Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Nintendo has spoken to Eurogamer in regards to everyone getting worried about Mario Kart Wii DVD discs not playing and Nintendo is, frankly, wondering what the whole deal is. They've apparently gotten no such reports themselves, stating that their game is everything they hoped it would be.

The big difference between Mario Kart Wii and Smash Bros. Brawl, the other game that has been a thorn in the sides of some folk, is that MK does not come on a dual-layered DVD like Brawl, so that isn't the situation. And, until we get a disc in our own Wii, we're just going to take all of this with a healthy supply of salt.

See also: Glitching with ghosts in Mario Kart Wii

Looks like we've got our own less-severe version of the Xbox 360 "towel trick" -- an unconvential, illogical-sounding way to get games to run when the system is uncooperative. 1up's Videogames Editor-in-Chief James Mielke has offered a possible solution to the disc-reading errors that have broken so many would-be Brawlers' hearts. It's somewhat less interactive, unfortunately, than the iconic towel maneuver.

According to Mielke, if you listen to the Wii's disc drive and make sure it stops spinning before "spamming the A button," the game will more often than not load correctly. You have to put the disc in, then wait, then press A on the Disc Channel, and wait for the noise to die down again. This makes it sound like the issue is that the dual-layered disc takes longer to read than most discs, and the system accidentally allows you to stop the reading when you press A and start the game.

Soon after the Japanese release of the game, a company called A-Class released a series of Wii lens cleaners specifically marketed at Brawl owners. We're sure we'll see something similar over here, and we have no idea if it will work.

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

Certainly, the Wii isn't having the technical issues that the Xbox 360 had at launch. Still, no batch of hardware is without defect, and scattered reports from around the country bring several issues into the harsh light of reality.

The first issue, and perhaps most prevalent, is a recent WiiConnect24 update causing recurrent error codes for any and all online functionality. It only happens to a few, causing error codes 110213 and 32002 (how many errors can this thing have?). The solution? If you don't mind losing saved data (and most importantly, Virtual Console games, which are tied to a specific system), you can contact Nintendo and they'll send you a new unit within 3 to 4 business days. The other is a bit trickier; you'll have to contact Nintendo and have them send you a shipping label, with which you may send your Wii off to repair-land. This option will take at least two weeks, so it's best avoided.

Another problem seems to stem not from the Wii, but from the power supply and adapter. If you have a voltmeter handy (and you should!) you can check if the adapter if properly outputting power. If you believe this is the problem, there's a handy fix-it-yourself solution: while the Gamecube power supply doesn't quite fit into the Wii, you can make it fit. Here's some advice from reader Jay:

"I took a knife and bent out the plastic sides in order to get it to fit into the Wii. Make sure to put positive w/ positive and negative w/ negative, which is listed on the the back of the brick. But, if you're lazy, the flat (read: not round/circular) side goes in to side which has like and angled cut off piece. Well lo and behold, the red standby light turned on and the Wii worked! [By the way], the modded adapter sill works in the Gamecube, but you may have to tape it in to make sure it doesn't fall out."

Rock on, Jay. Are you guys having any other problems, and if so, do you have some possible solutions?

[Image courtesy of smashmywii.com, which, by the way, has their official video available for download.]

[Oh, and thanks Jay!]

Kotaku has received a couple of emails from Wii owners reporting of already receiving DRE (disc-read error) messages. Some have even reported that their Wii has become bricked and won't even power on! What horror! Have any of you out there in Wii Fanboy land been the unfortunate recipient of a painful message declaring that your Wii will not read your discs or even turn on anymore?

[Thanks Naruhodou!]