Nintendo today offered to replace 3.2m of the straps fixed to the controllers on its new Wii computer games console.
The Japanese games giant made the costly move following a string of reports that damage was being caused by the wand-like controllers flying out of the grasp of gamers.
The wireless controllers, which mimic the motions of a tennis racket or sword depending on the game being played, have helped the £179 console become a top seller this Christmas.
However, there has been an increasing number of reports that controllers had flown out of the hands of overzealous players. Numerous players reported suffering injuries or accidentally throwing their controller at the person they were playing with.
Videos on YouTube show players suffering mishaps with the controllers - or "wiinjuries", as they have become known by some.
Nintendo today said it would allow customers to exchange the current straps for a thicker, more robust version on request. The old straps have a diameter of 0.6mm, and the new versions will be 1mm in diameter, Yasuhiro Minagawa, a company spokesman, said.
Games players have always been advised to use the strap. Today, however, the firm also issued new guidance on using the innovative controllers, warning people not to make "excessively rapid, violent or wide swinging motions" while using them.
It also advised gamers to stay at least one metre away from their televisions and ensure their hands were not "sweaty or wet".
"People tended to get a bit excited, especially while playing Wii sports, and in some cases the control would come loose from their hands," Mr Minagawa said. "The new strap will be almost twice as thick."
The pledge to replace the straps could cost Nintendo millions of pounds - a costly hitch in its three-way battle with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 in the "next generation" console market.
However, stories about Wii controllers crashing into television monitors have not had a negative impact on sales.
More than 300,000 of the machines have been sold in Europe, and the Wii sold out in less than 24 hours after going sale in the UK last week. US customers bought 476,000 Wiis in the two weeks following its release there on November 17.
