Nintendo Mastering Code
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All GameCube, Wii, and Wii U games have a mastering code on the back of the disc. The format of the mastering code has been completely deciphered.
Example of a mastering code that we will use to explain the format in order: 308K0111 RVL-RKGP-0A-0 JPN S0
There is also a barcode on the disc. It only contains part of the mastering code. In this case, the barcode once straightened and scanned would be RVL-RKGP-0A-0 JPN S0.
| Character | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 3 | Paired with the mastering code. If this character is a number, the disc was made in Japan. If this character is a letter, it was made in the USA. Panasonic manufactured almost all North American discs in their USA plant, but closed it on April 30, 2015.[1] Thus, all Wii and Wii U discs manufactured after that were made in Japan.
1 - IFPI LQ11 (Japan) |
| 08 | Year the disc was manufactured. In this case, it was 2008. |
| K | Month the disc was manufactured. In this case, it was November. "A" would be January, "B" would be February, "C" would be March... |
| 01 | Day the disc was manufactured. The full date is therefore November 1st, 2008. |
| 11 | Disc batch per day |
| | |
| RVL | Platform. DOL for GameCube, RVL for Wii, and WUP for Wii U. |
| RKGP | Disc Serial |
| 0 | Disc Number. Almost always 0. |
| A | Layer type. A for single-layer, B for dual-layer. |
| 0 | Revision Number |
| | |
| JPN | The factory the disc was manufactured in. If this is JPN, it was made in Japan. If this is USA, it was made in USA. |
| | |
| S0 | Layer type. S0 for single-layer discs, L0 and L1 for dual-layer discs made in Japan, 00 and 20 for dual-layer discs made in USA. |
