Wii Wrist Straps - Not a Recall!

Filed in archive Wii on December 17, 2006

You've probably heard the news bleated across the television, radio and internet the past few days: "Nintendo recalls 3.2 million Wii Remote straps! People are injuring themselves because of faulty straps! armageddon is here!" I've given my opinion on the subject, and now the famously outspoken UK-based gaming site SPOnG has tossed in their 2 pence as well. After hearing the same blathering on BBC radio, SPOnG contacted a rep from Nintendo UK and learned that everybody's gotten it wrong:

Nintendo will offer customers THE OPTION to exchange the old straps, which have an 0.024 inch diameter, for a thicker strap that has a diameter of 0.04 inch.

That's not a recall. And just how many people are having this wrist strap breakage problem anyway? Only around 0.001% of the users. Nintendo is simply taking a sensible precaution by allowing anyone to exchange their wrist strap for free. A precaution that will cost the company a few million dollars, by the way.