I had a similiar experience as happy squirrel. Launch gamecube that lasted about 21 months? I didn't get Nintendo to replace mine. I really didn't even try. I ended grabbing the Zelda bundle w/ controller for $99 so i don't think I lost out too much. I think the initial batch did have a bunch of disk read error problems. As long as the one you bought wasn't manufactured in the first year, I'd think your fine.