Nintendo Responds to the Cry 'Wii Need Thicker Straps'

Well, well, well... I could see this coming. Wait for the bugs and their fixes to emerge I said pre-Wii and PS3 launches, a reproach that fell on deaf ears. And what do you know, I was RIGHT!

CBC reports that after multiple reports of broken glass, TV screens, and in one case a "fan apparently sprained and cut a finger on her right hand while trying to rally for a comeback victory in Wii baseball", Nintendo is offering a replacement of the previously flimsy 0.06 cm straps with sturdier o.04 cms versions.

The article goes on to declare Nintendo the (sort-of) current winner in the console wars despite "Wii controllers going ballistic".

Man those writers have got a sense of humor.

Look But Don't Touch

That was the message I got when, weighed down with Christmas and miscellaneous baggage at Angrignon mall, I walked by a demo booth for the Wii and Wii Sports. Two booth babes (not scantily clad but demurely donned in Wii T-shirts and jeans) played away, one swinging a golf club and the other a baseball bat. They were encircled by a small but older ground of people seemingly fascinated by what they were seeing. The girls took a break to talk to people, promoted the system, and then went back to playing- none of the onlookers got the chance to try it out.

Perhaps in my seasonal malaise I imagined it, but there was some pouting going on. What kind of stupid idea is it to show the action you could see in a commercial but not let anyone try the wi-mote out? Especially when people may very well have headed off to buy one as an xmas gift for their spoiled grandson.... or retired hubby.

Anyhoo, I apologize in advance for some blogless days to come. I have muchos busy days away from home to come, culminating in my thesis defense on Monday. I hope you all have a less crazy weekend than me, though I hope you will attend a party like the one I will on Saturday in benefit of Sun Youth. Food, toys, and money are all welcomed at this time of year.

Reblog: JPN Wii Launch: Not Homeless Winos, But Elderly Gamers

Sorry for the cheating, but I am all wrapped up in RL and living not writing at the moment, will be back shortly I hope.

From Kotaku:


What do you call groups of old men standing next foreigners at a PS3 launch? Gray market. What do you call the same at a Wii launch? Expanded demographic, that's what! It's still early, but I'm seeing some of the same type of thing that plagued the PS3 launch present at the Wii one (pockets of old men), but noticeably absent at the 360's (rude, I know).

Duck!

Kotaku reports that an informal poll they ran returned the number 338. That rather large number represents those of about 5700 reporting Wii users that had their wii-mote strap break and therefore cause their controller to fly across the room. Considering that this gadget has been out less than a fortnight, that seems like one of those things I referred to when I recommended to all my geek friends to hold out a few months and wait for the bugs and flaws and faults to emerge before purchase. But I digress. Apparently the instruction manual states that players are required to wear the strap during play, and some conspiracy theorists I know claim that the wii-motes have sensors that report to Nintendo when you are not using them in the proscribed manner.

Anyway, see the breakage in action at YouTube. The moral of the story here of course is do not get excited and slippery when playing with your wii-mote.

PS- Clubbing seals is very bad and I am not in favor of it. Save the seals, OK?

Wii Will Wii Will Rock You

On Sunday morning I got up much earlier than usual to stand in line to pick up a Wii pre-order. I was surprised and disappointed at the overall mood though, as everyone seemed to be rather blase about the whole thing. After seeing footage of riot police and fist fights in relation to PS3 lineups, I was really disappointed at the orderliness and underwhelming patience of the Nintendo fanboys and nerdgirls. The only amusing portion was when, 10 minutes after asking "no fistfights?" I got whacked in the face accidentally by a Toys r Us employee.

Later that day I got the opportunity to test drive the new wii-mote and watch as people set up their Miis (their system avatar). I was tainted by a feeling of too-much-hype-not-enough-substance, but I was impressed by the ease of use of the newfangled controller. Probably would have been a lot more interested if a Mario game had been released as well... what's Nintendo without a little Mario?

The best moments of playing the Wii- watching an enthusiastic Wii Sports player swing his remote right into a nearby exercise machine, and after tinkering around with the system, returning to the old pleasure of Soul Caliber.

What did you think of the new system?

Wacky Wii Wabbit courtesy of Jostiq.