So, as most of you know, breaking Wii straps are a serious issue for Nintendo. The breaking Wii straps combined with the excitement that overcomes gamers/non-gamers while playing games like Tennis and Bowling has led to many
injuries and damage to HDTV's and items in the house. Is Nintendo to blame? Is the gamer/non-gamer to blame?
Nintendo motion sensing technology is a brilliant idea. Allowing people to simulate activities in games using the Wiimote and Nanchuk is fun and very cool. Nintendo is targeting non-gamers just as much as gamers but failed to realize that they are asking gamers and non-gamers to "simulate" motions that in some sense are violent. Tennis requires fast and violent motions right along with bowling. Are gamers getting carried away while trying to simulate an overhead serve or the underhand motion of bowling? Anyone who has played Tennis or bowling will distinctively throw their arm forward with force.
If Nintendo was expecting gamers (and especially non-gamers) to “consciously” think about every movement they make, then their thinking was severely flawed. Or maybe their thinking was not flawed and they knew the dangers, which is why the strap was added in the first place (let alone bad straps). Nintendo has been under tremendous pressure to bounce back after getting whipped in the last generation and when they realized the potential issue with the Wiimote, they decided to add a strap and hope things did not get out of control. What should have been done is to add a high quality thick “elastic strap” that will give a little without breaking under force. This could have kept the issue down to a minimum, but instead they choose to be cheap about the Wiimote strap on a console that costs 249.00 (They are even making a profit – from Day One). Even if the cost of a high quality strap cost them a few extra bucks, they could have eaten the cost OR simply added the cost to the console. I do not think a SINGLE consumer would have had an issue with playing 259.00 for the console.
So now we have lots of broken straps along with lots of damaged TV’s, household damage (Pictures, PDA’s and more) and even personal injuries. The damaged TV’s and injuries are the biggest problems for Nintendo who is now being sued. I love the Wii! It is a great console solely because of the Wiimote and Nintendo should have been very VOCAL about the potential damage and injuries that can be caused by using the Wiimote while gaming. Nintendo does have a tiny warning about excessive motion in their safety manual, but “excessive” is a relative term when talking about simulation:
Quote from Nintendo Safety Manual
Quote:
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“Hold the Wii Remote firmly and do not let go. Even while wearing the wrist strap, make sure you don't let go of the Wii Remote during game play and do not use excessive motion. For example, in Wii Sports bowling, the proper way to let go of the ball while bowling is to release the "B" button on the Wii Remote—DO NOT LET GO OF THE Wii REMOTE ITSELF.”
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This needs to be changed to give examples so it is very clear on how to use the Wiimote safely and gamers/non-gamers also need to use caution, "ALWAYS". In my opinion Nintendo does not deserve to be sued but they need to start an awareness campaign and also “attempt” to come up with a fool proof strap.