52 replies to this topic

[Gruff]

WRONG. The disc reader is easy to wipe out if you over use it.

Maybe your Wii, but I use my Wii everyday, and I have had it for 5 years and it still works fine. It just depends on if you take proper care of your Wii.

[Socalmuscle]

The optical drive is the weak link for any console, entertainment device, or pC/Mac.

They're bound to fail eventually.

That said, I've never personally seen it happen to the cube or wii, but have seen far too many with the ps3. And some with the 360.

The wii u will be just fine.

If you're going to ask this question, then you may as well get worried any time you buy a bluray/DVD player, computer, car with cd player, etc.

[Desert Punk]

The xenon in the 360 was like 5million nanometers and the console's airflow was poorly designed.
The WiiU's chip is 45nm and Nintendo think about heat management in their consoles.

The original 360 had a 90nm gpu and cpu I believe but the real issue was that enviironmental concerns about lead had meant that manufacturers had to massively reduce the use of lead in solder and early lead free solder wasn't as good. It created so called tin whiskers that would short out connections causing the RROD. To a lesser extent the ps3 had the same issue although that said I've had about 4-5 360's with the RROD issue and my original ps2 compatible PS3 has never gone wrong after much use. The only thing that could be considered unreliable about the wii is the complex disc drive that allows slot loading of both gamecube and wii discs. Its prone to failure a bit due to its complexity. I think thats why Nintendo abandoned gamecube compatibility on later wii's to cut costs. The original disc drive was meant to have cost more than the whole pcb in the wii with all its components.

Nintendo hardware is generally very reliable. As a generalisation Nintendo hardware tends to be used by younger people than Sony and Microsoft hardware and is more likely to be abused and Nintendo manufacture accordingly.

Microsoft don't seem to care much they fit a standard tray dvd drive to their 360 which is very cheap. You knock the console when operating and the disc can easily get marked and damaged. Nintendo and Sony both fit slot loading mechanisms that have been taken from use in cars that securely hold the disc even if the car goes over bumps etc. Sony's new PS3 has top loading as a cost cutting measure but its still a far better mechanism than tray loading for a console.

[Nollog]

The original 360 had a 90nm gpu and cpu I believe but the real issue was that enviironmental concerns about lead had meant that manufacturers had to massively reduce the use of lead in solder and early lead free solder wasn't as good. It created so called tin whiskers that would short out connections causing the RROD.

Ohes, I didn't know that.
I thought it was all over-heating problems.

[Desert Punk]

Ohes, I didn't know that.
I thought it was all over-heating problems.

It was temperature that caused the problem to a degree. The 360 ran quite hot and the hot/cold cycle of turning it on and off caused the tin whiskers. Part of the solution to the problem was reducing the fabrication size and therefore temperature from 90nm to 65nm to now 40/55nm but also lead free solder has been improved and the manufacturing process improved.

The original xbox was very reliable and ran hot internally but used lead solder and so didn't have the tin whisker issue. Original xboxes are still working very well today. The sad thing is many products that moved from lead solder to non-lead solder became less reliable and therefore had a shorter lifespan creating more landfill of products causing if anything more environmental damage. Even today military hardware still uses lead solder to ensure greater reliability.

The wii simply never had this issue as the console runs relatively cool. Its weak specification ensures reliability.

[scotty79]

also Im sure I have read a developer saying that they were able to play a game on wii u from memory once loaded.Name of the game escapes me but I will get back once I find it.This would indicate some sort of system similar to xbox360 where a game can be installed to memory

[Desert Punk]

also Im sure I have read a developer saying that they were able to play a game on wii u from memory once loaded.Name of the game escapes me but I will get back once I find it.This would indicate some sort of system similar to xbox360 where a game can be installed to memory

I think the wii u's generous memory of 1GB and possibly some cache in the other 1GB of memory means games that on the 360 and PS3 need regular disc or hard drive access can simply be installed fully into wii u ram. Some games like Skyrim (assuming wii u is powerful enough for this) that normally require loading as you go in and out of buildings or towns may be near instant on wii u as they are stored in main memory. In lots of ways the wii u will be able to offer enhanced versions of existing 360/PS3 games with the only issue of concern is CPU performance which might cause some limitations of what games will run on wii u or might require some small compromises to run.

[Guy Fieri]

I'm more concerned about a widespread console issue/error than overuse problems. I'm talking about stuff like the Orange Light of Death on PS3, RROD on the 360 or the black screen of death on the 3DS. Though Nintendo got the 3DS BSOD fixed up quickly.

[Auzzie Wingman]

also Im sure I have read a developer saying that they were able to play a game on wii u from memory once loaded.Name of the game escapes me but I will get back once I find it.This would indicate some sort of system similar to xbox360 where a game can be installed to memory

Oh, so like how I could play the original Sonic the Hedgehog on my Master System if I don't have a game inserted?

That's pretty sweet.

[rschauby]

My first Wii broke after 1.5 years...

It can happen.

[Socalmuscle]

Wii U is working with 45 nm CPU with high tech power management.

No hard drive to spin, using less wattage and generating less heat.

2 GB RAM, allowing for less active disc access.

Bluray derived drive.

Nintendo purchasing the A level hardware.

being that the Wii U will have an optical drive made by human beings, somone somewhere will have an issue. Just like someone who buys a brand new Mac for $2,000 or a blu-ray player, etc.

But it would be a rare thing.

In other words, nothing to worry about.

Edited by Socalmuscle, 28 September 2012 - 11:13 AM.

[Gamejunkie]

I'm not to worried, according to my Dad (IDK if he's right) but he said that all Nintendo consoles come with life time guaranty's or something like that :/

He's wrong. The warranty is only for one year.

Uh, it's Nintendo, there stuff is built like bricks.

Agreed. Nintendo consoles have a very good track record and a very good reputation in this respect. I very much doubt there will be any serious issues with the Wii U.

[Alianjaro]

Nintendo's in consoles like Nokia's in cellphones (they're solid?..)

[Spleenzorio]

Only problem I've ever had with Nintendo products is my Wii GPU overheated and there's tons of pixelation whenever I play games on it, and on my DS Lite there's a small part on the left side of the touch screen that doesn't respond to any touch input. So I'm hoping for a cooling fan or somethin for the Wii U.

Also yeah, I've been through 4 Xbox 360s due to red rings and once they sent me a European version so I couldn't watch DVD movies on it because of the wrong region :/

[Jp27]

WRONG. The disc reader is easy to wipe out if you over use it.

WRONG. The disc reader is easy to wipe out if you over use it.

I call bs I've had mine since launch and it has done fine

Edited by Jp27, 29 September 2012 - 02:14 PM.

[unleashedknight]

id say theses a 20% chance of that happening

[nintendo3DS]

I call bs I've had mine since launch and it has done fine

Think what you want. You probably didn't play yours as much. THATS WHY I SAID THE WII DISC READER WAS EASY TO WIPE OUT IF YOU OVER PLAY IT! READ!

[Desert Punk]

I call bs I've had mine since launch and it has done fine

That's hardly a realistic argument. If something had a 99% failure rate there would still be one person with the same product who had no issues. Generally the wii is very reliable but the main issue is the optical drive that is both wii and gamecube disc compatible where the mechanism can fail. Also some wii's have problems reading dual layer discs again likely the early models. The vast majority will have no problems. I have one of the early ps3's which is ps2 compatible and is meant to have a 25% failure rate or similar but mine has been fine with no issues and still working great. That doesn't mean overall its not an un-reliable console. I've had bad luck with the 360 though. About 7 failures in total with 4 being RROD I think. The other 3 were optical drive issues. One was actually returned to me with the RROD issue cured only to find the optical drive didn't work. I've now got 2 jasper 360s which have been faultless but I do tend to install all games to the hdd now to prevent optical drive wear.

[Klobb]

The disc reader on my Wii stopped working >.> I'm worried the Wii U will do the exact same thing to me if I buy it.

[dark_rabbid]

The disc reader on my Wii stopped working >.> I'm worried the Wii U will do the exact same thing to me if I buy it.

Most of the time mine won't work either but I have over 2000 hours on mine so it's earned a break. Also klobb don't toss it you need it if you wan't to keep all the stuff you got off the...... forgot the name I'll call it the e-shop. I heard you can transfer your purchases but need your wii to do so.