Wiimote strap breaks, controller destroys TV
By Ryan Block 
posted Nov 20th 2006 4:16AM
posted Nov 20th 2006 4:16AM
[Thanks, Sando]
Update: We spoke with Jon Leonard, the guy whose TV is now cracked worse than a Mad mag knockoff. He insisted to us there was zero foul play going on here and that he's not out to get Nintendo to replace his TV, nor is he ready to pursue legal options. Just that his pal got carried away bowling and the strap broke under somewhat normal circumstances. (We asked if they were spinning it around or anything of the like and he said no, it was all normal, non-abusive use.) Nintendo hasn't contacted him yet -- we assume they're just about now shuffling into the office up there in Washington -- but we'll keep you posted.
This problem happened to me as well. Luckily, my TV did not get hit. I was actually done playing the game, and went to toss my remote onto the couch (gently, as I love my Wii). I forgot that it was strapped to my wrist, and when I tossed it, the strap snapped and the wiimote hit the ground. Now there is a scuff on the wiimote and the strap is broken.
I called Nintendo and they are sending me a free replacement strap.
Nintendo needs to produce straps the have stronger cords. Similar to the strength of the wrist portion.
But I still love my Wii.
Can anyone else see this turning out like the 360 disc-scratch thing?
I say the new controllers are going to come with little stickers over the buttons saying 'Do not let go of controller at any point, writ strap not designed to support letting go!' on it.
(For those that don't know, 360s now come with stickers on the DVD drives, which you have to take off (leaving a gunky mess) before you can use your 360, telling you not to move the console while in use unless you want a scratched DVD.)
Sheesh. How fast are these people whipping the wiimote around? I've bowled 200+ frames of bowling, played hours of tennis, 50+ holes of golf and I've never once had the remote slip from my hand, much less break the lanyard string *and* the support on the remote itself.
If they are purposefully letting the remote out of their hands every time, that's just plain dumb. If they don't dry their sweaty mitts off between intense frames of bowling, that's their fault. If they aren't even wearing the lanyards, that's not even worth talking about. They deserve to have stuff break in their house.
There's just no excuse.
I REALLY don't see how you can do that bowling... I can however see how you can do it in Tenis, and Baseball, but only the pitching or the Homerun Derby part of Baseball...
Which is because those are the three times I've seen something get smashed by a Wii-mote...
When I was playing my friend's Wii last night, I was playing Homerun Derby, and I was really getting into it, and the controller flew out of my hands, breaking the wrist strap right where you see it in the pictures and smashing a candle holder across the room in the process.
The Wii-mote is surprisingly durable, and other than a broken wrist strap, it is in perfect condition. Still, they might need to put out a better wrist-strap, and personally, I think a smart 3rd party should start making more durable wrist straps right away.
I still don't see how this happened in Bowling, since that's really more about finess, but there's also some Rayman mini games that I can see this happening in, aside from the above mentioned Wii Sports games... but I CAN see this happening and it is a very real danger that you will crack your TV set.
I am an attorney who is investigating whether the strap on the controller is defective. If you've had a strap break, please let me know about your experience at http://www.protectingtheconsumer.com/potential-legal-issues.php
Just entered our information on the web site you supplied. Our big screen tv was shattered this weekened from the controller for wii breaking.
Personally, i believe this is a huge conspiracy. I mean look where the strap "broke"!!!
and the video? well this supposed video (which i haven't seen) could have been a wiimote with a pre-cut strap. also, how could i fly out of their hand like that? i tried replicating the action cuz i dont actually have a wii, i barely held onto the object, and it never flew out of my hands!!!! i am gonna get confirmation about the durabilty of the strap from my friend who has the wii. i trust him more than i do the internet. In short, i think this is a hoax to get a new TV.
PS There could b some pics floating arund the net of a broken tv and a broken wii strap that others are using to their advantage.
Does anyone else see a Wii controller glove on the horizon?
Ya know, my dad always said: "that's why you shouldn't let your friends use your new toys!"
Unfortunately, this guy is probably the same type who submits stuff to "Funniest Home Videos" shots of his kid getting hurt too--and keeps taping instead of helping his kid!
In fact, they should check to see how many entries he's had there for background purposes before they think about believing his story!
On the other hand, probably the only thing dumber than a guy like "Jim Bob the bowler" is "Slick Rick the video bowler".
Get outside & go Dove hunting or somthing dudes! No wait, then they'd be out there with guns...yuck yuck!
This clearly is fake.
If it was a break caused by tension and force, it would be centered at the peak of the cord's loop NOT where some idiot just had access to snip it with scissors. Just because its a free type of gameplay doesn't mean morons should swing their arms like psychos. It probably doesn't even aid in the gameplay.
haha idiots, it's a video game machine, you all need to calm down! a few of those video reenactments are kinda funny and stupid. flyingwii.com
Wii's WONT BRAKE A TV THE CONTROLER IS NOT HEVAY ENOUGH. Unless you give video evadense i dont beliv you
LEARN TO SPELL YOU FUCKTARD.
Believe!I saw it happen yesterday strap broke and broke the LCD.Strap broke in exactly in the same place as the one showm on this site!
This is not a hoax. Just happened to us this weekend. Kid was playing golf and the strap broke and the controller flew out of his hand and into our big screen tv. Needless to say it broke the tv.
The idiots out there saying this is a hoax, I hope it happens to you. This is definitely a possibility and Nintendo knew there was a defect with the strap. They should have been contacting the consumers that registered and telling them abou this, not to mention sending new straps out.
We will pursue legal actions for the tv that was broke. Before this happened we didn't even know this was possible.
It can happen! My daughter did it to her TV. I will now have to buy a new TV and build some kind of pexi-glass shield for her next TV!!!!