Why is it that whenever there is a measure taken against pirates or hackers, the ones who are most affected are usually the bystanders.

the balls are inert.

this blind shoot-in-the-crowd attitude towards homebrew is ridiculous. I'm running homebrew for the sole and simple purpose of backing up my Gamecube saves on an SD card, something that the regular Wii data management utility for some reason does not allow. homebrew does not automatically entail piracy. look at the dreamcast, part of the reason it's still relevant today is the homebrew scene.

haha great pic Xbudz LOL

I'm not running Homebrew (...yet), but I had a recent scare with my Wii, so I'm not risking it anymore. SCREW DIS

I haven't uploaded the homebrew channel yet, but I don't think I'll be using my Wii online any time soon.

4.2 won't affect the Homebrew Channel if you update the HBC before updating your Wii.

If I was one of the unlucky ones that got bricked, I know I'd be demanding some free Wii points in addition to free repairs.

"Mr. Potatamoto... why isn't it moving? Why?" =[

Seriously, though, Nintendo is usually good at this stuff. Anyone who got F'd in the A with the update will probably see a quick response as they contact Nintendo. Reliability and consumer service are among the few hardware advantages they have now. ZING! AT EVERY CONSOLE!

On the other hand, they shoul give up. They won't stop anyone from hacking their Wiis. It's just turning out to be a moronic expense of resources.

Wii wins the console wars. Mostly because of its Wii Optical Disc Blast or something.

There has been a lot of bullshit talk about this... but do you have any numbers to back it up or is this article just reporting a misleading rumor?

Has anyone not running homebrew had their Wii brick, or even know anyone else not running homebrew with a bricked Wii? So far, everyone I know has updated without problems and I've only seen complaints online from people who *might* have had legit Wii consoles that were bricked. (Of course, there is no way for me to verify they weren't running homebrew, but you have to assume they are telling the truth.)

Considering the size of the Wii install base, it seems like the issue is rather exaggerated...

@ atastysammich

JUST WHAT I THOUGHT.
::MEGA OPTIC BLAAAAST! KO!::

I, did it!

* Really bad move from Nintendo.

@The Meat: Wii games are region-coded, so even if you imported games, you couldn't play them on the console (unlike the PSP and DS/Lite which are not region-coded). There have been several games that have been released in Japan (and elsewhere) for the system that have never been released outside of their native lands (like Fatal Frame 4 for instance), so the only way to play them would be to hack your Wii.

This kinda thing is turning me off to gaming. I hate firmware updates. I hate region-coding. There have been games I've imported for my DS and PSP that I wanted to play really badly because they never got translated over here. On those two systems I at least have the option of importing those games and playing them without any hassle even if I can't understand the native tongue.

I bought a router for my Wii for updates, but then it turns out that I got the magical router that doesn't work for the Wii. I could just hook it up directly to the internet, but no, you have to buy an ethernet adapter separately. Beh. Many times I'd get a new game, take it home, boot it up..."System Update". I have to then drag the damn thing up to my friend's house, use his wireless (cuz he router actually works), and update it that way.

Ya know what? I bought Devil Summoner 2 a few months ago, took it home, popped the damn game into my PS2, and turned on the power, and in less than a minute I was playing the game I bought. No firmware updates, no bullshit. I only tolerate the firmware nonsense on my PSP since my router which didn't work for my Wii, does work for my PSP. And the DS has none of that firmware garbage.

Are these game companies not wanting me to buy their stuff? Because if I wanted to restlessly tap my foot for firmware updates and other such time-consuming needlessly-convoluted bullshit, I'd be playing PC games, not console games. All I want to do is turn the damn console on, and bam, I'm playing my game. What was so bad about that straightforward simplicity that the game industry had to ruin it? I don't want a media center, and I don't my console to be more like a fucking computer. I *got a computer already*!

Handhelds were the last bastion of unfettered old-school console gaming without all the ancillary bells and whistles and contrived bullshit. But now even those are going down this stupid route of trying to be more than what they are (and should be). If this is the future of gaming, then I want no part of it. I'll spend my money on some other form of entertainment that doesn't piss me off.

@ Vanor:
Well put. I can definitely do without Wii firmware updates that take my console around a half hour to download and do essentially nothing.
In regards to Nintendo trying to weed out hackers, what a massive f*cking waste of time. Nintendo has already established a penalty for hacking; You hack your Wii, you void your warranty. What I see Nintendo doing here is essentially punishing Wii hackers for using their piece of technology in ways Nintendo hasn't thought of or hasn't bothered to implement. What does Nintendo think it is gaining by squashing this stuff?

@ Holyethelien / Spectreman

Wow, absolutely ridiculous reactions. Did you read the article?
1) If you're a pirate, the update has a work-around. Good news?
2) If your system is broken, you can get it fixed for free. Good news?
3) If it's not broken, why should you give a shit?

I don't get where people get this idea that Nintendo/Sony/MS are out to get you. Do you honestly think someone who loves video games so much that they pursue them as a career would think "Oh, yeah, let's brick a bunch of Wiis in this new update, that'd be fuckin great!"...? NO, there isn't anybody in the industry who would think of such a thing. Except Kotick. But Activision isn't a hardware developer so it's moot.

tl;dr: Chill the hell out.

...I think I need to chill out too though, wow. *deep breath*

Homebrew is great, why block it? Because of piracy? I'm a Nintendo fan and I'd never do that to you, Ninty.

@Chack

The problem is that there's a handful of people out there who disagree with your (and my own) sentiments, and they'd pirate games in an instant. Look at the PSP homebrew world -- My God.

total test