AfterDawn: Tech news

Modders claim the Wii U is now fully open for homebrew

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 01 May 2013 12:19 User comments (20)

Modders claim the Wii U is now fully open for homebrew The team behind the WiiKey are now claiming that the Wii U has been fully hacked.
Says the group: "Yes, its real - we have now completely reversed the WiiU drive authentification, disk encryption, file system, and everything else needed for this next generation K3y. Stay tuned for updates!"

If you own a Wii and are into homebrew and other hacks, you have likely heard of the original Wii Key, a product that allows you to bypass all Nintendo copy protection schemes to run unapproved applications.

Additionally, the hacks allow gamers to play games right off of USB media.

If it's true, the news is a very big deal for Nintendo, which has struggled to move consoles and sell games for its latest system. Nintendo, for its part, is not worried yet: "Nintendo is aware that a hacking group claims to have compromised Wii U security. However, we have no reports of illegal Wii U games nor unauthorized applications playable on the system while in Wii U mode. Nintendo continuously monitors all threats to its products' security and will use technology and will take the necessary legal steps to prevent the facilitation of piracy."

Follow the story here: WiiKey



(Original WiiKey pictured)

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20 user comments

11.5.2013 02:09

time to buy a wii u then

21.5.2013 08:20

Originally posted by elbald90:
time to buy a wii u then
Rightfully so :)

31.5.2013 08:57

I think I'll be picking one of these up next month. Shouldn't be hard to find :p

41.5.2013 11:23

Which one do you reckon... 8 gig or 32 gig?

51.5.2013 16:37

Well I am def getting a Wii-U now

61.5.2013 18:16

This was definitely determined to happen at some point. It's just beginning.

71.5.2013 18:17

I'll wait for it on PC.....

82.5.2013 02:23

YaY now I'll be able to play all wii u games for free and never pay a cent, I mean all the 80's and 90's arcade games because I stick to home brew.

92.5.2013 09:50

Just remember to save everything you can not on the internal memory of the unit...

102.5.2013 10:24

Come on modders get with the 3DS already!

112.5.2013 17:27

While I love homebrew, this doesn't change my decision of not getting a Wii U.

Here's what I don't understand: Why would people bother buying the Wii U, or any console for that matter, to pirate the games they weren't interested in playing in the first place?

Most retro games can be emulated on other devices they probably already own.

Not to make a blanket statement here, but I just find it odd.

122.5.2013 19:37

Originally posted by Ofnir1:
While I love homebrew, this doesn't change my decision of not getting a Wii U.

Here's what I don't understand: Why would people bother buying the Wii U, or any console for that matter, to pirate the games they weren't interested in playing in the first place?

Most retro games can be emulated on other devices they probably already own.

Not to make a blanket statement here, but I just find it odd.
because you can play the games you weren't interested in for free, delete as you find necessary, download more and more and more, probably be able to run mkv from hdd, the possibilities aint exactly endless, but it opens a lot of windows

132.5.2013 22:17

Originally posted by Ofnir1:
While I love homebrew, this doesn't change my decision of not getting a Wii U.

Here's what I don't understand: Why would people bother buying the Wii U, or any console for that matter, to pirate the games they weren't interested in playing in the first place?

Most retro games can be emulated on other devices they probably already own.

Not to make a blanket statement here, but I just find it odd.

That's precisely why, actually: finding games you like with no financial risk. It's how my DS library got so ungodly huge; trying any game I could just to see if it had any merit, and finding some gems gleaming in the dung heap. Now it's one of my favorite systems.

And if it turns out to be a bust, sell your modded system at a profit.

143.5.2013 18:08

i know i shouldnt do this being a senior member but hey ho heres the 1st game dump
http://extratorrent.com/torrent/3060714...WiiU-VENOM.html

153.5.2013 21:23

I anticipated such responses. You guys do buy the games you like, correct? Admittedly, I'll download PS2 and PSP games every now and then, but I do buy the ones I like. Some recent ones I bought are the PSP remake of Persona (collector's edition) and Ace Combat X2: Joint Assault.

163.5.2013 23:41

Originally posted by tongs007:
i know i shouldnt do this being a senior member but hey ho heres the 1st game dump
http://extratorrent.com/torrent/3060714...WiiU-VENOM.html
Yow 23.31GB!

Ok so I assume you need a bluray writer or can you just use a external drive?


PS: @Ofnir1 Gotta love Ace Combat.


-----------------------------------------------------------

174.5.2013 01:33

Originally posted by Ofnir1:
I anticipated such responses. You guys do buy the games you like, correct? Admittedly, I'll download PS2 and PSP games every now and then, but I do buy the ones I like. Some recent ones I bought are the PSP remake of Persona (collector's edition) and Ace Combat X2: Joint Assault.
You did read the part about my DS collection getting ungodly huge, yeah? Fifty-something games, more than can fit on my shelf.

So that's a yes.

184.5.2013 02:02

Yes, I read that part, I just wasn't sure if you meant physical copies or digital copies. I don't exaggerate when I say I've conversed with people who spoke of their library of PS2 and PSP games, only to find out that most of their games were on an external hard drive.

Originally posted by Jemborg:

PS: @Ofnir1 Gotta love Ace Combat.

I've started playing them again, one of my favorite series. Assault Horizon wasn't what it should have been, that one should be avoided xD

194.5.2013 08:54

Originally posted by Jemborg:
Originally posted by tongs007:
i know i shouldnt do this being a senior member but hey ho heres the 1st game dump
http://extratorrent.com/torrent/3060714...WiiU-VENOM.html
Yow 23.31GB!

Ok so I assume you need a bluray writer or can you just use a external drive?


PS: @Ofnir1 Gotta love Ace Combat.


-----------------------------------------------------------
not sure yet mate, i know they havent managed to scrub the disc yet so i don't think the 23.31 gig is all game some space will just be crap to fill the disc up

206.5.2013 11:31

Legally You could hack your console and make copies of your original discs you own without selling or giving the original disc nor the copies. I ve just hacked my wii to play hard-to-find games in my country like Xenoblade and some Super Nintendo, NES, sega games. I have the original discs of the hard drive Wii Games that I consider as Clasic ( Black ops, Resdent Evil 4 ect..) in case the cd is broken or.. I just hacked my wii for political-economic reason (when the cd is broken they dont send you a new one, for technology reason (when you play too much with a cd, the lens is and/or cd is burned and become unusable. that I admit hacking a console or game breaks the industry, I wouldnt take the place of a game developper whose products are being copied and arent being sold.

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