Nintendo blames SSBB problems on dirt News • News • Eurogamer.net

News Wii

Offers to clean Japanese Wiis for free.

Nintendo Japan has offered to clean Wiis free of charge following reports of problems playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl discs.

In a statement (translated by IGN), Nintendo confirmed there have been complaints of choppiness during video playback. Some gamers say their Wiis won't play the disc at all.

Nintendo reckons the problems are caused by a build-up of dust and tobacco on the laser units. Unlike other titles, SSBB comes on a dual-layer DVD which is more sensitive to dirt. That's why the consoles in question will play other games without any problems.

The solution is to clean the lens. Nintendo will do this for free if Wii owners send their console, warranty card and SSBB disc to a service centre. They'll even pay the postage, and Wiis are returned within a week.

The offer is only good in Japan, on account of SSBB not being out in the US until 9th March and not out here until goodness knows when.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

Comments (28) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

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Fitzmogwai #1 4 years ago

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Cigarettes are bad, mmmkay?
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kangarootoo #2 4 years ago

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Seems a fair response, though if units are getting grubby under normal use, how does that bode for the future?

If dual layer DVDs are the future, is this issue going to get more common?
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Macross #3 4 years ago

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*sigh* I was hoping the wii had escaped the hardware related shennanigans of the new generation
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the_dudefather #4 4 years ago

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dust: enemy of the PS3 and Wii
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Arwin #5 4 years ago

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A Wii game needs a dual layer DVD? Wow.
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xAx #6 4 years ago

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Where is your god now!
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Crovax20 #7 4 years ago

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Please just hurry up and release the damned game here in Europe.

I HATE YOU NINTENDO
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locus2k1 #8 4 years ago

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um.... tobacco?
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Darren #9 4 years ago

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If the Wii could play DVDs or even CDs then you could clean the heads yourself using one of those head cleaners but it can't play either stupidly so if the lens does get dusty then you'll have no choice but to send the Wii back to Nintendo. Great, eh?
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twh104 #10 4 years ago

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You mean Wii games aren't all on 9Gb discs anyway, what the hell.
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Markusdragon #11 4 years ago

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Didn't Sony refuse to fix a console because of dust, and now ninty are actively embracing it?

I'm not sure which is more bizarre.
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kangarootoo #12 4 years ago

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Here is a variant on that suggestion, which allows us to be lazy. How about you find the photo (as you appear to have already seen it) and post us a link?

Deal?
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Oceadge #13 4 years ago

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Would it not just be cheaper for Nintendo to create their own cleaning disc and send it out to those affected?
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linksdad #14 4 years ago

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I've had intermittant problems with my wii on most discs for a while. If the game is loading really really slowly then I eject it and put it back in and/or turn my wii 90% and try again. This surely cant be down to dust, so may point to another problem...
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mingster #15 4 years ago

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It'll be lens alignment, or dust or scratched discs.
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Lemming81 #16 4 years ago

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As much as I loath the Wii-negativity, I'm surprised no one has made a 'Wii gathering dust' joke yet. Come on, guys it's been handed to you on a silver platter!
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JonFE #17 4 years ago

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kangarootoo, glad to be of service
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SeesThroughAll #18 4 years ago

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That's not just dust, it's filthy!
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kangarootoo #19 4 years ago

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Jesus, that PS3 is way beyond dusty.

Given the relatively short amount of time the PS3 has been out, you only have to wonder what kind of shit tip house could even deposit that amount of dust in the time available.

I hope the owner in question is proud that his due to his (it has to be a "him", lets face it) efforts, half the gaming internet world now knows what kind of pigsty he calls home.

If I was in charge of warranty returns I would have couriered him a crowd of people to point and jeer the very next day, as a courtesy gesture.
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Lemming81 #20 4 years ago

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If I had to guess, I'd say that PS3 was resident in a saw mill and being used as a lathe o_O
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Pac #21 4 years ago

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@link'sdad

Exactly same problem here. Every 2 or 3 times out of 10 the Wii disc drive refuses to load games and console needs to be rebooted.

Cannot take it back as it is a couple of months out of warranty.

And I thought Nintendo hardware was usually more robust than the others.

Edit: Robost, Robots can't spell?

Edited by 1 at 04/02/08 @ 14:20
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Darren #22 4 years ago

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It's possibly more rodust!
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monkie_king #23 4 years ago

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Hmm, yes. Why are they putting tobacco into their machines? That's probably the trouble.

@Pac: I had a 'cube die on me, only hardware I've killed other than a much abused PS1 (too much swap-trick action burned the drive motor out--used to take about 2 minutes for a disc to spin up to speed).
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kangarootoo #24 4 years ago

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@Pac

You may still be able to take it back. Sale of Goods Act says a product has to last for the "reasonable life of the product". It doesn't define what that period is, and it varies per article I guess.

Some may say that 1 year is not a reasonable time period for a non-portable console to remain fault free.

[link url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2006/mar/2 5/consumernews.howtocomplain
]http://ww w.guardian.co.uk/money/2006/mar...[/link]
[link url=http://www .berr.gov.uk/files/file25486.pdf
]http://www .berr.gov.uk/files/file25486.pdf
[/link]

Second link is a bit wordy, but worth searching on keyword "reasonable".

Also, you could speak to the Citizen's Advice Bureau if you are feeling like you might want to pursue a repair but need some more advice.

http://www.citizens advice.org.uk/
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dirtysteve #25 4 years ago

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who knew ssbb fans were such heavy smokers?
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smelly #26 4 years ago

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*cough* red ring of death *cough*

Man i think i'm going down with a cold..
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Ryze #27 4 years ago

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Oi! Ninty! Leave Colin McCrae alone!!!!!

/coat
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Canyarion #28 4 years ago

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And I thought Nintendo had buried their dust problems with the death of the NES...
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