Gorgeous 70-inch TV gets perfect Wii-shaped hole

It’s Christmas morning in the Mann household in Wisconsin, USA. Santa has brought the best present of all - a rare-as-hen’s-teeth Nintendo Wii - for the children to share and enjoy. In preparation, the family has bought a whopping 70-inch rear projection TV for their front room. As we predicted, this family didn’t wait for their replacement straps to arrive…

Wanna see that again… in close up? I thought so.

Karlee Mann (14) sat by while her cousin Bryce (also 14) dominated the initial few games of Wii Sports Tennis. When Bryce finally gave in to her protests, the heady mix of frustration, adrenalin, anticipation and family rivalry proved too much. In an instant the remote slipped from her hands, the weak Gen 1 strap failed to catch the escaping projectile, and the Mann’s $4500 TV took a clean bullet to the head. Oops.

If I could have bottled the atmosphere in the front room at that moment and shared it with you, no doubt there would be a sick feeling at the bottom of every readers stomach. You can laugh about a broken bulb, a few grazes, even a dent in the wall, but $1150 damage (as mother Dona has been quoted) is not an easy one to swallow. Credit to the family, who collectively shrugged at their misfortune, got out their old 17″ CRT and got straight back to the tennis!

Closet door gets the Wii badge of honor*

Patrick is fortunate enough to have a dedicated games/movie room in his house. No ceiling fans and overhead lights, none of the usual living room clutter, perhaps not even a window, so you might think he was set up with the perfect, Wii-friendly pad. If this story tells us anything, it’s “Where there’s a Wii, there’s a way”. (sorry)

This is what happens when Patrick invites his 4 friends round to try his new Wii.

The game is Wii Sports Tennis and Greg has the racket. As a newbie, he is getting totally absorbed in the game. With one huge cross court smash the Wiimote leaves Greg’s hand, caught only momentarily by the wrist strap (which does the inevitable) and flies full pelt into the closet door.

You’ll find a close-up of the damage after the break.

Continue reading Closet door gets the Wii badge of honor*…

Nintendo miss Christmas with new straps

With the announcement of Nintendo’s Wii strap replacement programme last week, these broken strap images that have surfaced across the internet (and in my inbox) will be a thing of the past, right? I’m not so sure.

Looking at the small print on their website they state the following: “We expect to begin shipping replacement straps around December 21st. It will take 5 to 9 days for delivery depending on your location”. By my calculations, that means the new beefier straps can be expected on December 26th at the earliest. Yoiks! And that means no new straps for Christmas.

Expect this conversation to play out under the Christmas tree in homes across the planet:
Son: Oh Dad, a Wii, that’s the best present in the world! Thank you. Quick, let’s set it up.
Dad: Not so fast son. We’ve got to register for the strap replacement programme. Now, where’s that serial number?
Son: Are you serious?
Dad: After what’s happened to some of those spoilt kids who got their Wiis before Christmas, I don’t want to see that remote getting anywhere near our new flat screen TV.
Son: No way! Are you saying it’s going back in the box until our new strap comes through? But that could be 2007! Oh, Daddy I want to play my Wii NOW.
Dad: Sorry Son, but we can’t be taking any chances. Now, go and thank your mother for those new socks.

If this happens to you, read on for some great advice on how to get your Wii out of its box on Christmas Day.

Continue reading Nintendo miss Christmas with new straps…

First LCD breakages reported

So, if you were beginning to think you were immune to a bit of Wii damage just because you didn’t have a Rear Projection TV (RPTV), think again. We’ve found no less than three LCD breakages in the last couple of days, and this time it’s not just TVs.

Victim #5 - LCD TV: Race

Ouch! This really is dramatic. I guess by their very nature, all the RPTV breakages we’ve seen so far don’t leave the picture too messed up - after all, the action is all coming from the back. But with LCDs, it’s a different matter. Ever stood on your pocket calculator? Or the Casio watch you had when you were 11? Now multiply the bleeding effect up to 37 inches of glorious Viewsonic LCD TV. One eyewitness to this particular beauty reported that with the TV off, the screen looked ‘kinda dented’. But when switched on… well, you can see for yourself - the details are gory in the extreme.

Putting the sadness of another dead TV aside, I think congratulations are in order for Race. Although the method of execution doesn’t get many points for originality (Bowling, Broken Strap etc.) this victim just bounces right back. Not only has she replaced the TV, but she’s pimped her Wiimote and is back in lane 8 for another game. Using a Wii Controller Glove (for extra grip) from Gamestop and a DIY zip tie custom strap that would make MacGyver proud, Race is ready for more Wii action with her ‘delightful system’. I’m gobsmacked. Nintendo have performed a miracle here - despite causing thousands of dollars worth of TV damage, users are getting straight back into the game…

Victim #6 - LCD Screen on Laptop - Ugamer_X

Victim #7 - LCD Screen on PDA - Rafael Montano

These next two victims have been caught leaving their other play things in the line of fire. No clues about the games used here, or whether involved a strap breaking incident, but the results are as dramatic as we saw with the TV. Beware - blue screen of death.

What a striking coincidence - these are both HP products. If you’ve been leaving your mobile computing gadgets round the telly again and you’ve suffered a similar fate, let us know so we can let HP off the hook (or dig their hole a little deeper!).

And the moral of this post - keep your pad tidy and your precious portables may avoid Wii impact.

A barrage of breaking Wiimote straps

Reading through the comments on the Engadget ‘TV death by Wiimote’ reports here and here, I was struck by two things:

First, people are cynical and sceptical

A huge number of comments either dismiss the ‘TV damage’ claims as a) fake, because they believe the victims are wanting a new TV from Nintendo or b) fake, because they cannot believe that a plastic remote is capable of cracking a TV screen or c) fake, because the strap looks cut or d) fake, because the images look Photoshopped.

While I’m not convinced by any of these arguements, I’d like to draw your attention to my previous post. The fact that all 3 cracked TVs reported so far have been of the rear projection flavour, suggests to me that these boxes have a weaker screen. RPTVs are just not designed for all out Wii Wiimote wanging. (CRTs are bearing up a little better - ct reports that his brother flung his remote at a Philips CRT and it bounced off the screen before he managed to catch it and carry on playing. Yes, it was bowling).

Second, there have been a LOT of broken strap incidents

This for me is the proof we’ve been looking for, and the reason why these reports can’t be fake. The original damage from IGN involved a broken Wiimote strap (and IGN are a trusted review site). The two now-famous TV deaths also reported the same problem with the strap. That’s three cases. Now add 15. That’s how many people reported the same problem following those two Engadget posts. Here’s the roll call:

1. Alric Lopez’s 7 year old son was playing Tennis when oops! Strap broke and the Wiimote hit a wall (no damage)

2. Brandon Hays saw someone at GameStop go oops! Strap broke and the Wiimote hit a wall (batteries everywhere)

3. Dan was playing Baseball when oops! Strap broke and the Wiimote hit a wall (bounced off)

4. islanddreamer’s son was playing when oops! Strap broke (damage unreported)

5. fugimax’s girlfriend was Bowling when oops! Strap broke and the Wiimote hit the ceiling (1/4″ dent in the plaster)

6. Wii man was playing Baseball when oops! Strap broke and the Wiimote hit the floor (no damage)

7. Eric Lowe was playing Baseball when oops! Strap broke and the Wiimote hit the fireplace (chunk out of Wiimote)

8. Aaron was playing Baseball when oops! Strap broke and the Wiimote hit a window (’nearly broke’)

9. ACAZ was Bowling when oops! Strap broke (Wiimote scratched)

10. Serothis was playing Tennis when oops! Strap broke and the Wiimote flew into the kitchen (no damage)

11. Bill was Bowling when oops! Strap broke and the Wiimote hit his rear projection TV (cracked TV)

12. Ryan was playing something when oops! Strap broke and the Wiimote hit the couch (no damage)

13. Moss Beach was playing Tennis when oops! Strap broke and the Wiimote hit the fireplace (small scuff on Wiimote)

14. Clint was playing something when oops! Strap broke and (nothing reported)

15. andrew’s roommate was playing Baseball when oops! Strap broke and the Wiimote did not hit the TV (dead Wiimote)

So there you go. I think that’s called a case of evidence speaking for itself.

And the moral of the story is… don’t let go (and don’t give Nintendo a hard time. It doesn’t sound like you’re all having a miserable time out there, and I’ve no doubt that Wiimote v.2 is going to have a stronger wrist strap!).

If this has happened to you, let us know! We’re even interested to hear about non-strap breaking incidents (I won’t name and shame those who didn’t take precautions - it’s OK not to wear the strap). Photos, videos, general living room carnage all gratefully received to the email address on the ‘about’ page. Or just post a comment!