Nintendo Tries to Rein in the ‘Whee!’ of Its Wii

[tdh]

Well, it appears Nintendo has gotten wind of the flying Wii-mote and the damaged TVs.

The Wii, which Nintendo began selling in November, has generated considerable consumer enthusiasm in part because it has a novel game controller that players can wave to manipulate action of the screen. Trouble is, some players have grown so enthusiastic that the controller has slipped from their hands and taken brief flight.

New York Times Article

So now they are offering free wrist strap replacements with a revised, thicker, one.

I don't own a Wii, or have I even touched a Wii-mote, but how hard are these people swinging these controllers? To snap a wrist strap, and then do damage to their TVs would require quite a bit of force. Nintendo wanted us active, but did they want us this active? haha

[Caspian]

Re: Nintendo Tries to Rein in the ‘Whee!’ of Its Wii

Also heard someone threw it through their laptop.
Q: What the hell are you doing swinging that thing around then letting go just as its aimed for your laptop. And why the crap is your laptop that close to you when you playing you Wii anyway?
Are they swinging it around their head by the strap, like a lasso?

[Dopples]

Re: Nintendo Tries to Rein in the ‘Whee!’ of Its Wii

You gotta remember, people are stupid...

[tdh]

Re: Nintendo Tries to Rein in the ‘Whee!’ of Its Wii

I know people are stupid, hell I work with most of them, but I thought there was at least a "Lv. Cap to stupidity." I mean I was hoping there was a point where you just couldn't get any more stupid and it prevented certain things. I guess this is further evidence that there is no limit to stupidity. /sigh

[raidenn]

Re: Nintendo Tries to Rein in the ‘Whee!’ of Its Wii

Here's someone with a dislocated knee. Its looks painful.
http://www.wiihaveaproblem.com/show_article.php?id=77

[Caspian]

Re: Nintendo Tries to Rein in the ‘Whee!’ of Its Wii

Geez, I've dislocated my knee twice. Not fun at all. More creepy than painful though. Ofcourse a lot of that probably had to do with endorphins.

[bikkebakke]

Re: Nintendo Tries to Rein in the ‘Whee!’ of Its Wii

This would have to be one of my favorites...

http://www.wiihaveaproblem.com/show_article.php?id=53

[Caspian]

Re: Nintendo Tries to Rein in the ‘Whee!’ of Its Wii

Was he trying to clear the lane entirely and just have the bowling ball land on the pins? They should have an IQ test before letting people buy these things.

[Taskmage]

Re: Nintendo Tries to Rein in the ‘Whee!’ of Its Wii

Nintendo has countered this behavior with a friendly and informative online brochure, whose bipartite wisdom can be expressed as

1. Hold On To The Controller,

and

2. Do Not Let It Go, respectively.

I think that about sums it up. I have sweaty hands to the magnitude that it might be considered a disease—I used to destroy my magic cards just my holding them without sleeves—and I haven't managed to send this thing flying yet. Anyone who files a claim for something like this should have to sign a document attesting that they will never play golf, baseball, or any other sport or activity that involves gripping something.

[Omniblast]

Re: Nintendo Tries to Rein in the ‘Whee!’ of Its Wii

I have a Nintendo Wii. I can tell you that the problems can occur when playing a sports type of game with a controller.

In simulation for someone to actually throw the controller one must imagine what game requires you to toss an object.

Baseball
Bowling

Another game that would not simulate a throwing motion however would cause you to toss the controller could be:

Tennis
Golf

In bowling it is understandable that when you hold the controller up, you drop the "ball" back and then you release the ball "b button" when you want to let go of the "ball".
In some cases, some people are just too use to playing actual "Bowling" that they release the controller instead of just the "b" button. Thus, the Flying Wii-mote.

In other cases, I've been hit by my g/f while playing tennis. I almost decked a "nintendo representative" by playing baseball by tossing the "ball".

So thusly it is possible for them to throw it with such force that the strap would break.

Also if you own Zelda or actually Wii Sports. Under Boxing or Zelda, you connect the nunchuck unit to the Wii-mote.
The attachment area causes a friction on the rope or string of the Wii-mote, thusly weakening the strap's weakest point. Had they included a strap with a METAL loop instead of the tradditional cloth type, it would have been stronger.

Please give thanks, as this was a pretty damn informative post.

[Taskmage]

Re: Nintendo Tries to Rein in the ‘Whee!’ of Its Wii

Thanks given. That was a pretty informative post. X3 Yeah, I guess I can understand that.

[Caspian]

Re: Nintendo Tries to Rein in the ‘Whee!’ of Its Wii

I can understand a little, but still...ITS A VIDEO GAME! At some point you have to learn to separate the two and realize which is which, or you might end up breaking valuables. I play golf a fair amount and have never sent my club flying along with the ball. Baseball? I understand the premise, but in the back of your head you realize its not a baseball you're throwing and that you're playing a video game. I don't doubt a lot of it is like Omniblast posted, but I also imagine there are a fair amount of idiots that would be much less dangerous with a slightly less than lethal dose of sedatives.

[Omniblast]

Re: Nintendo Tries to Rein in the ‘Whee!’ of Its Wii

Also, note, you do not have to swing the controller to get the motion that you want.
Nintendo was VERY FORGIVING for the physically inclined to play. Thus a little bit of motion would have sufficed for most of the games. Just a flick of the wrist and you can toss the ball at 94 mph (fastest speed) for baseball, etc.

You can even play boxing, NOT facing the tv, just punch towards the wall and it still works. Zelda does NOT require you to actually do the motion of swinging a sword or spin you around like a silly goose. You need to actually draw your sword quite quickly and the fastest way is just to flick right and left in a very small area, maybe the size of your palm, distance wise.

When I play Wii Sports, I actually go into the motion of "doing" the motions. I figure if your going to simulate a sports game, you might as well go all the way, but keep it under control.

My brother is skinnier than me, but he's been playing the Tennis game as a obese person would. (no offense to all you obese people out there.) His motion is very lathargic, however fast it may be. He doesn't get up to play tennis, because there is no running back and forth required nor is it necessary. (Your Mii characters move automatically to the spot best suited to hit the ball.)

[tdh]

Re: Nintendo Tries to Rein in the ‘Whee!’ of Its Wii

You want a metal strap? Check this puppy out!

Austrian Sex Shops Begin Selling Wii Accessories

Wrist strap mod. Taking fake hand cuffs and creating a wrist strap with it. I guess if you're doing 10 to 20, you don't wanna lose your Wii-mote! ^^

[Caspian]

Re: Nintendo Tries to Rein in the ‘Whee!’ of Its Wii

What? No fuzzy handcuffs? Cool and kinky all at the same time.