Engadget

Wii update stops homebrew installs dead in their tracks

Thomas Ricker — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:58:00 EST

Oh Nintendo, did you really have to go and crush the dreams of so many homebrew faithful? Seems a Wii System Update released last night blocks new installations (existing installs are unaffected) of anything fakesigned like the Homebrew Channel. Perhaps the increased corporate vigilance comes in direct response to the very real threat posed by the Wii Backup Loader to run pirated Wii games. Regardless, this isn't the first time that homebrew developers have had to work around Nintendo's meddling. We'll let you know what they come up with -- until then, however, you might want to hold off on the IOS51 update if you're thinking of going homebrew anytime soon.

[Thanks, Matthew P.]

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Wii update stops homebrew installs dead in their tracks originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Twilight Hack returns to knock out Wii Menu 3.3

Paul Miller — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 20:18:00 EST

Nintendo talks a big talk, but has never invested heavily in actually protecting its systems from those nefarious homebrew junkies. While the Wii Menu 3.3 did slightly break the Twilight Hack, it didn't even bust up folks who already had the homebrew channel installed, and its protections against further hacks were minimal. Now the HackMii folks are back with Twilight Hack v0.1beta1, which bests Wii Menu 3.3, along with some other improvements for homebrew usage. We can't tell if this is incompetence or benevolence on Nintendo's part, or perhaps these hackers are just that good, but either way we're lovin' it JT-style.

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Twilight Hack returns to knock out Wii Menu 3.3 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Jun 2008 20:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wii Menu 3.3 already hacked, patch forthcoming

Nilay Patel — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:53:00 EST

Although the Wii Menu 3.3 update didn't undo the Twilight Hack for those who had already installed it, it did prevent new would-be homebrewers from getting their game on -- but like all attempts to outfox the hackers, it's fallen short, and in record time. According to hackmii, which figured out the workaround, the 3.3 update isn't exactly subtle in what it does to disable the hack -- quote the team, "We Are Not Impressed." No publicly-available patch is out yet, but give 'em time, they say they're working on it.

[Via Hack A Day]

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Wii Menu 3.3 already hacked, patch forthcoming originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wii Menu 3.3 update disables Twilight Hack for those who haven't already taken the plunge

Paul Miller — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:20:00 EST

Here's an odd one. We assumed Nintendo would be actively building software updates to kill off the Virtual Console-threatening homebrew that has been rapidly spreading to Wiis worldwide, but the Wii Menu 3.3's effect on hackers seems accidental at worst. The word on the street is that if you've already installed the homebrew channel onto your Wii, the 3.3 update will pose zero threat, but it patches up the Twilight Hack hole, meaning virgin consoles will have little hope for homebrew once they've updated to 3.3 -- until someone cracks it, of course. The update also lets you pull Miis from the Mii Plaza to the Mii Parade directly, a time for rejoicing, indeed.

[Thanks, Sean]

Filed under: Gaming

Wii Menu 3.3 update disables Twilight Hack for those who haven't already taken the plunge originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Homebrew SNES emulator released for the Wii

Joshua Topolsky — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 16:04:00 EST

Finally, Engadget editor Paul Miller's prayers have been answered -- in the form of a homebrew SNES emulator for the Wii. It's no secret that Paul is eerily obsessed with the SNES, and now he can get access to all his favorites (import or otherwise) with another Wii tweak. The well known emulator SNES9X has been ported to Nintendo's money maker, and it even includes support for the Wiimote (there are plans for future implementation of the Classic controller and two-player game modes). We're assuming this is all part of the much-loved Twilight Princess exploit, though they're a bit short on detail. Hit the read link and start breaking Nintendo's heart ASAP!

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Homebrew SNES emulator released for the Wii originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 Apr 2008 16:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wii "Twilight Hack" now works sans GameCube adapter

Paul Miller — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:44:00 EST

Have you been sitting on the sidelines while all the cool people stick Linux distros and Snes9x on their "Twilight Hack" Wiis? Seems like there aren't any more excuses to keep out of the game now that you can do the hack with a regular SD card in the Wii's regular SD card slot -- no more GameCube memory adapters required. No fancy boot sector surgery is required either, you just drop a .elf file onto your memory card and you're ready to go. Check out the video after the break if you still need more convincing.

Update: Now with actual video goodness after the break.

[Via Wii Fanboy]

Continue reading Wii "Twilight Hack" now works sans GameCube adapter

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Wii "Twilight Hack" now works sans GameCube adapter originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wii Tetris: homebrew edition

Joshua Topolsky — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 13:19:00 EST

If that unplayable version of Pong we saw for the Wii wasn't quite doing it for you, you 'll be happy to know that homebrewer Christian Auby (aka DesktopMan) has just hit the next stage in evolution: Tetris. That's right, you can now get a fully functioning version of the puzzler running on your Wii, thanks to that handy Twilight Princess hack, and what was probably a gargantuan amount of work on Auby's part. The game loads from the GameCube memory slot (using an SD adapter) out of Twilight Princess, but after the hack has been engaged you can jump back to the loader to pull something new off of a card, which should make experimenting a little bit easier. Check the video after the break to see how it all works.

[Thanks, Craig]

Continue reading Wii Tetris: homebrew edition

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Wii Tetris: homebrew edition originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 24 Feb 2008 13:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wii Pong: the Twilight Princess hack evolves

Joshua Topolsky — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 15:03:00 EST

Those hackers work fast. Two days ago, we saw a demo of the Zelda: Twilight Princess exploit, which allowed for the possibility of Nintendo's Wii to boot homebrew code off of SD cards via stack smashing (buffer overflow). Now a clever coder named Auby has gone ahead and extended the hack to load an ELF version of Pong which was originally coded for the GameCube. Right now the controls aren't functioning, but it appears that this is a work in progress, so we should be seeing updates to it soon. Check the video after the break to watch the breathtaking drama unfold.

[Thanks, Craig]

Continue reading Wii Pong: the Twilight Princess hack evolves

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Wii Pong: the Twilight Princess hack evolves originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Feb 2008 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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