Nintendo recalls 3.2 million straps for WII controllers

Japanese gamemaker Nintendo today recalled 3.2 million straps for its popular Wii computer game controllers to address the problem of the device flying out of the hands of overzealous players.

Nintendo announced earlier this month that it was investigating reports of problems with a strap that secures the machines’ wandlike remote-controller to the player’s wrist.

Players hold the remote to mimic the motions of a tennis racket, golf club or sword, depending on the game.

Nintendo will allow customers to exchange the old straps for a beefed-up strap, company spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa said.

The worldwide recall is expected to cost the company several million euro.

The controls is one of the unique features of the Wii, which Nintendo introduced as its counterchallenge in a fierce three-way battle with Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360.