Wiinja modchip enables Wii / GameCube backups to function

We've seen plenty of Wii hacks since its November release, and we've even seen a completely uninspiring "hack" to run backup discs, but this time, we're thinking it's for real. The Wiinja modchip is on the loose, and apparently it requires soldering to the Wii innards in order to function, but it purportedly allows for Wii and GameCube backups to be played back on the console. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of information beyond that, and there's just a single photo to instruct forthcoming owners how to correctly attach it, but if there's one thing that helps its case, it's the video. So go on, click on through for the YouTube demonstration, and start saving up those €40 ($52) it'll run you when this hits "commercialization."

[Via Engadget Spanish]

[Jypson @ Jan 26th 2007 3:21PM]

Oh-no, a game post. Here comes the inevitable my console is better than your console non-sense.

[Revels @ Jan 26th 2007 3:22PM]

LOL, 'backups'

[J. Evans Turner @ Jan 26th 2007 3:23PM]

My console is better than your console. ;)

[Nij @ Jan 26th 2007 3:26PM]

It never ceases to amaze me how much time Engadget spends promoting piracy with posts like this one. I guess that's the unique thing about blogs-- they don't have to pretend they have any integrity.

[Derrick @ Jan 26th 2007 3:44PM]

You do realize that there are valid reasons for backing up games/dvd's don't you? If you have kids it's a lot cheaper/easier to burn another copy of Madagascar rather than buy another one b/c the kids scratched the heck out of it. The same holds true with games.

[James @ Jan 26th 2007 3:42PM]

Yes, Nij, it's a damn shame Engadget feels the need to post stories like this one, because people who know enough to be able to mod their consoles, and find torrents of games and/or rip their own, surely would not be able to find news like this anywhere else. It's a good thing there's nothing like an *Internet* where stories like this can be searched for, with some kind of "search engine" or something.



Man, I'm in a *really* sarcastic mood today. I wonder why? Anyway, it sucks that Wii is going to suffer the same piracy crap as other consoles now, but at least Wiiconnect24 should be able to detect hacks like this with proper patching (probably). I hope the Big N is already working on blacklisting...

[JohnAllison @ Jan 26th 2007 3:44PM]

I do wonder if the wiinja could be disabled through software updates from nintendo. I certainly wouldn't solder something that could overridden with software.

Piracy v. Backup. Well it is nice to see that I would be able to preserve the discs I purchased.

Also note in the demo that there is a VHS tape in the TV/VHS used to showcase the hacked wii.

[Wii Lenny @ Jan 26th 2007 3:48PM]

Awesome, Will be defently getting one of these bad boys installed.

[SSpectre @ Jan 26th 2007 3:49PM]

That video should have been 45 seconds long...

I would have liked to actually have seen playtime on Zelda instead of just loading the intro and ending at the "insert nunchuck into wiimote".

[moofree @ Jan 26th 2007 3:51PM]

Exciting!

[WolfpacK @ Jan 26th 2007 3:53PM]

What are you supposed to do when your dog ejects the DVD from your wii and puts a bite mark on it? Are you supposed to just buy another copy of the game. Backups are always handy in such situations.

[Tom @ Jan 26th 2007 8:02PM]

Buy another copy of the game?

The short answer is "Yes."

The long answer is "Yes because that's a ridiculous premise."

[chbob @ Jan 26th 2007 3:57PM]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMwpbDk8qec - video from the forums.
Seems kinda fishy to me...if you look on the screen before he puts in the first disk it starts showing the buffer icon before he even inserts it. There is also nothing that shows how the cables are routed.

[rp @ Jan 26th 2007 3:57PM]

I wonder why it took so long to get this news out if it was filmed on 12/17? I'd definitely be wary of anything that might kill your system with a simple update. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[Yaya @ Jan 26th 2007 4:01PM]

@Revels,
Yeah they have to say 'backups' just like headshops have to say their pipes are for smoking tobacco. Like anyone smokes tobacco out of a four foot bong.

[JeffNLA @ Jan 26th 2007 4:13PM]

Well said Yaya!

I hope all these people brick their Wii's

[mitch @ Jan 26th 2007 4:02PM]

By the way, this is a real product. It's been confirmed by numerous sources, including Costello at GBATemp.

[J. Evans Turner @ Jan 26th 2007 4:44PM]

As an extreme Nintendo fanatic since childhood, I have spent a large portion out of every paycheck on Nintendo hardware, software, and other paraphernalia. I am still extremely interested in this as a way to preserve my software investments. So lay off and stop wishing that I'll brick my Wii. I would not do anything to cause financial loss to Nintendo, yet I own backup devices for Nintendo 64, Gameboy, and Gamecube. My library of authentic software titles is astounding. I do not hesitate to call this a "backup" enabler rather than just another piracy tool.

[Directive0 @ Jan 26th 2007 5:11PM]

And while we're at it, lets kill those damn potheads too!

[Asteron @ Jan 26th 2007 4:23PM]

Since when do you see printed color logos on generic 8 pin IC packages?! When was the last time you saw an 8-pin mod chip anyway? This just looks like a generic chip with a stupid logo sticker on it. Very FAKE FAKE FAKE.

[Spencer @ Jan 26th 2007 8:11PM]

"When was the last time you saw an 8-pin mod chip anyway?"
Xbox v1.0-1.5 via the LPC bus only uses 10. Some versions use more wires, but those aren't required. 8 is plausible. Internet videos often are not, though.

[Charles @ Jan 26th 2007 4:31PM]

JohnAllison @ Jan 26th 2007 3:44PM
...
Also note in the demo that there is a VHS tape in the TV/VHS used to showcase the hacked wii.
___
I was thinking the same thing the whole time, if you noticed, these videos are always done in ways where you barely see the guys hand, but there is a video, thats number 1, number 2: how come its always Zelda thats the one being hacked? I mean nintendo uses special encoding for their CDs, thats why it took forever to come up with a proper modchip for the GCN...btw, its called qoobchip, and i've seen it in action, its quite good, although it makes the GCN heat up

[JeffNLA @ Jan 26th 2007 4:50PM]

Well J. Evans Turner - you are the one in a million that uses backups legitimately.

I have owned modded systems before. I will not own one again. If I have a damaged disk - the manufacturer has always replaced them.

[JeffNLA @ Jan 26th 2007 4:50PM]

Well J. Evans Turner - you are the one in a million that uses backups legitimately.

I have owned modded systems before. I will not own one again. If I have a damaged disk - the manufacturer has always replaced them.

[John B @ Jan 26th 2007 4:47PM]

Why is it so outrageous that people would actually want to *shock* backup their games?

I would *love* to be able to make a copy of my Wii games and safely tuck the originals away where they're not going to be damaged or man-handled by any of my daughters' friends who come over and want to play it. I don't have any GC games (yet) but I would love to be able to play from backups of those as well while keeping the originals safely tucked away. I don't have any GC games (yet), but I would love to be able to make backups of those discs as well.

I have no interest in defrauding Nintendo. This is the first, new (as in "not used") console I've purchased since the Sega Genesis and that should say something about what I think of the Wii. I think Nintendo's done a hell of a good job with this thing, and I'm more than willing to actually buy the games that I want to play.

I'm really fed up with you people who ALWAYS and AUTOMATICALLY assume that mods like this would never, NEVER be used for any kind of legitimate use. Nice high horse you got there. How do you get from there to your pedestal?

[John B @ Jan 26th 2007 4:48PM]

"I don't have any GC games (yet) but I would love to be able to play from backups of those as well while keeping the originals safely tucked away. I don't have any GC games (yet), but I would love to be able to make backups of those discs as well."

Oh, for Pete's sake... I'll proofread better next time.

[JeffNLA @ Jan 26th 2007 4:53PM]

I always find it amusing when info like this comes out - people start crowing about how wonderful it would be to back up the games THEY own.

But - the internet has TERABYTES of game torrents.. Hmmmm

[John B @ Jan 26th 2007 4:58PM]

"I have owned modded systems before. I will not own one again. If I have a damaged disk - the manufacturer has always replaced them."

That's a nice gesture of them, but they are under *no* obligation to do that and I would not assume that every manufacturer will be as generous. I'd rather have the satisfaction of knowing that I can grab the original from its safe location and have a copy burned in a matter of minutes or hours if necessary, and then tuck the original away back where it will be nice and safe.

Yep, I guess that makes me a pirate. Avast, ye!

[Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Jan 26th 2007 6:47PM]

I would opine that biggest source of piracy is ... crappy experience. (Well, lack of money is actually reason number 0 - but that's clear w/o any explanation.)

If you have bought several PC games which turned out to be total crap - and then shops tried to refuse return of the games (thanks to advanced "on-line activation" features) - you would think twice before buying any other game.

I've been in the shoes before with e.g. SimCity 3000 which turned out to be totally unplayable on any hardware available at the time or e.g. Quake4 which turned out to be not shooter but fancy video show with accidental action. I'm routinely trying games downloaded from BT before considering buying: HOMM5, NWN1/NWN2, Morrowind, Doom3 and many more. (Demos are no good either: e.g. my friend had a RPG which was constantly crashing on second map - demo worked perfectly but contained only one first map.)

I know I am in minority, but well if anything I have learned from several years working with FLOSS/GNU/Linux - it is to respect licensing. And that things cost precisely as much as you have paid for them.

[RazorX @ Jan 26th 2007 5:16PM]

Well, the only reason these backups are able to be made is due to debug features being left in certain drives that share their roots with the drives in the cube/wii. This constitutes a serious breach of faith in regards to Nintendo's copy protection system, and they would probably be entitled to colect damages from the drive manufacturers should they wish to.

[some person @ Jan 26th 2007 5:17PM]

Where are all of those discs disappearing to? And how did that disc get on top of the Wii that quickly?

[Austin @ Jan 26th 2007 5:41PM]

"And how did that disc get on top of the Wii that quickly?"

As though that were the most conspicuous part of the video.

There is not reason to think that it couldn't be modded but the vhs is a little suspicious and i was a little thrown off by the icon changing prior to the disk even attempting to being put in, but i dont have a wii so i don't really know.

[Igor @ Jan 26th 2007 5:27PM]

Don't care about backups, I buy the games, and treat them well, but if this lets me play imports, I'll be happy.

[NickVS @ Jan 26th 2007 5:56PM]

I dont know why there is all this modded console backlash, youd think at this site most people would think it was cool to be able reverse engineer something and unlock its potential. And I dont just mean backup games (although that is nice to be able to do in itself).

Have any of you seen the Xbox Media Center? Its pretty incredible homebrew software.

[SporkRocker @ Jan 26th 2007 6:06PM]

NickVS, thank you for not losing your head, saying this will bring about Armageddon. I would love to see wii homebrew done. Rather than using Opera. Or buying vc games I already purchased at release retail price.

Although, I'm interested how this will turn out with modding in this generation. Microsoft isn't letting you do it to their precious 360, unless you don't update. I wonder if Sony and Nintendo will so vilegent. I hope not.

[David @ Jan 26th 2007 8:07PM]

If it was filmed on Sunday 17th of the 12th (December), then why is the News Channel present? Totally fake.

[T-man @ Jan 27th 2007 3:06PM]

This could def be fake. There is now wiring shown to the tv, that point about the buffering is a good one, some one could jsut be inserting the real things into another wii off camera.

[Kraln @ Jan 28th 2007 12:31AM]

"I'm really fed up with you people who ALWAYS and AUTOMATICALLY assume that mods like this would never, NEVER be used for any kind of legitimate use. Nice high horse you got there. How do you get from there to your pedestal?"

Sorry, but there is no way that this mod can be used for legitimate purposes. Here's why.

The Nintendo Gamecube had two forms of copy protection. They used a dvd format variant ( easy to get around ) and they used a hash of the dvd data that the drive has to authenticate before it'll boot a game. The DVD drive is the weak point here - there are two ways to disable the authentication - issue a secret command to the drive controller (it's a password, I believe it's MATSUISHA GAME-DISK or something), or access a serial interface to issue the password.

The Wii has the same issues, with one exception: discs are encrypted with a private key, and only signed games will run. They changed the password (made it lower case) and moved the serial port on the dvd, so getting the gamecube modchip to work on a wii was trivial, but the important part is the encryption. There is *no* way to run homebrew on a Nintendo Wii through this method, period. This is only good for piracy.

[Joby @ Jan 28th 2007 4:16AM]

Guys...
As already stated somewhere it states 17/12 on the machine...

But if you look closely - the news channel is up and running - I could have sworn this only came out 26/01...

Is he some sort of time traveller???

JM2C

[Josh L @ Jan 28th 2007 6:20AM]

Just want to say that, as an expat in Japan, being able to play games without region encoding makes this chip more than worthwhile. Piracy vs backups is NOT the only issue here.

[GoonieGooGoo @ Jan 28th 2007 12:49PM]

Having Backups and playing imports is a legitamate use.....not everyone that backs up their games is condoning privacy or blatantly sharing their backups with others.

I can tall you that I have 4 PS2s in 3 different locations......as I travel alot lugging all my games was a major major pain.

Once HD Loader came out it was an absolute godsend.....I now have 200GB HDDs in all my PS2s and store all my originals in a bookcase at my main house and customize the games on the system for the location (all my gun games for the 65" CRT Projection TV, all arcade classics in the game room, etc.).

I find it amusing that everyone is SHOCKED that this has occurred so soon with the Wii....it isn't like its cutting edge tech.

Nintendo makes probably quite a bit of profit on the hardware accounting for costs of scale....Think of how much profit they are going to make on selling the pack-in games as retail products (i.e. Wii SPORTS (Selling in Japan)....and Wii PLAY (Selling in US).

[joe smith @ Jan 29th 2007 12:04PM]

Nice free advertising for piracy. "Back-ups" my ass.