Looks like once again Nintendo have been sued over the Wiimote being too dangerous, apparently the straps themselves are the issue here and are prone to snapping.

The class-action lawsuit, filed by Molly Elvig, a mother from Littleton, Colarado in the United States, claims that the wrist strap attached to the controller is "ineffective". Mrs Elvig decided to file the $5 million (£3 million) claim after alleging that her 52in Samsung television was damaged by a Wii controller that flew out of her son's hand as he played a game of virtual bowling.
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Most recently commented on by on Dec 22, 2008
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  • 2
    AT_AG Dec 14, 08
    why the hell did he let go? even if the wrist strap did snap he should have been holding on to the remote. and if it just broke her tv why should she get 5 million dollars?
  • 2
    kik36 Dec 14, 08
    Damn, I never knew Samsung charged so damn much for their 52" TV!
    • 0
      Zerpent Dec 14, 08
      Indeed. Must be one hell of a TV.
  • 0
    yugiRULER Dec 14, 08
    WTF. How can she even see herself THINKING about it. Thats just completely *bleep*. wow. Just wow. Theres nothing left to say.
  • 0
    ali3n Dec 14, 08
    $5 mil for what? I bet that the kid didn't even bother to use the strap.
  • 0
    Onvacation Dec 14, 08
    I think you're all missing the point here, I'm sure the kid accidently let go of the controller, and the strap - as a safety measure- did not work at all.

    Its like saying someone crashed a car, The airbag didn't go off and the person got hurt. With you lot saying 'why the hell did he crash?'

    5 million is ridiculous though
    • 0
      ali3n Dec 14, 08
      Most posts were about the exorbitant amount of money they're suing for.
    • 0
      Enigmatic Man Dec 15, 08
      That's not the point, all the straps were reinforced. And customers were subsequently asked to exchange their straps. It would take considerble force to break these new straps more than could be applied by a young child. And if he bouhgt the wii sometime in the last year the new straps would have come as standard. At the same time of creating the new straps the Wii jacket was also introduced.

      The fact that this case even made it too the public eye is quite surprising. Nevertheless they've aimed too high with $5 mil. SHould have tried to ake it more practical
  • 0
    Play ISDF Dec 14, 08
    Another silly attempt by idiots to try and milk money from Nintendo when it's really their fault. Seriously, first off I don't even play with the strap on and not once have I dropped the controller, let alone had it flying out of my hand, and I haven't even had to hold it tight. Secondly, the kid shouldn't have been waving it around like he would have been to get the controller flying towards the TV and breaking it. I have an 128cm flat screen TV sitting in my room and I use it all the freaking time. Not once has the Wiimote even slightly moved towards the TV without me still holding it. And the same goes for all my friends. If you are swinging the Wiimote around hard enough to have it fly and break a TV, then you shouldn't be playing. It's that simple.
  • 4
    OkamiAlucard Dec 14, 08
    Lesson 1 of using a wii mote: use the strap
    Lesson 2 of using a wii mote: hold on to the remote
    Lesson 3 of using a wii mote: Don't throw your wii mote at the tv because of a gutterball.
    • 5
      The Omega Dec 15, 08
      I tried to throw my WiiMote at the TV after getting a gutterball, but the damn strap held the WiiMote to my wrist. I should sue Nintendo for causing me to fail to destroy my own merchandise
      • 0
        Zerpent Dec 15, 08
        My sister actually dropped the controller once. She was playing tennis against me and dropped it right in the middle of a swing, yet the strap held it back. So I say they work pretty well.
        • 0
          The Omega Dec 15, 08
          I haven't had it slip out of my hands yet. I use the grip but I find it's actually more slippery than the WiiMote on its own. I only use the grip now to block the battery opening from my fingers constantly rubbing on the part that gets charged up (the Nykos rechargeable batteries).
  • 0
    Wolverine527 Dec 15, 08
    Everyone should know not to let go of the wiimote,how stupid are these people?
  • 0
    dwg14390 Dec 15, 08
    First of all, nintendo is advertising to use the wii mote sensibly.

    Secondly they already made the strap better, if anything it was a fluke.

    Just a one in a million fluke. Not everythings perfect.

    Secondly, its wii bowling, WTF??

    You go gentle in that game compared to golf and tennis so honestly the kid should'nt have been swinging it like an idiot, and the mother should've tought him how to use it properly.


    And nintendo is so scared.......Honestly they could GIVE you 5 mil. just to shut up and not worry, so this lawsuit won't even be as annoying as a mosquito to them.

    This entire lawsuit is just ridiculous

    I doubt nintendo even knows there getting sued =/
  • 0
    Final Blade Dec 15, 08
    Read this article, all I can say to this is a big LOL
  • 0
    Vermillion Dec 15, 08
    First things first: Can't believe Nintendo is getting sued AGAIN! -_-
    Now, honestly, there's no need to manipulate the Wii Remote with such "Fury". The games do not ask you to shake the Wii Controller like a crazy monkey to let it go, with or without the strap . Hell, it's enough to raise the controller to hit the ball in Tennis. If the kid was shacking, dancing, jumping or whatever he was doing with the controller doesn't mean it is Nintendo's fault. If the kid is not careful, it is not Nintendo's fault. If the kid has the brain of a fly, it is not Nintendo's fault either. If the parents raised the kid like a manly beast, then it is not Nintendo's fault either.
  • 0
    dwg14390 Dec 15, 08
    Like I said before this lawsuit is so stupid and worthless nintendo doesn't even know there getting sued!

    Nintendo doesn't care, they know they took almost every imaginable accident that could happen and completely made the wii almost 100% unsueble (if that is a word lol)

    They give you warnings
    They tell you how to use it
    They give you more warnings
    And they made those warnings very annoying

    Honestly the wii has a sealed case.

    It won't get sued, I doubt it can get sued.
  • 0
    Gamer128 Dec 15, 08
    People need to learn how to grasp the remote. It's not hard. You learned how to grab stuff when you were a baby. ._.
  • 0
    Daigoji_Gai Dec 15, 08
    Additionally, Nintendo offered replacement straps for anyone with the original Wii straps. This lawsuit won't go anywhere.

    They had already taken steps to remedy this, and if this case comes post the replacement offer - non-issue. If this was in the works before the replacement, even then Nintendo can say they were aware some customers had issues and already issued a recall. So again moot.

    I hate frivolous lawsuits by attention seekers.
    • 1
      Koloth* Dec 17, 08
      And? It is possible that the replacement straps are defective too. Don't assume that just because they have tried to address the problem that it is fixed. I have the newest strap with the slider and the lock. Seems to work just fine. But that doesn't mean it can't break. It is after all just a peice of string.

      And my son already managed to fling one of the wii-motes across the room. Of course he didn't have the strap on at the time and all he damaged was one of my old models. But still just holding the controller kids get excited and it slips. That it the purpose of the strap to begin with.

      Nintendo needs to prove that the current strap design is effective and that the user is at fault not their design. If they can't do that then it doesn't matter what they have done. Telling us to put on the strap and secure it doesn't help if it doesn't work. That was the problem to begin with.
      • 0
        Daigoji_Gai Dec 17, 08
        I see your point in the final paragraph - that is why it is moving forward despite my personal views it is ridiculous and frivolous. We have a site called wiihaveaproblem.com that has been chronicling the wiicidents - and I still don't fathom (even with the original controller) what people were doing with their wiimotes to generate such chaos. One of the first things I noticed with the wiimote was that it didn't take much to get an on screen response - I didn't have to flail for a baseball swing but a simple light gesture did the same. Of course it is more fun to stand up and flail, but... boggling to me.
  • 1
    Seeker X Dec 15, 08
    $5 *bleep*ing million dollars...so the TV's obviously made of real gold and cures cancer?
    • 0
      Play ISDF Dec 15, 08
      It also gives you free donuts and milkshakes on command.
  • 1
    Shortman Dec 17, 08
    I think this really takes the mick. The straps are fine. I've swung my controller really hard before and the strap never broke.
    • 0
      Daigoji_Gai Dec 17, 08
      /agree but Koloth did present a very sound legal argument in his final paragraph that Nintendo will have to address to get out of this. I could be wrong.
      • 0
        Shortman Dec 18, 08
        I hope Nintendo do get out of it because it is plain stupid. Why did the kid let go of the remote?
        • 1
          Koloth* Dec 18, 08
          Because he is a kid. Kids gets excited and out of control. Then they let go and bad things happen. The fact of the matter is it doesn't matter why the kid let go.

          Nintendo supplied a wrist strap to prevent exactly these kinds of accidents. Because they were fully aware that some people would get to into things and accidents would happen. Even adults have gotten to into it and let the remote slip and sent it flying. This is hardly new information. So they have to prove the strap is an effective restraining device when used correctly or they are in big trouble.

          The fact that I have seen several straps frayed and broken at the connecting point tells me they are poorly engineered. That has noting to do with putting them on correctly or holding on to them. That is about using the wrong materials. The string is to weak.
  • 0
    Shortman Dec 18, 08
    Then you shouldn't let younger children play it if you know that they can get out of hand.
    • 1
      Koloth* Dec 18, 08
      Yea, that's the answer lets just cut out the core of Nintendo's audeince. And while were at it we will ban drunken adults and anyone that is just having way to much fun. [/sarcasm]
      • 0
        Shortman Dec 19, 08
        I meant kids aged 5 or so who can become very hyper active. If they can be calmed down so be it but some parents can't control their kids.
        • 0
          Final Blade Dec 19, 08
          That's not really his point, he's talking about in general. He only used his Son as an example. The point is, Adults can also be too excited and also let go of the thing. The problem, as he says, lies with the design and materials not the people using it.
  • 0
    Shortman Dec 19, 08
    In that case the material of the Wii strap is fine. It's not weak at all.
    • 1
      Koloth* Dec 19, 08
      Then why has it broken several times for multiple different people? Frankly though I think this article about the case is more damning than anything.

      quote
      Filed on December 2nd by Colorado resident Molly Elvig, the new class-action suit mostly picks up right where the old left off: Wiimote Strap #3. Introduced mid-2007 by Nintendo in response to complaints that the small, sliding band designed to “lock” the wrist strap was insufficient for the task, Strap #3 is secured by a plastic locking clasp — but attorneys for Elvig allege that at this juncture, all three straps continue to fail.

      Argued by the same lawyer who represented plaintiff Jon Leonard in the prior suit, most points in the complaint look remarkably similar — despite Nintendo’s encouragement of players with instructions like “Swing hard to make sure you clear the net!”, the company allegedly didn’t provide a product that could support such effort, etc. — but there is one key difference.

      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.
      http://www.gamecyte.com/nintendo-slapped-with-strap-lawsuit-once-again

      Failing to report incidents despite knowledge after the replacement program was put in place. Hmmm.
  • 2
    Miller Dec 19, 08
    You could superglue the Wii remote to these people and they still will hurt themsevles. Nintendo can't account for peoples stupidity.
    • 0
      Shortman Dec 20, 08
      Quite right in my books. Even my little cousin who can get VERY hyper active hasn't managed to break the strap.
  • 0
    Arikardo Dec 20, 08
    Maybe the stupid kid wasn't using the wrist strap and just told his mother that it broke so he didn't get in trouble for throwing it at the TV when he lost. Bastard kids.
  • 0
    crimson streak1 Dec 21, 08
    It's sad to know how low some people will stoop just to make easy cash. 5 mill for a dented TV? bs
    • 0
      Shortman Dec 22, 08
      It is believable about how many people will do this and then try to claim money for 'faulty' components such as controllers. It is pathetic if you ask me.

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