SEATTLE — Jaana Baker is no klutz — note her second-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. She’s also an avid video gamer who puts out a Web-based comic called “Level 99” in her spare time.

So how did Ms. Baker end up launching the controller of her new Nintendo Wii right into her 37-inch TV? Like some other owners of the new game console and its motion-sensitive wireless remote, Ms. Baker took the freedom to move a little too literally.

It was a particularly spirited round of Wii bowling that caused her to lose her bearings before unleashing what she had hoped would be a perfect strike.

“It was like a loud crack,” she said, recalling the moment the “Wiimote” glanced off her coffee table, snapped its wrist strap, and hurtled into her flatscreen TV. “It was kind of surreal, actually. I thought I was dreaming at first.”

It appears that Ms. Baker is not alone. In recent weeks, the Web has been alight with reports of excited gamers losing their grip on the Wii’s controller or smacking their arms into nearby objects.

After issuing a general “calm down” to its customers a week ago, Nintendo Co. has responded by quietly beefing up the controller’s fabric wrist strap, spokeswoman Beth Llewelyn said.

And while most executives would cringe if their flagship product became associated with shattered electronics and the occasional flesh wound, some observers say the lighthearted buzz could deliver a perfect shot of viral marketing.

“What it says is, this thing is so fun that people get carried away,” advertising agency Fallon Worldwide’s Adrian Ho said. “A progressive brand manager would look at that and say, ‘You know what? Actually, that’s pretty good.'”

The offbeat stories certainly haven’t hurt sales. The market research company NPD Group estimates that American consumers bought 476,000 Wiis in the two weeks following its November 17 launch. That beat Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 3 console, which sold just under 200,000 units in roughly the same period amid widespread shortages.

Some analysts, like American Technology Research’s P.J. McNealy, say the Wii isn’t exactly a direct competitor with the PS3 because Nintendo purposely avoided getting into a war over which system has the hottest graphics.

Instead, Nintendo has focused on capturing customers outside the traditional niche of quick-fingered young males by playing up the Wii’s ability to get people swinging their wireless controllers like swords, baseballs, or golf clubs.

That’s why the missiles began flying. The Wii’s popular sports games, included with the console, appear to be the main source of gamers losing their grip on the devices that look like TV remotes, Nintendo of America’s Ms. Llewelyn said. “It’s kind of this novel way to play, and I think people are just figuring that out and may have gotten a little overexcited when they were playing,” Ms. Llewelyn said.

That’s what happened to a writer at gaming Web site IGN.com, Jessica Chobot, who sprained and cut a finger on her right hand while trying rally for a comeback victory in Wii baseball.

In the excitement of trying to put a little something extra on her fastball, Ms. Chobot said, she got a little too close to her thick wooden coffee table.

“You obviously don’t need to go through all the motions, but I did because I was frustrated, and smashed my hand along with the Wii controller right into the table as hard as I possibly could,” she said.

The impact sent a few Wii parts flying, but the remote lived up to Nintendo’s reputation for durable hardware and quickly snapped back together.

“The controller still works, and that’s the important thing,” Ms. Chobot said, adding that her finger seems to be mending well.