Super Smash Bros. Brawl — The Plot Thickens

So the smoke has cleared, and it looks like things are starting to become clear in the Super Smash Bros. Brawl saga. In a foreseeable turn of events, it looks like almost everyone having disc read errors are people with modded consoles.

Modded consoles are consoles that have been altered by third parties to allow them to play backup or pirated games. It is common for console manufactures to attempt to disable such unauthorized modifications. But if this was in intentional move by Nintendo, wow was it stupid. Because you see, all reports are showing that while modded console can’t seem to play the original retail version of the game, they have no problem playing pirated copies. This means that the only people Nintendo is punishing are people that actually supported Nintendo by buying the retail version.

Personally, I don’t think this is intentional action. Likely, the Wii Disc format has specification for dual layer discs that mod chip creators didn’t know about. This is plausible, because until Super Smash Bros. Brawl, there were no dual layer games out. Likely, this has caused an incompatibility with Wii Disc two layer games that Nintendo could not have foreseen or prevented. Nintendo will likely say this is exactly why these modifications are unauthorized.

So far it looks like the Wiikey and the Argon chips are affected. The argon team has stated that the problem can be resolved and that they are working on it. I have no news yet about whether the supposed ‘undetectable’ D2CKey has been having problems playing retail copies.

If you are having a read disc error, and have an unauthorized modification, then duplication the disc to a dual layer DVD, or getting an image online will solve your problem. In the United States, it is 100% legal for you to download a backup image if you already own the game.

Nintendo has set up a free repair service to “clean” your “dirty lens”. No news yet on what Nintendo will do with your console if you turn it in while it has an unauthorized modification, or whether they will accept it at all. It looks like the dirty lens issue is a real issue, effecting only a small minority. It usually results in stuttering graphics, not a full disc read error. If you have that problem, you can send your Wii to Nintendo and they’ll clean it, but a normal lens cleaning disc will probably do as much good and can be picked up anywhere (although Nintendo has told Wii owners not to attempt cleaning the lens themselves). I’ll report more news as it trickles in.