Brawl errors experienced in the US
It turns out that a number of players in the US are experiencing the same Brawl problems that the Japanese did. The complaints are related to the disc either failing to start, or stuttering that adversely affects gameplay.
This is no fault of the disc, but of the Wii itself, due to dirty lasers inside the console. Nintendo are already on the case, insisting users do not try to clean the laser themselves for fear of damaging the Wii. Brawl is specifically susceptible to the problem because it's the first game to use a double-layer disc.
Big N are repairing Wiis free of charge, if you need your console fixed here is the form:
If you're experiencing the problem but are desperate to play Brawl and can't wait, James Mielke has a suggestion that might work:
"I kept getting disc read errors, but I found that if I put it in and let the Wii do all its scanning before I started spamming 'A', it usually started up. Basically, put the disc in, you can hear it making disc-reading sounds. Wait until they settle down, press A on the SSBB icon on the Wii menu, repeat the waiting process until the disc stops making reading sounds again, then start the game with the Wiimote. I found that helped a lot".
Posts
Wii Freak
You'd think Nintendo would have fixed the problem from the Japanese version.
Sion
I had the same problem yesterday but not any more, I went to a nearby store and told them to clean my Wii and the game is working just fine. I suggest everyone do the same like I did.
Karim
What sucks is the manufacturing of the boxes. I got my cover art pushed far and damaged on the corners, and the booklet inside was torn from the top. It looks like they were rushing when packing the games.
w*ll
I heard putting a hoover up to the fan grid (while the Wii is off!) can suck some dust out, anyone know if it helps? Don't try it until confirmed elsewhere please.
Captain Jamesman
Nothing is wrong with my Wii. I've played Brawl 3 times yesterday and it worked perfectly.
Nova
I haven't had this problem yet *knock on wood*.
Aeth
Well this is the problem with the Wii and not the game, I wonder if the Bigglypuff Glitch has been fixed though.
Ian C
No no no! I hope it doesn't happen to me. I'm getting it today.
Ian C
Well maybe it won't happen to me, as Nintendo say that only a very small percentage of Wii consoles have this problem *crosses fingers*.
Wii Rox
Bigglypuff, that's a good one. Seriously, am I the only one who expected an EU release for brawl today on dojo? Also, I hope this doesn't happen in the EU version (like we don't already know it will).
ToTaLgAmEr
I'm so mad. My sister went to pick up the game for me today and eb games said that debit and gift cards were down so I couldn't get it! AAAARRRGGGGG.
CyberControl
I played Brawl all day yesterday and started up the Wii only 4 times in 24 hours, and NEVER had any problems. Lucky me.
Steve
Well the site does say a small percentage. Although it annoys because I'm part of said percentage. I shall have to try some stuff before sending mine in.
k4m1l
This happened to my friend's Wii, his game won't work so he called Nintendo and they asked him to send it so they can fix it. He's not going to be playing brawl for about a week. There goes a tourney member.
billy bob
I only had that problem once yesterday. Other than that it works fine. Brawl rules.
Master Foot
At least a dirty laser is better than the RRoD.
insultman911
The only problem for me is that I can't connect to wifi. It's just that something always goes wrong.
GMAN192
I haven't had problems with this yet, lucky me. But, I have been having Wi-fi match problems (I'm quite positive I'm not the only one where they go to a general brawl, and no one shows up).
JRAPOCALYPSE
I have a jap and american Wii and the discs do not shutter, the laser has more to read on a dual layer disc so it makes noise no different than any cd or dvd player or rom. I've been taking electronics apart for years and I know how they work, the Wiis do not need cleaning, they are fine.
Jskrdude
To Wii freak: Read the article, buddy.
Wii Freak
I did read the article but still.
PHiRE
There was nothing they could do, short of using a normal dvd (and having to cut bits out of the game).
A Guy
*Sigh* I'm all the way in Kenya, not getting it off Amazon for about two weeks. Got to make do with Zelda and Metroid.
i need a wiieww
To anybody experiencing this problem, does anybody in your house smoke? I'm worried, nobody smokes in my house but if it's not just tobacco dust thingies (read post about this problem in Japan) then I better check it before brawl comes out in the EU.
SSBB King
I also heard problems may occur if your house is dirty or if people smoke in your house. Luckily I have neither, but my copy of SSBB works just fine. I just hope it stays that way.
MaxyDawg
No problems here.
Jonny
;_; I have this problem. I already filled out my form, but I hope that the tip actually works. I need to play Brawl. -goes to check-.
YoshLee
They're telling the truth. My copy of brawl works fine, and that exact same thing Nintendo's talking about happened to my Wii when I got it, the disk holder got clogged up so I just called up Nintendo of America and they took care of it. If you have problems with it, call them.
Quartz
That's NO good.
blab355
People flaming Nintendo about not fixing it earlier: how were they supposed to know it would happen ahead of time?
Kitteh
Just send it in to be fixed anyway if you've owned your Wii for more than a few months. It'll give you time to relax and maybe earn some GF stats? And then you get a fully functional Wii back free of charge.
Wii Lee
I was able to play 4-5 lag free brawls after 1:00am but 2 minutes of play after waiting at least two minutes just to find an opponent to play is a little cheap. Also, I'm a nooby to playing people online and I think it's kind of lame they don't show your opponents name or at the very least where they're playing from.
Ian C
Should this matter be controversial?
Smash Bros 4 Ever
I'm not having any problems from the laser. HOWEVER, on my Wii, don't know if it's anyone else's either, one award is unobtainable! You are supposed to beat 50 people in Endless Brawl, which is really easy. I beat exactly 50, 100, and 150 and neither of those gave me the award! What am I supposed to do?
demonluketheevilon
What do double layered disks do?
Ian C
Phew works on mine *goes to play*.
Blarrgie
I got the error and sent it to be "cleaned". Got it back decently fast, took 9 days (that's really good for having electronics fixed any other company would have taken a month). I don't know what they did to the laser inside but it now makes much louder noises when playing discs. This noise isn't just because of smash being dual layer, it happens with every disc I put in, even gamecube games.
PitLurver
My disc doesn't stutter *sighs in relief* but I do hate the horrifying long lags it takes to start a brawl or adventure mode. I could seriously drive to starbucks and make it back in time to face off. Sad, really.
Sunoper
My Wii wouldn't read brawl at all. Thing is my home has never been smoked in and my wife is a total neat freak. I think the laser is defective and Nintendo is not cleaning but replacing lasers on the effected consoles and not admitting it. I sent mine and will have it back next week.
BestAtBrawl
I don't think that you should send in your Wii if you have had it for just a few months: I have had my Wii for about a year now, I got Brawl during the week it came out and it worked fine. I tried Wi-fi two days after I got it (I was playing through the adventure mode, trying to get all the characters, and played through most of the other modes beforehand), but the Wi-fi didn't work. It said, "The communication with other players was lost. Returning to the menu," or something like that. I waited until the next day, went on wi-fi, found some players, and won my first wi-fi match, no lag. I have only one complaint, yet it is a minor one. The controls are not put into play quite as fast as they would on a normal brawl offline, and for a Super Smash Bros. Freak like myself, that made a big difference (one time I wanted to dodge an opponents blow, but the command didn't go through fast enough, and I was sent flying off the edge). But, if you get used to it, it isn't much of an issue. I wonder if anyone else has noticed that, or is it just me?