Nintendo GameCube Game Disc
Encyclopedia
Nintendo optical discs are the optical disc
format used to distribute video games released by Nintendo
. This includes the Nintendo GameCube Game Disc and Wii Optical Disc. The physical size of a Nintendo GameCube
Game Disc is that of a miniDVD
, and the Wii
Optical Disc is the size of a DVD
. It was announced that Wii Optical Discs can be used in the Wii U, while the GameCube disc can be used in the Wii for backward compatibility
. A burst cutting area
is located at the inner ring of the disc surface.
, created by Matsushita (Panasonic), and later extended for use on the Wii
through backward compatibility
. The GameCube Game Disc is a 1.4 GB, 8 cm miniDVD
based technology which reads at a constant angular velocity
(CAV). It was chosen by Nintendo to prevent copyright infringement
of its games, to reduce cost by avoiding licensing fees to the DVD Forum
and to reduce loading times. This also limits the consoles from being used as general DVD or BluRay players.
The GameCube Game Disc was criticized for its relatively small storage: some games with large amounts of data had to be placed across two discs. Full-motion video scenes and audio had to use more compression 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 use double-layer discs, all titles were single-layer prior to 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 repaired systems with dual-layer problems, and later released a disc cleaning kit for users to purchase.
The Wii U is backward compatible with Wii Optical Discs, though not GameCube discs. Reportedly to control costs, the Wii U will also use a unique disc format developed and supplied by Panasonic. With capacities of 25 GB (single layer), 50 GB (double layer) and 75 GB (triple layer. The technology is said to be similar to that of a CH DVD disk, but the power to handle more layers. The special disk type is unusable on other devices. This information is unconfirmed by Nintendo.
. The data stored in this BCA mark includes an encrypted table related to the hardware-based copy-protection mechanics, in addition to 64 bytes of un-encrypted user-accessible data.
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 and . There is also six additional evenly spaced small cuts just outside the BCA radius, which are related to the copyprotection used. These small cuts can clearly be seen if the disk is held in front of a strong light source.
Optical disc
In computing and optical disc recording technologies, an optical disc is a flat, usually circular disc which encodes binary data in the form of pits and lands on a special material on one of its flat surfaces...
format used to distribute video games released by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
. This includes the Nintendo GameCube Game Disc and Wii Optical Disc. The physical size of a Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
Game Disc is that of a miniDVD
MiniDVD
MiniDVD is a DVD disc having 8 cm in diameter.The 8 cm optical disc format was originally used for music CD singles, hence the commonly used names CD single and miniCD...
, and the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
Optical Disc is the size of a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
. It was announced that Wii Optical Discs can be used in the Wii U, while the GameCube disc can be used in the Wii for backward compatibility
Backward compatibility
In the context of telecommunications and computing, a device or technology is said to be backward or downward compatible if it can work with input generated by an older device...
. A burst cutting area
Burst cutting area
In computing, the burst cutting area or narrow burst cutting area refers to the circular area near the center of a DVD, HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc, where a barcode can be written for additional information such as ID codes, manufacturing information, and serial numbers...
is located at the inner ring of the disc surface.
Format
The Nintendo GameCube Game Disc (DOL-006) is the medium for the Nintendo GameCubeNintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
, created by Matsushita (Panasonic), and later extended for use on the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
through backward compatibility
Backward compatibility
In the context of telecommunications and computing, a device or technology is said to be backward or downward compatible if it can work with input generated by an older device...
. The GameCube Game Disc is a 1.4 GB, 8 cm miniDVD
MiniDVD
MiniDVD is a DVD disc having 8 cm in diameter.The 8 cm optical disc format was originally used for music CD singles, hence the commonly used names CD single and miniCD...
based technology which reads at a constant angular velocity
Constant angular velocity
In optical storage, constant angular velocity is a qualifier for the rated speed of an optical disc drive, and may also be applied to the writing speed of recordable discs...
(CAV). It was chosen by Nintendo to prevent copyright infringement
Copyright infringement of software
Copyright infringement of software=The copyright infringement of software refers to several practices which involve the unauthorized copying of computer software. Copyright infringement of this kind varies globally...
of its games, to reduce cost by avoiding licensing fees to the DVD Forum
DVD Forum
The DVD Forum is an international organization composed of hardware, software, media and content companies that use and develop the DVD and formerly HD DVD formats...
and to reduce loading times. This also limits the consoles from being used as general DVD or BluRay players.
The GameCube Game Disc was criticized for its relatively small storage: some games with large amounts of data had to be placed across two discs. Full-motion video scenes and audio had to use more compression to fit on a single disc, reducing their quality. Prior to the Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo consoles traditionally used cartridge-based media
ROM cartridge
A ROM cartridge, sometimes referred to as a cart, is a removable enclosure containing read-only memory devices designed to be connected to a computer or games console....
.
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 use double-layer discs, all titles were single-layer prior to the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by...
. 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 repaired systems with dual-layer problems, and later released a disc cleaning kit for users to purchase.
The Wii U is backward compatible with Wii Optical Discs, though not GameCube discs. Reportedly to control costs, the Wii U will also use a unique disc format developed and supplied by Panasonic. With capacities of 25 GB (single layer), 50 GB (double layer) and 75 GB (triple layer. The technology is said to be similar to that of a CH DVD disk, but the power to handle more layers. The special disk type is unusable on other devices. This information is unconfirmed by Nintendo.
Burst cutting area
Each Nintendo optical disc contains a burst cutting area (BCA) mark, a type of barcode that is written to the disc with a YAG laserNd:YAG laser
Nd:YAG is a crystal that is used as a lasing medium for solid-state lasers. The dopant, triply ionized neodymium, typically replaces yttrium in the crystal structure of the yttrium aluminium garnet , since they are of similar size...
. The data stored in this BCA mark includes an encrypted table related to the hardware-based copy-protection mechanics, in addition to 64 bytes of un-encrypted user-accessible data.
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 and . There is also six additional evenly spaced small cuts just outside the BCA radius, which are related to the copyprotection used. These small cuts can clearly be seen if the disk is held in front of a strong light source.