With the Wii, Nintendo has made a concerted effort to improve its relations with third-party software manufacturers. However, third-party peripheral manufacturers may be another story.

　　Wrap that rascal. For the second time in less than a year, Nintendo is giving its customers for free a Wii accessory that other companies have been selling separately since before the system hit shelves. After anecdotes of snapped Wii Remote wrist straps and shattered flat-screen TVs made the rounds, Nintendo packed in new and improved wrist straps with the hardware and offered to give them away to all existing Wii owners who requested them.

　　Now the company is doing the same thing with Wii Remote Jackets, which are sleeves that fit over the controller. To claim up to four free Wii Remote Jackets, existing Wii owners in the US and Canada need only go to Nintendo's official Web site with their system's serial numbers handy. The Wii Remote Jackets are also available in Europe from the official Europe Web site (go back to the main menu to select countries other than UK and Ireland.) The jackets are expected to begin shipping October 15.