AfterDawn: News

Mod-resistant Wiis hit American retail stores

Late last month we reported that mod-resistant Nintendo Wii consoles had hit Japanese retail outlets in an effort to curb piracy. Now it seems that those same consoles are making their way to North American shelves.

Although Nintendo hasn't done much in terms of changing the hardware, they have made the PCB connections alot harder to interface with the current generation of mod chips. The three pins that are currently used by mod chips are physically cut making it almost impossible to modify the new consoles.



Many modders from forums around the net have purchased the new consoles to see what they are up against. Many have concluded that this round of consoles is just temporary until Nintendo can release a completely new chip set that will make it completely impossible to modify.

Source:
DailyTech

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 6 Jun 2007 8:00

• Previous article

• Dementium: The Ward for Nintendo DS

• Next article

• NBC will allow web syndication of its media content

• 39 comments

• spydah

  All they are doing is opening things up with this as a new challenge. I can see in the next few months its gonna be a new break through and they gonna be mad. It has been many attempts to keep them from being able to do this and each time they said it was hard or harder to do it and it was done. So sooner or later it will be done. Its way to many creative minds.

  6.6.2007 08:11 #1

• spydah

  This kinda reminds me of when Billiam Gates said nobody can hack his OS and what have people done every year. I know Nintendo is a completely different company but this is a direct challenge to those who enjoy making them look like fools for saying this.

  6.6.2007 08:20 #2

• NexGen76

  Just a waste of money from nintendo this system will be cracked before the summer over.

  6.6.2007 08:32 #3

• pierrrre

  Already done!
  
  h**p://psx-scene.com/forums/wii-modchips/57077-rumor-about-wii-NTSC-j-cant-modded-4.html

  6.6.2007 08:49 #4

• scott2k7

  proper link please

  6.6.2007 09:48 #5

• windsong

  Seem to remember Sony saying the same thing about the PS2. It really makes me wonder..who is Nintendo addressing? The modder/hacker community, or the noobs who wouldn't bother anyway?

  6.6.2007 10:21 #6

• ZippyDSM

  Quote:release a completely new chip set that will make it completely impossible to modify. until the new set of mod chips breaks it
  
  scott2k7
  it is a proper link,the ad filter here locks onto words and nukes links pics and other things in order to put a link to that word.
  
  so you need to unlink a link
  
  http:
  //psx-scene.com/forums/wii-modchips/57077-rumor-about-wii-NTSC-j-cant-modded-4.html
  
  
  otherwise you get this
  NTSC-j-cant-modded-4.html" target="_blank">http://psx-scene.com/forums/wii-modchips...t-modded-4.html
  see

  6.6.2007 10:30 #7

• malcdogg

  Nintendo, the fact that you're trying to stop me is gonna make it that much sweeter to mod your console and play my backups and (if I'm lucky) homebrew.

  6.6.2007 11:04 #8

• sk8flawzz

  hm so what kind of things can you do with a modified wii?
  like play 'backup' games and such? i dont know sh1t about modding consoles, except the PSP muahahaha

  6.6.2007 11:07 #9

• scott2k7

  backups homebrew lots of things

  6.6.2007 11:55 #10

• borhan9

  Give it time and everything will be possible :)

  6.6.2007 14:14 #11

• mglez86

  well, like they said, it's already posible, i am surprised that all those who love wii are not mad now, well, brings me back to my point that those who hate on a console don't do it because they know about it, but because they want to feel like the one they do have was the right choice. well, i'll just go play super mario on nintendo x_x

  6.6.2007 14:34 #12

• lawndog

  I think Nintendo just made this statement to throw a "joking challange" Any company that states it's unhackable, uncrackable, not possible to decypt, is
  1.Just fooling themselves or
  2. Were lied to themselves and believe that the boogyman lives under their bed.(Everybody knows he lives in the closet)
  Whoever came up with this idea sold it to nintendo, and the suckers bought it. Just like the AACS The company that does the dvd coding?)
  There are how many billion people in this world? Somebody is always smarter.
  Hell, when satalite came out........No more people stealing free cable. No we just get new cards.
  Douches.
  Just my thoughts
  LD

  6.6.2007 16:24 #13

• djeazyg

  Publicity stunt plain and simple. I'm surprised Sony hasn't tried it yet.

  6.6.2007 17:09 #14

• WierdName

  This is quite retarded if you ask me because all they did was throw down the gauntlet and now the hackers will come running for the challenge.

  6.6.2007 17:23 #15

• limelight

  Letter from Nintendo:
  
  "We are proud to announce our "modproof" Wii. This will prevent hackers from using modch-[long pause] ...what...? Whaddya mean its already cracked!! We havent even released it yet! SOB!! You gotta be ****** kidding me!"

  6.6.2007 18:45 #16

• WierdName

  Originally posted by limelight:Letter from Nintendo:
  
  "We are proud to announce our "modproof" Wii. This will prevent hackers from using modch-[long pause] ...what...? Whaddya mean its already cracked!! We havent even released it yet! SOB!! You gotta be ****** kidding me!"Amusing but wouldnt that be a press release/address thing instead of a letter?

  6.6.2007 18:48 #17

• duckNrun

  gawd... dremmeling into a chip to access the cut feet to resolder them.
  
  looks like the mouse just got better before the better mousetrap became mainstream!
  
  pmsl

  6.6.2007 23:50 #18

• scott2k7

  cant ya just get a bit of pcb board like the old wii and attach it to the bit cut out then put the chip on

  7.6.2007 00:21 #19

• spydah

  Yeah this is definitely a publicity stunt to get more people to get a Wii. Means more money for them in the end. If more regular people and people they consider hackers, piraters or whatever buys a Wii for this challenge it keeps them ahead in the game system wars for the time being.

  7.6.2007 04:26 #20

• eandtc

  Quote:This is quite retarded if you ask me because all they did was throw down the gauntlet and now the hackers will come running for the challenge.This statement was made for the benefit of the content-providers, not the end user.

  7.6.2007 07:22 #21

• eiffel65

  Originally posted by mglez86:well, like they said, it's already posible, i am surprised that all those who love wii are not mad now, well, brings me back to my point that those who hate on a console don't do it because they know about it, but because they want to feel like the one they do have was the right choice. well, i'll just go play super mario on nintendo x_x
  Not only that, but it's a possibility that they may end up shelling out more money just for it to be mod-resistant.

  7.6.2007 07:36 #22

• SProdigy

  Originally posted by spydah:Yeah this is definitely a publicity stunt to get more people to get a Wii. Means more money for them in the end. If more regular people and people they consider hackers, piraters or whatever buys a Wii for this challenge it keeps them ahead in the game system wars for the time being.I don't think the Big N is having a problem with selling the Wii though...

  7.6.2007 07:56 #23

• spydah

  That may be true now but in a few months when all the systems are pushing to make their holiday sales this could change. Now I still believe by next year the Wii will start to fall back due to people wanting more and the Wii is already giving its customers the more now. Its only so much you can do with a system thats already pushing its maxed output. Oh and I know the loyal Nintendo peeps gonna have something else to say but hey the whole thing about being in competition is to never show your hand to early so keep a look out for the consoles.

  7.6.2007 08:39 #24

• SProdigy

  Yeah, I'll have to defend that. It's not like Nintendo is holding back consoles, since they're putting out more in sales each month more than the last. As for showing their hand first, we have yet to see Mario and Metroid, which looks like they will land just in time for the holiday battle. With Halo coming out for 360, I'm interested in seeing what Sony has to counter, now that MSG4 is pushed back to 08

  7.6.2007 09:31 #25

• SilvaJDS

  if hacker and modder buy this for new challenge
  then there gonna sell more wiis whch means nintendo is still winning the war lol??

  7.6.2007 09:36 #26

• windsong

  Quote:This statement was made for the benefit of the content-providers, not the end user.They're called "developers". Not "content providers".

  7.6.2007 09:37 #27

• iking

  damn i got one of this consoles. i brought to a guy that does modding and he said he couldnt do it. i just got my wii last week. hopefully they come up with something.

  7.6.2007 12:47 #28

• eandtc

  Get over it, windsong.

  7.6.2007 14:40 #29

• gozilla

  Quote:completely impossible to modifyhow many times have we heard this statement before?

  8.6.2007 00:37 #30

• georgeluv

  wow lets give game developers EVEN MORE reason to focus on the Wii and keep ps3 on the back burner. man the ps3 launch went sooo bad and it dosnt look like its getting better :(

  8.6.2007 05:35 #31

• voxaryx

  Ahaha. I totally read it as mud-proof Wiis. I click on the link, expecting to see a photo of a rubberized, off-roading Wii, but it's just some junk about modding. Why would anyone bother? There are hardly any games yet worth buying, let along taking the effort and risk of stealing.

  8.6.2007 06:21 #32

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by georgeluv:wow lets give game developers EVEN MORE reason to focus on the Wii and keep ps3 on the back burner. man the ps3 launch went sooo bad and it dosnt look like its getting better :(
  was the 360 any better off its first year? the PS3 is a ulgy duckling once Sony knocked 100 off it and more game trickle to it it will becoem the next dream cast........hey the DC was a great system :P
  
  LOL
  
  bad bad bad

  8.6.2007 12:13 #33

• Chanta

  Yeah, defenitly a publicity stunt!
  I dont have mine yet :( been waiting on it for a while now but its kinda hard in Latin America. Did you know that a STANDARD Wii console in Latin America costs around $430!! STANDARD!! NO BUNDLE OR ANYTHING!! IT DAMN WELL BETTER NOT BE MOD PROOF!! Anyway outbursts aside, has anyone played like old ROM backups on a Wii successfully?

  8.6.2007 12:33 #34

• diableria

  its about time till they hack it again, stop being greedy nintendo

  8.6.2007 14:28 #35

• jakewash

  Originally posted by diableria:its about time till they hack it again, stop being greedy nintendoUMMM....that's why they are in business to make as much money as possible, it's not greed when in a business enviroment. It just sucks to be a consumer.

  12.6.2007 10:54 #36

• djs2

  I got one of those this weekend and had it modded yesterday. He just chipped the chip back far enough to find the missing 3 legs to grab on to.

  12.6.2007 17:09 #37

• Unfocused

  Is it possible to make a mod-proof system?

  26.7.2007 19:31 #38

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by Unfocused: Is it possible to make a mod-proof system?
  sale the PS3 at 1G a pop then no one will want it....hehehehehe
  
  but really is its made it can be hacked
  

  
  
  FIGHT THE M.A.F.I.A.A.
  

  27.7.2007 08:31 #39