U.S. Govt Confirms Three Wii Remote Injuries

via kotaku

The Associated Press, it seems, has backed away from calling Nintendo's product replacement plan for the Wii Remote Strap a recall.

Instead of just changing the headline we used, I decided to do a little fact checking. By law, any consumer safety issues that crop up in the U.S. has to be reported to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Hopping onto their site I found at the top a listing for the replacement program, something they call a "corrective action," according to a quick call to the commission.

According to the commission only about 2 million of the straps were affected. The report says that Nintendo has received reports of cords on wrist straps breaking, including "three reports of minor injuries not requiring medical attention." All of the incidents, according to the commission, occurred while gamers were playing Wii Sports.

The commission goes on to say that all Wii systems purchased after Dec. 11 should have the new 1.0 mm cord, while systems purchased before then have the .6mm cords. All remotes purchased separately before Dec. 18 have the old cords, according to the report.

Nintendo sent along this official statement about the "corrective action."

Nintendo has a long tradition of delivering high-quality products and excellent customer service. The Wii Remote is meant to be gripped, and the wrist straps are a secondary measure. We have found that some consumers get more excited playing Wii Sports than we could have imagined. This resulted in a very small number of wrist straps breaking. We have replaced the broken wrist straps and continue to reinforce with consumers the safe and fun use of our products. Through its voluntary wrist strap replacement program, Nintendo is offering a stronger wrist strap free of charge to consumers by calling 800-859-4519 or by visiting support.nintendo.com.