Just blow: Smash Bros Brawl disc problems blamed on dust
by Scott Jon Siegel 
{ Feb 4th 2008 at 11:55AM }
Brawl is uniquely affected by this problem due to the game's size, which makes it the first title on the Wii to be pressed on a dual-layer DVD. The special disc requires a more fine-tuned read from the optical sensor, which is causing problems in systems clogged with dirt and tobacco smoke. Rather than suggesting they "blow," Nintendo has set up a cleaning service for players affected. Japanese owners who send their Wii consoles, copies of Brawl and warranty cards to a service center in Kyoto will have their systems repaired within one week, and Nintendo will cover all cleaning and shipping costs.
While we're happy Nintendo is taking responsibility for the problem, we're also personally hoping that those affected kept their consoles in squalid conditions. If even small amounts of dust can affect the playability of the Brawl discs, then we're looking at a lot of impatient, unhappy customers in the States come March 9th.
[Via Eurogamer]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
nxtiak @ Feb 4th 2008 11:58AM
Great, here comes the third-party lens cleaners.
Co @ Feb 4th 2008 1:17PM
lmao so true.
License to ill @ Feb 4th 2008 11:59AM
"a problem which actually stems from dirt build-up in the Wii itself".
Its called dust...
Jtenma @ Feb 4th 2008 3:08PM
BDOD=Brown Dust Of Death? I'll let myself out...
Jerk Face @ Feb 4th 2008 12:02PM
Obligatory Wii Collecting Dust Joke.
License to ill @ Feb 4th 2008 12:11PM
At least you know it was a joke...
Liam @ Feb 4th 2008 12:27PM
Not a joke for me... I got about 60-odd stars on Mario Galaxy in a week and a bit, then I had to say goodbye as I had to go off to stupid uni and not bring it with me.
mr mobius @ Feb 4th 2008 2:22PM
Minus 5 stars and I'm in the same boat Liam. Increase the time taken to get them stars though due to exam revision and exams.
Collision891 @ Feb 4th 2008 12:08PM
Guys... isn't it obvious that this is just a hidden feature???
In addition to including SNES demos, they're giving a more nostalgic effect by making you have to blow it, just like with the old SSB and all the other 64 games.
Playing Kart 64 all the time still with my suitemates, ill be fully prepared to blow the dust out of the game/system when SSBB hits.
Avarice @ Feb 4th 2008 12:13PM
Curses! Beat me to it.
mr mobius @ Feb 4th 2008 12:18PM
Maybe its just me but all of my N64 games are still in the original plastic bag they can in. It really helps stop the dust because as far as I'm aware never had the game unreadable because of any dust.
Avarice @ Feb 4th 2008 12:38PM
I can't say that I've had problems with my N64 or SNES, granted it's been some time since I've plugged them in. I'm pretty sure the original NES's problems had more to do with cheap connectors that corroded heavily over time than dust collection. Not that the dust helps any.
Noshino @ Feb 4th 2008 1:28PM
actually, I remember that back in those days, my uncle bought me a special connector because he heard the ones that come on the box were cheap...
Main reason he bought them for was to play MK, but thing is that we would still have problems with the dust...and well, now and then when I fire up my SNES, I still have the same problem, might it be Star Fox or MK...
Batzarro @ Feb 4th 2008 12:10PM
How come everyone gets technical problems but me? It's all "RROD" this and "scratched disk" that...But never me...
DCBlack @ Feb 4th 2008 12:15PM
Better hope you didn't just jinx yourself. I felt the same way, until the strum bar on my Rock Band guitar stopped working properly.
If this becomes an issue, I'm going to be pissed. After all these years, dust can still take down our technology? Any chance we can send in our Wiis now for a free cleaning so we have it back in time for Brawl? I won't be missing it this month.
Jerk Face @ Feb 4th 2008 12:18PM
It's probably all the business deals you make with THESE guys:
http://tinyurl.com/3344ln
FidliousWong @ Feb 4th 2008 12:56PM
Boy do I remember THAT teddybear picnic. The screams provided a wonderful background noise to my deathmetal album entitled "Fuzzy Lies, Burning Eyes."
Avarice @ Feb 4th 2008 12:11PM
Wow, that game adds another touch of nostalgia. They should market it as such.
JPN @ Feb 4th 2008 12:14PM
You have to SEND your Wii to Nintendo to be cleaned?? WTF!
Lord Chako @ Feb 4th 2008 12:21PM
WTF Indeed!
Nintendo should go to their houses and clean their Wii.
Zertoss @ Feb 4th 2008 1:07PM
Guys should already know how to clean their own Wiis.
B1gC72 - PSN: KillaKornbread @ Feb 4th 2008 12:15PM
i used to have to take my PS2 apart to clean the red eye cause it would collect so much dust over time it would give me disc read errors. at least Nintendo will pay for professionals to do it considering the offer the same service over here. otherwise im gonna crack that bad boy open myself or try spraying some compressed air or something in there. i dont know how long i could last know i just bought Brawl and have to send my Wii off.
Shagittarius @ Feb 4th 2008 12:20PM
I was going to get an ionic breeze but I guess I don't need one since I have a Wii.
Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Feb 4th 2008 12:21PM
They don't work anyway, shagi. You'll trade particulates for Ozone.
Jerk Face @ Feb 4th 2008 12:39PM
Ionic Breeze just got ozOWNed, amirite?
Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Feb 4th 2008 12:20PM
All they really need to do is make a wii disc lense cleaner and sell/provide-for-free it to their customers. I guarantee developing and shipping that will be alot cheaper than paying for shipping twice as well as the labor in cleaning wii's manually.
Noshino @ Feb 4th 2008 1:25PM
Crono, the problem with that is that....well...the average consumer doesn't know that they need a special Tri-wing driver...
Each driver would increase the price, so I think the path Nintendo has taken is much more cost effective
Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Feb 4th 2008 1:35PM
Why can't they just make a DVD with a brush on it, just like every other CD/DVD lens cleaner ever made ever?
Noshino @ Feb 4th 2008 1:43PM
I'm not sure either, but for some reason, when it comes to cleaning the lens on consoles, it seems they have to be opened apart....
Can any tech guy help out with that question please?...
Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Feb 4th 2008 2:34PM
I kept my PS2 original running by using a lens cleaner. I know that wasn't the whole problem, but it kept me from having to send it to sony.
I think the only thing that prevents you from doing this on the wii is the slot loading tray. But i'm sure a design could be created to overcome any hurdles that might provide.
mr mobius @ Feb 4th 2008 12:21PM
This is still a problem, 25 years later?
Nintendo really has went for nostalgia. Next they will have a peripheral for the Wii so that when starting up NES VC games you have to blow into the peripheral and if you don't blow well enough then the game won't start.
I'd hope this is basically people acting like tramps who can't manage to keep a relatively clean living space. Hell, even up at uni I've little time but my room isn't bad. Needs a hover but that needs a hover which needs the cleaners to borrow it from on Thursday.
why not the LS2/LS7? @ Feb 4th 2008 12:29PM
This is some kind of cover story.
Every Xbox game was a dual-layer DVD. I think all 360 games are too. You're telling me even MS can make a console that can read dual-layer discs but N can't?
(Disclaimer, my 360 is on its way back to Texas right now for disc read errors. #4 coming soon!)
DagMX @ Mar 11th 2008 6:34AM
To be fair, the wii has an open slot whereas the 360 has a drive. The wii is exposed to a lot more dust by design.
Roto13 @ Feb 4th 2008 12:35PM
I can tell you right now. Brawl is not going to work on my Wii.
Deck @ Feb 4th 2008 12:51PM
Lawlz, this could be trouble! Hopefully though, us Americans have just kept our consoles clean :-p
LOVE the picture though! Haha
Monthenor @ Feb 4th 2008 1:00PM
That image got me thinking: Nintendo should release harmonicas and ocarinas shaped like old NES cartridges. I would totally buy a gold Zelda 1 harmonicart.
DeadlyFrenchman @ Feb 4th 2008 1:01PM
Played it this game is the best even when everything is japanese.
The snake level is destructible even if your weak enough attacks break down the walls and a metal gear ray starts shooting you is that not
AWESOME.
Vidikron (FU) @ Feb 4th 2008 1:14PM
So is this a possible widespread problem with the Wii's DVD being overly sensitive to dust (or the Wii collecting more dust than normal) or is this just another issue of a few scattered reports being overblown by internet fanboys? The Wii is not my favorite system, but there's no doubt that thus far it has proven to be a reliable piece of hardware.
Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Feb 4th 2008 1:36PM
I would bet its the latter.
Noshino @ Feb 4th 2008 1:41PM
I don't know Crono, the SNES also had teh same problem with the dust, so I don't think this has been blown out of proportion....
time will tell
Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Feb 4th 2008 2:39PM
I never had a problem getting any game to load on the SNES. Also, that was a physical connector which was often left open to the air (on the cartridge side).
I'm not saying its impossible, I just find it highly unlikely that the DVD rom in the Wii would have trouble reading a regular disk, be it by design or by dust. If there are problems, it is most likely a very isolated set, due to misuse or a dusty environment.
motang @ Feb 4th 2008 1:22PM
"Brawl is uniquely affected by this problem due to the game's size, which makes it the first title on the Wii to be pressed on a dual-layer DVD."
Finally...LOL they have a game that takes up a whole dual-layer DVD disk. :-)
Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Feb 4th 2008 1:38PM
Actually, this statements means they finally have a game that takes up a whole SINGLE layer disk.
Cyro @ Feb 4th 2008 2:37PM
lol! I bet Mario Galaxy is like 700MB.
LMAO!
Squeek @ Feb 4th 2008 1:55PM
I like how this article misses the huge blatant cause of the dust and dirt. It's in the IGN article.
Nintendo found out that a large portion of the consoles affected reside in homes with cigarette smoke.
Donald @ Feb 4th 2008 4:20PM
Thanks for the info. Now I can convince my roommate to quit.
Dan Bugglin @ Feb 4th 2008 2:12PM
Oh great, my computer collects dust like a magnet.
Guess what game console sits on top of my computer?
Joshua Johnson @ Feb 4th 2008 2:26PM
Am I the only one that's crying foul here?
Assuming:
A. The console is the problem
-then why...
B. Must they send their consoles *AND* their game discs to Nintendo for the cleaning?
If the problem isn't the disk why must it too be sent in?
I call foul here.
Just_a_guy @ Feb 4th 2008 2:35PM
You have to send the disk in so that you can prove your claim. That's why!
mattclarkie @ Feb 4th 2008 2:48PM
Send a photocopy of the receipt. That would seem to make sense.