Gaming Wiimote Strikes Again!

[lookout]

Flying Wiimote

Tuxedo Jack from the Something Awful Forums lost his 60" projection TV this weekend to a flying Wiimote. Here's his story:

"We brought the Wii home and played it pretty much nonstop for the past 24 hours. At 12:10am, during a slower couch-sitting game of Wii Sports: Bowling, my Nintendo Wii got angry with me. My buddy Troy reels back to roll his ball as he's done about 300 times tonight and suddenly feels the controller slip from his hand. (THANK GOD for the wrist strap right?) Nope. Wrist strap snaps. The Wiimote flies across the room impaling my 60" rear projection TV square in the upper left corner. Be warned: Sweaty hands + faulty Wiimote wrist strap = broken ass TV."

He believes the incident may have only busted the outer glass, but it appears the man is TV-less at the moment. Any other reports of flying Wiimotes out there, either by faulty wrist straps or over-excited movements?


---
More broken glass

DUDEWHERESMYCART of the Nintendo forums was playing Wii Sports: Tennis when the controller flew from his sweaty hands. The Strap failed and let the remote go through his parent's house window and out into the yard. Now the window and him have been boarded up. He's currently grounded.

wiihaveaproblem.com

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Nintendo Responds... To A User


Nick from Inside The Vibe took his broken strap to the source! Once Wii Sports: Tennis caused the strap to snap he emailed Nintendo the following...

The thin string that connects the wrist strap to the Wii remote snapped while playing a game last night and went flying across the room. The remote still works - very happy the product is so sturdy. The strap however is not. Do you replace these when they break? I played the system a total of 2 hours before it broke. I have read a lot of reports like this on the web including IGN.com and Engadget.com. Maybe you should make that thin string a little tougher - or a lot tougher actually.

And Nintendo support replied with:

Hi Nick,

Thank you for your e-mail. I was sorry to hear about what happened. I’ll be sure to forward your report to the appropriate department for further review.

Also, since you’re a My Nintendo member, I have a replacement wrist strap on the way out to you by UPS. You should be receiving it within the next 4-10 days.

Sincerely,

Nintendo of America Inc.

Look at that! That's how customer service is supposed to work! If you have a broken strap of your own be sure to submit your story with pictures to our email address. Then contact Nintendo!


Play Safe Guys!

 

[kelvinate]

woot! go nintendo for the broken strap.

i wonder would the next 3rd party items be titanium reinforced straps?

 

[Harsky]

I think I'm thankful for not rushing out and buying the console on the day it's launched. It's nice to see what the problems before buying it. I think I'll be buying a rubber cover for the wiimote since I too have sweaty hands...

 

[Hero-Link]

for this to happen he wasnt playing the game "normally" i can assure you.

Whoever is playing the game, swinging the remote like theres no tomorrow, should NOW what happens.

 

[NetixRiqua]

damn this wii is 1.000ytl here... (around650$)

 

[lookout]

I think I'm thankful for not rushing out and buying the console on the day it's launched. It's nice to see what the problems before buying it. I think I'll be buying a rubber cover for the wiimote since I too have sweaty hands...

I think I need a rubber cover for my telly instead since I hear alot success on wiimote...

 

[Tamyu]

Personally, I think that this could be defective manufacturing in the straps. I highly doubt that Nintendo imagined there would be this sort of problem - or they did but whoever actually made the straps didn`t.

I`m happy that they`re apparently looking into this, but they do need to take some more proactive measures before this makes the whole console look bad.

 

[Veho]

or they did but whoever actually made the straps didn`t.

I agree. They didn't make the strap strong enough to save on materials.
They probably thought that the strap was only supposed to hold the Wiimote dangling from your wrist, or slipping from your hand the way a mobile phone would - not slipping from your hand while you're swinging it with as much force you can muster

 

[zone97]

Simple question, why is this even happening? Are users twirling the remote by the strap? I mean dont you have to GRIP the the controler to use it?

 

[Veho]

Simple question, why is this even happening? Are users twirling the remote by the strap? I mean dont you have to GRIP the the controler to use it?

You hold the ball in Wii Sports Bowling by pressing the B button; you release it by releasing the button. This loosens your grip a bit just as you are swinging the Wiimote with full force. And after half an hour of playing, your palms are sweaty, and you're swinging like a maniac.

--> swing --> slip --> crash -->

Buy better straps!

 

[Tamyu]

Buy better straps! Â

No, Nintendo should be providing better straps, as apparently people aren`t coordinated to hold onto their controllers. It will win them more support and prevent any more mishaps. Of course you shouldn`t be flailing the thing around full force, but it`s just MOST things that get recalled - people don`t use them in the way they`re meant to be used.

You shouldn`t have to replace part of something because the provided part is dangerously inadequate.

 

[Sevael]

These people are crazy. The maximum speed that you need for any part of any game currently available for Wii does not require a level of power or speed anywhere close to the threshold of the wriststrap. These games are designed people of all ages. There's no way that an old granny or a little girl could "throw" as hard as a grown man, and the games were designed accordingly. Whipping the remotes that hard is ridiculous and only inviting trouble. One look at the wriststrap would tell any idiot with half a brain cell that they shouldn't be swinging so hard. One look at the manual will do the same, it clear states on every page to swing gently.

And as if that wasn't enough, what's with people losing their grip in the first place? I could swing so hard that I throw my arm out completely and pull several muscles all at once, and I still won't come anywhere close to losing my grip on the thing. That "sweaty hands" excuse is nothing but an excuse, because sweaty hands should be wiped. Hell, even when sweaty, I still can't lose my grip on these remotes. Nor have any of my friends or family members that have been crowding around my Wii for countless hours every day since I got the thing.

Any way you look at it, there's just no excuse for letting a Wii Remote fly through the air. These people are just being careless.

 

[santakuroosu]

Look at that! That's how customer service is supposed to work! If you have a broken strap of your own be sure to submit your story with pictures to our email address. Then contact Nintendo!

And from what I gather from the response, if you're not a member of MyNintendo (which is only available to residents in North America) you're screwed.
That's not how support's supposed to work.

 

[BlueStar]

I think I'm thankful for not rushing out and buying the console on the day it's launched. It's nice to see what the problems before buying it. I think I'll be buying a rubber cover for the wiimote since I too have sweaty hands...

Instead of buying a rubber cover for each Wiimote, just invest in a pair of these.

 

[Sevael]

You hold the ball in Wii Sports Bowling by pressing the B button; you release it by releasing the button. This loosens your grip a bit just as you are swinging the Wiimote with full force.

This is simply not true. You can move your index finger within its full range of movement and not affect the other muscles in your hand and forearm that contribute to gripping with the remaining fingers and the palm.

I just grabbed a Wii Remote and went swinging like a madman for several minutes, releasing B every time. I tried it with both hands in turn. I was swinging so hard that my arms are absolutely killing me now. (I really shouldn't have done that, in hindsight....

) My grip didn't let up in the slightest.

If you were to attach a wriststrap to the remote and try to pull it out of my grip as hard as you could, you'd have a hell of a time. That strap would snap long before you pulled the remote out of my hand. That pretty much tells me that:
1) The wriststraps are optional
2) These people are swinging the remote way too hard
3) These people aren't gripping it properly, or are letting up on their grip in unnatural ways

And after half an hour of playing, your palms are sweaty, and you're swinging like a maniac.

Half an hour...?? Are you sure? Do you have like some kind of Herculean, white-knuckled claw grip on the thing and you don't let up on it for the full 30 minutes or something? Your palm needs air to breath too, you know.

After a swing, try loosening your grip and moving your hand around a bit. Maybe pass the remote to your other hand to hold between turns. That should help your good hand to cool down if you're having sweat problems.

I can play some pretty intense Wii games for hours before my hands even begin to get a little moist, and then I would just wipe them off. I start sweating pretty early on when I really get into Wii Sports, but my hands don't. It usually takes hours to start getting sweaty palms. For my friends and I, that's usually our sign that we've been playing for long enough and it's time to take a break.

 

[Veho]

This is simply not true. You can move your index finger within its full range of movement and not affect the other muscles in your hand and forearm that contribute to gripping with the remaining fingers and the palm.
When you're concentrating on it, yes. But when you're playing, you aren't paying attention to how you're holding the controller (that's what's great about the Wii

), and your grip shifts very slightly when you release the B button, and that's enough for it to slip.

(I don't mean you, Sevael, I mean the general you

.

I just grabbed a Wii Remote and went swinging like a madman for several minutes, releasing B every time. I tried it with both hands in turn. I was swinging so hard that my arms are absolutely killing me now. (I really shouldn't have done that, in hindsight....

)Â My grip didn't let up in the slightest.Again, that's because you concentrated on holding it correctly. When you're playing, it's easy to forget the remote.

QUOTE

Half an hour...?? Are you sure? Do you have like some kind of Herculean, white-knuckled claw grip on the thing and you don't let up on it for the full 30 minutes or something? (...) It usually takes hours to start getting sweaty palms.

Lucky you

My palms sweat even if I'm not doing anything. It's not related to physical activity, they just do. I have clammy hands.

I'm not defending the straps, I said the straps were probably faulty, nor am I defending the people who flail around like maniacs, it's their own fault if they drop the remote and break something (almost quoted you here, but no point in that, I believe you know what you wrote

); pure carelessness, nothing else. But the controls aren't doing anything to help either. And I'm not saying they should be any different, I just noted that they are not 100% idiot proof

Anyway, here's a solution: grip enhancer!

 

[neojei]

It's like fact, when you start playing the Wii, especially against another person, the games get very intense, and you lose reality that you do not have to swing so friggin hard for tennis. The controller for my has slipped a total of two times, one of my straps is already near broken; the plastic wire of the strap is already showing, whereas the fabric that covers it has already been worn off. Just because of these stories I went out and bought rubber skins, and they actually help, so far it hasn't slipped for me, or any of my family members. But seriously, I still worry it might and it'll fly into our tv. Hopefully Nintendo responds to the situation with reinforced straps of titanum or something.

 

[Sevael]

When you're concentrating on it, yes. But when you're playing, you aren't paying attention to how you're holding the controller (that's what's great about the WiiÂ

 ), and your grip shifts very slightly when you release the B button, and that's enough for it to slip.

Again, that's because you concentrated on holding it correctly. When you're playing, it's easy to forget the remote.

Hmm, I can't agree with this.

Holding onto something is one of the most basic motor functions a human being has. Babies do it from day-one (and quite strongly, too). No concentration is required. It's like breathing. If anything, concentrating on it makes it worse. I've never concentrated on my grip while playing Wii. The closest I get is when I'm thinking about what spin to put on it at the end of a swing. And there is zero danger of the remote flying out of my hand.

I just polled a couple of friends and they said pretty much the same thing. It's just one of those things -- either you hold it properly or you don't. Either you have fully-functional motor skills or you don't. I don't think that people let up on their grip mid-swing unless they are careless and aren't holding the thing properly in the first place, or they have some sort of spasmic muscular issue. And people like that aren't going anywhere near my HDTV.

I'm not defending the straps, I said the straps were probably faulty, nor am I defending the people who flail around like maniacs, it's their own fault if they drop the remote and break something (almost quoted you here, but no point in that, I believe you know what you wrote

); pure carelessness, nothing else. But the controls aren't doing anything to help either. And I'm not saying they should be any different, I just noted that they are not 100% idiot proof

I know what you're saying, and I'm not saying that you're defending the issue. I'm just saying that there is absolutely no excuse for throwing Wii Remotes. They say that no matter how idiot-proof something is, there will always be a better idiot. The thing is, stuff like HDTV's and the Wii Remote aren't made to be idiot proof. And they shouldn't need to be. Idiots should be checked at the door.

(Hmm....with the Wii becoming so popular at my place these days, maybe I should have an IQ test at the door for visitors.... I should get them to sign a waiver too.

)

 

[miko]

Another brick in the wall

 

[Arm73]

I palyed Wii Sports at all and I NEVER used the strap.
Never lost grip and never caused any damage.
There is no exuse for people throwing their controllers as has been said before, this people are most certainly exagerating their movements a lot, much more then the Wii would even recognize the motion because is way to fast, and probably some immature ones actually do swing the controller around holding it JUST FROM THE STRAP, like some idiot would wing a microphone around holding it from the cable while doing some Karaoke.
I never used the strap, and I am sure it's there only as an additional safety precaucion, but PEOPLE should hold a grip on the Wii remote and swing it gently , as it's stated everywere on the instructions.
Super-fast/powerfull motion are useless because aren't even recognized by the system, so whoever brakes something in this fation simply has no exuses.
These people are just trying to make a bad propaganda against Nintendo, probably because they are hungry for not being able to get a PShit3 on launch day.