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Hardware Hacking Wii Build

Unofficial Homebrew Channel For the Wii 150

Posted by kdawson from the hacking-twilight dept.
marcan writes "The Homebrew Channel is a tool that can be installed on any Wii (no hardware mods required) that lets you run unsigned homebrew software from an SD card, or upload executables via WiFi or a USBGecko. We've tried to make it friendly for users with a simple GUI, and powerful for developers with direct upload features and reloading which we hope will make testing less painful. The channel can be installed using a DVD if you have a modchip, or using an exploit in Zelda: Twilight Princess which only requires an SD card (or any future hack or booting method). Once installed, it simply shows up as a Channel on the Wii Menu, just like any official channel. Hopefully, this and other recent developments (such as the upcoming devkitPPC r15 toolchain, much improved and with many bugs fixed) will help make the Wii an appealing platform for DIY software. And yes, it also runs Linux."
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Unofficial Homebrew Channel For the Wii More

Unofficial Homebrew Channel For the Wii

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  • Oy vey (Score:5, Funny)

    by yada21 ( 1042762 ) on Sunday May 25, 2008 @06:12PM (#23539067)
    Anyone else read that as Hebrew channel? Go on and mod me down you schlemiel's. I got first post already.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by bsDaemon ( 87307 )
      At least you read it... I'm still trying to figure out how it got labeled "hardhack" even though the summary states in the first line that there are no hardware mods necessary.

      • Re:Oy vey (Score:5, Informative)

        by KingArthur10 ( 679328 ) <arthur.bogard@noSpaM.gmail.com> on Sunday May 25, 2008 @06:27PM (#23539169)
        No hardware mods necessary, but one of the avenues of attack is by using a hardhack and modding the DVD drive.
      • Uh, 'cause it's modding a Wii and modding console's supposed to automatically equal modding hardware 'cause a console is tied to it's hardware in a way pc's aren't? *shrugs* Not that I think it should be modded hardhack-I just think that's the thinking process that lead to the tag.

        I'm just sad that my bro basically stole my wii, so it'd take too much work to get it back to play with the hacks.

    • Re:Oy vey (Score:4, Funny)

      by Viceroy Potatohead ( 954845 ) on Sunday May 25, 2008 @08:02PM (#23539755) Homepage
      I saw the title and reflected on how little needed to be changed to say: "Unofficial Homebrew Chanel From the Wee". I thought: "Finally, perfume I can afford for the girlfriend I wish I had!"*

      *Note to self: My DIY perfume philosophy may be hindering mating efforts,

  • I want my beer! (Score:5, Funny)

    by humphrm ( 18130 ) on Sunday May 25, 2008 @06:16PM (#23539097) Homepage
    How does this help me brew my own beer???

    • How does this help me brew my own beer???

      No, no. You got it wrong. It's not free as in beer, but free as in linux.

      --

      More seriously, it's sad that the users have to resort to such hacks to enable homebrew. The only console designed from ground up to run 3rd party software are Dreamcast (mainly done for 3rd party music discs, but used a lot by the homebrew community) and PS3 (boots Linux CDs out of the box. Although the hypervisor restricts access to the GPU. But the Gallium3D team is successfully making a software OpenGL implementation that runs

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by LiENUS ( 207736 )

        Specially the Wii with its peculiar controllers just cries to see a vibrant community of homebrewer making clever use of the accelerometers & IR cam.

        Fortunately Nintendo didn't abandon us entirely. The Wii remote uses standard bluetooth. So even if Nintendo blocks homebrew by divine magic. Developers [arstechnica.com] will [thisisnotalabel.com] keep [sourceforge.net] developing [sourceforge.net].

        • Fortunately Nintendo didn't abandon us entirely. The Wii remote uses standard bluetooth. So even if Nintendo blocks homebrew by divine magic. Developers [arstechnica.com] will [thisisnotalabel.com] keep [sourceforge.net] developing [sourceforge.net].

          Games that use the accelerometers in a Wii Remote usually need some space around each player and some space between the players and the screen. This means you need a big screen so that all players can still see the action. But if you take a random Wii game console and a random PC running Windows, it's much more likely that the Wii will be connected to a big screen. So in order to use multiple Wii Remotes with a PC game without the players bumping into each other, you need a second PC in the same room as th

    • You've got it the wrong way around. You drink beer to make your own wii.

  • This combined with 20G memory expansion is great (Score:5, Funny)

    by ylikone ( 589264 ) on Sunday May 25, 2008 @06:21PM (#23539123) Homepage
    Finally the Wii is becoming the awesome system it should have been from the start... with products like this [consolegameslist.com] that should have been available long ago.
  • And so it begins, watch as the Wii goes the way of the Dreamcast due to "no hardware mods needed" to run unsigned software.

    No, I'm not being negative. This is just how consoles seem to die off quickly. You know, when the business model breaks down due to a large number of console sales (usually a loss) and a low number of game purchases due to them being free on P2P or usenet.

    • Re:And so it begins. (Score:5, Informative)

      by LiENUS ( 207736 ) <slashdot AT vetmanage DOT com> on Sunday May 25, 2008 @06:39PM (#23539235) Homepage
      This mod certainly allows you access to free games, however it does not make it easy to run commercial games for free. It merely allows access to home brew games without a modchip. Modchips do not make Nintendo any additional money over the cost of the console anyway.

      • however it does not make it easy to run commercial games for free

        Do you happen to know if it enables you to play legally purchased out-of-region games? I would really really love to play Densha De Go [wikipedia.org] on my UK Wii, but as far as I know this game won't play even if I bought a copy from Japan.

        Rich.

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by LordVader717 ( 888547 )
          Just go buy a Freeloader [amazon.co.uk].

          • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

            by marcansoft ( 727665 )
            Freeloader will die a certain death once nintendo updates their software. They use the same hack that we use (the RSA bug).
        • Yes, it does. Not by itself, but if you look at the apps package, you'll see that we include Gecko Region Free, a tool to enable region-free game loading. Which, unlike other consoles, is not tied to the drive / security subsystem at all - it's just a simple check inside the system menu that can be patched out (or worked around), or you can just use a loader that doesn't check it.
        • I think there's a regionfree homebrew app but I don't know whether it works. I think it came with the Homebrew Channel too.

    • Re:And so it begins. (Score:5, Informative)

      by Xebikr ( 591462 ) on Sunday May 25, 2008 @06:40PM (#23539237)
      Except Nintendo actually (gasp) sells the Wii at a profit: [wikipedia.org]

      While Microsoft and Sony have experienced losses producing their consoles in the hopes of making a long-term profit on software sales, Nintendo reportedly has optimized production costs to obtain a significant profit margin with each Wii unit sold. According to the Financial Times, this direct profit per Wii sold may vary from $13 in Japan to $49 in the United States and $79 in Europe.
      • That's good. Let's hope the profit persists and allows for more to be made in the future.

        Let's hope game developers don't get their panties too twisted and continue to make games for it, knowing a softmod is out there ready to take a chunk out of their end of the cut.

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by LiENUS ( 207736 )
          I don't believe the homebrew channel makes it any easier to run pirated games.

        • Re:And so it begins. (Score:5, Insightful)

          by Grakun ( 706100 ) on Sunday May 25, 2008 @07:11PM (#23539481)

          That's good. Let's hope the profit persists and allows for more to be made in the future. Let's hope game developers don't get their panties too twisted and continue to make games for it, knowing a softmod is out there ready to take a chunk out of their end of the cut.
          Do you really think any major game development companies are worried about competition from a bunch of geeks writing their own games that people have to jump through hoops to play? Even though the game devs companies have documentation and an SDK, while the geeks have neither? Are you a troll, or did you just fail to read the title?
          • No, I was speaking more about the resulting game piracy due to softmods of the Wii. Regardless, it looks like someone has some shitty knickers and needs a change.

            • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

              by cduffy ( 652 )
              Have you read the documentation on this softmod discussing why it can't be used to pirate commercial games? There are substantial technical measures protecting commercial software for the Wii (excluding Virtual Console titles) which haven't been cracked, and which this particular team (like most of the Wii homebrew scene) will not assist any third party in cracking.

              Also, I haven't noticed any reduction in commercial properties being produced for the DS, despite the availability of toolage for pirating comme

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Toonol ( 1057698 )
            Original Games? No.

            But Nintendo may certainly be worried that geeks will get some emulators up and running. Justifiably, too.
          • I think the (valid) concern is that once the average Wii owner has figured out how to install the Homebrew Channel, they'll realize they're only a step or two away from playing regular Wii games without paying for them. Give people the chance to not pay for something and they jump on it (e.g. Napster). Considering the bulk of Nintendo's profit is actually 1st party titles, not 3rd party, pirated games would hit them harder than MS or Sony.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Rhapsody Scarlet ( 1139063 )

        According to the Financial Times, this direct profit per Wii sold may vary from $13 in Japan to $49 in the United States and $79 in Europe.

        This always pisses me off. Assuming these figures are in any way accurate, this effectively means gamers in the US and Europe (especially the UK) are effectively subsidising lower costs in Japan. How the hell is that legal? Or am I missing something?

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by jcostom ( 14735 )

          This always pisses me off. Assuming these figures are in any way accurate, this effectively means gamers in the US and Europe (especially the UK) are effectively subsidising lower costs in Japan. How the hell is that legal? Or am I missing something?

          You're missing something. It's not illegal, as Nintendo is free to charge whatever they want for their product. In a free-market economy, one is free to charge whatever price they feel the market will bear. If you feel the pricing is unfair, I recommend you vote with your wallet and purchase some other system..

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by LKM ( 227954 )
            Of course, the price difference on said other systems may be even more outrageous (*cough* PS3 *cough*).

          • It's not illegal, as Nintendo is free to charge whatever they want for their product. In a free-market economy, one is free to charge whatever price they feel the market will bear. If you feel the pricing is unfair, I recommend you vote with your wallet and purchase some other system..
            I'd love to. Which video game machine whose games are designed for a large screen doesn't have lockouts?
        • It's legal because there's no magical system saying things have to cost a certain price. Nintendo could charge $1,000 for their system if they wanted too, or they could charge $10 and give away the system essentially. Economics 101, you charge what the market is likely to bear while still giving you a profit.

          • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

            by LiENUS ( 207736 )

            Economics 101, you charge what the market is likely to bear while still giving you a profit.
            And then you get into the 200 level courses and realize thats not true.
        • Perhaps $36 USD of the profit in the US could be apportioned to profit on the Wii Sports game which sells separately in Japan.

          In any case it's difficult to imagine why such a thing would be illegal.

          • Re:And so it begins. (Score:5, Informative)

            by Orange Crush ( 934731 ) * on Sunday May 25, 2008 @09:11PM (#23540165)
            Currencies fluctuate in value relative to each other, taxes and logistical considerations vary from region to region, there are different marketing expenses and the comparative "value" of the system will vary along with the disposable incomes of consumers across different regions as well. Why in the world shoudn't Nintendo charge different prices in different regions when there are so many other fluctuating variables across different markets?

            • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

              by walshy007 ( 906710 )

              I agree charges different amounts in different locations makes sense, but sometimes it's just plain stupid, e.g. US vs AU prices on a wii, $250USD in the US, $360 USD in AU (about $400 AUD)

              *sigh* least it's not as bad as the games, hear most of them are only $50, $100 is the standard, some up to $130, that's some nice pal tax

              in the end it's cheaper and faster for people here to just import their console and all the games, still comes out cheaper than buying locally

              • Hate to disappoint you cobber, but it's now $383. When the Wii launched it was more like $310. Your example perfectly demonstrates why these pricing strategies aren't wholly unjust.
                The UK used to be one of the most expensice markets in Europe, but now that the Pound has plummeted its positively bargain-country.
        • Assuming neither the posters nor Wikipedia misquoted the figures, I'd assume the Financial Times [wikipedia.org] has accurate information. Just FYI.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by morari ( 1080535 )
          Wii Sports doesn't come with the console in Japan.

          Also, with the United States' current economical situation, isn't it more likely that the other countries are subsidizing lower cost for them?

      • Nintendo reportedly has optimized production costs to obtain a significant profit margin with each Wii unit sold.

        That's true.

        But you are betting on "old tech" and the budget price.

        That you won't be caught one, two, or three generations behind your competitors somewhere down the road.

        It has happened before in an industry that is notoriously cyclical. You need to be there with the NES when the Atari 2600 is retired to the bedroom closet.

        Novelties like the Wii controller and the Wii-Fit board do not remai

        • Re:And so it begins. (Score:5, Insightful)

          by dogbowl ( 75870 ) on Sunday May 25, 2008 @10:31PM (#23540611) Homepage
          Like the D-pad novelty, the shoulder button novelty, and the analogue stick novelty??

          The only thing cyclical is Nintendo pushing the market/possibilities in new directions and everyone else following.
          • The Apple II had analog sticks. So did the Atari 5200.

            Just sayin'.
            • They were analog Joysticks. We were thinking more about analog Thumbsticks.
              • The Kraft joystick for the Apple II was very popular, and closer to a thumbstick than a joystick in how you used it.

                Nintendo did come up with the superior mushroom shape AFAICT, though.

                Wes

                • Nintendo did come up with the superior mushroom shape AFAICT, though.

                  I strongly disagree that the mushroom shape is superior. Anyone who had a Saturn knows that the 3D control pad had divots in balls instead of mushrooms (there's a joke there somewhere) which were MUCH easier to keep your fingers centered on.

                  IMO, the mushroom shape is evil and stupid and makes sense only if you're Nintendo and want to market it as such. Which they didn't.

                  I still think that the Sega Saturn 3D Control Pad is the moon-shot of controllers, aside from having only one analog pad. Mostly becaus

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by pembo13 ( 770295 )
      Well, Nintendo doesn't believe in selling at a loss. And people seem to love Nintendo games.
    • The Wii is actually sold at a profit, last I heard. More importantly, it has the advantage of an on-average less technically inclined user base.

    • Re:And so it begins. (Score:5, Informative)

      by marcansoft ( 727665 ) <hector@marcansoft.UMLAUTcom minus punct> on Sunday May 25, 2008 @07:04PM (#23539413) Homepage
      Unsigned software != pirated commercial software.

      While, of course, this ability implies that you *can* run pirated software, with the right modifications, in practice I have yet to see a plausible black-hat group with the expertise needed to develop such a hack. And we're sure as heck not going to do it ourselves. All that people have been doing is Virtual Console piracy, which is quite easy once a few details got released / leaked, due to nintendo's multiple mistakes on their DRM. But patching commercial games to read their data from SD or USB is not at all trivial.

    • Except Nintendo is well-positioned to avoid this (Score:5, Interesting)

      by patio11 ( 857072 ) on Sunday May 25, 2008 @07:23PM (#23539523)
      I would hate as much as the next guy to see pirates (yeah, yeah, I know there are folks out there who just want to code 2D Tetris to work on your Wii... and there are about 10,000 pirates for every one of you, who want to play first-party Nintendo games for free) take down an IP producer I liked.

      That being said, it isn't going to happen to Nintendo: they are largely pitching the console at folks who both don't pirate games and wouldn't know how to if they did (targetting customers who enjoy paying money for your product -- a novel concept!). They've sold a bazillion units -- and every one at a profit, thank you very much. They can update the firmware to remove this channel and the exploit any time you put in a first-party disk, and with the Nintendo model they can be reasonably certain that any console which is turned on in 2008 will play one of the next three Big Series releases from Nintendo. They have caused a resurgence in interest in alternate peripherals (credit also to Guitar Hero), which means that just stealing the game itself doesn't get you all of the fun. They have a very friendly online purchasing experience for many old games, which makes it less appealing to use the system as an SNES emulator (a very popular "homebrew" application in my experience).

      So I'm not worried about Nintendo. Good thing, too, as I own stock in them.
      • They don't seem very worried either. Virtual Console piracy is relatively popular recently, due to several massive flaws in their DRM, which also happen to enable our homebrew software (in part). They've had a fixed piece of security software install itself as part of the newest update, but they haven't flipped the right bit to enable it yet. It's been a long while. The big bug? A terribly, horribly, completely broken RSA implementation with an effective security of 8 bits - because they used strcmp() instead of memcmp() when testing signatures!

        As for us, we'll still be able to run homebrew after they fix the security software. There are plenty of other bugs that we can use (most of which are not public yet, so chances are Nintendo doesn't know about them), and most do not enable VC piracy as directly as the one major bug that they "fixed".

        • Re: (Score:1, Informative)

          by Anonymous Coward
          This is the most informative post I have ever read on Slashdot.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Asmor ( 775910 )
      The Xbox (original) had a similar exploit with MechAssault, allowing you to mod the console without cracking the seal by loading a hacked save file. I believe one of the James Bond games had the same exploit.

      This is still loads more effort than was required for the DC. With the Dreamcast, you burnt a disc and played it. No modding, hard or soft, neccessary; you didn't even need a boot disc after a while.

    • PS3 didn't goe away (Score:5, Insightful)

      by DrYak ( 748999 ) on Sunday May 25, 2008 @08:09PM (#23539797) Homepage
      Dreamcast wasn't the only console designed to be able boot 3rd party disc out-of-the-box (although the feature was designed with karaoke discs in mind. Not homebrewer nor pirates).

      PS3 is also designed to be able to boot Linux out-of-the-box. But the PS3 doesn't seem to be tanking because of it.

      The first Playstation was one of the most widely pirated console. Yet, it was also one of the most successful.

      After the first couple of years, emulation of the Gameboy was widely available. During the life-time of GameBoy Pocket, Light and Color. Emulation has been available in parallel, with a flourishing underground traffic of roms, yet you can't call the GameBoy "not successful".

      You know, when the business model breaks down due to a large number of console sales (usually a loss) and a low number of game purchases due to them being free on P2P or usenet.
      I disagree. First, few hardware maker actually sell consoles at a loss (even if they have smaller margins on the hardware compared to the software).
      In the case of Dreamcast, how much of friend do you know how only bought the console (first hand from a shop) and never ran anything but burned CD-R on it ?
      Everyone I know who had a Dreamcast had at least bought couple of games. Usually the same quantity as they also had cartridges for older less pirated game consoles.
      It seems to me that DC piracy hasn't as much lowered games sales, as it has mainly allowed users to play that they wouldn't have bought in the first place.

      What really caused the DC's downfall is a mix of not loud enough marketing (SEGA has often showed understated stats of its console, whereas most competitors used to inflate the specs), a silly price war later in the life cycle against its competitors, lots of 3rd party developers putting their project in the hold in expectation of the next playstation, and past financial disasters (the Saturn definitely tanked in the US, and only had limited success in Japan and even more limited in Europe).

      The Wii is not sold at a loss. It has a lot of success in most market, out-sellling its main competitors. It's primary market is more geared toward casual and family players who aren't going to go through the hacking hassle to get the pirated software work anyway. (They usually buy on the spot the Wii and couple of fun multiplayer games Ã-la WiiSport. Then only occasionally buy additional games). It's not even in direct competition in its own market (whereas both of the competitor fight for the "hardcore player" segment).

      I just can't see the Wii tanking because of this hack.
      That hack will just enable creative use of the hardware by homebrewers.
      And maybe enable some player to play games they weren't interested in buying in the first place.

      Nonetheless, given Nintendo's past, they will probably go with great rage after all makers of such hacks, and sue them for piracy. With the net result being to so much raising sales, as mainly killing homebrew creativity.

      • Nonetheless, given Nintendo's past, they will probably go with great rage after all makers of such hacks, and sue them for piracy. With the net result being to so much raising sales, as mainly killing homebrew creativity.

        Not going to happen. They may go after modchip makers (fair enough), but everything that us homebrewers do is legal if done right. Furthermore, the hacks that we use aren't designed to be used to play pirated games - in fact, doing this with DVD-R games is likely to be impossible due to cer

      • First, few hardware maker actually sell consoles at a loss (even if they have smaller margins on the hardware compared to the software).

        What do you mean by "few"? I'd say two out of three is a large proportion, wouldn't you?

        The PSP has a relatively hardcore audiance, and has sold quite a fair amount of hardware. It's also avoided by developers as it has proven notoriously difficult to sell games for.

        Part of the reason is piracy (which actually delivers a more comfortable experience than bought games. Damn those fucking UMDs.)

        I do feel sorry for the homebrew developers who are hurt.

        But anybody who thinks that homebrewers make up more than a

      • SEGA has often showed understated stats of its console, whereas most competitors used to inflate the specs
        I didn't know that. Nintendo had the same habit and tended to be crucified for it. Then with the Wii, they just stopped giving the specs all together which I thought was weird. Nothing reads "appliance" like lack of specs.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Inoshiro ( 71693 )
        "After the first couple of years, emulation of the Gameboy was widely available."

        Not to derail your otherwise +3 funny post, but I don't recall any Gameboy emulators in 1991, 1992, or 1993 (years #2, 3, and 4 of the Gameboy). In fact, I don't think they were really easily available until sometime around 1997/1998, about 8-9 years after its general release.

        Part of this is the fact the Internet as we know it didn't exist then, but also because the computers of the era couldn't handle it.
    • Wiis aren't sold at a loss. They have proven and efficient hardware that actually cost less at release then the console sold for if I remember correctly.

      Oddly enough the captua for this post is antique

    • You're rewriting history. (Score:5, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 25, 2008 @08:52PM (#23540039)
      This is simply rewriting history.

      The Dreamcast was already close to death by the time these hacks came out. It was a combination of Sega's insufficient capital to continue advertising the Dreamcast past the 9/9/99 launch, and a steady drumbeat from Sony about how the PS2 would be a generation ahead. Sega was simply outmatched from the start.

      The Dreamcast was a great console with perhaps the most interesting lineup of games, but it was always going to be a poor cousin to the PS2.

      Besides, if piracy kills consoles, the PS2 would have faded about 18 months after it came out.

    • Right, just like the xbox 1 did once the softmod exploits showed up.

    • And so it begins, watch as the Wii goes the way of the Dreamcast due to "no hardware mods needed" to run unsigned software.
      Actually, what killed the Dreamcast was that Sega needed to build and sell another 10 million machines and didn't have the cash to do so.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by BarneyL ( 578636 )
      Remember, Nintendo make a profit on each Wii sold so it will matter less to them than it would for other consoles.
      Also you can't download the new balance board for Wii Fit or the extra wiimotes you just know you're going to buy sooner or later.

    • [A no-hardware exploit to run unsigned software] is just how consoles seem to die off quickly. You know, when the business model breaks down due to a large number of console sales (usually a loss) and a low number of game purchases due to them being free on P2P or usenet.
      Why hasn't competition from legitimate freeware and unauthorized copying killed commercial applications for the Windows platform, even when PC makers sell bargain-basement PCs at less than 10 percent above cost?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by noamsml ( 868075 )
      Isn't the Wii sold at a profit?

  • Very polished (Score:5, Informative)

    by i.of.the.storm ( 907783 ) on Sunday May 25, 2008 @07:01PM (#23539397) Homepage
    Installed it this morning and it's very polished, looks and feels like a real Nintendo made channel. A few bits and pieces aren't fully there (no vibration when going over buttons) but it's really well done overall, and has auto-update support and loads .elfs over LAN. Also, Team Twiizers is pretty sure that it's safe currently, and they're working on a fix for bricked Wiis. They've already got a fix for semi-bricked Wiis, which is pretty cool. If you want to read up on some of the background of Wii hacking, check out their site: http://hackmii.com/ [hackmii.com]

    • Re:Very polished (Score:5, Informative)

      by marcansoft ( 727665 ) <hector@marcansoft.UMLAUTcom minus punct> on Sunday May 25, 2008 @07:33PM (#23539573) Homepage
      For what it's worth, fixing a bricked wii is going to require a hardware programmer and some soldering, because it's bricked and as far as we know there's no backdoor to fix it (we're *gasp* using the proper term 'brick' here). However, hopefully we'll be able to develop a firmware modification that will insert a backdoor early into the boot process to provide a way of restoring if needed, assuming your Wii isn't bricked yet. Unfortunately, with the official software, the Wii is quite prone to permanent bricking. Even something as simple as a malformed channel banner file can cause it.

      For those that do not know, "semibricked" (no, we did not invent the term) means that you've installed a version of the System Menu from another region (usually by using a game from another region that contains an update, with a modchip). The results are that you cannot access the Settings menu, as the internal inconsistency means that it tries to load the wrong files and ends up at an Opera 404 screen. Surprise! The Wii Settings menus are just HTML files. This can be easily fixed by running a game with an update for the right region that's newer than the installed one. The "fixes" up on our site are just the latest versions packaged as updates inside ISO images.

      • I've heard that it's possible to unbrick a Wii through a hardware ROM flasher (means opening up your Wii, voiding warranties), and only if you've backed up the Wii before it was bricked (so 99.999% of bricked Wiis can't be fixed).

      • Ah, thanks for the clarification. I honestly don't know why I've been modded +3 informative, heck I'd mod myself overrated, but I guess I just got an early post in.

        By the way, I love your blog, it's so awesome with the whole "Downgrading your browser for Web 0.1 thing.

  • Unofficial homebrew!?! Why I never!

  • Emulation on the Wii Already Came a Long Way (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Croakyvoice ( 986312 ) on Sunday May 25, 2008 @07:20PM (#23539511)
    Already the Nintendo Wii is home to emulators for Snes, GBA, GBC, Nintendo 64, MAME, Nes, Genesis, Master System, Game Gear and more With the homebrew channel it makes the system even better. Lets hope piracy doesnt ruin a great homebrew scene. For those interested in emulators be sure to check out Wii News http://wii-news.dcemu.co.uk/ [dcemu.co.uk]

  • I'm amazed (Score:5, Informative)

    by jessecurry ( 820286 ) <jesse@jessecurry.net> on Sunday May 25, 2008 @07:37PM (#23539595) Homepage Journal
    I'm amazed every time I see these Wii homebrew projects. As an actual DS/Wii developer I see the time that is involved setting up our official development environment and can't believe how dedicated the homebrew community is.
  • I remember reading a while back that someone had shown that a minor hardware mod enabled them to play DVDs on the Wii (in other words, the Wii hardware is capable of playing DVDs). Any chance that the Homebrew Channel would let us build a DVD player for the Wii?

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by LiENUS ( 207736 )
      From what I understand all dvd access must go through IOS which is a kernel that handles IO (for more than just the DVD drive) running on an ARM processor. The IOS normally does not allow the kind of access necessary for a DVD player. There is apparently an enable dvd video system call but it is not known exactly what it does/how it functions.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by fyrewulff ( 702920 )
        It was probably implemented early on, but actual support dropped because the Wii can't even be DVD licensed anyway.

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