UPDATE: It should go without saying that you’d be a fool to delete anything from your console without checking and rechecking this information against other news sources, friends and Nintendo itself.
We received a tip this morning about a new Super Smash Bros. Brawl issue that is not related to those isolated dirty lens problems.
Basically, if you got your game before midnight and started playing online before the system was ready, you were given a glitched Friend Code that messes up some of the title’s online features. Worse yet, the only way to fix this bug is to go into system management and erase all of your hard earned Brawl data. For some players, this means many, many hours of saves need to be deleted.
Our tipster said everyone should check their wi-fi settings to make sure they DO have their wi-fi options menu and spectator mode. “If not, bite the bullet. Reset the data.” Anyone missing theirs?
[Thanks Mal!]
So, now that you had your hands on it, what do you think of the game?
Do you recommend I should buy it?
Oh, and do you have to enter Friend Codes exclusive to the game, or does it work with the Wii’s Friend Codes? Or do you need to have both??
I want to know if I should start entering Wii Friend Codes before I buy it or if I shouldn’t bother and wait until I get the game online so I can get my in-game Friend Code…
I tried to get online all weekend and couldn’t. I looked up the error code and it said it was all server-side issues. But if I have to delete my files just to make the damn game work, then dammit, I’m more likely to take the stupid thing back to GameStop and go play more CoD4. And to make things worse, my wife and I both think that Melee was better.
@InvisibleMan
I once posted that Brawl looked retarded, based on videos. It looks all out of control. Now that I’ve played just 3 hours of it, I’m hooked. Great game.
The friend codes are per game and I don’t know if you need a person added as a Wii “friend.”
@Jack
I got my game at 2pm Sunday and I had nothing but problems getting online to play. Out of a dozen attempts I played just once with someone online and it was just one other person. I’d get 85010, 85020 or one other 85XXX error while fighting the bag. I figured Nintendo would have had enough time to get their network ready for the game given the delay but I guess I was wrong. I was under the assumption it would be one thing they would be getting right during the delay.
boy i’m glad i’m not getting my copy till thursday so it’s not all messed up. hopefully it’ll be better by then.
I have no internal game wifi options menu.
Guess who’s SUPER FUCKING PISSED?
THIS GUY! D:
Part of my comment didn’t post..
Before I erase anything I need screencap confirmation of what the proper menus look like.
This once again shows Nintendo’s lack of commitment to online gaming. Bleh. I hope they don’t @#$@ up Mario Kart’s online play.
but the dirty lens issue was for the disk read error, right? then this is completely irrelevant.
I as well was having this issue.
I bought mine 12pm on Sunday got it home and attempted to connect to the 4 player Brawl online. I think I got connected to 1 other player twice in all my attempts. But then it just timed out and said my WFC was lost during the Bag pre-match stuff.
Glad it’s not just mine and I figured it was Nintendo’s side as all the other WFC stuff works fine.
Everyone: Please keep in mind this post is about a specific issue — not the typical hiccups associated with meeting up in online matches during the first week of a title’s release. Don’t go deleting ANYTHING until you have confirmed you’re missing options in the Wi Fi menu or have seen this issue reported outside of Infendo or by nintendo itself.
Also keep in mind that “Spectator mode” is occasionally offline, as is stated in the instruction manual.
Hmmm, I didn’t have to reset data at all. With my Japanese copy, the menu options weren’t there for almost a week, but I went to the Shopping Channel one day, Downloaded some games, went back to Brawl and the menu was there and good to go. I tried the same with my American version, as it too was missing the options, and sure enough, it came to me. Not sure how much it had to do with the shopping channel, but something happened, so I’m just throwing out that suggestion. Best of luck, and I hope none of you have to reset all your data!
Cant WAIT for PAY & PLAY !….yeah right…
More “Amazing” Nintendo online strategy…. LOL!!!!!!
Yeah, the same thing happened with Mario Kart DS and Metroid Hunters. on the DS.
I still have not purchased this game.
Between the Hardware issues of not being able to properly read a double layered disk to the poor online support, I am NOT regretting holding off on my purchase.
Oh how could I forget… Ridiculous Friend codes as well as Disks not reading and online issues…
I will wait for a week until I pick this game up, I hope some issues will be resolved!!
SSBB Sounds like a super fun game…..when it is loading properly , when it is actually playable online and when the annoying friend codes are entered correctly…
@wii wii
I think you’re making a mountain out of a mole hill.
Jack’s original point is that some people are missing the WiFi options link. It seems to be due to people getting the game too soon and something wasn’t right with the network. These people got an incorrect Friend code. Deleting all Brawl data “fixes” the issue. This problem should affect few.
Waiting a few days because of the disc read error doesn’t make sense. Retailers will still be selling the originally pressed game, no update. Also, the issue is with the Wii itself, not the disc. They’re not going to magically start selling a non dual-layer disc so the issue is here to stay. There are people already reporting that standard DVD laser cleaning discs will fix the problem. Long term however I think we’re going to see a lot of Wii’s that have issues reading discs. Not good.
I’m no Nintendo apologist, believe me. But I think a lot of this will work itself out shortly.
Similar things have happened when a online market is flooded with new users/massively increased packet-flow.
Wasn’t it an xmas ago or so that Xbox Live was unusable for a week or so?
This isn’t necessarily apples to apples, but there are some parallels.
I understand the frustration, particularly after things were already delayed with this game. I’m upset too, particularly about the online issue, but when I have connected its been flawless.
I’m going to give them a bit more time. Hopefully things turn out well all the way around.
F$%&$%&$! And ehre I was all happy because I got to unlock so many things and unlocked so many things and now I gotta start it all over again?
Bite me Nintendo.
@ Sack & others with wifi menu issues:
sounds like you just need to get the latest wii update. Going to the shopping channel does this some times. Before you delete your game, try doing a Wii update. Lol.
I can’t get a 100% definite answer on this anywhere:
Is there any way to play 2v2 on random with a friend on the same Wii as you, like it is done in Mario Strikers Charged? My roommate and I really want to play on the same team against another team of 2 random people.
It is looking doubtful, but can any of you point me to anything that confirms or denies this as possible?
@Instant Awesome,
With a Friend, yes. It doesn’t work “With Anyone”.
@Instant Awesome:
No, you cannot play online random with someone else on the same Wii with you. Team play on random is always ONLY random participants, no friends allowed. Friends can only play in Friends mode.
Bummer.
2v2 is our favorite way to play, and to not have this option in random is a large disappointment, especially since it was possible in Strikers, which came out over 6 months ago.
I’ll try the shop channel. Kind of dumb if Nintedo updated the shop channel after they pressed the discs, but before the game launched. If it doesn’t work I’ll still wait for confirmation.
Please update and bump this blog post in case you find any other sources. Thanks.
These types of things are one of the more startling differences between the Wii and the PS3. I got my Wii and launch and was sorely disappointed by the lack of an online strategy. The PS3 came out at the same time and it has been really good about online support–and is only getting better with time. I’ve always loved Nintendo, but I find my Wii collecting dust these days.
Not so much a legitimate “issue,” but I seem to be connecting only with people far away and the resulting lag is killing what little gaming mojo I had to begin with… :
I just won my very first online match as Mario! Sweet! It’s nice to get off to a good start. I got mine this morning, so I guess i don’t need to worry about all thisnot that it’s a big deal. Would it be possible to put the old save on an SD card and then erase it from the wii to fix the problem and then bring thte save file back? …probably not but maybe worth the try? I have experienced no trouble whatsoever, yay!
@woodsy
Yeah, I’m not having issues. As stated, I got it fixed without updating, just logging onto the shop channel. I’d suggest trying to do that before erasing anything.
@mrdctaylor
Let’s not toot Sony’s horn just yet: These online issues come up when the number of online players in the network reaches a certain number! I don’t see the PS3 having any game yet that has a tenth of the players that Brawl has trying to get online… When that happens, THEN we can say how awesome Sony’s network is!
Even the venerable Xbox LIVE is having issues these days with the unprecedented number of online gamers that are trying to log onto Halo 3 and COD4 networks…
I’m sure there is an even simple fix.
If you trade your save data to your SD card and send it to a friend.
They can get a new code for that save on there wii, and then transfer it back to your system, so you can get a new code.
Everything would be fixed I would suppose.
I think if you transfer your save data, it keeps the friend code. Otherwise it wouldn’t make sense to delete the data to get a new one.
Also, my options menu appeared after going to the shop channel!
This is phenomenal. Not ONE of you actually opened the MANUAL to check and see if that might explain the problem.
It says right in there that the WiFi Options (which include allowing your match to be recorded for future spectating) and the Spectator Mode (which is not actually spectating a live match, but is watching recordings of previous matches are not always available, and the menu options won’t appear at times that they aren’t available for use.
Why they designed it that way, I have no idea, I think it’s phenomenally stupid, but not nearly as stupid as people deleting their save data before looking in the manual that came with the game they purchased.
I bet the person who came up with this prank is laughing his or her ass off.
Eric, I think you’re confused. See, the glitch makes it so you don’t see the options AT ALL. At the same time, someone without the glitch would have them (given that it was available blah blah blah).
Also thank you for confusing the hell out of me with that missing parenthesis.
Sorry about the missing parenthesis, but no, I’m not confused. The manual states that the options will only appear when they are available, and will not be available at all times. It’s not a glitch, it’s as designed. Says so right in the manual under the WiFi section – go check!
When the options are available, they’ll appear. When they aren’t, they won’t. That’s what it says. Nintendo is officially claiming that they may take 24 hours or so to appear:
http://gonintendo.com/?p=37484
I just find it really amusing that everybody’s freaking out about something the manual specifically addresses.
As a clarification, Nintendo seems to be implying that the options are not available at the same time for everyone logged in. Based on what I read in the manual, I also expect that once the options do appear, they may disappear again at some point if the servers get too bogged down to handle the traffic.
Yeah, I think I’ll wait a little longer. When Prof Layton came out, the “online stuff was broken” but was quickly rectified by Nintendo. Until Nintendo tells me to kill my save file, I’m going to wait it out.
Eric, you might want to bother to read the comments in that link you posted. Even after 24 hours, the solution didn’t fix itself for the people.
People have been calling Nintendo tech support, and they have no answer: http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=928518&topic=41869059
If you see this on your Wi-fi screen, your data is glitched: http://img357.imageshack.us/img357/4717/20080310180440ql3.jpg
As you should be seeing this: http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/gamemode/wi-fi/wi-fi05.html
Deleting your data, from the Wii menu, will solve the problem.
No one has yet reported this problem ‘solved’ by waiting for it. To those holding out hope that it will magically be fixed, good luck. The longer you wait, the more you unlock and the more you will be unlikely to do the solution should it prove the necessary resort (with Nintendo saying different things, I doubt it will be solved “in time”). You’re best to go ahead, delete the data, and get the game fixed now. You’ll be playing Brawl for years so losing a day’s worth of unlocking won’t be anything in the long run.
Hopefully this will be helpful to some…
I bought my copy Saturday night at midnight Eastern… Got my friend code shortly afterwards. I had consistently experienced problems connecting to the online modes and became concerned. I had made it 30% into the Subspace Emissary, unlocked a couple levels as well as 3 fighters.
When I read this, I calmly fired up my Wii and deleted my save file.
Upon starting up the game again and connecting to the WFC I got a brand new friend code and immediately saw a drastic improvement in the online portion of the game. I highly recommend to any who bought the game Sunday, delete your file NOW rather than later. I wasn’t very far in the game and I’ll be back to where I was by the weekend, except now I’ll have much better chances at connecting for online brawls which are essential if you ask me.
This is a REAL problem. Theres a big difference between spectator mode not showing up AT ALL and it only showing up sometimes. i havent seen spectator mode or options in the wifi once since ive owned the game (since launch) while i have heard lots of people talk about using the specator mode. This is a REAL problem. I also read the directions when i couldent find the spectator mode and initally thought that was the problem but its clear its something else now.