Watch out for flying Wiimotes

This is pretty funny. Lots of discussions flying around about the destructive nature of Nintendo’s Wiimote when left in the hands of a frustrated gamer without using the wrist strap. I read a few of these reports, ones where Wal-Mart wouldn’t allow demo kiosks in their stores due to “safety concerns”. There’s been reports of television sets getting smashed and an unconfirmed report of an iPaq being cracked up. But according to this one gamer, he broke his window while playing tennis. Apparently while swinging the remote flew off, hit a trophy and crashed through the window. Ouch! Can you say grounded. According to said gamer the included wrist strap, that’s designed to protect against just sucha nd event, did little to keep the Wiimote tethered to his arm. Maybe Nintendo should have used a slightly larger strap.

The sad part is, I actually believe this story because I know someone that would do just this. Accident or not, when frustrated, controllers tend to go flying and keyboards get smashed. Unlike previous game controllers the Wiimotes slim design makes it the perfect projectile for tossing. This creates a whole new set of problems for the outdoor enthusiast, no longer can you just walk down the street of your neighborhood in fear of the lurking dog, now you have to be on constant guard for the sound of shattering glass and whirling remotes. Judging from the cracks in that glass, to get hit by one of these could be lethal.