Dec 08 2006
The Flying Nintendo Wii Controller
The Nintendo Wii was released last month as a lower-cost alternative to the XBox and PlayStation units and it features an interactive motion-sensing controller. Apparently, the controller may need a warning label:
Nintendo Co. Ltd. has some cautionary advice for players of its Wii video game console: when waving the controller, use the wrist strap, keep your palms dry and, whatever you do, don’t let go.
You hold the controller to mimic all sorts of activities; swinging a bat or tennis racket, wielding a sword to fend off mortal enemies, or anything else the programmers can dream-up. It’s not a new concept, but it is a cool one. There is just one problem:
“Some people are getting a lot more excited than we’d expected,” Nintendo Co. President Satoru Iwata said. “We need to better communicate to people how to deal with Wii as a new form of entertainment.”
This excitement has lead to controllers flying all over the place. The Wii controller comes with a strap, but many are not being used or are breaking in the heat of the moment. These flying controllers are landing and causing damage. Wii Have A Problem (www.wiihaveaproblem.com) is a web site that has been set-up to capture photos of damage caused by Wii controllers. Here is an example from the site:
Now that’s what I call excitement! The site has some amazing pictures of damage. I guess we all have to learn not to become too excited when holding our Wii controllers…
As always, the blog world is all over this one:
- Hey, watch out how you swing that Wii wand
- Houston, Wii have a problem.
- Getting Wiitarded
- Have Wii Been Hurt in an Accident?
- Un-Nintendo’d Consequences: The Menace of “Wii Elbow”
- Interview with the Toronto Star
