Wii modchips hit a snag, won't work with some recent Wiis

[wraggster]

via engadget (http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wii-modchips-hit-a-snag-wont-work-with-some-recent-wiis/)

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/2007/02/wii-drive-mod-incompatible.jpg

This 1st generation of Wii modchips was humming along so smoothly, but it looks like a recent Nintendo manufacturing modification has rained on their parade for the time being. While the chips do work fine in early Wiis, and that DVD upgradability should keep 'em humming for some time to come, the Wiinja, CycloWiz and WiiKey chips all fail to work with Wiis running the D2B Panasonic chipset, which shows up in certain Wiis, mostly ones purchased in late January / early February. The only way to check for the chipset is to pry open the Wii and look for yourself, and the incompatibility means that even the DVD upgradability won't allow current modchips to run on these systems. Both the CycloWiz and Wiinja teams have confirmed the problem, and are already working on new versions to get around the Panasonic chipset, but you might want to make sure your Wii is compatible before you blow your cash on a non-working modchip.

[SwordOfZork]

Thanks a bunch for taking the original story down when all signs pointed to it being a rumor. I was impressed with how quickly you acted on that.

Its too bad its been confirmed now, though.

[BlueCrab]

This actually makes me very happy. Nintendo is taking a stand against the Warez Monkeys. Bravo.

I now just await the Wii firmware update that blocks them from the original chipset too. No doubt it'll come eventually.

[SwordOfZork]

This actually makes me very happy. Nintendo is taking a stand against the Warez Monkeys. Bravo.

I now just await the Wii firmware update that blocks them from the original chipset too. No doubt it'll come eventually.

First off, this change was made long before the announcement of any actual specs of modchips. Nintendo was supposedly releasing Wiis with this chipset back when modchips for the Wii were only whispered rumors. Its much more likely that Nintendo was just trying a different chip in a rush to produce enough Wiis to meet the huge demand. Its entirely possible that this one could be just as easily cracked. Its even possible that the same modchips might work in these systems, using different solder points.

Also, theres so many things that might (and will, in some cases) make a firmware update useless.

1. Its not even known if the chips are capable of being detected by Nintendo. Its only a drive-modification, which are generally much harder to detect.

2. A user could choose to not download the update.

3. Two out of the three modchips currently on the market are flashable and upgradable. If/when Nintendo releases an update to disable the chip, the chip manufacturers could release an update to re-enable it.

4. These are only the first-generation chips, and are already offering very impressive features. You can bet that better, faster, less-detectable, and constantly evolving ways of pirating games on the Wii will emerge on the scene, and fast. Even soft-mods might not be out of the question.

[VampDude]

Wii mod-chips suck anyway!

[SwordOfZork]

Wii mod-chips suck anyway!

Care to elaborate on that incredibly informative statement?

[VampDude]

Care to elaborate on that incredibly informative statement?

Yeah, mainly because this piece of CRAP only allows you to play backups of own region Wii games and backup GameCube games...

...It's not like this piece of sh!t actually does anything interesting such as alowing imports to be played - and you obviously support piracy, which is'nt welcome here!

[bmemike]

There are endless reasons (that do not include piracy) that people want to use modchips for. Homebrew is one of them. Legal backups are another (many of us in the IT industry know how important having backups of your data is).

Beyond that, SwordOfZork said nothing that implies that he supports piracy in any way.

So before you accuse people of illegal activity and try to impose the opinion that the only useful thing is getting a region-free Wii, please realize that your opinions are just that and other people may not share them.

In short, feel free to share your opinions... but stop being an ass.