Nintendo optical discs
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 Nintendo GameCube Game Disc and Wii Optical Disc | |
| Media type | Read-only optical disc |
|---|---|
| Encoding | Digital |
| Capacity | GCN 80mm: 1.5 GB Wii 120mm: 4.7 GB (8.54 GB dual layer) |
| Read mechanism | Laser |
| Developed by | Nintendo & Panasonic |
| Usage | 80mm: Nintendo GameCube game media 120mm: Wii game media |
Nintendo optical discs refer to the optical disc format used to distribute video games released by Nintendo. This includes the Nintendo GameCube Game Disc and Wii Optical Disc.
Format
The Nintendo GameCube Game Disc (DOL-006) is the medium for the Nintendo GameCube, created by Matsushita, and later extended for use on the Wii through backward compatibility.[1] The GameCube Game Disc is a 1.5GB, 8-cm miniDVD based technology which reads at a constant angular velocity. It was chosen by Nintendo to prevent copyright infringement of its games,[2] to avoid licensing fees to the DVD Forum and to reduce loading times.[citation needed]
The GameCube Game Disc was criticized for its relatively small storage, as some games with large amounts of data have needed to be placed across two discs. Full-motion video scenes and audio for a few also had to be slightly more compressed to fit on a single disc, reducing their quality. Prior to the Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo consoles traditionally used cartridge-based media.
For the Wii, Nintendo extended the technology to use a full size 12-cm, 4.7/8.54 GB DVD-based disc (RVL-006), enabling it to have the benefits of the Nintendo GameCube Game Disc, while having the standard capacity of a double-layer DVD-ROM. Although the Wii can utilize double-layer discs, all titles were single-layer up until the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. With the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Nintendo has admitted that some Wii systems may have trouble reading dual-layer discs due to a dirty laser lens. Nintendo is repairing systems with dual-layer problems.[3]
Burst Cutting Area (BCA)
Each Nintendo optical disc contains a BCA mark, a type of bar code that is written to the disc with a YAG laser. Another example of DVD-like media with BCA marks is the discontinued DIVX format.
A BCA mark is visible to the naked eye. It should not be confused with the IFPI mark that is on all optical discs. BCA is described in Annex K of the physical specification, and can be seen between radius 22.3 mm (+/-0.4 mm) and 23.5 mm (+/-0.5 mm).
References
- ^ Casamassina, Matt (2006-09-12). "IGNcube's Nintendo "Revolution" FAQ". IGN. Retrieved 2006-09-07.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ GameSpy Staff (2003-07-30). "Beginner's Guide: GameCube". GameSpy. Retrieved 2006-09-07.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Nintendo of America. "Repair Form for U.S. Residents". Nintendo of America. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
External links
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