Sponsored By

Nintendo Sued Over Wii Wrist Straps

Nintendo has become the subject of a nationwide U.S. class action lawsuit relating to issues with the wrist strap for the Wii remote, following its recent institution of a replacement program for the strap.

David Jenkins, Blogger

December 20, 2006

2 Min Read
Game Developer logo in a gray background | Game Developer

In a perhaps inevitable move, Nintendo has become the subject of a nationwide class action lawsuit relating to issues with the wrist strap for the Wii remote. The class action suit has been filed by attorneys Green Welling LLP in the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Washington. According to a statement on the company’s website the lawsuit arose “as result of the defective nature of the Nintendo Wii”. Specifically, it is claimed that the wrist straps have been prone to breaking causing the remote “to leave the user’s hand.” The statement does not describe why the strap breaking would cause the remote to be dropped. However it maintains that “Nintendo’s failure to include a remote that is free from defects is in breach of Nintendo’s own product warranty.” The class action lawsuit seeks to enjoin Nintendo from continuing “its unfair or deceptive business practices as it relates to the Nintendo Wii”. The lawsuit also seeks an injunction that requires Nintendo to correct the supposed defect in the Wii remote and to provide a refund to the purchaser “or to replace the defective Wii remote with a Wii remote that functions as it is warranted and intended”. Nintendo has already offered to replace any Wii strap with a new stronger version, which has begun to replace the original versions packaged with the system. According to a previous statement from the company: “Nintendo is not recalling any of the Wii wrist straps for its motion sensitive Wii Remote. There is no problem with the existing wrist strap as long as the Wii Remote is used sensibly and properly in accordance with the guidelines provided by Nintendo.” Referring specifically to the lawsuit, Nintendo has issued a statement indicating that, “We believe the lawsuit to be completely without merit."

About the Author

David Jenkins

Blogger

David Jenkins ([email protected]) is a freelance writer and journalist working in the UK. As well as being a regular news contributor to Gamasutra.com, he also writes for newsstand magazines Cube, Games TM and Edge, in addition to working for companies including BBC Worldwide, Disney, Amazon and Telewest.

Daily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inbox

You May Also Like