ElementC writes "Team Twiizers, the group behind almost all of the Wii Homebrew scene, has released an update to the Homebrew Channel (and installer) that allows for installation on a Wii with the most recent update installed. While the team still recommends against installing the Nintendo update, those who accidentally updated or purchase games that require the update are no longer left out to dry. This update to the Homebrew Channel also adds SDHC support, a feature Nintendo has not implemented in vanilla Wiis. The community has also created an app that updates just the Wii Shop Channel — allowing users to purchase Wiiware and Virtual Console games without losing their homebrew. It took the team only two days to get the fix out."
no, it's one of these "stupid security holes in all their software" thing where just glancing in the general direction of a function reveals 20 exploits:-)
They do, however, keep honest men from temptation.
Honest men aren't tempted by an unlocked door. Door locks are designed to convince the casual thief to rob your neighbour.
Actually, DRM does not equate to a locked door. Here is what DRM, generally, does:
It encrypts the content with a key (sometimes unique to an instance of the media, sometimes it is shared among a whole release) and then that key is sent to the consumer via a different channel. For example on DVD players (of both new and old) the key is embedded in the DVD player on a chip (or, so much less securely, inside a sotware player).
This is DRM's only trick, hide the key a little bit!
In the end in order for the user view the content it has to be decrypted. Since the user has the key (in some form) to view the content then they can use that key to remove the DRM form that content.
I hope that you can see the DRM is not a locked door, it is more like a locked door with the key under the doormat!
Even when they secure the path all the way from the UV-ray disc to each dot in the LCD/plasma/OLED display in 2038, all one needs to get the color of each pixel with greater than 99.999% accuracy is half a dozen US$ 100 cheap cameras
True, analog reconversion defeats digital restrictions management on non-interactive works. But Nintendo publishes video games, which are interactive works.
You can't hack your way around this: if you want to get online, you have to play by the network's rules. Of course you could always make your own network, possibly with blackjack and hookers, but if the usefulness of a network is O(n^2) in the number of users...
If it is possible for you to pass your own information across this network, then it's possible to send information across this network anonymously. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darknet_(file_sharing) [wikipedia.org]
And while a darknet is necessarily more limited than an open system of sharing, you'd be surprised at how effective one can be, even with a small population. All it takes is one person on the darknet to obtain a copy of the material and put it up for everybody to get it. Private sharing networks are not uncommon
You're right though, the homebrew scene really does suck compared to the last generation of consoles. I was truly amazed at the things a modded xbox could do a few years ago. There doesn't seem to be anything close to that now which is a shame really.
You do need to consider that almost all of the Xbox homebrew (minus linux) was illegal to distribute in binary form due to the use of the official SDK. If we had the latest version of the Ninty SDK, I'm sure we could produce higher quality illegal homebrew in a shorter amount of time. Instead we're "stuck" with an entirely legal homebrew SDK that happens not to be as good as Nintendo's.
Then there's also the thing where the Xbox was an entirely familiar platform. x86, DirectX, etc. Porting stuff to it was pr
So the point of homebrew is to constantly emulate the same games you've played for years
Actually, the things that interest me the most about the Wii homebrew scene are:
1) The ability to back-up certain savegames that Nintendo and the game developers think shouldn't be backed up, despite the Wii having a facility for backing up savegames.
2) The fact that it supports SDHC, which is an embarrassing slap-in-the-face at Nintendo and maybe will shame them into providing a real update of their own to support it.
So how do those fit into your narrow-minded version of how you see the world?
The biggest news out of the whole thing for me is that they have added SDHC support through a _channel_ in the Wii dashboard. People have been speculating why the Wii would not support SDHC and if it was some hardware limitation...well, it seems like it isn't. Which really makes me wonder why Nintendo has not added it, yet...in this day and age it's almost getting hard to find a non-SDHC card...
Seriously...WTF. This isn't the first time some 3rd party tool squeezes more functionality out of hardware. But this should really be a no-brainer to implement for the big N.
I never said I could. But if it can be done with the Home Brew Channel, it could also be done with the vanilla Wii itself. Missing SDHC support is not a hardware limitation (as we can see now), it's merely the unwillingness of Nintendo.
who holds the sdhc patent? could be a patent related issue, they may use the standard hardware (which supports sdhc) to lower costs, but couldn't allow user to use it for licensing issues, also to lower costs.
Yes, it's almost certainly a licencing issue IMO. I imagine licence costs also provoked the switch from MP3 to AAC. If people are still complaining about the hideous space limits after next year's update (and I expect they will be) then I could see Nintendo ponying up for SDHC support. Maybe as a paid-for update as a way of recovering the licencing cost (see also Apple's 802.11n).
No. This isn't about patents, its about Nintendo being like Apple and Doing Whats Best For You (TM). They don't think that anyone would dare exceed the 512 MB system memory of the Wii, nor would anyone even think of filling up a 2 GB SD card with downloaded content. Honestly, who cares about SDHC support when Nintendo has 2 perfectly good USB ports that could be used for flash drives (and again, have with homebrew)
My guess is that Nintendo is pissed that everyone hasn't been buying their branded SD cards, and if they don't support SDHC, at some point when you can't buy SD cards from other vendors, Nintendo will start making even more money selling you their cards.
According to the blog, SDHC support can be done entirely in software [hackmii.com]. So it's just a matter of coding it in, both for homebrew creators (there will probably be a lib for it, if not one already) and for Nintendo.
I think the biggest reason why SDHC support is not added by default was to try and prevent ways for people to stick Wii ROMs (which are >2GB) onto SD cards and access them from that way somehow.
Of course, since the HBC and any other application can now do so natively, I guess this isn't a risk anymore.
The most recent revision to the SD flash card specification (SD High Capacity), it allows SD cards to break the size barriers that existed for the old standard.
Anything that opens up the Wii platform is good news, so a hearty cheer from me.
If Nintendo created a proper home-brew platform, making it easier and cheaper to make small games and apps, the Wii could become a killer home entertainment platform (especially if they add DVD and local storage support). Something along the lines of the iPhone/Android apps store, where you can sell cheap games and they take a small cut. Currently the selection on WiiWare is pretty limited unless you want old NES games.
If they did that, I'd become a Wii developer overnight.
These guys are nothing short of awesome:). Only two days after the update. For those of us who couldn't possibly afford a Nintendo dev kit (or get one if we could since we're not publishers) this is the only way we're able to write games on an actual Wii.
Thanks Team TWiizers!
That's nice. I'm sure profitable corporations need your sympathy.
The console is about as cheap as they get, and Nintendo put an incredible amount of research and effort into making the best games in the world. When do you folk feel a bit ethically obliged to let the company just make some money out of the good work they've done.
Nintendo sell the console at a profit. They make money off anyone who buys one, including the homebrewers. Anyway, Nintendo don't lease you a wii under a signed contract, they sell you one in a shop. Therefore, aren't they ethically obliged (not to mention legally) to let you do with it what you wish?
Secondly, the because its there argument. I cracked games in the past, way back in the days of C-64, All those Block executes on track 5 sector 5 etc. But I didn't distribute - I cracked it cause it was fun to do and for my own benefit - I didn't want to get in trouble, or ruin those software companies.
My goodness, not only did you not read the article, or summary, you also failed to even read the article title. NB: Home-brew.
They sell their product for profit?!!! The scoundrels!
I disagree with you on this. They are well within their rights to sell the wii at a profit.
Because, you know, most successful companies just give their stuff away.
I believe you are mistaken.
No, not when what you're doing with it is illegal.
Since when is homebrew illegal?
They are ethically obliged to do as much as possible to ensure you can't run illegal, unlicensed software on it.
What about legal software, legally licensed from homebrewers? Or legal software which you legally wrote yourself? How are they ethically obliged to stop you running legal, licensed software?
Just from a glance at the wiki, some of the games being made available are clones of Nintendo's own games!
And none of Nintendo's games are clones of what has gone on before, and may well be available for free? People have been cloning ideas in computer games for years. That has nothing to do with homebrew.
If you're going to defend homebrew do not take the stance that Nintendo should be happy and endorse it.
If you're going to attack homebrew, don't just invent stuff about it being illegal and unethical.
They are ethically obliged to do as much as possible to ensure you can't run illegal, unlicensed software on it.
Illegal under what law, and unlicensed under what exclusive right? Please name a few "illegal, unlicensed" titles you're looking at, so that other people following this discussion can understand what you are talking about.
Just from a glance at the wiki, some of the games being made available are clones of Nintendo's own games!
So bleeping what? Game play is not copyrightable [copyright.gov]. In fact, Nintendo's own Balloon Fight, available in the North American versions of Animal Crossing (for GameCube) and Wii Shop Channel, is a clone of Midway's Joust.
No, not when what you're doing with it is illegal. They are ethically obliged to do as much as possible to ensure you can't run illegal, unlicensed software on it.
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
The console is about as cheap as they get, and Nintendo put an incredible amount of research and effort into making the best games in the world. When do you folk feel a bit ethically obliged to let the company just make some money out of the good work they've done.
Nintendo makes about $50 on each Wii, compare that to MS and Sony who lose money whenever a 360 or PS3 is bought. Plus, most homebrewers are exactly that, homebrewers, this isn't a 1337 W@r3z h@ck either, its simply homebrew.
Thirdly Nintendo may not have deliberately broken the previous hacks anyway. All they did was release a new binary and the compiled code moved a bit in memory. I think a little too much credit may be being given here.
Ah, yes, because there was so much else in that update. Oh and never mind the fact that it searched for modified saves and deleted them, that's certainly not intentional.
Microsoft reported they were breaking even on the 360s, I think sometime near the end of last year. They might even be profitable now. Not sure about the PS3, but it has been shockingly expensive here in Scandinavia for a long time.
Of course, that probably means Nintendo are closer to $100 profit per console by now:)=
Who said anything about cracked or pirate games? This is about installing homebrew and open source software on a hardware platform which has been paid for by the consumer who bought it - and Nintendo are not selling Wii's at a loss like Sony's PS3.
The console is about as cheap as they get, and Nintendo put an incredible amount of research and effort into making the best games in the world. When do you folk feel a bit ethically obliged to let the company just make some money out of the good work they've done.
Err, I really like Nintendo, I really like the Wii, and I'd really like some of what you were smoking. 1) The console price hasn't gone down AT ALL since it was released almost two years ago. Compare that to the prices of the PS3 or Xbox360 during the same timeframe. Also compare it to the fact that the Xbox360 is now way cheaper than the Wii while being much, much faster.
2) The last few months there were nothing but half-assed games coming out for the Wii, especially from Nintendo. I don't see "the best games in the world" anymore, anywhere. Think back to the last Nintendo press conference and tell me you were really positively surprised with what they came up with.
3) The Homebrew Channel can do a lot, but what it can't do is play Wii games off of burned discs. You still need a modchip for that. You can play copied WiiWare games, but team Twiizers officially denounces warez. They're doing it to open up the platform itself, not to open it up for the warez kids.
3) The Homebrew Channel can do a lot, but what it can't do is play Wii games off of burned discs. You still need a modchip for that. You can play copied WiiWare games, but team Twiizers officially denounces warez. They're doing it to open up the platform itself, not to open it up for the warez kids.
So you can install this homebrew channel sans mod-chip?
Yes, you can. You will need to make use of the Twilight Hack, so you definitely need Twilight Princess if you don't own a modchip. It's ok if you borrow it for an hour or so, you just need it to get your foot in the door.
The word 'plays' can be interpreted in a few ways here. 'It plays' can be considered that it simply runs the games, and the game (eventually) loads and runs. But if it causes the DVD to read @ 1x or 2x, causing 4-5x longer loading screens, would you call that playing? I've even tried Mario Kart online, and keep getting disconnected because it simply takes too long to load.
They're working on version 0.2, which apparently brings up the read speed to 3x which should help considerably. However, it's still not n
People don't buy $250 systems just to play homebrew. Conversely, people that already have the system will dabble in homebrew to increase the value of their hardware, and allow it to do things it couldn't otherwise (like play Monkey Island, or watch DVDs).
If Nintendo is smart, they will put of a token fight - mainly to stay within contractual obligations with their game developing partners and keep them happy - while leaving plenty of loopholes for homebrew to exist. Best of both worlds for all involved.
People don't buy $250 systems just to play homebrew.
No, but they do buy $330 systems just to play homebrew [slashdot.org]. Heck, if you define "homebrew" to mean "software released without a negotiated licensing agreement between the developer and the computer's manufacturer", people buy $300 to $2,000 devices for homebrew, called "personal computers".
Uhm, for the hardware you get, it's actually rather overpriced (Nintendo makes a nice profit from each console sold). Also, the topic is about running homebrew software, not necessarily about running pirated games. (Yes, I know a lot of people will use it to do just that).
Thirdly Nintendo may not have deliberately broken the previous hacks anyway. All they did was release a new binary and the compiled code moved a bit in memory.
This is decidedly not true; they add code [thedailywtf.com] that specifically fixes the symptoms (current exploits against known holes), but not the real cause (horribly broken usage and implementations of crypto/hashing/signing algorithms, among others). This is why new cracks typically appear within a day or two. Putting in such code, however, can hardly be designated "accidental". Please do a little fact-checking next time.
>>>Nintendo makes a nice profit from each console sold
How much?
The reason I ask is because it's unusual. Normal operating procedure is to lose $10-20 per unit sold, with money earned off the backend (game sales). So what is the cost of Wii manufacture (per unit)?
You should do research before opening your mouth, the October 23 system update did infact *deliberately* break existing homebrew for the simple fact that ~90% of it was patches for a bug in the Wii's IOS modules (firmware of sorts) that most homebrew application exploit in order to install content to the Wii's NAND (filesystem). Additionally the update blocks direct access to the Wii's NAND for most IOS modules, an attempt to stop people dumping the contents of their Wii's.
Nintendo put an incredible amount of research and effort into making the best games in the world. When do you folk feel a bit ethically obliged to let the company just make some money out of the good work they've done.
How does allowing me to run my own software on hardware I have purchased prevent Nintendo from making money? In fact, it makes me more likely to buy the console. At the moment I don't have a Wii - if it were possible to run Linux on it I would buy one and it would become my MythTV frontend. So they would make more money since they would have another customer. At the same time, because I would then have a Wii, I would buy games for it, so they would make more money. By preventing me using the hardware h
I had no interest in hacking my wii until I heard they had blocked it. That got me looking into homebrew and then I found mplayer for wii. That night I went out and bought a sdcard reader for my computer and installed the homebrew channel on my wii.
SFA was developed by Rare, not Nintendo. It also came out 5 years ago for the Gamecube. Would you care to try again, or is that really the best excuse you can come up with?
Is this one of those "secret support" things? (Score:5, Interesting)
Like when Nintendo doesn't condone it, but leave little bits of stuff "open" for someone to find and break to keep a scene healthy?
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no, it's one of these "stupid security holes in all their software" thing where just glancing in the general direction of a function reveals 20 exploits :-)
Re:Is this one of those "secret support" things? (Score:4, Interesting)
No. They're writing DRM. You don't have to try to make DRM breakable. They all come that way.
Parent
Re:When will they learn??? (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
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DRM does not work.
Mathematically speaking.
Door locks do not work. Because it is always somehow possible to bypass them - be it by picking, drilling, bashing the door down or smashing a window.
They do, however, keep honest men from temptation.
Re:When will they learn??? (Score:5, Insightful)
Honest men aren't tempted by an unlocked door. Door locks are designed to convince the casual thief to rob your neighbour.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
once one copyright infringer copies your movie, the whole internet has access to it via BT. :-)
Not on a closed platform such as a games console they don't.
Re:When will they learn??? (Score:5, Insightful)
It encrypts the content with a key (sometimes unique to an instance of the media, sometimes it is shared among a whole release) and then that key is sent to the consumer via a different channel. For example on DVD players (of both new and old) the key is embedded in the DVD player on a chip (or, so much less securely, inside a sotware player).
This is DRM's only trick, hide the key a little bit!
In the end in order for the user view the content it has to be decrypted. Since the user has the key (in some form) to view the content then they can use that key to remove the DRM form that content.
I hope that you can see the DRM is not a locked door, it is more like a locked door with the key under the doormat!
Parent
Analog signal cannot represent interactivity (Score:3, Insightful)
Even when they secure the path all the way from the UV-ray disc to each dot in the LCD/plasma/OLED display in 2038, all one needs to get the color of each pixel with greater than 99.999% accuracy is half a dozen US$ 100 cheap cameras
True, analog reconversion defeats digital restrictions management on non-interactive works. But Nintendo publishes video games, which are interactive works.
Re: (Score:3)
You can't hack your way around this: if you want to get online, you have to play by the network's rules. Of course you could always make your own network, possibly with blackjack and hookers, but if the usefulness of a network is O(n^2) in the number of users...
If it is possible for you to pass your own information across this network, then it's possible to send information across this network anonymously. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darknet_(file_sharing) [wikipedia.org]
And while a darknet is necessarily more limited than an open system of sharing, you'd be surprised at how effective one can be, even with a small population. All it takes is one person on the darknet to obtain a copy of the material and put it up for everybody to get it. Private sharing networks are not uncommon
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http://www.slysoft.com/en/anydvdhd.html [slysoft.com]
Cool. (Score:2, Insightful)
Insert obligatory "the more you tighten your grip....etc.
Hooray... (Score:5, Funny)
Both Wii homebrew users are reported to be delighted.
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You do need to consider that almost all of the Xbox homebrew (minus linux) was illegal to distribute in binary form due to the use of the official SDK. If we had the latest version of the Ninty SDK, I'm sure we could produce higher quality illegal homebrew in a shorter amount of time. Instead we're "stuck" with an entirely legal homebrew SDK that happens not to be as good as Nintendo's.
Then there's also the thing where the Xbox was an entirely familiar platform. x86, DirectX, etc. Porting stuff to it was pr
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
So the point of homebrew is to constantly emulate the same games you've played for years
Actually, the things that interest me the most about the Wii homebrew scene are:
1) The ability to back-up certain savegames that Nintendo and the game developers think shouldn't be backed up, despite the Wii having a facility for backing up savegames.
2) The fact that it supports SDHC, which is an embarrassing slap-in-the-face at Nintendo and maybe will shame them into providing a real update of their own to support it.
So how do those fit into your narrow-minded version of how you see the world?
SDHC support? (Score:5, Interesting)
The biggest news out of the whole thing for me is that they have added SDHC support through a _channel_ in the Wii dashboard. People have been speculating why the Wii would not support SDHC and if it was some hardware limitation...well, it seems like it isn't. Which really makes me wonder why Nintendo has not added it, yet...in this day and age it's almost getting hard to find a non-SDHC card...
Seriously...WTF. This isn't the first time some 3rd party tool squeezes more functionality out of hardware. But this should really be a no-brainer to implement for the big N.
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This doesn't affect the Wii itself in anyway, so you won't be able to use it to copy save files to etc.
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I never said I could. But if it can be done with the Home Brew Channel, it could also be done with the vanilla Wii itself. Missing SDHC support is not a hardware limitation (as we can see now), it's merely the unwillingness of Nintendo.
Re:SDHC support? (Score:5, Interesting)
just speculation, obviously
Parent
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Given that the Wii has an SD slot, wouldn't they already have the SD consortium patent licenses needed for SDHC?
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Re: (Score:3, Informative)
According to the blog, SDHC support can be done entirely in software [hackmii.com]. So it's just a matter of coding it in, both for homebrew creators (there will probably be a lib for it, if not one already) and for Nintendo.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The most recent revision to the SD flash card specification (SD High Capacity), it allows SD cards to break the size barriers that existed for the old standard.
Not a surprise, really (Score:5, Interesting)
Check this article [thedailywtf.com] to find out why this is not really surprising.
Yup, that is indeed Nintendo featuring on TheDailyWTF.
This is good to hear (Score:5, Insightful)
Anything that opens up the Wii platform is good news, so a hearty cheer from me.
If Nintendo created a proper home-brew platform, making it easier and cheaper to make small games and apps, the Wii could become a killer home entertainment platform (especially if they add DVD and local storage support). Something along the lines of the iPhone/Android apps store, where you can sell cheap games and they take a small cut. Currently the selection on WiiWare is pretty limited unless you want old NES games.
If they did that, I'd become a Wii developer overnight.
Team TWiizers rocks! (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Don't encourage the crackers... (Score:5, Insightful)
I feel sorry for Nintendo on this one.
That's nice. I'm sure profitable corporations need your sympathy.
The console is about as cheap as they get, and Nintendo put an incredible amount of research and effort into making the best games in the world. When do you folk feel a bit ethically obliged to let the company just make some money out of the good work they've done.
Nintendo sell the console at a profit. They make money off anyone who buys one, including the homebrewers. Anyway, Nintendo don't lease you a wii under a signed contract, they sell you one in a shop. Therefore, aren't they ethically obliged (not to mention legally) to let you do with it what you wish?
Secondly, the because its there argument. I cracked games in the past, way back in the days of C-64, All those Block executes on track 5 sector 5 etc. But I didn't distribute - I cracked it cause it was fun to do and for my own benefit - I didn't want to get in trouble, or ruin those software companies.
My goodness, not only did you not read the article, or summary, you also failed to even read the article title. NB: Home-brew.
Parent
Re:Don't encourage the crackers... (Score:5, Insightful)
They sell their product for profit?!!! The scoundrels!
I disagree with you on this. They are well within their rights to sell the wii at a profit.
Because, you know, most successful companies just give their stuff away.
I believe you are mistaken.
No, not when what you're doing with it is illegal.
Since when is homebrew illegal?
They are ethically obliged to do as much as possible to ensure you can't run illegal, unlicensed software on it.
What about legal software, legally licensed from homebrewers? Or legal software which you legally wrote yourself? How are they ethically obliged to stop you running legal, licensed software?
Just from a glance at the wiki, some of the games being made available are clones of Nintendo's own games!
And none of Nintendo's games are clones of what has gone on before, and may well be available for free? People have been cloning ideas in computer games for years. That has nothing to do with homebrew.
If you're going to defend homebrew do not take the stance that Nintendo should be happy and endorse it.
If you're going to attack homebrew, don't just invent stuff about it being illegal and unethical.
Parent
Balloon Fight is a Joust clone (Score:3, Informative)
They are ethically obliged to do as much as possible to ensure you can't run illegal, unlicensed software on it.
Illegal under what law, and unlicensed under what exclusive right? Please name a few "illegal, unlicensed" titles you're looking at, so that other people following this discussion can understand what you are talking about.
Just from a glance at the wiki, some of the games being made available are clones of Nintendo's own games!
So bleeping what? Game play is not copyrightable [copyright.gov]. In fact, Nintendo's own Balloon Fight, available in the North American versions of Animal Crossing (for GameCube) and Wii Shop Channel, is a clone of Midway's Joust.
Re:Don't encourage the crackers... (Score:4, Funny)
No, not when what you're doing with it is illegal. They are ethically obliged to do as much as possible to ensure you can't run illegal, unlicensed software on it.
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Parent
Re:Don't encourage the crackers... (Score:5, Interesting)
The console is about as cheap as they get, and Nintendo put an incredible amount of research and effort into making the best games in the world. When do you folk feel a bit ethically obliged to let the company just make some money out of the good work they've done.
Nintendo makes about $50 on each Wii, compare that to MS and Sony who lose money whenever a 360 or PS3 is bought. Plus, most homebrewers are exactly that, homebrewers, this isn't a 1337 W@r3z h@ck either, its simply homebrew.
Thirdly Nintendo may not have deliberately broken the previous hacks anyway. All they did was release a new binary and the compiled code moved a bit in memory. I think a little too much credit may be being given here.
Ah, yes, because there was so much else in that update. Oh and never mind the fact that it searched for modified saves and deleted them, that's certainly not intentional.
Parent
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Microsoft reported they were breaking even on the 360s, I think sometime near the end of last year. They might even be profitable now. Not sure about the PS3, but it has been shockingly expensive here in Scandinavia for a long time.
Of course, that probably means Nintendo are closer to $100 profit per console by now :)=
Re:Don't encourage the crackers... (Score:4, Interesting)
Who said anything about cracked or pirate games? This is about installing homebrew and open source software on a hardware platform which has been paid for by the consumer who bought it - and Nintendo are not selling Wii's at a loss like Sony's PS3.
Parent
Re:Don't encourage the crackers... (Score:5, Informative)
The console is about as cheap as they get, and Nintendo put an incredible amount of research and effort into making the best games in the world. When do you folk feel a bit ethically obliged to let the company just make some money out of the good work they've done.
Err, I really like Nintendo, I really like the Wii, and I'd really like some of what you were smoking.
1) The console price hasn't gone down AT ALL since it was released almost two years ago. Compare that to the prices of the PS3 or Xbox360 during the same timeframe. Also compare it to the fact that the Xbox360 is now way cheaper than the Wii while being much, much faster.
2) The last few months there were nothing but half-assed games coming out for the Wii, especially from Nintendo. I don't see "the best games in the world" anymore, anywhere. Think back to the last Nintendo press conference and tell me you were really positively surprised with what they came up with.
3) The Homebrew Channel can do a lot, but what it can't do is play Wii games off of burned discs. You still need a modchip for that. You can play copied WiiWare games, but team Twiizers officially denounces warez. They're doing it to open up the platform itself, not to open it up for the warez kids.
Parent
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3) The Homebrew Channel can do a lot, but what it can't do is play Wii games off of burned discs. You still need a modchip for that. You can play copied WiiWare games, but team Twiizers officially denounces warez. They're doing it to open up the platform itself, not to open it up for the warez kids.
So you can install this homebrew channel sans mod-chip?
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Yes, you can. You will need to make use of the Twilight Hack, so you definitely need Twilight Princess if you don't own a modchip. It's ok if you borrow it for an hour or so, you just need it to get your foot in the door.
Check out everything you need to know here: http://hbc.hackmii.com/ [hackmii.com]
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The word 'plays' can be interpreted in a few ways here. 'It plays' can be considered that it simply runs the games, and the game (eventually) loads and runs. But if it causes the DVD to read @ 1x or 2x, causing 4-5x longer loading screens, would you call that playing? I've even tried Mario Kart online, and keep getting disconnected because it simply takes too long to load.
They're working on version 0.2, which apparently brings up the read speed to 3x which should help considerably. However, it's still not n
Re:Don't encourage the crackers... (Score:4, Insightful)
People don't buy $250 systems just to play homebrew. Conversely, people that already have the system will dabble in homebrew to increase the value of their hardware, and allow it to do things it couldn't otherwise (like play Monkey Island, or watch DVDs).
If Nintendo is smart, they will put of a token fight - mainly to stay within contractual obligations with their game developing partners and keep them happy - while leaving plenty of loopholes for homebrew to exist. Best of both worlds for all involved.
Parent
Pandora? PCs? (Score:3, Interesting)
People don't buy $250 systems just to play homebrew.
No, but they do buy $330 systems just to play homebrew [slashdot.org]. Heck, if you define "homebrew" to mean "software released without a negotiated licensing agreement between the developer and the computer's manufacturer", people buy $300 to $2,000 devices for homebrew, called "personal computers".
Re:Don't encourage the crackers... (Score:5, Informative)
Uhm, for the hardware you get, it's actually rather overpriced (Nintendo makes a nice profit from each console sold). Also, the topic is about running homebrew software, not necessarily about running pirated games. (Yes, I know a lot of people will use it to do just that).
This is decidedly not true; they add code [thedailywtf.com] that specifically fixes the symptoms (current exploits against known holes), but not the real cause (horribly broken usage and implementations of crypto/hashing/signing algorithms, among others). This is why new cracks typically appear within a day or two. Putting in such code, however, can hardly be designated "accidental". Please do a little fact-checking next time.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
>>>Nintendo makes a nice profit from each console sold
How much?
The reason I ask is because it's unusual. Normal operating procedure is to lose $10-20 per unit sold, with money earned off the backend (game sales). So what is the cost of Wii manufacture (per unit)?
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
You should do research before opening your mouth, the October 23 system update did infact *deliberately* break existing homebrew for the simple fact that ~90% of it was patches for a bug in the Wii's IOS modules (firmware of sorts) that most homebrew application exploit in order to install content to the Wii's NAND (filesystem). Additionally the update blocks direct access to the Wii's NAND for most IOS modules, an attempt to stop people dumping the contents of their Wii's.
Most of the update (as with the pr
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Nintendo put an incredible amount of research and effort into making the best games in the world. When do you folk feel a bit ethically obliged to let the company just make some money out of the good work they've done.
How does allowing me to run my own software on hardware I have purchased prevent Nintendo from making money? In fact, it makes me more likely to buy the console. At the moment I don't have a Wii - if it were possible to run Linux on it I would buy one and it would become my MythTV frontend. So they would make more money since they would have another customer. At the same time, because I would then have a Wii, I would buy games for it, so they would make more money. By preventing me using the hardware h
Re:Don't encourage the crackers... (Score:4, Informative)
I had no interest in hacking my wii until I heard they had blocked it. That got me looking into homebrew and then I found mplayer for wii. That night I went out and bought a sdcard reader for my computer and installed the homebrew channel on my wii.
Parent
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
SFA was developed by Rare, not Nintendo. It also came out 5 years ago for the Gamecube. Would you care to try again, or is that really the best excuse you can come up with?