Topic: "Wii Mode"

[tendoboy1984]

Why does this even exist? Why must we go into "Wii Mode" just to play Wii games and purchase Wii software?

With the 3DS, you have direct access to all DSiWare from the main menu. No going into "DSi Mode" to play those games. And you can download DSiWare directly from the eShop; on the Wii U you have to load up the Wii Shop Channel and use Wii Points to purchase WiiWare and VC titles.

What I would like is for Nintendo to copy what they did with the 3DS. Make the eShop the central store for all your purchases, whether they are for Wii U or WiiWare.

[Kytim89]

In order for the Wii U to run actual Wii software it must enter Wii mode to do so. The reason for this is so that every nook and and crany of the game is emulated properly. When one piece of hardware emulates another it must uses its own hardware to accomodate what it is emulating. For example, when the Wii is playing a VC title for the SNES, such as Chrono Trigger, for example, the Wii is no longer a Wii as you see it but an actual SNES. The Wii conforms its own technology to suit the emulator that it is powering. Therefore the Wii has entered "SNES mode." The reason for this is so the game can be run properly without glitches. Now, in the case of the Wii U's VC, Nintendo has to retool the code of emulator in order for the ability to use the Gamepad for Wiiware and VC titles.

[MrPhishfood]

I don't know about software emulation but Nintendo did say that some of the Wii hardware is intertwined with the Wii U hardware to cut back on costs. I think they are going for as much hardware emulation as possible.

As opposed to the first PS3's that came out which had the entire PS2 hardware on a single chip, very costly for Sony.

So I would think because you are in Wii mode the console is using parts that Wii U mode would normally be using so you can't really have both. Like how Optimus Prime can be in humanoid or robot mode but not some kind of humanoid/robot hybrid mode.

[NWR_insanolord]

What I would like is for Nintendo to copy what they did with the 3DS. Make the eShop the central store for all your purchases, whether they are for Wii U or WiiWare.

If I had to guess, a year from now that's how it's going to work. It's becoming increasingly clear that, for whatever reason, Nintendo is not prepared for this launch. A lot of these missing or subpar OS features are going to be fixed via firmware updates over time.

[Kytim89]

What I would like is for Nintendo to copy what they did with the 3DS. Make the eShop the central store for all your purchases, whether they are for Wii U or WiiWare.

If I had to guess, a year from now that's how it's going to work. It's becoming increasingly clear that, for whatever reason, Nintendo is not prepared for this launch. A lot of these missing or subpar OS features are going to be fixed via firmware updates over time.

Nintendo is going to try and fix these features via firmware relatively quickly in order to satiate the consumers that are going to raise Hell.
 
If the Wii U had a a beter of the SNES emulator would it be able to better emulate games such as Yoshi's Island and Star Fox?

[NWR_insanolord]

I don't think most people care enough to raise hell. And Nintendo could have emulated Star Fox and Yoshi's Island just fine on the Wii if they'd wanted to; I've played both games in homebrew emulators on the Wii without any issues.

[MrPhishfood]

1 or 2 years on they'll probably release a new iteration without the backwards compatibility at a cheaper price.

[lolmonade]

1 or 2 years on they'll probably release a new iteration without the backwards compatibility at a cheaper price.

From my understanding, it's software emulation, so despite your attempt to make a joke about them gutting the Wii's Gamecube backwards compatibility, there would be no profit to them removing backwards compatibility from the Wii U.

[tendoboy1984]

How do you know it's software emulation? The original Nintendo DS had GBA hardware built in, and the 3DS is a variation of the DS' hardware. So why wouldn't the Wii U have Wii hardware built in?

The Wii U's BC could be a combination of software emulation and built-in hardware.

And by "Wii Mode", I mean having to manually boot up the separate Wii OS just to play Wii games. The emulation should always run in the background, without any user interference. That's how it works on the 3DS; all DSiWare is accessible from the 3DS' home menu.

[stevey]

Has there been any confirmation that the Wii mode still limits the amount software to only 512MB of space?

And by "Wii Mode", I mean having to manually boot up the separate Wii OS just to play Wii games. The emulation should always run in the background, without any user interference. That's how it works on the 3DS; all DSiWare is accessible from the 3DS' home menu.

With Wii software, any and all homebrew code can and will be executed and all file can/will be modified. If they don't check for EVERYTHING the WiiU will be hack. For example, just by merely loading the Wii's title/banner screens in the Wii U menu there could be a way to modify the banner so it crashes the menu in a way that it starts executing homebrew code long before any switch to Wii mode. Since Nintendo is lazy, they avoid any risk by sandboxing Wii mode before it looks at anything there.

There other ways, but they require time and hence money...

[MrPhishfood]

From my understanding, it's software emulation, so despite your attempt to make a joke about them gutting the Wii's Gamecube backwards compatibility, there would be no profit to them removing backwards compatibility from the Wii U.

It wasn't a joke. In one of the Iwata asks they said there was input from the engineers that previously worked on the Wii hardware, this allowed them to integrate the Wii hardware with the Wii U. So instead of having the Wii U and Wii circuitry sit side by side, some of the Wii circuitry reuses the Wii U circuitry.

http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wiiu/console/0/2
Near the bottom of the page

It would make sense I think. As the Wii U becomes popular Nintendo will see how many people still use backwards compatibility and make a version that doesn't include it. I think backwards compatibility is important for early adopters but not for the general public that will use it exclusively for Wii U games. Removing unneeded hardware makes the console cheaper to manufactuer and cheaper to sell, a win win for everyone.

[lolmonade]

How do you know it's software emulation? The original Nintendo DS had GBA hardware built in, and the 3DS is a variation of the DS' hardware. So why wouldn't the Wii U have Wii hardware built in?

The Wii U's BC could be a combination of software emulation and built-in hardware.

And by "Wii Mode", I mean having to manually boot up the separate Wii OS just to play Wii games. The emulation should always run in the background, without any user interference. That's how it works on the 3DS; all DSiWare is accessible from the 3DS' home menu.

Now that you mention it, I'm not certain about it.  I just thought I read somewhere that it was software emulation.

[magicmilner]

Has anyone tried loading uo a wii game yet? I've seen rumblings that the Wii games do look a tad better through the Wii U

[tendoboy1984]

Has there been any confirmation that the Wii mode still limits the amount software to only 512MB of space?

And by "Wii Mode", I mean having to manually boot up the separate Wii OS just to play Wii games. The emulation should always run in the background, without any user interference. That's how it works on the 3DS; all DSiWare is accessible from the 3DS' home menu.

With Wii software, any and all homebrew code can and will be executed and all file can/will be modified. If they don't check for EVERYTHING the WiiU will be hack. For example, just by merely loading the Wii's title/banner screens in the Wii U menu there could be a way to modify the banner so it crashes the menu in a way that it starts executing homebrew code long before any switch to Wii mode. Since Nintendo is lazy, they avoid any risk by sandboxing Wii mode before it looks at anything there.

There other ways, but they require time and hence money...

What the ****? I wasn't talking about hacking or homebrew, I don't care about that crap. I was complaining about having to boot up the Wii Menu OS ("Wii Mode") just to play Wii games and download WiiWare.

[stevey]

Why does this even exist? Why must we go into "Wii Mode" just to play Wii games [...]?

....

What the ****? I wasn't talking about hacking or homebrew, I don't care about that crap. I was complaining about having to boot up the Wii Menu OS ("Wii Mode") just to play Wii games and download WiiWare.

And the reason for that is due to homebrew it's dangerous for the WiiU to access any content that's writable by Wii applications which includes the Wii applications's title screen. That's why the WiiU boots a sandboxed Wii menu first before it touches anything Wii related. They are taking a very cautious approach to security.

I just thought I read somewhere that it was software emulation

It's definitely not pure software emulation, that requires far too much processing power to pull off without trouble. You might be thinking of a hypervisor which is very different from an emulator.