“Nintendo, ‘Wii’ Have a Problem!”; Massive Recall for Nintendo Wii Wrist-Strap

Nintendo has announced it is recalling 3.2 million wrist straps designed for their Wii game controllers. Company spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa said Nintendo would replace 3.2 million straps that the company has produced in favor of one better suited for gamers.

The recall is expected to cost Nintendo several million dollars.

Problems with the strap became evident within the first few days of the Wii release last month. The strap, intended to secure a wand-like game controller to an individuals hand, apparently did nothing to stop the controller from flying out of the gamer’s hand.

The wand that the strap is supposed to secure is intended to imitate the motions involved in swinging a baseball bat, wielding a sword, and other activities associated with Nintendo Wii games.

But gamers soon found out that, much like in real life, if you swing a bat and it flies out of your hands something will break. Stories of cracked TV screens, shattered mirrors, and seriously bruised hands, have made their way into daily issues for Nintendo.

In response to the problem Nintendo has designed a more durable strap that is nearly twice the diameter of its original.

Upon is arrival in stores last month the Nintendo Wii has succeeded in surpassing the sales of rivals Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp. Sony ran into problems with their roll-out when they couldn’t meet the demand for their PlayStation 3 consul. Stories of customers waiting in long lines, being robbed and beaten up for the system, and paying inflated prices dampened the PlayStation 3 arrival.
 
While Sony and Microsoft have seen modest sales for their consuls, the Nintendo Wii has continued to sell, even with the problems with the strap. In its first two weeks Nintendo sold 476,000 units in the U.S. alone. Compared to the 200,000 Play Station 3 consuls, Wii has dominated the market.
 
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