Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Reasons not to smoke:

1. Increased risk of lung cancer, high blood pressure, bronchitis, emphysema.
2. It smells.
3. Wii lens damage!!1!

Rather than lecture you on the first two (because hey, they're your lungs, bucko), we want to concentrate on the latter. Back in February, Japanese gamers reported that Wiis were having trouble reading newly purchased copies of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Nintendo's intervention was swift, with the company blaming dirty console lenses -- Brawl was the first Wii game to release on a dual-layered DVD, and therefore especially sensitive to this issue.

Nintendo's first practical solution was ... not so swift. As in, it just came out now. The Wii Lens Cleaner Set is available to order on Nintendo's Japanese site for ¥800 (around $8) or Play-Asia for a tenner. It should leave your console lens sparkling and your Brawl career resurgent. Whadd'ya mean everyone plays Mario Kart now? Hush!


[Via Kotaku]

Usually, the news that Nintendo updated the firmware on your Wii while it's away for repair would hardly count as news at all. Since yesterday, however, when everybody caught wind of how the latest Wii Menu Update knocked the Twilight Hack and Freeloader on the head, Nintendo's meddling hasn't been as appreciated.

A group of disgruntled Wii owners whose consoles have been repaired and updated with new firmware congregated on the forums of GBAtemp.net, in a thread titled "CURSE u NINTENDO!," to howl about Nintendo's repair team and their habit of adding unwanted updates. While we can only sympathize with them, we should probably let this serve as a warning to others: if you are a homebrewer or importer with a Wii that's conked out, you might want to think twice about sending your machine to Nintendo.

[Via Go Nintendo]

Did you pop in Brawl early this morning, only to find out that it wouldn't play? You're not the only one.

A number of Wii owners on this side of the globe are reporting problems similar to ones seen in Japan -- disc errors, supposedly caused by dirty laser lenses. Since Smash Bros. is the Wii's first game that's on dual-layered DVD, it's extra sensitive to such problems.

The good news is that Nintendo will fix the problem for you. The bad news is that it might be a few more weeks before you get to play Brawl ... or any Wii game, for that matter.

Nintendo is urging people experiencing this problem to fill in this form and send in their Wiis for repair. They'll be footing the bill for the shipping and repair costs (as they should), so the only thing you'll be losing out on is quality time with your new copy of Brawl.

Are any of you affected by this problem? If so, feel free to rant about it here. Just let it all out.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

People who bought the Wii version of Guitar Hero III have been (justifiably) annoyed by the lack of stereo and surround sound in Activision's popular music game. However, Wii owners can at least take some comfort in knowing that the problem will soon be fixed.

Activision's customer support has replied to many irate users with an email stating that re-mastered discs should be available by early 2008. This means that customers who buy the game after the re-mastered version is available should get the fixed copies, while those who already own the game can get replacement discs at no charge.

The last time we announced a disc swap for a glitched Wii game, many of you expressed your desires to have a simple downloadable patch instead. While we agree that a patch would be more convenient, we're still glad that there will be a fix available in the near future.

[Thanks, Langst!]

One neat feature in the Wii's Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn is that you can import a save file from the game's GameCube prequel, Path of Radiance. This will give some of your characters stat boosts, not to mention a few other nice perks.

For anyone who just rolled through PoR on easy mode in order to beat the game quickly and pump their characters full of bonus experience, however, Radiant Dawn will laugh at you and then slap you in the face for good measure. See, easy mode files don't transfer over to Radiant Dawn because (as you'll know if you've played the game), the word "easy" isn't in its vocabulary. Even if you try to transfer a normal or hard mode file while having any easy mode PoR files saved somewhere else on your card, Radiant Dawn will have none of that.

Christian from The Tanooki decided to contact Nintendo on the issue, and it seems that Nintendo will have a fix ready by mid-December. In order to get your disc repaired (or possibly get a completely new disc), you have to contact Nintendo about the issue, give them your name, address, and phone number, and then send your disc to them when prompted.

So, what lesson have we learned from all this? Well, that Fire Emblem is for badasses only, of course.

Have you been plagued by the Zelda: Twilight Princess sky cannon bug? We've got good news and bad news for you. The bad news is obvious: you were plagued by the sky cannon bug. The good news is that Nintendo will replace your disc, allowing you to pick right back up where the bug torpedoed your game.

If you're suffering from this bug, just send your game disc to Nintendo, along with a note containing your name, address, phone number, and the circumstances of the error, and Nintendo will ship you a replacement.

The shipping address:
NINTENDO OF AMERICA
ATTN: CS ADMIN
4900 150TH AVE NE
REDMOND WA 98052-5171