Wiimote launches through window, insurance coverage questionable

While we initially felt Wal-Mart was being a bit old fashioned by not allowing Wii demo kiosks to be setup in stores due to "safety concerns," Walton and friends apparently had a good bit of foresight that we weren't aware of. After numerous reports of television sets getting the axe, and an innocently bystanding HP iPAQ getting all cracked up, we're wondering if folks aren't just staging their own Wiincidents at this point. Apparently warning everyone of how jeopardous these free-flying Wiimotes can be wasn't really taken to heart, as now a butterfingered gamer has quite an interesting tale to tell to the presumably skeptical insurance adjuster. While busting a few moves in Wii Sports, the nonsensical user let the controller fly, but instead of landing softly (and harmlessly) on the couch, it rocketed straight through his window, leaving a fairly dangerous scene as proof of gaming negligence. C'mon folks, we've warned you all enough by now, either strap on that thoughtfully included wrist strap, grab some sticky gloves, or tape up the windows -- your property, your call.

[Thanks, Sean]

[Rohit Kapur @ Nov 27th 2006 10:22AM]

Dunno... This one seems plausible. How much can insurance possibly give him for the window?? Or am I just being insanely stupid here?

Plus, a sentence up there doesn't make sense, but I won't say which. :-)

[PEZ @ Nov 27th 2006 10:54AM]

I dont know, I think all these Wiimote accidents are bullshitski. Someone needs to capture this PHENOMENON on video.

[alex @ Nov 27th 2006 11:19AM]

There's a video of it happening on youtube, but to be honest I still don't believe it. I probably won't until it happens to me.

[gid @ Nov 27th 2006 10:26AM]

I would suggest getting the extra grippy accessory pack. You can put a gel grip skin over your wiimote and you can also use two lanyards instead of one if you let loose.

[plchabot @ Nov 27th 2006 10:28AM]

If people were playing real baseball in the yard, there would be less broken windows...

[v_dogg @ Nov 27th 2006 10:29AM]

Hahahahahahaha

[cloud811 @ Nov 27th 2006 10:33AM]

wii sports baseball all u need to do is flick ur wrist slightly and the ball throws the same speed as it does if u went all out....why can't these morons see that? i dont feel badfor them at all

[jtiaroo @ Nov 27th 2006 10:33AM]

this is getting silly how many are going to throw their wiimotes in the tv or out the window in this month alone? 10? 50? 1000?

[DEEZNUTZ @ Nov 27th 2006 10:35AM]

I can't get enough of this... What I would like to see is a wii-mote go flying and smash a PS3.

[Jason @ Nov 27th 2006 10:38AM]

Next up, Nintendo sell homeowners insurance for the wii....

They had to know that by encouraging full fledged movement this would be the result. I predict more to come. It sounds like a redesign of the wrist strap is in order here.

[mespinosam @ Nov 27th 2006 10:38AM]

Collateral

[bxbailey @ Nov 27th 2006 10:45AM]

If this was a sony product people would be all over this, but since it's not people are more forgiving.

[Gil @ Nov 27th 2006 10:52AM]

Engadget has been screaming "FAKE" from the start of this whole series of incidents and so far all have proven REAL.
If this had been sony controllers everybody would be all over it.

Time to get some b***s and admit there's a problem with the straps (and human stupidity factor).

[JRA219psu @ Nov 27th 2006 10:43AM]

Sorry but I don't think that most insurance agencies offer insurance for stupidity.

[cmslick3 @ Nov 28th 2006 8:22PM]

UM.... can someone say PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY? You MUST hold onto the wiimotes, and can they seriously be that slippery? The wrist strap is a last resort type of thing, not a standard... I bet some nimrod thought they could get a faster ball if they flung the remote around by the strap, D'UH!!! Imagine the damage if someone let a wavebird fly??

[jason @ Nov 27th 2006 5:36PM]

LAME!

I have never even had the remote slip out of my hands. What do these people do, put some Vaseline on before playing video games or purposefully just throw it. These are people just trying to get something for nothing.

[shelterpaw @ Nov 27th 2006 10:54AM]

I call BS. You'd have to throw this extemely hard to break a window.

[R @ Dec 30th 2006 11:53PM]

How come most of these Wiimote-destruction related news are from here in the US? Any news of Wii-mishaps from Japan?

[Jeff @ Nov 27th 2006 10:48AM]

"How much can insurance possibly give him for the window?? Or am I just being insanely stupid here?"

No, you're being smart - the homeowner's being stupid for filing a claim that's probably just going to get him blacklisted.

He's probably lying anyway. But filing claims that insurance companies consider either a) frivolous, or b) unreasonable is the easiest way to have your insurance canceled and/or your rates raised.

He should just suck it up and pay the $100 or whatever to replace that pane of glass.

[Grey Acumen @ Nov 27th 2006 12:04PM]

Actually, the first two cases pretty much do look completely and totally fake(the strap looked cut, period) Most likely they didn't have their wrist strap on an didn't want to look like fools.

The next incident was the one with the girl that threw it into the wall, which resulted in a dented wall, and a shattered Wii that was able to be snapped back together and still work. The cord actually snapped away from the wrist strap, which is totally believable, though it wasn't actually recorded happening.

The next one was actually recorded, however it also recorded the fact that it was obviously done totally deliberately. His swing was definitely designed to snap the Wiimote strap rather than improve his game in any way.

The next case that I know involved someone putting their hand through a light fixture while playing. Definite need to be careful where you're playing, but not the fault of the wrist strap.

Of course, there were the various complaints of people getting tired playing with the Wii. This issue, if anything, points only to Wii being even more fun and interactive than they had claimed. You can still play just as effectively while only moving your wrist and nothing more, so if anyone is getting tired, all they need to do is step it back a pace.


This is the latest incident I've seen, but I don't know if he even had the wrist strap on at the time. I never noticed him specifically mentioning the wrist strap breaking, merely that it went through the window.
I kinda feel bad for him, as he basically did this to share an amusing and somewhat embarrassing story, yet he had the entire forum jump down his throat about it.

In this particular instance, I think that people have taken Engadget's review a bit too literally. When I checked out the actual article in question, I saw no references to insurance of any kind other than the fact that he would have to pay for getting his window replaced. Of course, Engadget speculated on the interesting tale that would be involved with the insurance adjuster, even though that was never mentioned otherwise. I think they fumbled a tad in trying to make this article stand out from the growing plethora of Wii related damage/injury incidents.

With how it has become almost fad to bring up frivolous lawsuits for personal gain, it's quite understandable for fans on Nintendo to get a trifle defensive when pieces like these come up, especially if the fad could become so fashionable as to drive Nintendo to retract a gaming device as fun, original, and full of potential as the Wii.

Honestly though, a lot of these incidents do seem incredibly fake or deliberate(or just pathetic), but the real issue is a concept that a lot of people seem to be losing track of, that of personal responsibility. Whether any of these are fake or not, the point still remains that when the Wiimote is used PROPERLY, then there are next to no incidents of damage.

Please game responsibly.

[Joe @ Nov 27th 2006 10:57AM]

How are these idiots throwing these at their TVs and windows? Seriously. I have had my Wii since launch and have played a lot. Never has my slipped out of my hand...NEVER! This is getting rediculous. You don't have to throw your hand so freaking hard with tese things. I have seen videos online...and it looks like the person holding the wiimote is trying to kill someone...it doesn't take that much force people!

[Matt @ Nov 27th 2006 8:34PM]

How long till someone commits murder with the wii-mote. I've already beaten my wife bloody with mine.

CHEERS!

[Asgeras @ Nov 27th 2006 11:00AM]

I don't actually own a Wii, but there have been reports coming in from all over. Furthermore, the wrist strap proves to be a little dubious, and has broken on (according to polls) anywhere from 4 - 5 percent of Wii users.

True, most of the people involved were drunk, but still... :P

[mmoffitt @ Nov 27th 2006 11:01AM]

Let's see -- I'm 53 years old and managed to fling a Wiimote the first time I powered up *bowling* of all things. Nothing broken but the strap. But it *did* break, and I'm no9t asking anyone for anything. But I don't think all the press is BS...

[MichaelLC @ Nov 27th 2006 11:01AM]

In a shocking discovery, buyers of the new Nintendo Wii have been found to be taping their Wiimotes to actual sports equipment when playing Wii Sports.

More at 11.

[joseph le brech @ Nov 27th 2006 11:21AM]

Those Wiimotes are sure dangerous. They should be banned. And Nintendo should shut down, the US army should invade, man those Wii are weapons of mass destruction.

[Keef @ Nov 27th 2006 11:16AM]

ugh.......greasy nerds....

[Chris @ Nov 27th 2006 11:19AM]

How stupid can people be, its like you have a hammer in you hand are you just swing all willy nilly, no you should be more cautious of what the hell your doing.

[xeper @ Nov 27th 2006 11:21AM]

Who are these greasy-handed morons who keep tossing their controllers?

[Matt B @ Nov 27th 2006 11:23AM]

I'd really like to know when responsibility died and when.

[Brian @ Nov 27th 2006 11:25AM]

Can we call the Myth Busters in on this one?

[ash @ Nov 27th 2006 11:29AM]

why don't Nintendo bring back the "power glove"? surely the wii would be perfect for this?
http://screwattack.com/Flash%20HTML/ANN/Power%20Glove/Power.html

[Delsvr @ Nov 27th 2006 11:29AM]

Engadget is so forgiving of Nintendo. Meanwhile, when Xbox Live Video Marketplace is laggy on their launch day, Engadget expresses utter disappointment and skepticism. When Sony PS3's delay and delay (but still manage to come out a few days earlier than the Wii), Engadget is up in arms.

Nintendo can't even get a tether right. Their whole setup is gimmicky.

Bias much?

[Wow. @ Nov 27th 2006 12:45PM]

I think it's funny that you get your panties in a bunch because engadget didn't scold Nintendo. First of all, I'd say this isn't a whole fault of Nintendo. Excessive force shouldn't be used playing the Wii, but Nintendo should've been better prepared for such a thing to happen. Hyperactive kids, drunks, and general morons will cause accidents.

Also, have you not been reading articles about Wii disappointments? Joystiq and engadget have posted disappointments. The fatal error with some systems during update, gripes with the file management, the way the wii remote has to attach to the classic controller (with nowhere to put it), lack of component cables at launch, etc.

This is a shared blame of the consumer and the corporation, so I would say that explains the leniency. XBLA not being operative? No one's fault but Microsoft. Sony failing to produce enough units? Sony's fault. Also, one can easily avoid broken windows and TVs. Play gently, get a new strap. You can't avoid a product shortage, and you can't avoid downtime, you just have to wait.

[Delsvr @ Nov 27th 2006 4:01PM]

I guess my problem is that with Microsoft's and Sony's shortcomings, they were to be expected. With a community as large as Xbox 360's, of course their Video Marketplace launch is going to be slow. There's really no avoiding it. But in less than a week afterwards, Xbox Live is functioning at speeds even faster than before.

And with Sony's feature-packed PS3 system, is their production rate really that appalling? I find it commendable that they came out with their system as early as they did.

Nintendo, on the other hand, produces a graphically inferior system and boasts a next generation gaming experience (comprised of two IR emitters), and they can't even enforce their wrist strap properly. I just expected Engadget to overreact like they've done for the PS3 and Xbox 360, but they've simply attributed the glaring design flaw to hoaxes from the very start.

P.S. My panties are fine.

[Chris @ Nov 27th 2006 11:34AM]

why should we have to do wrist jerks instead of full motion... if nintendo didnt want people lunging around they shouldnt have shown it like that in EVERY SINGLE COMMERCIAL

[joseph le brech @ Nov 27th 2006 11:37AM]

Get a grip

[umrain @ Nov 27th 2006 11:30AM]

If only Nintendo had gone with a non-throwable glove design instead of a remote, things like this never would have happened.

[umrain @ Nov 27th 2006 11:31AM]

CURSE YOU ASH

[TVGenius @ Nov 27th 2006 11:35AM]

Seriously... what game are they playing when this happens. Wii Sports is probably the most motion-centric game out so far...

With Tennis, Baseball, and Golf, it's not like you 'accidentally' throw your club or racket or bat when you swing, I doubt this is happening in boxing... so that leaves Bowling, which, unless you don't know how to bowl, should leave you lobbing the Wiimote into the wall/ceiling above the TV, if anything.

[Mr. Negative @ Nov 27th 2006 11:37AM]

I'm Waiting to see the x-ray of the wiimote stuck in someone's skull.

[Kokernutz @ Nov 27th 2006 11:45AM]

This is dumb. I picked up a Wii this weekend and can't imagine how someone could do this. And yes, I'm doing the full swinging/pitching in Baseball/Bowling/Tennis.

[NHAnimator @ Nov 27th 2006 11:41AM]

Uh, wall/ceiling? Unless you have an abnormally large lob, your release point should be a lot lower. I can completely see how bowling would cause a problem. Unlike swinging a bat/tennis racket or throwing a punch, a bowling ball is held, then released while the arm is swinging. It would see natural for at least a small percentage (and thus, probably hundreds) of people to let go of the controller out of force of habit.

This is just a dubious design problem. Strap or no strap.

[Parker @ Nov 27th 2006 11:43AM]

I keep reading these reports and the stupidity of people amazes me.

Why can't they just hold on to the freaking controller? Do they dangle it from the wrist strap and just swing it around? Do these guys balance a PS3 controller on one open palm and push the buttons with their other hand?

You have fingers. Wrap them AROUND the controller. It's called "grip." It's a smart idea. The Wii was made for it. No one's to blame for this crap but the idiots who can't comprehend how to hold an object in their hand.

[Zerokool @ Nov 27th 2006 11:56AM]

Do people seem pretty stupid when this happens? Well, yeah, kind of. Little movements are just as effective, as big sweeping motions. But the thing is that the Nintendo marketing pictures (with all those good looking people having the time of their lives) certainly don't look like their just slumped on the couch making little ten centimeter arcs with their wiimotes.

I dunno. I don't think people are staging these accidents, but neither are they totally without blame. Along the same lines I think Nintendo has to step up and take some of the blame too, for perhaps a too flimsy wriststrap, and also for not anticipating these kinds of accidents.

[SHoe @ Nov 29th 2006 12:47AM]

I call 'retarded' on this one. The fact that anybody on this site is actually attempting to excuse people and blame nintendo is freakin absurd. Take responsibilty for the fact that you threw the f#@!ing thing like an idiot.

Anybody blaming nintendo: let's all sue all the companies who ever made anything that could be flung like a projectile - would that make sense? It has a strap but you are supposed to hold onto the thing. And has been pointed out many times, the game action does not result in infinitely faster / harder the faster / harder you move the control. God damn - it's like back in the 80s when people first started playing action games on PCs and you'd see these idiots pounding on their keyboard in the naive belief that the onscreen character/spac-shop/whatever would respond 'more'.

No sir - i call 'retarded'. And anybody who actually wishes to show-off their idiocy by posting it on a website get's extra idiot points. The correct response to such a happening is shame.

[jack @ Nov 27th 2006 12:29PM]

"but the real issue is a concept that a lot of people seem to be losing track of, that of personal responsibility. Whether any of these are fake or not, the point still remains that when the Wiimote is used PROPERLY, then there are next to no incidents of damage."

"used properly" is an extremely subjective term. From the commercials I am encouraged to get into the game as hard as I can. I do not know about you, but when I play my game I get really into it (grip my controller tight when driving, and jump when shot). With the wiimote I will swing as hard as I can when bowling. Nintendo should have anticipated and corrected this. Giving them a pass is ridiculous. Turning a blind eye and fanboying this is even worse. If we get at them now before it becomes a bigger issue, they will fix it ASAP. And guess what, we all win if they do.

[Earl @ Nov 27th 2006 12:25PM]

This is such a huge issue in this country: the fact that no one takes responsibility for their actions anymore!

So, you flung the controller so hard that you lose your grip AND the wrist strap breaks??!!

Sounds like someone needs to take care of their s**t!!
I have been playing my Wii since it was released and neither myself nor anyone else that has played Wii Sports has had this problem.
From personal experience, I can say that this is completely user error.

[Grey Acumen @ Nov 27th 2006 12:40PM]

Right, and from the commercials, I can drive my jeep through a quicksand pit and out without any problem, and the PS3 controller can control my eggs and make them hit the wall and turn into birds.

Used properly is not a subjective term just cause you want it to be.

I'll admit, the Wii controller strap probably could be reinforced a bit better, and I'm sure there will be stronger wrist straps being brought out by Nintendo and 3rd parties for those people that want to be able to swing their Wiimote at 90 miles an hour, but the cases that I've seen and heard of so far have not been the result of shoddy design but of people simply using the thing beyond Nintendo's intentions.

[Wow. @ Nov 27th 2006 12:45PM]

After reading the first incident with the TV, I went home and checked the strap on my remote. It's cheap. I'm surprised they didn't bother to use the same quality cord that would be included with digital camera straps and stuff. This one is just thread. I just might go and take the strap off of my old CyberShot and use that.