The Wii Strap Experiment

Most gamers have received their Wii replacement straps by now. So what to do with the old ones? Well, run an experiment of course. As you may know, 2old2play had their new straps at the end of December. Instead of just throwing out the old ones, we felt the need to test out exactly how breakable these straps really are.

The Items Used

1. 2 Older Wiimote straps
2. 2 Replacement Wiimote straps (about 3 times thicker)
3. 2 Wiimotes
4. Sectional sofa (the landing zone)
5. Thick blanket (the target)

The Scientific Method

1. Attach Wiimote strap to wrist as per the instructions in the Wii's manual
2. 'Pretend' to be pitching a baseball at around half our max strength. Which is about how strong we 'throw' when actually playing Wii Sports: Baseball
3. Purposefully let go of the Wiimote at the end of my 'pitch' (aiming at the think blanket which is in a pile on the sofa).
4. Repeat the throw 10 times
5. Repeat for each of the 4 straps (2 old, 2 new)

The Findings

Believe it or not, the old strap on our main Wiimote broke after only the second pitch! Better yet, the strap did not seem to slow that much of the momentum from the Wiimote's flight into the sofa. Much to our dis-satisfaction (we like to see stuff break), the other 3 straps did not break after the 10 consecutive throws. However, after 32 throws we can guarantee you arm will hurt like a son of a bitch.


Much to our surprise, we have to conclude that it is entirely possible that gamers out there may indeed end up breaking their tvs. Once all the thicker replacements straps are in the wild, the stories of the straps breaking should become almost non-existent. We cannot see the new straps breaking at all, unless you were to weaken it first - maybe by accidentally catching it on a sharp edge. So there you have it, our complete unscientific method of Wii Mote safety.