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Wii "Mod" Chip: Keep it legit
AlphaTwo
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I've talked to Captain K about this, and his final words were: "Keep it legit", so in the spirit of that, keep it legit, thanks.
So, the word on the street is that someone has just announced they have a Wii Mod Chip. From what I've read, it's using the same Gamecube hack, which technically doesn't break the encryption, hence, no region lock breaking utility or homebrewing.
This is relatively interesting, as a few things comes out of this:
a) How legit is this "chip", there are apparently videos of this in action, but like any video on the internet, many things can be faked.
b) IIRC, Australia and a few other places have said chips that circumvent Region Locking is illegal, but since this doesn't allow region free games, it stands more grounds as a "back-up device" (NOTE: DO NOT TALK ABOUT WHY, HOW, WHO, etc... when it comes to the p-word)
c) This one is more general: How feasible is it for manufacturers to take actions via hardware updates? Especially with all three consoles connected, is it possible that companies can successfully knock out illegal uses? I havn't seen or read about how MS has handled 360 system hacks. Obviously, it's not going to be 100% perfect, but ideally is it possible to avoid the quagmire that is the PSP OS updates.
Again: Keep it legit, or we'll just lock everything.
So, the word on the street is that someone has just announced they have a Wii Mod Chip. From what I've read, it's using the same Gamecube hack, which technically doesn't break the encryption, hence, no region lock breaking utility or homebrewing.
This is relatively interesting, as a few things comes out of this:
a) How legit is this "chip", there are apparently videos of this in action, but like any video on the internet, many things can be faked.
b) IIRC, Australia and a few other places have said chips that circumvent Region Locking is illegal, but since this doesn't allow region free games, it stands more grounds as a "back-up device" (NOTE: DO NOT TALK ABOUT WHY, HOW, WHO, etc... when it comes to the p-word)
c) This one is more general: How feasible is it for manufacturers to take actions via hardware updates? Especially with all three consoles connected, is it possible that companies can successfully knock out illegal uses? I havn't seen or read about how MS has handled 360 system hacks. Obviously, it's not going to be 100% perfect, but ideally is it possible to avoid the quagmire that is the PSP OS updates.
Again: Keep it legit, or we'll just lock everything.
AlphaTwo on
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The obvious claim that was listed was for backups. We all know what they really mean by that, so I want to stay away from that discussion.
1. So is it going to be possible to install Linux or maybe a better browser on the Wii?
2. And what's to stop Nintendo from preventing the chips operation with a firmware update?
Oh, and
3. Could this possibly help with accessing Japanese VC shop?
Mario Kart DS: 3320 6595 7026 5000
3)Does not help, that's for sure.
That means this Wii chip is most likely illegal in Australia.
I mean its obviously possible and would require way less work and couldn't be just patched out.
I never asked for this!
A) Doesn't allow imports.
C) Doesn't do anything other than allow piracy.
Great.
Damn it. I was really hopping for A, due to the next Naruto game.
well to be fair, there is quite a bit of confusion over legitimate copies of DS carts sometimes. I know that if you try and buy them on eBay you have to know how to watch out for illegal copies of games because they look exactly like normal games, and play like normal games, and it would suck for someone to get the bad end of that deal when they didn't even realize what was going on.
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wii friend code: 7623 9955 2119 1775
Have there been known and confirm instance that MS has done such things for the XBox?
As it is, most DS piracy right now is done using the GBA slot. It's easy for them to detect that, and anyone doing it isn't going to be some innocent person unaware that their copy is pirated.
Sorry to derail a bit, but i'm fairly certain that in AUstralia, that law was overturned for some reason or another.
This mod chip seems pretty useless.
I have never heard of anyone successfully making a backup of a Gamecube game that could be played on a Gamecube console.
Seriously? I have.
Hmm... Well. That PSO exploit seems like quite the pain in the ass... is that the only way that was ever figured out? I don't care that much, I guess. The PSO exploit wouldn't work with a Wii... I'm just curious as to whether or not these guys are actually making Wii game copies, because if they aren't then this mod chip is clearly not for reals.
Also, I thought homebrew could be done on the Wii via SDLoad?
It is possible to make copies of Wii games right now, unfortunately.
Gamecube homebrew can be done on the Wii using SDLoad. Not Wii homebrew. All Wii executable code must be encrypted, or it won't run. Backups will still run if you can trick the drive into reading the disc (which is what the modchip does), because the disc is just an exact copy of already-encrypted data.
Basically, all Nintendo did here was prevent homebrew and region bypassing while doing nothing about piracy.
And guess which company is behind that? That's right, LOL sony.
But, I'd expect this'll get appealed again. God I hate the law, if you have the money, you can keep fighting the same fight over and over and over until your opponents run out of cash.
Actually, the recent changes to Australian law mean that any modchip is legal if it disables region-locking. If it also circumvents copy protection, then that is OK too.
Basically, modchips were a legal grey-area here in Australia (and were widely available as a result). Last year, the Government was lobbied by Sony, who convinced them to draft a law that would outlaw modchips. There was a massive outcry from the community and from the opposition parties when the draft was made public, so the Government changed the law so that modchips are now totally legal. Sony was pissed off at this turnaround.
When the law was announced, the ACCC (Australia's Government-funded consumer watchdog) said something to the effect of: "If manufacturers don't like modchips, then they should stop region-locking their consoles.".
The only modchips that are illegal in Australia are ones that circumvent copy protection but don't disable region-locking. If I'm reading AlphaTwo's description right, this Wii modchip falls into this category, so it wouldn't be legit here in Oz.
For me, a modchip that doesn't allow importing is useless, so I can't see myself getting excited about this until they get import games working.
Australia rocks.
Thanks for the distinction, I was hoping and expecting someone would do so.
I think it's a bit similar to the DVD player status in Australia. All DVD players need to be region-free so the artificial region locking is made redundant (Australia being R4).
With 360 being close to region free (depending on publishers), PS3, PSP, DS being region free and only the Wii, PS2 and (technically) the 360 since it's not explicitly region free .....
the legal reasons for having a modchipped console in Australia are fast running out.
In principle, it's easier for the companies to combat piracy if they make their consoles region free. That way the only need for a modchip is piracy and thus it should be easier to crack down on. The only thing they lose is the artificially high prices on software.
(Of course all my points completely ignore the in-principle, legitimate homebrew scene mainly because I know little of it).
While this is true for the moment, new free trade agreements with the US means that mod-chips are set to become illegal again here in Australia.
I think that's the whole point of the law. The Aussie Government (influenced heavily by the ACCC) have basically given console manufacturers an ultimatum: stop region-locking their consoles, or put up with modchips.
So, for now modchips are legal. If region-locking is abandoned by console manufacturers, then they won't be anymore. I think this is fair, and it is a win-win for consumers.
This (along with the requirement for DVD players to be region-free) really proves that both major parties are serious when they talk about being pro-free-trade.
Actually, that's not the case.
That was going to happen at one point, but the Government decided that modchips weren't actually incompatible with the FTA and totally reversed their original position.
Basically, the Government stood up to the US (and to Sony) for once.
You can read more in this article:
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,20870905%5E15317%5E%5Enbv%5E15306,00.html
The "Copyright Amendment Bill 2006" passed the senate in early-December 2006, and became law on January 1.
It has not yet been said if it will allow user-created discs to be played, as no one has made any.
I would imagine that Wii executables are signed, but I don't think anyone knows for sure. If they aren't, then it will be easy to hack online games, and homebrew will be very easy to create.
GameCube modchips have been out for a while. The only system not currently hacked is PS3.
Exactly. At best this is a step towards a real modchip.
XBL - Follow Freeman
Max Drive Pro
You put a loader file on the memory cart, put the disc in the GC, and then it lets you boot homebrew/imports. This works on GC, but it is not compatible with Wii, not even for GC software, the max drive pro disc doesn't load up.
From the sounds of things, this could be perfectly opossible on the wii, maybe even easier. A code junkies disc that goes in the Wii, and boots code off the SD card. Put a file on the SD card, either some homebrew, or a Disc loader, and then swap disc to your imported game.
This technically would work for backups aswell, but it's also a great solution for homebrew/imports.
Is this sort of thing possible on the Wii, in the vein of the Xbox Connect Program created for the Xbox 1? Sort of like a service for the Gamecube, but using the Wii's hardware? I had heard that all the Wii functions shut down when you play a Gamecube game, but what if you could install something that halted that? You could theoretically play games like PSO, but maybe War Pipe could be continued in this way to allow Wii functionality.
Or maybe I'm just someone who has no grasp of modchip technology. >_>
I'd love to be rocking with the Wii, but right now I'm not going to import an American system to Korea when all I can buy here are Japanese region games. It sucks and doubles the cost of gaming for me. I pay out the NOSE for locked consoles, so I'm just a DS import gamer.
I'm pissed that the one thing the PS3 got right was the region free thing. At least the Korean 360 in my region plays American games too if I wanted to pick it up.
I blame the region lock on NOE and their fear of imports. Damn them. STUPID Region locks.
The GC has been hacked inside and out as much as any other console. There are super-cheap drive chips (Xenos), firmware replacement mod chips (NinjaGC, ViperGC+Cobra, Qoob SX/Pro, etc), software exploits (PSO), and soft mods (Max Drive Pro, Action Replay + Memory Card or SDLoad + GCOS). There's even TMBINC's legit IPL replacement for Linux. I don't know why this stigma about the 'cube perpetuates when it's been hacked as much as the XBOX for even longer... the "drive chips" for GC predate the XBOX drive firmware crack and actually allow homebrew on the GC (the drive firmware hack on the XBOX only allows backups/piracy).
The real difference is that there is no major homebrew support due to the lack of a HDD and the XBOX SDKs (both legal and illegal).