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News   Metroid Prime Lockup Problems
- Posted By Francis Bonnet, 11.25.2002

Since Wednesday, November 20, the day I purchased Metroid Prime for Nintendo Gamecube, the game has froze on me twice during gameplay. Now the first time I didn't think much of it, I was just minding my own business exploring a tunnel in the Chozo Ruins and BAM - the game locks up and the sound makes a continuous buzzing noise. Opening the disc tray did nothing to remedy the situation, nor did pushing the reset button. I actually had to turn the power off on the console in order to get the game to work again... and guess what that meant? Everything I had done since my last save didn't count and I had to do it all over again. It kinda pissed me off the first time... and pissed me off even more the second time. So what's the problem?

Well, a call to Nintendo's customer service hotline was able to clarify things for me. One of Nintendo's helpful customer service representatives revealed to me that this isn't the first time that this has happened, nor was it the first call reporting a problem with the disc. Apparently there's a minor glitch with the way that data from the disc is streamed to the console. Although he wasn't sure of any other specifics, he mentioned that it happens very rarely and the fact that it's already happened to me twice was definitely a first (lucky me). I gave him some of my personal information to pass on to his superiors and it was noted on my file (they have a file on me because I subscribe to Nintendo Power) that I had reported a probelm with the disc. He said, of course, Nintendo would replace the disc free of charge but that would mean being without Metroid Prime for two weeks. Hmm... maybe AFTER I finish it. He also told me that the glitch wouldn't corrupt the Metroid Prime save file or any other save files on my memory card - so take a big sigh of relief.

Alright, so we know as a fact that there's a problem with Metroid Prime - it's a very rare, minor glitch but it's still bound to piss off a few gamers. So what can you do about it? Pretty much nothing besides shipping your disc back to Nintendo. Mr. Nintendo representative also said that if the game does lock up again it would be helpful to write down exactly which area of the game I was playing and pass the info onto Nintendo. So now I pass this knowledge to you. If your game happens to freeze for no particular reason, write down which area of the game you were playing and what you were doing and pass the info to a Nintendo representative at 1-800-255-3700 - the call is toll-free. Perhaps they'll be able to fix the problem with the next batch of discs. Oh, and make sure to save your game often... just in case.