PS3 laser burned disk problem

I've had multiple copies of Metal Gear Solid 4 and they all get this funky pattern on them after sometime playing them. It looks like it has light waves inside the disk, if that makes sense. If you look at the disk in the light at certain angles, it has bending or waving patterns burned onto the disk. I recently went to my local game store and they said the games were "laser burned". I have no Idea what this means. Is it the PS3 or the disk? I need help! I've already spent enough money on MGS4, how do I fix this so I can avoid it in the future?

 

The guy at your local game store needs a talking to. There is no such thing as Laser Burn. The disc is just scratched. Disc Resurfacers apparently can fix it, but I don't particularly trust that process since the discs end up coming out worse.

The cause of this problem (so called Laser Burn) is that the disc is touching something when it is spinning. A perfect way to cause this to happen is to physically move the console while it is spinning. Some consoles may operate better in a different orientation (horizontal/verticle) or the problem could be due to a fault in the disc player itself. Temperature can change the inside and possibly be an issue. The fact that the Xbox 360 seems known for this issue also indicates a design defect.

 

I've seen similar patterns that look like oil slicks on puddles. No idea what it is but it isn't all that unusual.

And I agree, the game store guy is talking out of his ass like most of those employees do. They seem to get a complex working at a game store about being knowledgeable about topics they can't possibly be well versed in due to purely working at game stores.

 

What you've said about the oil slicks on puddles is kinda what it looks like on my disk. I really can't get a photo of it, cause it won't show up on the camera.

 

I did forget to mention that the PS3 gets hot every once in a while. It worries me that my PS3 is on its last legs.

 

The oil pattern I don't think is a problem. It may lead to one eventually. I've encountered Disc Rot before but that is something that would end up happening to old media... say over 10 years old. If PS3 games were experiencing this problem, I'd expect we'd have no problem finding out about it.

Regarding the heat concern, make sure you don't have it in an enclosure. I keep mine on top of a table and in the verticle position. I hear that some models run at different temperatures than others. Also that consoles, even tho they are really just computers, don't automatically shut off (like computers) if they get too hot.

 

I put a small fan next to my PS3 and it's kept my PS3 cool.