Wii Hacks · Hacks, Cracks, Mods, Homebrew, Utilities

We have finally completed our site maintenance.  As a result, private messaging is enabled in the forum and the speed of the site should be greatly improved.

As always, any bug reports or suggestions are welcome.

XCM released a nice little mod for your Wii on the 20th. Priced at $37.99 USD, you can get a “chrome” or a black case to replace that boring white case.

You can go get one over at http://www.xcmlive.com/. Keep in mind that changing the case involves opening your Wii, voiding the warranty.

Datel has released a kit that allows you to transfer data directly from your computer to a Wii or GC.

The kit includes software for your PC, a 1GB or 2GB SD card, and two adapters - one to use the SD card in a USB port, the other for using the SD card in a GC memory card slot.

CodeJunkies has said the price will be about $50.

It was announced on Tuesday during a press conference that GameSpy(owned by IGN) and Nintendo would partner up to bring us Wii online multiplayer. Nintendo And GameSpy are not new to each other, the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection for your DS is “Powered by GameSpy.”

Although the Friend Codes conundrum is a hinderance, GameSpy has hinted at doing away with it when they announced “friend rosters, advanced matchmaking capabilities and comprehensive rankings data.” This is exciting for Wii owners, to say the least, as I know that CoD3 would be much more fun if it had online multiplayer.

However, there is a catch. The first [announced] game that will be able to use this feature will be Pokemon Battle Revolution, which is scheduled for release on June 25. No word as to whether online multiplayer will be free or not, either.

Chris Hecker Retracts Comments Made This Week at the GDC

By Colin Geddes

March 9, 2007 – On Wednesday Chris Hecker presented a speech entitled “Fear of a Wii Planet” and opened his speech with the now infamous quote “the Wii is a piece of shit!” To briefly recap, the speech bashed Nintendo’s next generation consoles’ effort to recruit non-gamers into the gamer market by producing game controls that are accessible to all ages and abilities.

Apparently Chris Hecker had never been given the staple advice from his mother ‘if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it.’ The very next day he apologized for his remarks by stating that “I do not think the Wii is a piece of shit.” Hecker continued to explain that he was attempting to provoke thought, while being funny.

What is funny, is as it turns out Chris Hecker is a Spore designer, and employee for Maxis which is owned by Electronic Arts (EA). EA happens to be one of Nintendo Wii’s largest third party game developers, and understandably it reflects poorly to have EA employees insulting their business partners.

“It’s obvious everyone at Nintendo is serious about games. To sweep all that away in order to get a laugh from the audience was unkind and uncool.”

What I find most uncool about Heckers comments is the ignorance behind his words. If the Wii was a piece of shit, why is it outselling every console on the market? Why is it receiving critical acclaim for its intuitive control and innovative software? Finally, why is it almost impossible to find them in stock?

Simply, because Hecker was wrong! The Wii is not a piece of shit..the Wii IS the shit! Fortunately, all this Wii bashing has created even more exposure which equates to free advertising. Any publicity is good publicity!

Nintendo Makes Gaming Accessible to People of All Ages and Abilities?

By Colin Geddes

March 9, 2007 – Cut and pasted from Wii.com “Nintendo wanted to create a controller that was as inviting as it was sophisticated” and it sounds like they have accomplished that! I estimate the majority of the global population would agree with that statement. However, I estimate around 8-15% of the population in fact could disagree. I’m referring to my fellow left-handed players out there who have purchased a Wii and have not been entirely considered in the game development cycle.

I bought my Wii after being seduced by playing Wii Sports for the first time. I was curious to see if Nintendo would remember that there are left handed players out there, and to my surprise they had. I created my left handed Mii with pride, bearing the likeness of my features. It felt so natural to swing my tennis racket, bowl a strike, and putt for a birdie all left handed. At the time I couldn’t ever imagine my Mii interpreting my left handed movements, and translating them onto the screen right handed…

Until I played games like Call of Duty 3, Red Steel, Twilight Princess, etc. I noticed immediately when playing that I was holding my gun/sword in my right hand, but in reality the controller was in my left. I stopped playing, flipped through the instructions, searched through the game menus, but I was unable to find any option to accommodate my need.

Unfortunately this is an issue that has yet to be resolved. I played through Twilight Princess in its entirety and I honestly felt neglected as I wasn’t able to feel fully immersed in Link’s world. Same goes for Red Steel—I couldn’t get past the feeling of tilting my gun on its side and seeing an awkward looking arm shooting in an unnatural position.

Statistics indicate only 8-15% of the global population is left handed, it is surprising that Nintendo wouldn’t accommodate us southpaws! Even Miyamoto, the man responsible for creating Mario, Link, Donkey Kong, and even the Wii console is left handed! I find it ironic how Nintendo boasts the accessibility of the Wii Remote for people of all ages, and abilities when clearly the left handed population has been somewhat overlooked.

Developer Chris Hecker From Spore Does!

By Colin Geddes

March 8, 2007 – I was leisurely surfing the internet at work reading some Nintendo Wii news updates, and I came across this article on IGN. While sitting at my desk I couldn’t help myself from bursting into hysterics reading the comments made by Chris Hecker on his opinion of the Wii.

In a speech titled “Fear of a Wii Planet” Chris Heckers opening line “The Wii is a piece of shit!” almost knocked me off my office chair! He continued to observe that the Nintendo Wii is just “two Gamecubes stuck together with duct tape” and as a result, rendering the console “severely underpowered.”

As his speech progressed he stressed the fact that the PS3 and Xbox 360 games are literal works of art, yet the software on the Nintendo Wii is focused on fun, and therefore not art. His anger evidently stemmed from being graphically disappointed in the Wii, and disappointed in the lack of power to process complicate AI.

To conclude his speech Heckler had offered two suggestions to Nintendo: to recognize games as art and to “make a console that doesn’t suck ass.”

I laughed at Chris’ speech not only at the shocking vulgarity he chose to describe his distaste for the Wii, but at the ignorance behind his message. The Nintendo Wii is an all new gaming experience never-before seen. The Wii caters to a completely different audience than the PS3 or 360. The control scheme is revolutionary enabling virtually any person the ability to pick up the Wiimote and instinctively play. Nintendo has pioneered the home console and making games decades ago that are still fun to play today. Good art appreciates as good wine does with time. No one can argue the quality of the art Nintendo has produced to date. Not Sony or Microsoft can boast their games have stood the test of time as they have only just begun!

Nintendo Confirms Online Play Date

By Colin Geddes

March 8, 2007 – Nintendo’s Senior Director of Public Relations, Beth Llewelyn, has confirmed the day that the Wii will finally have online play. The date announced is June 25, and the game introducing competitive play will be Pokemon Battle Revolution.

Players will use the Nintendo DS with either Pokemon Diamond, or Pokemon Pearl software to connect and play with the wireless DS-Wii connectivity. The good news is that you be able to play your friends on your friend list, and random competitors.

It is now safe to assume highly anticipated titles like Mario Strikers, and Battalion Wars to be released shortly after Pokemon Battle Revolution. More of Nintendo Wii’s online plans should be announced shortly, check back here frequently for more news announcements as they unfold.

The Popular Internet Music Supplier Offers Much, Much More!

by Colin Geddes

February 7, 2007 - WiiHear.com is a website designed to look and feel like a Wii Channel. It enables users to listen to streaming internet music via the Opera powered Wii browser. The webpage designers have made a breakthrough allowing users to add any Shoutcast station they desire. By entering the Shoutcast IP and port address of their favorite radio station it is now possible to instantly listen to the station of choice.

Previously the process of adding new stations would require tedious file editing, uploading, and testing which could take upwards of a half hour per station. With such a limited supply of available stations, this new “Power Mushroom” enables a considerable amount of musical freedom.

The door has been opened to WiiHear to develop exclusive features, and more stations to be added to suit the tastes of a wider audience.

Take a look at WiiHear.com

Rumors Circulate of Keyboard Support

by Colin Geddes

March 6, 2007 -The Opera Powered Wii browser is planned to be released for late March or early April. The Internet Channel browser is rumoured to have keyboard support, and software updates. Keyboard support would be a most welcomed addition as pointing and clicking an entire url can be tedious.

Although reports are at this point unconfirmed, we have sent e-mails to Nintendo of America to try and shed some light on these proposed additions.