Nintendo offers to clean Wiis following SSBB errors

Dirty laser units to blame for problems experienced with the newly released Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Nintendo has issued a statement concerning problems many Japanese Wii gamers have been experiencing with the recently released Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Translated by IGN, the statement suggests the problems - stuttering videos and the inability to read the disc - are because of a build up of dust and tobacco on the Wii laser units.

The effects of this have only become known with the release of SSBB because the game ships on a dual layer DVD, making it more sensitive to a dirty laser than the more common single layer disc.

Nintendo says the fix is a simple one and has offered to carry out the repair free of charge. All gamers have to do is send their Wii system, warranty card and a copy of SSBB to the Nintendo service centre. Nintendo will pay for all the work and even stump up the cash for the shipping. Repairs are likely to take around a week.

The concern is that as Wii games become more advanced and the dual layer DVD becomes more common on the system, similar problems to those being experienced by owners of SSBB will become more widespread.