20:4720:47, 15 July 2020diffhist−2
Nintendo optical discs
This also applies to the Wii U as well. When one inserts a game like ''New Super Mario Bros. U'' (~2.3 GB of 25 GB) the laser assembly moves once all the way to the edge of the disc when the game is started, and can be heard only making small adjustments during gameplay.
20:3520:35, 15 July 2020diffhist+2
Nintendo optical discs
On the other hand, when one inserts a larger game like ''Mario Kart Wii'' (~2.6 GB of 4.7 GB), the laser assembly moves only about halfway to the edge, suggesting that it moves to the innermost part of the game data. During gameplay, the laser assembly can be heard making much larger adjustments.
20:2920:29, 15 July 2020diffhist+285
Nintendo optical discs
From listening to the operation of the Wii’s disc drive, this appears to be true, contrary to what Pokechu22 said. When one inserts a game with a small file size like ''New Super Mario Bros. Wii'' (~360 MB of 4.7 GB) the laser assembly can be heard moving in one direction all the way across the disc just before the game name appears on the screen. Once the game is started, the laser assembly makes only very small adjustments during gameplay, which suggests that it is reading from the edge.