Nearly 2 years to the day since we bought our Wii on the very first day they were available in the US, it’s off to be repaired. It refused to read any discs. Wii, Gamecube, didn’t matter. At first, we could get it working again by turning the unit off for a bit. Eventually nothing worked.

As it’s long out of warranty, it cost us $75 plus shipping to send it in for repair. We figure it’s better than spending $250 for a new unit. Unfortunately, we didn’t think to take any steps to back up data first, so there’s a good chance we’re going to have to start from scratch on all our Miis and game settings.

According to Nintendo’s website, our Wii was received on 11/26 and we’re now waiting the estimated 9-11 business days until it will be returned. House seems kind of quiet without it.

Curious if this is a common issue with Day 1 Wiis? Anyone?

Update: That was fast. Received by Nintendo on 11/26, back in our hands on 12/1. They replaced the drive mechanism and it’s working fine, all data intact. Would have been nice not to spend the $82, but overall the experience was painless.