Topic: Wii U supposedly hacked

[TJ Spyke]

A group of hackers are claiming they have cracked the Wii U, finding a way for people to circumvent the systems copy protection ad play pirated games from USB media. They say it's compatible with all Wii U models and regions and does not require soldering. The group claiming to do it apparently made one of the most popular drive chips for the Wii.


It can't be verified yet if this is true, but what impact do you guys see this having if it is? This is not somebody coming up with a way to mod a system to play homebrew games, these guys did this specifically as a way to let people pirate games.


http://www.gamespot.com/news/wii-u-copy-protection-hacked-claims-modding-group-6407737?

[Adrock]

It might have an impact if more that 300 people actually owned the console.

I wonder if the people who even buy Nintendo consoles are the hacking type. There will always be a subset of users who hack, but in general, I don't know if this will be much more than a blip on the radar.

[Fjurbanski]

I can't imagine this becoming a big deal, as in, something that will have significant negative affects on Nintendo. If the Wii U manages to become successful, it'll be because they managed to convince the average consumer to purchase one. Just like they did with the Wii and like Microsoft did with the 360. The average consumer doesn't bother with this stuff.

[Oblivion]

Once it's a software hack, it'll be widespread. A friend of mine refuses to buy the Wii U until it can be easily software hacked.

[ejamer]

It matters if publishers and/or developers think it matters.  Any justification they have for not releasing games on Wii U is bad news for Nintendo and for early adopters of the system.

[Stogi]

If this means I can play GC games on the Gamepad, then I'm all for it!

[BranDonk Kong]

Wii U has been able to play homebrew for months (in Wii mode).

[alegoicoe]

I think this could actually increase sales for the console

[pokepal148]

It matters if publishers and/or developers think it matters.  Any bad excuse they have for not releasing games on Wii U is bad news for Nintendo and for early adopters of the system.

fixed

[nickmitch]

I think will likely affect when we get the next system update and what it contains.

[BranDonk Kong]

ODDEs are bad. There's really no legitimate use other than piracy. Maybe Nintendo is putting this out there as "Greek Lightning" to get out of the race...

[lolmonade]

If this means I can play GC games on the Gamepad, then I'm all for it!

[Fjurbanski]

If this means I can play GC games on the Gamepad, then I'm all for it!

so this IDIOT chops up his SPICE ORANGE Gamecube controller to make this monstrosity? He doesn't deserve that glorious controller.

[Shaymin]

It might have an impact if more that 300 people actually owned the console.

Damnit, ruined what I was going to say.

Ah well, might as well do it - now you'll be able to pirate the following popular WiiU games:

[ShyGuy]

Some people say the hacking of the PSP increased system sales.

[Oblivion]

But that was a portable system. Even though I love it when game consoles are hackable, I doubt it'll increase sales too much. Did the Homebrew Channel ever cause more people to buy Wiis?

[Shaymin]

Some people say the hacking of the PSP increased system sales.

Probably, but it put software sales in the tank. Same thing happened to the DS when flashcarts hit critical mass in '09 or so.

[Oblivion]

Some people say the hacking of the PSP increased system sales.

Same thing happened to the DS when flashcarts hit critical mass in '09 or so.

Wait, seriously? I always thought that flashcarts never really impacted the DS, considering you had to pay for one.

[Shaymin]

Flashcarts had a noticeable effect on DS software sales, to the point that Nintendo went to the lengths of lobbying to make them illegal.

The point is you could buy the DS, buy a flashcart, and *never* have to buy a game. A lot of sellers in the UK especiall were selling DS systems with "40 games" (one flashcart loaded up with all the relevant games).

[TJ Spyke]

Flashcarts had a noticeable effect on DS software sales, to the point that Nintendo went to the lengths of lobbying to make them illegal.

And Nintendo succeeded. They are illegal in Japan, the UK, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

[Oblivion]

Why didn't Sony do the same thing with the PSP?

[TJ Spyke]

Because DS piracy was done with a modchip. With the PSP, it was as simple as cutting a strip in the battery and downloading software (if a friend already did this, all you really need is to put their battery in your PSP, download the software, then give them back their battery). Sony did try revising the PSP to make it harder (it took about a year or 2 for the PSP-3000 to get hacked), but even those got hacked. You didn't actually need to buy anything to do it (though some sites already sold the modded "Pandora" batteries for those who didn't want to risk ruining their battery, which was possible if you messed up).

[BranDonk Kong]

Because DS piracy was done with a modchip. With the PSP, it was as simple as cutting a strip in the battery and downloading software (if a friend already did this, all you really need is to put their battery in your PSP, download the software, then give them back their battery). Sony did try revising the PSP to make it harder (it took about a year or 2 for the PSP-3000 to get hacked), but even those got hacked. You didn't actually need to buy anything to do it (though some sites already sold the modded "Pandora" batteries for those who didn't want to risk ruining their battery, which was possible if you messed up).

No it wasn't. Ever.

[TJ Spyke]

I was simplifying it down, but that is essentially what the R4 is.

[BranDonk Kong]

Flashcart != modchip.