Nintendo optical discs

The GameCube Game Disc (DOL-006) is the game medium for the GameCube, created by Matsushita/Panasonic, one of the ten founders of the DVD Forum,[1][2][3][4] and later extended for use in the backward compatibility mode of the first model of Wii.[5] The GameCube is Nintendo's first optical disc console, after mainly ROM cartridge based platforms. The GameCube Game Disc is a 1.46 GB,[6] 8 cm miniDVD-based[7] technology which reads at a constant angular velocity (CAV).[8] It was chosen by Nintendo to prevent copyright infringement of its games,[4][9][3] to reduce manufacturing costs compared to Nintendo 64 Game Paks,[1][4][10] and to avoid licensing fees to the DVD Forum.[1][4] GameCube Game Discs do not use the Content Scramble System found on normal DVD-Video discs, as Nintendo was not satisfied with its level of security.[3]

The GameCube is not able to be used as a general DVD player, except for the Panasonic Q which is a uniquely customized GameCube with DVD capability that was released only in Japan.[4][11]

Some GameCube games with large amounts of data span two discs, such as Resident Evil 4, Baten Kaitos, and Tales of Symphonia. Some multi-platform games that fit on single discs for PlayStation 2 and Xbox had certain features removed in order to fit on GameCube Game Discs. Full-motion video (FMV) scenes and audio clips have higher compression or lower quality to fit on a single disc.

The Wii Optical Disc (RVL-006) is the physical game medium for the Wii, created by Panasonic. Nintendo extended its proprietary technology to use a full size 12 cm, 4.7/8.54 GB DVD-based[12] disc, retaining the benefits of the GameCube Game Disc, and adding the standard capacity of a double-layer DVD-ROM. Wii Discs always include a partition with files to update the Wii system software, which are installed before starting the game if needed. This ensures that systems that cannot connect to the Internet are still updated.[13] For the same reasons as the GameCube, the Wii cannot play DVD movies or CDs. However, earlier Wiis can play DVDs using homebrew such as WiiMC.[14]

The Wii can read dual-layer discs, and all games are single-layer prior to the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl.[15][16] Upon that release, Nintendo admitted that some Wii systems may have trouble reading dual-layer discs due to a dirty laser lens.[16][17] Nintendo repaired systems with dual-layer problems,[16][18] and later released a disc cleaning kit for users to purchase.[19]

The Wii U Optical Disc (WUP-006) is the retail physical game medium for the Wii U, with a capacity of 25 GB. There is no 50 GB dual layer version. The Wii U system software is backwards compatible with Wii Optical Discs, but not with GameCube game discs.[20] The Wii U Optical Discs differ in appearance from most other optical discs in that they have soft, rounded edges.[21]

The console's optical drive was developed and supplied by Panasonic,[22] a founding member in the Blu-ray Disc Association.[23] It is not clear whether the Wii U Optical Disc is similar in physical design to the Blu-ray physical disc specification. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata stated, "Wii U does not have DVD or Blu-ray playback capabilities. The reason for that is that we feel that enough people already have devices that are capable of playing DVDs and Blu-ray, such that it didn't warrant the cost involved to build that functionality into the Wii U console because of the patents related to those technologies". Like with the GameCube and Wii optical discs, it was chosen by Nintendo to prevent copyright infringement of games, to reduce cost by avoiding licensing fees to the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), and to reduce loading times. This also prevents the console from being modified into a DVD or Blu-ray movie player.[24][25]