly that is not a get-out, as I'm sure Nintendo is aware of.

Sure, Nintendo won't call it a recall, because then they'd be sued, but the act of doing the recall and replacing the standard strap with a better one shows without any doubt that Nintendo know the original strap is simply not up to the job it was designed for when used in the real world.

Heck, I've even seen Wii ads on the UK television where the people playing the games arn't using the controllers within Nintendo's recommendations, let alone all the launch news reports where people were jumping about and swinging the controller.

 

[Skrying]

You're losing me here, your last post basically associated people bashing their keyboards with this Wii recall. Last I heard if you bash your keyboard and break it its your own damn fault.

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

You're losing me here, your last post basically associated people bashing their keyboards with this Wii recall. Last I heard if you bash your keyboard and break it its your own damn fault.

The point is that if your keyboard or joystick can't take a little bashing now and again, it's not fit for purpose. I'm not suggesting that a keyboard should survive a hammer attack, but I do think that if you have a controller that is meant to be waved about as you enthusiastically play a physical game, to the extent that it comes with a safety strap in the event of accidental slippage, then the strap should be strong enough to do it's job.

After all, it's not difficult - the controller isn't particularly heavy, and there's only a limited amount of pressure you can put on the strap in normal usage unless you are some kind of Olympic javelin thrower. Is there anyone that didn't look at that little piece of cord and think "it's awfully thin looking"? Maybe it works fine if the controller is just dangling, but I bet a normal person can swing it hard enough to go above the snap loading that tiny piece of cord is specced at.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

After all, it's not difficult - the controller isn't particularly heavy, and there's only a limited amount of pressure you can put on the strap in normal usage unless you are some kind of Olympic javelin thrower. Is there anyone that didn't look at that little piece of cord and think "it's awfully thin looking"? Maybe it works fine if the controller is just dangling, but I bet a normal person can swing it hard enough to go above the snap loading that tiny piece of cord is specced at.

There seem to be two arguments. One is that straps aren't accidentally breaking and this is a big hoax by chumps who had accidents and don't want to accept responsibility. The other is that the Wii is being used beyond the physical thresholds or what was considered suitable activities.

For the first, the report from IGN should show it's a valid concern. For the second, typically products are rated way beyond the forces they are to experience in general use. It's standard practice. The price difference between a small string and a medium string is tiny, and the latter provides a much more robust safety net. It's hard to impose behavioural restrictions onto users. You can't say 'swing this controller at no more than 4Gs force.' A tennis game will imply interaction like a real tennis game, which will encourage some players to smash the ball. Unless you want to pepper your game instructions with lots of warnings - 'Do not smash the ball realistically', 'Do not bowl at a full arms length', 'Only swing your arm at a moderate speed' - you should design your controller to work with the ways people are likely to use it.

That is, design the controller starting with user behaviour and adapting to that, rather than design the controller without regard for the user and then tell the users how to use it. If players will naturally use the controller realistically (and the product is advertised as such) then make sure chances for accidents are minimized. Nintendo obviously did this by including the wrist strap, and were caught with a misjudged or not ideally-implemented solution which they're offering to fix.

 

[thatdude90210]

Is there anyone that didn't look at that little piece of cord and think "it's awfully thin looking"? Maybe it works fine if the controller is just dangling, but I bet a normal person can swing it hard enough to go above the snap loading that tiny piece of cord is specced at.

You mean as in actually swinging the controller from the strap? Then you are talking about drunken-idiot-proofing... that might require something like handcuffs.

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

You mean as in actually swinging the controller from the strap? Then you are talking about drunken-idiot-proofing... that might require something like handcuffs.

No, I mean holding the controller, swinging it about (as people do in the real world) and then having it accidentally slip it out of your hands, allowing the safety strap to take the load and do it's job (or not, as the case may be).

Edit: I suppose I should confess that a long time ago I used to have a lot to do with rope and cord when I was involved in Yacht fittings. Without knowing what fibre that cord is made of and what it looks like on the inside, it's a bit difficult to say how strong it is, but I wouldn't consider anything you can break with your own physical strength as being adequate for a safety device.

As volume goes up by cubes and diameter goes up in squares, it only takes a relatively small change in diameter to increase the strength of a rope dramatically. The cord looks like it's made of nylon, which although strong is also particularly good at taking snap loads because it stretches, so maybe Nintendo thought they could get away with the minimum, and didn't take into account the higher snap loads the cord would be prone to in real world usage.

I would guess they ran some lab tests of their own when the first reports started coming in, and then realised that they were running way too close to the breaking points in normal (as opposed to their silly "recommended") usage.

 

[Farid]

Here comes the class action lawsuit

http://www.classcounsel.com/news/nintendo.html

Green Welling LLP Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Nintendo of America for Defective Nature of the Nintendo Wii Wrist Strap for the Nintendo Game Console.

Green Welling LLP filed a nationwide class action lawsuit on behalf of the owners of the Nintendo Wii against Nintendo of America, Inc., in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. The class action lawsuit arose as result of the defective nature of the Nintendo Wii. In particular, the Nintendo Wii game console includes a remote and a wrist strap for the remote. Owners of the Nintendo Wii reported that when they used the Nintendo remote and wrist strap, as instructed by the material that accompanied the Wii console, the wrist strap broke and caused the remote to leave the user’s hand. Nintendo’s failure to include a remote that is free from defects is in breach of Nintendo’s own product warranty.

The class action lawsuit seeks to enjoin Nintendo from continuing its unfair or deceptive business practices as it relates to the Nintendo Wii.The lawsuit also seeks an injunction that requires Nintendo to correct the defect in the Wii remote and to provide a refund to the purchaser or to replace the defective Wii remote with a Wii remote that functions as it is warranted and intended. If you would like additional information regarding the Nintendo WII Replacement Strap click here.