A bit of technical help with Demon's Souls

[Extreme Pajamas]

I've recently come into owning a PS3, it's working fine, but I need a little help with Demon's Souls. No, not advice on what to do or remarks such as "you're crazy for getting that game." I'm having a problem with loading the first area available after you're killed in the tutorial and end up in the Nexus.

The game allows me to touch the stone, choose the Bal-something Castle, and go to the loading screen...and that's it. The game is stuck, and I think the most amount of time I spent there before giving up was 30 minutes.

I have no idea if this is some sort of known bug or not, all I want to know is how, if at all, I can fix it. So, people of The Escapist, hopefully you have some idea how to do so.

 

[Sacman]

your game is probably scratched... get a new one...

 

[mumakurau]

Check to see if your copy of the game is damaged. Look for scratches and such. If it doesn't work after several tries, you may need to get a new copy.

Sidenote: If it works, prepare to get your ass kicked. A lot.

((I love that game in a strangely masochistic way.))

 

[demoman_chaos]

I'd say the disc is damaged or dirty. Clean it with Windex and a soft cloth. Be SURE it is fully dry before putting it into your system and see if that helps.
If it doesn't, you may have to get a new disc.

 

[careful]

swear at it in japanese

 

[Extreme Pajamas]

Well the disk is virtually scratch free and I cleaned it to it's shiny condition that it's in now before playing...so either my PS3 is screwed, someone messed with the first real area with a high-precision magnet, or the online mode is somehow the culprit.

EDIT: After VERY close inspection of the disc, I found a literal hole in the data where the PS logo is. No seriously, if the hole was bigger I could probably see clearly through it.