Slashdot Mirror


Nintendo's Homebrew-Blocking Update Hacked

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."

157 comments

  1. Is this one of those "secret support" things? by Centurix · · 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?

    --
    Task Mangler
    1. Re:Is this one of those "secret support" things? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      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 :-)

    2. Re:Is this one of those "secret support" things? by WK2 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      No. They're writing DRM. You don't have to try to make DRM breakable. They all come that way.

      --
      Write your own Choose Your Own Adventure. http://www.freegameengines.org/gamebook-engine/
    3. Re:Is this one of those "secret support" things? by Centurix · · Score: 0, Redundant

      Ah, the DRM. I always forget the DRM. Curses.

      --
      Task Mangler
    4. Re:Is this one of those "secret support" things? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How's your Blu-Ray cracking going?

    5. Re:Is this one of those "secret support" things? by MrMr · · Score: 1
    6. Re:Is this one of those "secret support" things? by FourthAge · · Score: 1

      So confident are you that DRM can always be hacked. I'm surprised that the stack-smashing Twilight Hack was even possible; this sort of attack was common against the original XBox, and you would think that Nintendo would have taken steps to prevent it.

      Microsoft, at least, seem to have learned. It doesn't seem to be so easy to do this sort of thing on the XBox 360. It looks like someone discovered a hypervisor bug some time ago, allowing unsigned code to run, but that's blocked in more recent versions. The pirates use firmware hacks for the DVD-ROM to run illegal copies of signed code, which is useless for homebrew.

      --
      The tao of democracy: the government you can vote for is not the real government.
    7. Re:Is this one of those "secret support" things? by tepples · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You tell me
      http://www.slysoft.com/en/anydvdhd.html

      Even if that does work for movies, this article is about games. Video games have a distinct advantage over movies in the DRM department.

    8. Re:Is this one of those "secret support" things? by Bert64 · · Score: 1

      Using a hypervisor will always introduce a performance hit... Making the hardware more expensive to produce and ultimately slower.

      The idea of a games console was that the hardware was static, thus you could program it directly without being hindered by any layers of abstraction.... For the best example of how the overhead of abstraction hurts performance, take some games written for the first xbox, and compare them with the corresponding windows versions running on equivalent hardware (700mhz celeron i believe, geforce 3 based video, 64mb ram, 8gb hd)

      --
      http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
    9. Re:Is this one of those "secret support" things? by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 1

      Anatomii of a Hack - The Daily WTF.

      Short explanation on how one of the first hacks worked. Lazy coding.

    10. Re:Is this one of those "secret support" things? by Moryath · · Score: 1

      Now the remaining things that need to be done:

      - Upgrading the installer channel to let other software bits be installed
      - Updating the firmware downgrader (SOMETHING Nintendo did causes their 3.3 firmware not to like my Cisco wi-fi router under any security option other than "none", but the previous versions ran just fine with WPA-PSK).

      Here's hoping the homebrew community manages to get those done soon.

    11. Re:Is this one of those "secret support" things? by fractoid · · Score: 1

      Anatomii? Is that, like, multiple anatomuses?

      --
      Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
  2. Cool. by RiffRafff · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Insert obligatory "the more you tighten your grip....etc.

    --
    "I might have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for 20 years." -- Warren Zevon
    1. Re:Cool. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the more you tighten your grip....etc.

      ooh ye i like that.

      i put on my robe and wizard hat

  3. Hooray... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Both Wii homebrew users are reported to be delighted.

    1. Re:Hooray... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ScummVM is 'homebrew', and I enjoy playing my (LEGAL) copies of Monkey Island (1, 2, and 3) on my Wii, thankyouverymuch.

    2. Re:Hooray... by dintech · · Score: 2, Interesting

      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.

    3. Re:Hooray... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

      So the point of homebrew is to constantly emulate the same games you've played for years on your Windows PC, your Linux PC, your Mac, your XBox, your DS, et al (all of which, and more, if I am not mistaken, have the exact same ScummVM on it, which you have no doubt played hundreds of times already).

      Not to mention the Wii port of the same ZSNES you've had on your Windows PC, your Linux PC, your Mac, your XBox, your DS, et al because you just gotta play Chrono Trigger for the eight hundredth time (the eight hundredth time is TEH BESTS!!!1!). Or the Genesis emulator. Or the NES, Master System, Turbografx, Game Boy, GBA, N64, et al emulators...

      Oh, and maybe in ten years someone will make a new game or something. Console homebrew: Fostering freedom and innovation in video gaming!

    4. Re:Hooray... by anubis7733 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Despite the fact that the homebrew can't do a lot of crazy things, it does allow users to replay some old games that they may not have had played years without having to repurchase them. Sometimes people just want to be able to play through A Link to the Past again without having to rebuy the game. Also there's a lot of crappy WiiWare out there that may sound interesting but absolutely suck. Homebrew is a way to try out those games without losing any money on the bad ones like Pop.

    5. Re:Hooray... by Blublu · · Score: 1

      Exactly. The point of homebrew is that you should be able to run what you want to run on your Wii.

      --
      meh
    6. Re:Hooray... by marcansoft · · Score: 2, Insightful

      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 pretty damn easy. Contrast that with the Wii: an entirely new API, weird interprocessor comms, security crap running behind your back, and a completely custom graphics API. I think it's amazing that we've come as far as we have in under a year, considering everything has been done from scratch.

    7. Re:Hooray... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I was truly amazed at the things a modded xbox could do a few years ago.

      Like... exactly the same things as a PC could do, only it was five times harder and you voided your warranty in the process?

      The only thing a hacked Xbox can do that a PC can't is play pirated Xbox games. And we all know that's totally not what anyone means by "homebrew", right?

    8. Re:Hooray... by Haeleth · · Score: 1

      Despite the fact that the homebrew can't do a lot of crazy things, it does allow users to replay some old games that they may not have had played years without having to repurchase them. Sometimes people just want to be able to play through A Link to the Past again without having to rebuy the game.

      And, what, the homebrew magically adds a SNES port to your Wii? Or are you just downloading a ROM and playing the game in an emulator, in which case why the heck do you need to go to such lengths when you can just do exactly the same thing on a PC?

    9. Re:Hooray... by sremick · · Score: 2, 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?

    10. Re:Hooray... by Drinking+Bleach · · Score: 1

      First off, existing GameCube libraries were expanded to support the Wii's few extra features. Secondly, the entire power of the hardware (full 3D and everything) is available to homebrew, but it just so happens that Joe Hacker in his basement doesn't usually come up with the same high-quality games you expect from the store.

    11. Re:Hooray... by anubis7733 · · Score: 1

      What the homebrew does is allow you to install the virtual console (VC) games that Nintendo sells through the Wii Shop Channel. The Wii itself has built in emulators to handle all the old Nintendo systems plus some older stuff like Genesis. The process is fairly simple to work through, and then you get the benefit of using your Wii and the classic controller to play the games. Homebrew also lets you create your own games, but from what I've seen thus far they are mostly pretty simple and not as good as the VC or WiiWare games. If you would rather download an emulator and play on your PC, then nobody is stopping you. Some people just prefer to play their old console games on a console.

    12. Re:Hooray... by Requiem18th · · Score: 1

      Personally I think the real benefit of the homebrew is to unleash the full potential of your hardware, if the Wii can be used as a lan video player, alarm clock, net jukebox, or just a simple file manager then you should be able to make it do so.

      --
      But... the future refused to change.
    13. Re:Hooray... by mushroom+blue · · Score: 1
      I dunno. my PC has been able to play pirated xbox games for a while.

      my PC is not a game console, though. this made emulation on the Xbox that much more appealing, because I could just sit in front of my television and play, terrible controllers notwithstanding.

      the Wii classic controller is like a dream, which means games just plain feel better when using it. and the Wii is faster than the original Xbox, which means that things like MAME will work with Killer Instinct and Mortal Kombat now without slowdown and flicker.

      I purchased my xbox used on eBay back in 2006. it came with nothing but a controller, and power/video cables. this machine was to be used for XBox Media Center. most of the time, it's used for watching DVD's and media streamed from the network. (with much more freedom than the xbox 360 allows, I might add). often times, I find myself playing Super Mario War, or one of the other homebrew games people have developed for the system. Occasionally, I fire up an emulator and play one of my favorite games from a better era. if I'm really bored, I'll start looking through the countless scripts and toys people have made for XBMC, and I spend a while tweaking things.

      I admit, I downloaded an iso of Street Fighter Anniversary Collection for the Xbox. it was also the only Xbox game that has ever been in the system since i purchased it.

      my wii will be arriving in the next few days. I plan on installing the homebrew channel and helping to scratch the media center itch the wii homebrew scene will eventually get. sure, I'll be able to pirate games. but I really don't want to. I have enough money to buy them, so there's no need to pirate. I just want something I can put in my living room to replace the xbox.

  4. SDHC support? by Loibisch · · 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.

    1. Re:SDHC support? by richy+freeway · · Score: 2, Informative

      The Wii still doesn't support SDHC. The homebrew channel does and homebrew apps will be able to.

      This doesn't affect the Wii itself in anyway, so you won't be able to use it to copy save files to etc.

    2. Re:SDHC support? by Loibisch · · Score: 1

      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.

    3. Re:SDHC support? by Sockatume · · Score: 2, Interesting

      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 kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
    4. Re:SDHC support? by Darkness404 · · Score: 1

      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)

      --
      Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    5. Re:SDHC support? by Sockatume · · Score: 1

      Nope, I'm still pretty sure it's a licencing issue.

      --
      No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
    6. Re:SDHC support? by Farmer+Pete · · Score: 2, Interesting

      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.

    7. Re:SDHC support? by The+MAZZTer · · Score: 2, Informative

      According to the blog, SDHC support can be done entirely in software. 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.

    8. Re:SDHC support? by xenocide2 · · Score: 1

      Given that the Wii has an SD slot, wouldn't they already have the SD consortium patent licenses needed for SDHC?

      --
      I Browse at +4 Flamebait

      Open Source Sysadmin

    9. Re:SDHC support? by anthonyfk · · Score: 3, Insightful

      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.

    10. Re:SDHC support? by Aphoxema · · Score: 1

      What's SDHC?

      --
      "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"
    11. Re:SDHC support? by Chyeld · · Score: 2, 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.

    12. Re:SDHC support? by Sockatume · · Score: 1

      Not necessarily. SDHC is licenced seperately. If it's not using it right now, I doubt they bothered to get the licence. No point in spending 5c extra per unit on disabled functionality.

      --
      No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
    13. Re:SDHC support? by Aphoxema · · Score: 1

      So it's not a physical limitation of the Wii to support them?

      --
      "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"
    14. Re:SDHC support? by Chyeld · · Score: 1

      Nope, which is why the 'hack' that was just released included the code allowing programs written to use it to access and use SDHC cards.

  5. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by serviscope_minor · · Score: 4, 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.

    --
    SJW n. One who posts facts.
  6. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Darkness404 · · Score: 4, 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.

    --
    Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
  7. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by mrbill1234 · · Score: 3, 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.

  8. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When do you folk feel a bit ethically obliged to let the company just make some money

    It's always nice to start the day with a laugh. Thank you.

  9. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  10. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Loibisch · · 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.

  11. Not a surprise, really by Idaho · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Check this article to find out why this is not really surprising.

    Yup, that is indeed Nintendo featuring on TheDailyWTF.

    --
    Every expression is true, for a given value of 'true'
  12. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Dan+East · · Score: 3, 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.

    --
    Better known as 318230.
  13. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Anonymous Coward · · 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?

  14. When will they learn??? by hummassa · · Score: 1

    DRM does not work.

    Mathematically speaking.

    Come on, I think I will make my children write a thousand times on a blackboard "DRM does not work", so at least _they_ won't bother trying when they grow up.

    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, some tripods and a calibrating movie... [and a 64-bit timestamp :-)]

    --
    It's better to be the foot on the boot than the face on the pavement. ~~ tkx Kadin2048
    1. Re:When will they learn??? by KasperMeerts · · Score: 4, Funny

      And who will be permitted to own a TV and a camera at the same time you think?

      --
      As long as there are slaughterhouses, there will be battlefields.
    2. Re:When will they learn??? by jimicus · · Score: 2, Interesting

      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.

    3. Re:When will they learn??? by MrMr · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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.

    4. Re:When will they learn??? by FourthAge · · Score: 1

      That's not how DRM works in 2038. It works in the only way it could: by preventing you passing copies of information across the network, unless you have the rights to distribute those copies. Maybe you try to get around this by telling the network that the pirated files are "original", "freely redistributable" and that you are the creator... but then, you just identified yourself as the pirate. Not what you want in an era where the penalties for copyright infringement are actually enforced.

      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...

      I think what you really mean is "DRM does not work, mathematically speaking, on a standalone machine". If the claim was more generally true, then why would anyone care about the possible applications of TCPA?

      Ultimately there is too much investment in what some call "imaginary property" to simply drop the whole idea of copy protection. People are going to find ways to make it work. When this happens, we all have to make sure it will work for us. Personally, I want it to work with Linux and other free software, which is not as crazy as it sounds, because copy protection functionality can (and should) be implemented by a hypervisor that runs on top of the existing OS. This is important for security as well as openness, because the hypervisor can be small enough to be bug free.

      --
      The tao of democracy: the government you can vote for is not the real government.
    5. Re:When will they learn??? by Otto · · Score: 2

      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)

      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, and often interlinked by virtue of members being in more than one.

      --
      - Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set him on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
    6. Re:When will they learn??? by hummassa · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Otto, above, made most of my arguments for me.
      With encryption, no one can know what I am passing in the network.
      Hell, one can even encrypt and embed (steganographically) others' copyrighted works _inside_ one's copyrighted works (I can make a video with six hours of me sitting on a chair picking my nose and steganographically embed on that video the whole "SpiderMan 2040" feature) Not to mention that false identities will _ever_ exist, and one can distribute (and download!) the works under a false or stolen ID all the time...
      But, thank you for playing! :-)

      --
      It's better to be the foot on the boot than the face on the pavement. ~~ tkx Kadin2048
    7. Re:When will they learn??? by doublebackslash · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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!

      --
      md5sum /boot/vmlinuz
      d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e /boot/vmlinuz
    8. Re:When will they learn??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      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!

      And that changes the analogy how?

    9. Re:When will they learn??? by Moridineas · · Score: 1

      Actually, using your example of the DVD player, wouldn't it be more like a locked door with somebody on the inside holding a key and unlocking the door everytime somebody (trusted) knocks?

    10. Re:When will they learn??? by philspear · · Score: 1

      Door locks are designed to convince the casual thief to rob your neighbour.

      I'm pretty sure this is, in fact, NOT what they're designed for.

    11. Re:When will they learn??? by Beezlebub33 · · Score: 1

      Well, it's an amusing way to put it, but it is pretty accurate.

      Door locks can be circumvented (picked, broken, go through window, etc), so it's silly to think that somehow its going to really prevent a thief from robbing you. However, it presents a barrier. A thief will take the path of least resistance, and if you have bigger locks on your door than your neighbor, they will rob your neighbor. No, I don't want a thief to rob my neighbor, but better them than me. Even better for the thief to be convinced to go to a different neighborhood.

      --
      The more people I meet, the better I like my dog.
    12. Re:When will they learn??? by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      You can only hope that it eats up enough of a thief's time, and/or makes it obvious to onlookers what is going on.

      I don't know how this observation relates to DRM though.

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    13. Re:When will they learn??? by Hordeking · · Score: 0

      Actually, using your example of the DVD player, wouldn't it be more like a locked door with somebody on the inside holding a key and unlocking the door everytime somebody (trusted) knocks?

      Actually, it's more like the key's owner telling some "trusted" person that the key is under the doormat.

      --
      Disclaimer: The opinions and actions of the US Gov't are in no way representative of those held by this author or its ci
    14. Re:When will they learn??? by PitaBred · · Score: 1

      There's no way to keep someone out if you have to give them both the key and the lock?

      The point is that it's not like a locked door because you can't keep the key secret. By definition you HAVE to give out the key.

    15. Re:When will they learn??? by slapout · · Score: 1

      "They do, however, keep honest men from temptation."

      But it's my house!

      --
      Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
    16. Re:When will they learn??? by Convector · · Score: 2, Funny

      Door locks just tell theives you have something worth locking up. Really you should leave your doors unlocked and open to show you have nothing worth securing. Better yet, just remove the doors entirely. If you do have valuables, put them in a big pile by the front door. Theives will be so suspicious of a hoard of unguarded treasure, they'll be sure you're watching them.

    17. Re:When will they learn??? by mdielmann · · Score: 1

      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.

      The difference is, if you break into my house, you're in my house. If you break DRM, anyone who's even a little interested in bypassing it can just take a copy of yours.
      It's the exact same thing as with digital media. Not everyone is interested in ripping CDs and DVDs, but this hasn't stopped them from proliferating across the internet.

      --
      Sure I'm paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?
    18. Re:When will they learn??? by brkello · · Score: 1

      Your clarification doesn't really add anything to the analogy. The point is that there is always a way to get around it and that it isn't very hard. I think the locked door analogy as opposed to open door is perfect for the point it was making.

      --
      Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
    19. Re:When will they learn??? by Blue+Stone · · Score: 1

      DRM is like going to the pub and forgetting your key and ringing up your girlfriend (stay with me, guys) and telling her you forgot your keys and her saying that she'll put the key outside for you to find, but not in the usual place (under the plant pot by the back door) but somewhere less obvious so that a thief won't find it, and then your phone runs out of credit and you never get to hear where she put it.

      And then you getting home later that night and facing two choices: stumble around your back yard, drunk, looking for where she hid the key using whatever twisted logic she always employs (but is never consistent in) and get inside without causing her any grief (free) or bang on the door and wake her up, get in the house, but have to pay the price for it.

      THAT is DRM, sir.

      (No cars were used in this analogy. Drink-driving costs lives.)

      --
      Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce
    20. Re:When will they learn??? by Drinking+Bleach · · Score: 1

      Well, no you don't. The best DRM is when the key is not handed out, and thus no content can be played!

    21. Re:When will they learn??? by sjames · · Score: 1

      DRM is even worse. It is an attempt to lock the door such that I can give someone the key so they can enter and watch TV, but somehow magically keep them from giving that key to a friend or walking out with the TV when they're done.

      We don't even attempt that with doors and keys because it's just too obviously doomed to failure.

    22. Re:When will they learn??? by fractoid · · Score: 1

      Only criminals would want to use analogue video equipment. When analogue video equipment is illegal, only criminals will have analogue video equipment.

      --
      Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
    23. Re:When will they learn??? by sowth · · Score: 1

      In the future, the company who made the camera will own the "copyright" to your nose-picking video, and only people who can afford to spend lots of money on expensive software will be allowed to edit videos. I'm afraid your stenography software (or anything you or your friends program) won't be allowed by your OS, only what the vendor signs. You will also be required to pay if you want copies of your nose-picking masterpiece.

      This is the real problem with "DRM"--it is really a variety of controls to keep small businesses and regular people from creating their own competing content and programs. Protecting copyright is just a cover the DRM companies use. If you look closely, DRM systems at minimum require all programs be signed by an approved key. Who do you think controls the keys?

      This is an oversimplification, as there are many variations, but it all boils down to large companies having control over distribution of software and/or audio/ video/ text media.

      What happens when all video players will only play content signed by the DRM consortium? What happens when all computers/electronics will only run programs signed by the DRM consortium? It will only lead to an outcome of oppression by those who control the keys.

    24. Re:When will they learn??? by hummassa · · Score: 1

      Are you saying that Free Software will be outlawed thoughout the Earth? Or pushed aside by hardware companies? Because that is exactly the opposite of the current trend (governments pushing for Free Software, /most/ hardware makers being more and more FS-friendly).

      --
      It's better to be the foot on the boot than the face on the pavement. ~~ tkx Kadin2048
  15. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Idaho · · Score: 4, Informative

    The console is about as cheap as they get

    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 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.

    --
    Every expression is true, for a given value of 'true'
  16. why support these companies? by timmarhy · · Score: 1, Insightful

    why support these companies that support DRM?? when MS or walmart use DRM there's a /. nerd outcry, but when apple or Nintendo do it it's ok because we can crack it?? news flash retards, ALL drm is crackable because it's a broken strategy

    --
    If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
    1. Re:why support these companies? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      why support these companies that support DRM??

      Because they make good products? Not all of us are nerds with a cause who boycott any product that is vaguely related to any sort of copy protection or DRM.

      Also, Nintendo attempting to block homebrew doesn't have anything to do with DRM. Get your terms straight.

    2. Re:why support these companies? by tepples · · Score: 1

      why support these companies that support DRM??

      Because there isn't a computer maker that supports SDTV output and doesn't support DRM. If we all had HDTVs, we'd probably be playing homebrew on a slim PC through a VGA or HDMI cable, with game controllers connected through a USB hub and/or a Bluetooth receiver. But there's a huge installed base of SDTVs out there.

    3. Re:why support these companies? by trytoguess · · Score: 1

      It's ok since the object in question (whether it's the Wii, the iPhone, or a lot of things) has value despite the DRM, and as someone else said not all of /. is on a crusade to defeat locked hardware. Also, there is a bit of fanboism involved, and in the case of the Wii, we've long accepted that game consoles would be locked. I find that the less pragmatic an item is and more artsy and/or entertainment the chances of accepting a DRM increase by a fair amount. Convience trumps all of course.

  17. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1) Probably because they haven't managed to slow down. Only an idiot would lower prices during high demand. 1b) False. The real 360 is still the Premium or Elite. The core is basically worthless, so the real price of the 360 is still 300+$. You can't even make use of most of the new dashboard without a 512MB card or a HDD.

  18. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Anonymous Coward · · 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 previous one) are direct attacks against (the use of) homebrew, the fact that Team Twiizers managed to find new exploits in mere days just goes to show how incredibly skilled they really are.

    I think not enough credit is given here.

    Sources:
      - http://wii.marcansoft.com/wiimpersonator/reports/20081023-031234.log
      - http://www.wiibrew.org/wiki/Wii_System_Updates

  19. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by sgbett · · Score: 1

    I'm all for home-brew, and Nintendo trying to block it is one thing (a bad thing imho).

    Whether or not they make a profit on each unit sold is another thing. You can't criticise a business for turning a profit on the products it sells just because its competitors are daft enough to sell at a loss!

    --
    Invaders must die
  20. This is good to hear by NoNeeeed · · Score: 4, 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.

    1. Re:This is good to hear by tepples · · Score: 1

      If Nintendo created a proper home-brew platform, making it easier and cheaper to make small games and apps

      According to WiiWare proponents, it already is. They say a Wii developer needs three things to get a license:

      • A corporation, partnership, or other business entity
      • Office space for a Wii developer unit, separate from any residence
      • A playable game for Windows (using OpenGL), Mac OS X, or Linux, ready to be ported

      But have you considered developing for a slim PC instead? I've seen PCs from the major national OEMs that aren't much bigger than an Xbox 360, with two front panel USB ports for gamepads, ready to connect to any HDTV with a VGA or HDMI input.

    2. Re:This is good to hear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      For the record, GeexBox and MplayerWii support USB storage, Mplayer supports DVD. It shouldn't be too long before convergence.

    3. Re:This is good to hear by Rennt · · Score: 1

      Agreed. I would love to buy a Wii for the unique games, but I can't bring myself to pay for a system that the manufacturer is ACTIVELY stopping the community from improving.

      For my money the best console available is a cracked original xbox running XBMC and an upgraded harddisk. Cost you about AU$200 to put together. Has DVD, best media center software I've ever seen (open source), runs emulators for old PC, arcade, SNES and N64 games, has a catalog of thousands of native games (the newer ones still look pretty good) and as a bonus allows you quickly and easily rip your games to disk for no-more CD swapping. (you could use it for pirating rented games too I suppose, but I would never do that). Nothing on the market currently can touch that functionality.

    4. Re:This is good to hear by Rennt · · Score: 1

      If you need a license from Nintendo to develop its just not homebrew is it?

      You need an "open" system for an active homebrew scene - something closer to your slim PC idea (oblig. does it run linux?) - but then you don't get the advantage of millions of identical machines to target.

    5. Re:This is good to hear by tepples · · Score: 1

      its just not homebrew is it?

      PS3 has an open sandbox, limited to the Cell CPU and half the RAM. Xbox 360 has an iPhone-style paid sandbox, limited to programs written in C# plus HLSL. Wii officially has only old versions of JavaScript and SWF, and it's not very efficient at those. Nintendo's failure to provide or even tolerate more than a token sandbox is why I might not be buying Nintendo's next console in its first year.

      something closer to your slim PC idea (oblig. does it run linux?) - but then you don't get the advantage of millions of identical machines to target.

      How important is it for the machines to be equal in capability, as opposed to greater than or equal? For instance, you pick a year, and then you target the Intel CPU and Intel GMA inside a typical small form factor PC manufactured in that year. The system requirements for Windows Vista Aero will probably continue to be an acceptable target at least until Windows 7 Service Pack 1 comes out.

    6. Re:This is good to hear by mdielmann · · Score: 1

      Currently the selection on WiiWare is pretty limited unless you want old NES games.

      First, WiiWare is all new games (that may look strikingly similar to various DS games). What you're talking about is the Virtual Console.
      Second, it's not just old NES games, or even just old Nintendo games. It's all kinds of old games from a variety of consoles.
      Now why aren't you excited about this ?!?!

      P.S. Honestly, not even half serious.

      --
      Sure I'm paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?
  21. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by EvilIdler · · Score: 1

    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 :)=

  22. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by FireFury03 · · Score: 2, 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 how I like, they have reduced the value of the Wii to the point where I cannot justify the cost of buying one. Forgive me for saying, but doing whatever you can to reduce the value of your product doesn't seem to be a bright marketing strategy.

  23. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by FictionPimp · · Score: 3, 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.

  24. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by geekmux · · Score: 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.

    As far as the Xbox/PS3 vs. Wii, it ALL depends on what kind of gamer you are. We all know that hardcore gamers aren't snapping up Wii consoles for all-night fragfests. Different gaming niches altogether.

    As far as the price tag, Finance 101 my friend. They keep the quantities on the shelf low to generate some hype, and come out with some quirky "game" (WiiFit) every now and then to generate more hype to keep demand up. And Wii games aren't exactly contenders for Game of the Year, again niche market.

    If YOU were selling a product with that kind of demand, I'd think "price reduction" would be in 99th place on the list of Marketing priorities while you cruise around on your private jet.

  25. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What would happen if the Wii's price was reduced? You would get more demand is what. And I don't think Nintendo would want more demand as there is enough of it already, what with the machine being sold faster than they can produce.

  26. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by DMadCat · · Score: 0

    "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?"

    They sell their product for profit?!!! The scoundrels! Because, you know, most successful companies just give their stuff away.

    "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?"

    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.
    Just from a glance at the wiki, some of the games being made available are clones of Nintendo's own games!

    If you're going to defend homebrew do not take the stance that Nintendo should be happy and endorse it.

  27. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by theaveng · · Score: 0

    Doesn't matter. 5 years ago I spent $50 on a disappointing game called Starfox Adventures. Nintendo/Rare/somebody still has that $50 in their pocket (plus interest). I am not pleased about that.

    "Excuse"? I don't need an excuse to not purchase trash, whether it's made by Nintendo or somebody else. I also didn't waste my money on the latest release of Stargate Atlantis Season 4 on DVD ("crap" for short). Just because a manufacturer publishes something does NOT mean it's worthy of handing-over the greenbacks.

    As I said, if it's worthy, then I'll buy it (Zelda Ocarina of Time was actually purchased twice; once on the N64, and again on Mini-DVD for Cube/Wii playback). I don't just throw-away my cash foolishly, and you will not succeed in making me feel guilty about not buying poor products.

    --
    FOX NEWS.com should be BANNED from television and internet. Have the Congress take it over and give us Truespeak.
  28. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    3) The Homebrew Channel + Waninkoko/Wiigator's loader does allow you to play burned games, fortunately or unfortunately.

  29. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by theaveng · · Score: 1

    >>>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)?

    --
    FOX NEWS.com should be BANNED from television and internet. Have the Congress take it over and give us Truespeak.
  30. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by serviscope_minor · · 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.

    --
    SJW n. One who posts facts.
  31. Team TWiizers rocks! by eagee · · Score: 2, Insightful

    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!

  32. Analog signal cannot represent interactivity by tepples · · Score: 2, 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.

  33. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by geminidomino · · Score: 1

    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?

  34. YAY :-) ROTFLOL by hummassa · · Score: 1

    (people here at work thought I was having a seizure...)

    That is the best definition of door locks' effectiveness I ever read.

    But, anyway, the important thing is: once one thief (eventual or lock-picking) enters your home, he takes your TV and stereo; once one copyright infringer copies your movie, the whole internet has access to it via BT. :-)

    And answering KasperMeerts above:

    And who will be permitted to own a TV and a camera at the same time you think?

    even in a police state the would have difficulty tracking all cameras and/or impeding clubs/families to own a digital tv and a camera. Notice that I told about a rig that does not involve breaking up the big-screen TV. Once one is willing to open his/her TV up, it's just a matter of substituting the physical screen for some millions of data entry points and recording away. But with nice calibration, even perfect/near-perfect digital copies via the analog hole are possible.

    --
    It's better to be the foot on the boot than the face on the pavement. ~~ tkx Kadin2048
    1. Re:YAY :-) ROTFLOL by jimicus · · Score: 1

      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.

    2. Re:YAY :-) ROTFLOL by hummassa · · Score: 1

      I have a hacked PSP that proves you wrong.

      --
      It's better to be the foot on the boot than the face on the pavement. ~~ tkx Kadin2048
    3. Re:YAY :-) ROTFLOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the whole internet has access to it via BT. :-)

      Down with British Telecom! Thieving bastards!

  35. Balloon Fight is a Joust clone by tepples · · Score: 2, 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. 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.

    1. Re:Balloon Fight is a Joust clone by DMadCat · · Score: 1

      Well, lets see...

      http://wiibrew.org/wiki/List_of_homebrew_applications_(games)

      From another quick glance at the list,
      Asteroids
      Duck Hunt
      Missile Command
      Tetris

      Don't suppose any of those sound familiar?
      Think all of those games are in the public domain?

      Just because they're old does not mean they're fair game.

      The point being, go ahead, have a blast modding your Wii to do whatever it is you please but asking Nintendo to endorse software that could potentially allow people to run software (homebrewed or stolen) that might end up costing them money when the game owner comes along with a lawsuit is not just ridiculous, it's stupid.

      You're doing something with their console that they didn't intend and you somehow feel entitled to their blessing because you feel you're making their system better.

    2. Re:Balloon Fight is a Joust clone by tepples · · Score: 1

      From another quick glance at the list,
      Asteroids
      Duck Hunt
      Missile Command
      Tetris

      Without being able to see screenshots of all these programs, I can't see evidence of anything more than trademark violation, which is easy to fix by editing strings and recompiling.

      You're doing something with their console that they didn't intend

      Then which maker of consoles, computers, or comparable devices does intend for amateurs to 1. write their own programs for the device and 2. connect it to a standard-definition TV? We haven't really had a home computer designed to display on a TV since the 8-bit micros of the 80s.

    3. Re:Balloon Fight is a Joust clone by DMadCat · · Score: 1

      You're missing the point. This isn't about what you can or can't do with a console or a computer. It's about doing that and expecting the manufacturer to allow it.

      No, you can't tell without a screenshot and even then you can't tell because the underlying code may still be infringing. That's the problem with Nintendo allowing homebrew or even looking the other way while it's going on. They have no control over the code so for them to allow it to run on their console is leaving them open to lawsuits.

      Another example would be a homebrew coder writing totally his own code and creating some ultra-violent game that adults might find hilarious and fun but that same game, written outside the boundaries of the parental controls might be picked up by some young kid whose clueless parent might then flip over it and sue Nintendo because their parental controls failed.

      Aside from that, Nintendo has no control over the entertainment being distributed via the homebrew crowd and since they're in the business of making money from selling games it would be kinda foolish of them to allow even amateur game makers to compete for their customers' time and money.

      Again, people can do what they want on any machine they want but honestly expect a manufacturer to endorse it and deny any illegalities (yes, whether the code is the same or not, naming your game Duck Hunt is an infringement making it an illegal distribution)is just naive.

    4. Re:Balloon Fight is a Joust clone by Ant+P. · · Score: 1

      Then which maker of consoles, computers, or comparable devices does intend for amateurs to 1. write their own programs for the device and 2. connect it to a standard-definition TV?

      The Pandora has a TV-out, FYI. It's also faster, cheaper and more portable than a Wii. If only it wasn't sold out for the next 5 years...

  36. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Loibisch · · Score: 2, Informative

    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/

  37. Pandora? PCs? by tepples · · Score: 2, Interesting

    People don't buy $250 systems just to play homebrew.

    No, but they do buy $330 systems just to play homebrew. 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".

    1. Re:Pandora? PCs? by Blublu · · Score: 1

      It appears that openness is one of the Pandora's features. It's a valuable and useful feature and I'm sure if the Wii was equally open, people would actually buy it just for the homebrew stuff. And of course PC has much more and much more useful "homebrew" than Wii could ever have in a thousand years.

      --
      meh
  38. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Loibisch · · Score: 1

    That might all be well and true, but if you read the post I was replying to again you will see that all I did was counter the OP's "The console is about as cheap as they get" argument.

    I know there is no reason for Nintendo to dop the price, as it would undermine the "exclusiveness" of the Wii.

  39. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yes, but you need an original copy of "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" for that. Then you just copy a save game onto a SD card. Google "wii homebrew channel", it is as easy as it gets.

    But it is wrong to say that this does not allow playing "backup" games from regular burned discs. It is still early, but there already tools (that can be run from the Homebrew Channel) that allow you to play burned games without a modchip, and the compatibility list is increasing by the day. I heard you don't even need to patch the ISO before burning it anymore.

    It is actually a pretty fierce struggle between homebrewers, hackers and pirates. Hackers open up the platform, usually for homebrewers, but then pirates step in to install WiiWare, VC games and, recently, to implement those backup loaders. And the thing is, I really don't think Nintendo gives a rats ass about homebrewers, but they have to attack wathever hackers do with their system because there is another group of people that uses those hacks to pirates games on it.

  40. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Verteiron · · Score: 1

    It's called "game rental". Learn it. Use it. Love it. Avoid buying crap like "Starfox Adventures".

    --
    End of lesson. You may press the button.
  41. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    As far as the price tag, Finance 101 my friend. They keep the quantities on the shelf low to generate some hype, and come out with some quirky "game" (WiiFit) every now and then to generate more hype to keep demand up.

    Right. Nintendo increased production from 1.6M to 2.4M in a year, to try to meet the near-unprecedented demand. (See http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=33095) Where are they storing all those millions of consoles? The truth is, it's the consumers who make sure the Wii can't be found on shelves, by buying the damn things as fast as they get back in stock.

    And Wii games aren't exactly contenders for Game of the Year, again niche market.

    Riiiiight, games like Super Mario Galaxy can never win such prestigious awards...

    http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/game-of-the-year-2007/best-overall-game-of-2007/1177115
    http://www.gametrailers.com/player/29286.html

    Not that I really disagree with you all that much, Nintendo have been careful about ramping up their production to not allow Wiis to pile up in stores, and *most* Wii games are shitty.

    Both of those are attributable to common sense, though: Produce too many of an item, and you're paying to lease more factories than you actually need, and on top of that you also have to store your excess stock in expensive warehouses.

    As to the shitty games, that's just down to the Wii being the market leader, and thus the target of shovelware publishers who want to maximise their sales by releasing games to the largest install base possible. Oh yeah, the Wii is cheaper to develop for, too!

  42. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Idaho · · Score: 1

    How much?

    As others have posted, about $50, see source. This was in september 2007, and I can hardly imagine that production costs would have increased since then (to the contrary..) The price of the Wii is however still $/EUR 250 worldwide.

    The reason I ask is because it's unusual.

    It is. Good job for them, especially as compared to Microsoft where the total losses in the X-box division likely run into the 11-digit range by now; see here and here, and note that this is even before the infamous $2B "red ring of death" recall.

    --
    Every expression is true, for a given value of 'true'
  43. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Duradin · · Score: 1

    Part of the appeal of console systems is that, generally, a console owned by person A is the same as the console owned by person B. Consoles provide a uniform environment. Both for game development and game playing. If you're playing SSBB online, you don't have to worry about someone running cheats or maphacks.

    Is it that difficult of a concept to grasp, that console makers like having a nice uniform hardware (per console) environment?

    Don't like big bad Nintendo patching out all your mods? DON'T GET THE NINTENDO UPDATES THEN!

    If you want to mod your system and play official games and use official services perhaps you shouldn't try to do it with the same unit.

    Once you buy it, you are free to do with it what you want. Nintendo has no obligation to keep their inventory compatible with your out of spec system.

  44. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Whilst the homebrew channel doesn't run burned games, it can be used as a platform to 'softmod' programs which can run burned games.

  45. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by MikeBabcock · · Score: 1

    The stupid thing is still selling like hotcakes, why bother dropping the price? Supply and demand my friend. While any geek worth their salt may be able to realize that a PS3 or a 360 is 'more value' than a Wii, dollar for dollar in hardware, the Wii has specific games and playability that appeals to people willing to pay for it.

    When people stop buying them at full bang, I'm sure they'll drop the price $50 to increase sales.

    --
    - Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
  46. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by MikeBabcock · · Score: 1

    Normal operating procedure for everyone but Nintendo. As I understand it, Nintendo has almost always sold their consoles at a profit, being less driven to have the latest and greatest but rather the best licensing arrangements for games instead.

    Ironically the two times I remember Nintendo bragging about having better hardware than the 'other guys' were the N64 and the Gamecube, arguably both miserable failures compared to other console systems at the time.

    They still made a profit off each unit sold, IIRC though.

    --
    - Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
  47. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Piranhaa · · Score: 2, 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 near flawless and may be downgraded from 'plays' to 'semi-works'. It's still a huge milestone for the homebrew community since you're now able to run patched discs without hardware mods.

  48. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ~30M sold and climbing while not seeing them on store shelves doesn't sound like a bad marketing strategy. Especially considering the price.

  49. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Aphoxema · · Score: 3, 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.

    --
    "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"
  50. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Bert64 · · Score: 1

    Or piracy... Download, play, realise its crap, delete, unless your network connection is especially poor you wasted less time and money than renting.

    --
    http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
  51. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by wastedlife · · Score: 1

    1) Definitely agree, why cut your prices when your system is still selling out and the holidays are approaching? Even if it is the "technically" lesser system.

    1b) I disagree, the $200 (USD) 360 now lets you upgrade with a free 512 MB card or a 20 GB drive for $20. First link I could find. Also, the Core has been pretty much discontinued with the Arcade taking its spot. The Arcade comes with the wireless controller, HDMI, and now you can upgrade to a 20 GB HD for 20 bucks more. Definitely the better deal at the moment. Although with larger downloadable games and demos, and HD install option on the next dashboard update, Elite or the larger HD upgrade might be the way to go. Too damn bad that you can't just throw in a standard 2.5" drive instead of paying out the ass for the Microsoft model.

    --
    Said, "It's just like dice but it's got more sides And it tells me who lives and who dies"
  52. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by geminidomino · · Score: 1

    Not all that interested in burned games. I bought all the wii games I want (and likely will ever want, with the crap they're churning out now. :( ) including the aforementioned Twilight princess. ;)

    Thanks for the hint.

  53. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by masterzora · · Score: 1

    Nobody is criticizing Nintendo for selling at a profit. People are, however, pointing out that homebrew, if anything, is having a positive effect by selling more consoles (at profit) and is having no negative effect due to the lack of game piracy.

    --
    Remember, open source is free as in speech, not free as in bear.
  54. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by masterzora · · Score: 1

    On the same note, if we're willing to take the risk of breaking things and non-compatibility, what reason does Nintendo have for patching it out? I mean, they're free to if they wish (obviously), but we've clearly stated that being one of their nice uniform consoles is not our primary intention.

    --
    Remember, open source is free as in speech, not free as in bear.
  55. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Actually you can play Wii games off of burned discs with Homebrew. See here

  56. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by theaveng · · Score: 1

    Correct. Also downloading saves the earth by not burning gasoline in a car driving to Blockbuster rental.

    --
    FOX NEWS.com should be BANNED from television and internet. Have the Congress take it over and give us Truespeak.
  57. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by theaveng · · Score: 1

    >>>always being less driven to have the latest and greatest

    That's their current philosophy, but it wasn't "always" like that. The NES/Super NES were not the best, but they were no slouches next to other 8 and 16 consoles. The N64 was the most-advanced technology of the 1994-96 console releases. Ditto the Gamecube (I consider it equal in power to the Xbox). It was only with the most-recent generation that Nintendo decided to settle for third (in terms of tech).

    --
    FOX NEWS.com should be BANNED from television and internet. Have the Congress take it over and give us Truespeak.
  58. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by theaveng · · Score: 1

    >>>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.

    When they produce good work. That's when I hand-over the cash. Not before. I owned a Gamecube, spent a lot of money on their games, and was very disappointed with the results. I didn't think the quality of the games were as good as what I played on the previous N64 console, or Super Nintendo console.

    At this point, if anybody owes anything, it's Nintendo who owes ME for sucking-away my money on poor-quality Cube games. I don't see Nintendo "ethically obliged" to refund my money??? So I'll just treat Nintendo how they treat me. "Nothing personal; just business."

    --
    FOX NEWS.com should be BANNED from television and internet. Have the Congress take it over and give us Truespeak.
  59. Perhaps this is blindingly obvious by eudaemon · · Score: 1

    But why doesn't Nintendo just license the ScummVM and drop it as a small $ purchase on their online store?
    That way anyone who has an old scumm game can play it for free (by copying it to the SD card), and anyone else
    can buy a copy via the store. Seems like win/win for everyone. I know there are hacks to enable mplayer, and DVD playback
    and those are separate issues, probably more due to licensing the underlying patents for various compression technologies
    than anything.

  60. Think of the children... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Blah, blah, blah I am only doing it for the poor kids with cancer....

    Sorry it is such a bullshit excuse and 99.9% of those people who are creating/using this hack to run pirated games could give a shit otherwise.

    No offense but you and the rest of the clones around here have your head shoved up your ass a little, but by all means turn a blind eye to what is really going on. It is silly because the people releasing these cracks are all majority involved in Warez groups or otherwise, but hey whatever you do don't read that 'release.txt' full of the Warez groups name and crack team that came with the hack to run your open source hardware.

    To pay for games or download for free from the internet? hmmmm doesn't take a monkey to figure out that choice

  61. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Drinking+Bleach · · Score: 1

    Inconceivable!

  62. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Drinking+Bleach · · Score: 1

    Actually, cheat codes exist and work very well with the Wii. It's just not very common yet until Datel allows Idiot Cheater to do it by inserting a $50 disc.

  63. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not to mention, I would absolutely love a wii channel to play my collection of divx movies and music etc. While some of the solutions out there are okay, I'd love to see something more tangible other than a flash player in a browser to play movies. A homebrew channel would be teh awesome. Divx has a streaming tool they created that would just make the perfect server for a wii channel.

  64. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Steneub · · Score: 0

    Please don't confuse illegal with unlicensed.

  65. Why haven't computer makers got sued yet? by tepples · · Score: 1

    That's the problem with Nintendo allowing homebrew or even looking the other way while it's going on. They have no control over the code so for them to allow it to run on their console is leaving them open to lawsuits.

    Are you claiming Midway would be able to successfully sue Nintendo for allowing confusingly named games on its console? If so, why hasn't anybody been able to sue Apple for the same thing on its Macintosh computers?

    Another example would be a homebrew coder writing totally his own code and creating some ultra-violent game that adults might find hilarious and fun but that same game, written outside the boundaries of the parental controls might be picked up by some young kid whose clueless parent might then flip over it and sue Nintendo because their parental controls failed.

    Would they likewise sue Microsoft because Windows Vista's parental controls failed?

    1. Re:Why haven't computer makers got sued yet? by DMadCat · · Score: 1

      So your logic is, because they haven't, they can't and therefore all of that activity is legal?

      Your keyword successfully tells me you know that's not the case.

      So now you would expect Nintendo to support homebrew applications based on the logic that they're not likely to be sued for illegal activity.

      So we've gone from telling Nintendo, "It's not illegal." to "Well, okay, maybe some of it is, but you won't get in trouble." Next you'll be saying, "C'mon, try some. Everybody's doing it."

      You're throwing out computer examples but using the same logic. Again, just because no one has doesn't mean they can't. In this case Nintendo is responsible for both the hardware and the underlying OS. What do they have to gain from homebrew? Will that increase sales? How does allowing 'wild' software on their console help them make money delivering games?

      To take another angle, what happens when they endorse homebrew (remember, this is code they can't see or control) and someone decides to throw some code in there that pulls your credit card number and information as you're plugging it into the Wii Shop Channel? Who're you going to hold responsible for that? Everyone and their brother will be shouting about that evil Nintendo just as they do for that evil Microsoft full of bugs and holes that allow people to run arbitrary code that 'haxor'd my boxen' or some crap.

      To reiterate yet again, do as you like but don't expect Nintendo to go along or sit idly by. You're acting in self-interest and so are they. You're just going to have to live with the fact that if you choose to use it you'll need to either never update your firmware (not likely) or continue to rely on the homebrew coders to fix things after an update.

    2. Re:Why haven't computer makers got sued yet? by tepples · · Score: 1

      In this case Nintendo is responsible for both the hardware and the underlying OS. What do they have to gain from homebrew? Will that increase sales? How does allowing 'wild' software on their console help them make money delivering games?

      In this case Apple is responsible for both the hardware and the underlying OS. What do they have to gain from homebrew? Will that increase sales? How does allowing 'wild' software on their Macintosh computer help them make money delivering iLife and iWork?

      You're just going to have to live with the fact that if you choose to use it you'll need to either never update your firmware (not likely) or continue to rely on the homebrew coders to fix things after an update.

      So instead of a console, what device that connects to an SDTV should fans of amateur software use?

    3. Re:Why haven't computer makers got sued yet? by DMadCat · · Score: 1

      In this case Apple is responsible for both the hardware and the underlying OS. What do they have to gain from homebrew? Will that increase sales? How does allowing 'wild' software on their Macintosh computer help them make money delivering iLife and iWork?

      Apple is selling a personal computer, not a game system. It's meant to run arbitrary software. Nintendo is selling a game console which has a much more specific purpose.

      So instead of a console, what device that connects to an SDTV should fans of amateur software use?

      So now your defense is, "If we can't use this then what can we use?!" (nevermind the obvious answer, build a PC and get a decent graphics adapter)

      Why would this be Nintendo's problem? You're looking at this as if you feel entitled because the hardware is there and it's possible to manipulate.

      Their answer to your question would be go build your own hardware and code your own drivers and stop distributing what could potentially be malicious code to a system we design and sell as a game console meant to be used to play games we distribute.

      Look, I'm all for modifying, coding, and tuning whatever you own for whatever purpose you want.

      The problem is not the actual doing it.

      The problem is trying to claim everything is completely legal and attempting to justify it so as to get Nintendo to support it. That's like trying to justify pirated copies of Windows to Microsoft and demanding they give you free updates.

    4. Re:Why haven't computer makers got sued yet? by mushroom+blue · · Score: 1

      we feel entitled because we own the machine. because it's our property, we can disassemble and modify it to our liking. a quick review of property law would support this, and is encouraged as an exercise for the reader. everything we're doing is fully legal, as we have the rights to modify our machines to do so. we don't even care if nintendo does support us (though it'd be nice if we could trust firmware updates). we're just surprised they don't, considering how much they like to talk about disruptive markets and technologies.

  66. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by Zebedeu · · Score: 1

    Methinks you're behind on your software versions: http://www.veoh.com/videos/v16290942FhfBbDSy

  67. War: software freedom vs commerical enterprise by sowth · · Score: 1

    Maybe more governments and businesses are going for open source and free software, but I am not sure you could say a majority are. Ten years ago, it was almost 0% except for common things such as Apache and the like. It is up from 0%, but I doubt it is over 50% or even 25%, however I don't know for sure. Would be nice to see the actual numbers though.

    I do admit there have been changes to sway things so open source / free software is in a better position, but I think the freedoms to have such things are still at risk. There are also still software and media companies pushing and lobbying for proprietary software and DRM, so there is still a reasonable possibility for them to take over.

    1. Re:War: software freedom vs commerical enterprise by hummassa · · Score: 1

      Our shop (State Assembly, thirty million people State of Minas Gerais, Brasil) is slowly but surely going FS. Some people even scream "let's convert all desktops" from time to time, but the in-charges are still holding out. MS Office is history, though, so Windows XP, Oracle and a full-text-indexing-engine are the only proprietary pieces of software that do not have the phase-out date set.

      --
      It's better to be the foot on the boot than the face on the pavement. ~~ tkx Kadin2048
  68. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by mushroom+blue · · Score: 1

    it's amazing that, out of all the things you could've replied with, you went with something pointless and redundant; containing the inherent supposition that your terseness had some sort of depth. good job. you have a bright future in politics.

  69. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by GaelTadh · · Score: 1

    It's so weird to read an argument when only one side gets modded high enough for me to see :)

    --
    Search your logs like the web: splunk!
  70. Re:Don't encourage the crackers... by MikeBabcock · · Score: 1

    Honestly, that's what I said. Go read it again.

    --
    - Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)