Wii strap lawsuit 'completely without merit,' says Nintendo

Nintendo has labelled a lawsuit which alleges the company to be engaging in "unfair or deceptive practices" as "completely without merit."

The suit claims the wrist strap for the controller of the recently released Wii console is ineffective for its intended use and Nintendo has breached the warranty of the device.

Filed on December 6th, the suit is seeking to become a class-action, with anyone who has suffered similar problems able to join.

Nintendo has offered an official rebuttal to the lawsuit, stating: "We believe the lawsuit to be completely without merit."

"Nintendo has a long tradition of delivering high-quality products and excellent customer service, and we take all reports from our customers seriously."

"At the time we became aware of the lawsuit, we had already taken appropriate steps to reinforce with consumers the proper use of the Wii Remote and had made stronger replacement wrist straps available. This suit has had no effect on those efforts," said the company.

Shortly after the console was released, Nintendo said that it would investigate clams that the Wii strap was prone to breaking, and last week the company offered to replace the item while insisting the peripheral had passed relevant safety tests.

However, the lawsuit, which was filed in Austin, Texas, seeks a refund or replacement strap, reimbursement of legal fees and "other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper."

"The controller is an essential component of any video game console, and so plaintiff is unable to use the Nintendo Wii for its intended purposes as a result of the broken wrist band. Accordingly, it renders the Wii console, which retails in the United States for $250, useless," details the lawsuit.