difenbaker
12-24-2006, 08:45 PM
The Wii Lawsuit: A 21st-Century Trend
David Garrett, newsfactor.com Fri Dec 22, 1:18 PM ET
Nintendo deserves some credit. The little game-maker-that-could, whose low-priced Wii console was rarely considered a contender to this holiday's gaming throne, has managed to hold its own against the release of Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's continued efforts to promote the
Xbox 360 with enhanced services.
Perhaps the best feature on the Wii is the remote control, or Wiimote. A novelty in the gaming world, the Wiimote is a motion-sensing wand that lets players wave their arms through the air, as if bowling, boxing, or swinging a bat. They can even mimic a bow and arrow, controlling their on-screen characters with nothing but movement.
Gone are the days of joysticks and billions of buttons on complex controls. Nintendo, it seems, has taken a cue from Apple and its top-selling iPod. Both companies have learned that simple is good. Simple works.
But all that success comes at a price. The law firm of Green Welling has launched a class-action suit against Nintendo of America, the U.S. division of the Japanese game-maker, claiming the wrist strap on the Wiimote is so flimsy it snaps easily, letting the gadget fly out of users' hands. Nintendo has offered to replace the wrist strap and, as of early December, began to ship a new and improved strap with all Wii consoles.
Armies of Lawyers
This is not the first time that a high-tech firm has been sued for its troubles -- or the troubles it gave its customers. Witness the iPod class action of 2003, in which an eight-member class (that is, the group presenting the lawsuit) claimed that certain iPod batteries went bad after a year.
The result was that iPod users got a new battery, an extended warranty, half the price of the repair, or a number of other small remedies. The plaintiff's lawyers were said to have pocketed millions in fees and reimbursements for their expenses.
And let's not forget the well-known NetFlix dispute, in which the DVD-by-mail firm was sued by Frank Chavez of California, who claimed that NetFlix "throttled" its users -- that is, slowed down the shipment of DVDs to high-frequency renters on a one-price-fits-all plan, as a subtle way to discourage them from renting so frequently.
more here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20061222/tc_nf/48974
:o
David Garrett, newsfactor.com Fri Dec 22, 1:18 PM ET
Nintendo deserves some credit. The little game-maker-that-could, whose low-priced Wii console was rarely considered a contender to this holiday's gaming throne, has managed to hold its own against the release of Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's continued efforts to promote the
Xbox 360 with enhanced services.
Perhaps the best feature on the Wii is the remote control, or Wiimote. A novelty in the gaming world, the Wiimote is a motion-sensing wand that lets players wave their arms through the air, as if bowling, boxing, or swinging a bat. They can even mimic a bow and arrow, controlling their on-screen characters with nothing but movement.
Gone are the days of joysticks and billions of buttons on complex controls. Nintendo, it seems, has taken a cue from Apple and its top-selling iPod. Both companies have learned that simple is good. Simple works.
But all that success comes at a price. The law firm of Green Welling has launched a class-action suit against Nintendo of America, the U.S. division of the Japanese game-maker, claiming the wrist strap on the Wiimote is so flimsy it snaps easily, letting the gadget fly out of users' hands. Nintendo has offered to replace the wrist strap and, as of early December, began to ship a new and improved strap with all Wii consoles.
Armies of Lawyers
This is not the first time that a high-tech firm has been sued for its troubles -- or the troubles it gave its customers. Witness the iPod class action of 2003, in which an eight-member class (that is, the group presenting the lawsuit) claimed that certain iPod batteries went bad after a year.
The result was that iPod users got a new battery, an extended warranty, half the price of the repair, or a number of other small remedies. The plaintiff's lawyers were said to have pocketed millions in fees and reimbursements for their expenses.
And let's not forget the well-known NetFlix dispute, in which the DVD-by-mail firm was sued by Frank Chavez of California, who claimed that NetFlix "throttled" its users -- that is, slowed down the shipment of DVDs to high-frequency renters on a one-price-fits-all plan, as a subtle way to discourage them from renting so frequently.
more here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20061222/tc_nf/48974
:o