Nintendo Wii Modchip Guide

Wii Homebrew Installer – What It Can Do For You

Matt — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:03:00 +0000

The Wii HomeBrew Installer will safely and easily unlock your Wii enabling you to play copied games and run homebrew applications.

There is a lot of information on the web about this. I spent many hours researching the various methods, but a lot of the information was outdated or wrong. I had downloaded a ‘free’ one initially but this killed my Nintendo Wii dead and I then spent 2 days learning how to get it working again.

I would like to share my experience with the installer with you to help you make sense of everything! It turned out to be quite a confusing topic due to the amount of misinformation online.

What Is The Wii Homebrew Installer?

Quite simply it is a piece of software that will alter the way your Nintendo Wii functions dramatically. The main purpose of it is to disable the copy protection of the Nintendo Wii so you can boot copied/backed-up games without restriction.

However, it will also add a range of new features to your Wii

Wii HomeBrew Installer Features

Circumvent copy protection
Run copied games
Make copies of original Nintendo Wii games
Install homebrew applications – such as emulators
Enables playback of DVD’s
Watch DivX/XviD videos and movies
Automated installation

That’s a fairly impressive list of features for a small bit of software. It means you will never need to buy a game again! And at only $29 it is an absolute BARGAIN!

Buying A Wii Homebrew Installer

There are a number of different installers available. They all do the same thing and give you all of the features above, however the quality of guide/installation instructions can vary massively between them. For example, the BreWii installer only provides low quality video instructions, but MyHomeBreWare comes with a PDF manual, High definition videos and 24/7 customer support.

I have provided a quick overview of the different providers below to help you get a better picture of what you get for your money with each one of them.

Frequently Asked Questions

I have tried my best to anticipate your questions and answer them below. If you have any additional questions please post them in the comments below and I will answer them within 24 hours and add them to the FAQ below.

Click the question to view the answer

Yes, you can play any copied Nintendo Wii AND Gamecube game. Either download games from file sharing services like BitTorrent, or make your own copy’s of original discs. All you need is a DVD writer on your computer!

How do I setup the homebrew installer?

Once you have bought the homebrew installer, all you need to do is download it and copy the files to an SD memory card.

How long does it take to setup?

Once you have it on a memory card, it takes less than 10 minutes to install. The installation is completely automated so you can just leave it running

No it doesn’t. You do not have to make any hardware changes to the Wii at all, and as such your warranty is valid and intact. If you do need to make a warranty claim though, make sure you reset your Wii to factory settings to remove all traces of the homebrew installer.

The homebrew installer is the best option. Modchip’s have too many drawbacks, they are expensive, need soldering in/expensive professional installation, voids your warranty and cannot be removed if they go wrong.

Where can I get it from?

I have compared the top 4 below; my personal recommendation is MyHomeBreWare but use the table below to make a decision for yourself

Wii Homebrew Installer Comparison

	MyHomebreware	HomebrewInstall	Wii Unlock Plus	Brewii
My Rating	5/5	4.3/5	3.9/5	3.0/5
Price	$29.95	$29.95	$29.97	$34.95
WWW	Visit Site	Visit Site	Visit Site	Visit Site
Features
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Support

Wii Homebrew Installer – What It Can Do For You is a post from: Nintendo Wii Mod Chip

Which Is The Best Nintendo Wii Modchip?

Matt — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:46:36 +0000

Buying a Nintendo Wii mod chip will unlock your Wii and give it a whole new lease of life. I have recently chipped my own Wii system and a few of my friends after they had seen mine in action.

I have spent a lot of time researching the various methods of Wii Chipping and also the advantages and disadvantages to each method. After reading this you should be armed with the information you need to make an informed decision on the best Nintendo Wii modchip for you.

What Does A Nintendo Wii Mod Chip Do?

Essentially a Wii modchip is a small circuit board that is used to disable the built in restrictions and limits of the Nintendo Wii. They bypass any region coding, digital rights management and copy protection which means you can run unlicensed software or copied games (usually written to a blank DVD).

Nintendo Wii Modchip Features

Play copied Wii/Gamecube games you have downloaded
Make full copy’s of games you or your friends own/rent
Play imported Wii/Gamecube games
Play games from consoles such as the N64, SNES, Sega Genesis & more!
Get access to the entire library of virtual console games
Add new functionality to your Wii with powerful Wii homebrew applications
Load your games, movies and music on an external hard drive for a one click access media library

Unlocking your Nintendo Wii will give you all of those powerful features and much more.

Personally I have been using my Nintendo Wii recently to take me back to my child hood playing classic games from the Super Nintendo. In fact, I downloaded the entire library of SNES games from BitTorrent and now have them all at my fingertips!

Wii Chip Mod – How To Do It

There are a few different ways you can go about the Wii chip mod-

1. Buy a pre-modded Nintendo Wii
You can buy pre-modded Nintendo Wii’s but they can be quite pricey and often 2-3x the cost of a standard Nintendo Wii. Buying a pre-modded Wii is certainly the least hassle but also the most expensive way of going about it. If you already own a Nintendo Wii then its pointless buying one that already has the Wii chip mod installed.

2. Install A Wii Modchip
Theres are a range of wii chip mod options available on the market, and you must make sure you buy the right one for the specific hardware revision of your Wii. The main issue with installing a Nintendo Wii mod chip though is it will require precise soldering skills to install it.

3. Install A Soft Chip
The Softchip is a brand new method of chipping your Wii that has been released in the last few months. The Softchip is universal and will work with any Wii hardware revision and unlike the Wii modchip, can be installed by anyone without any previous experience or soldering skills.

As a seasoned mod chip installer, I personally have no problem with soldering a mod chip into any games console. I have years of experience chipping every console released since the Playstation 1. However the Softchip offers some sincere advantages over the traditional Nintendo Wii mod chip.

Nintendo Wii Modchip Overview

You can pickup a Nintendo Wii modchip for anywhere between $40 and $60 and there’s quite a few to choose from! I’m sure you have heard of the Cyclowiz, D2CKey or WiiKey while researching the Wii chip mod. You also have to ensure you buy the right Nintendo Wii mod chip for your specific DVD drive, you can use a website such as Wii Drives to help identify exactly which drive you have.

However as I pointed out above, a Wii modchip does require delicately soldering into place. If you don’t have any experience soldering this is going to be impossible for you to do yourself and you will have to seek out a professional Wii modchip installation service to have it installed at an additional cost.

Nintendo Wii Mod Chip Summary

A physical Wii chip mod costs in the region of $40-$60
If you have no soldering experience you will need to pay someone to install it for you
Estimated total cost of Wii chip mod and installation is $90-$100
Fitting the Wii chip mod will VOID your warranty with Nintendo

Nintendo Wii Soft Chip Overview

The Wii Soft Chip has recently launched and has quickly been regarded as The Best Nintendo Wii modchip. The Wii softmod functions as a virtual Wii chip and is a small piece of software that you install onto your Nintendo Wii via an SD memory card.

By using a Wii softmod, you can chip your Wii yourself and have all the benefits of any of the Wii mod chips in less than 10 minutes without any risky soldering or the need to dismantle your console. All you need is an SD memory card and 10 minutes of your time.

Nintendo Wii Soft Chip Summary

Soft chips cost around $30
It can be installed by anyone without previous experience
Takes roughly 10 minutes to install
No need to take your console apart
No soldering required

The Best Nintendo Wii Modchip

Wii Modchip installation is very difficult. As I have already said I’m an experienced modchip fitter with many years under my belt. Although I could solder any of the Wii mod chips into a Wii in my sleep, it would be stupid to ignore the benefits of the Soft Chip. The soft chip is cheaper, easier to install, quicker to install and 100% risk free!

In the end, I chose to use a Soft Chip to unlock my own Nintendo Wii and have since chipped a few of my friends Nintendo Wii’s using the exact same soft chip. This means I have bought the soft chip once for $30, and chipped 4 5 of my friends Nintendo Wii’s with it so far.

My personal recommendation is to use a Nintendo Wii Soft Chip!

Buying The Best Nintendo Wii Soft Chip

As with Wii mod chips, there are a few different soft chips on available to choose from. They are all universal and will work with any Nintendo Wii and the only thing that sets them apart is the quality of guide, customer service and most importantly price.

I have made a side by side comparison of the best soft chips to help you decide on which to buy, but personally I would recommend the MyHomeBreWare soft chip due to the outstanding step by step guide and also, step by step video tutorial. They also offer 24/7 customer support and a 60 day money back guarantee if you are not happy for ANY reason. Its is certainly the best Nintendo Wii mod chip.

	MyHomebreware	HomebrewInstall	Wii Unlock Plus	Brewii
Rating	5/5	4.3/5	3.9/5	3.0/5
Cost	$29.95	$29.95	$29.97	$34.95
Homepage	Visit Site	Visit Site	Visit Site	Visit Site
Features
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Customer Service

Web site	MyHomebreware	HomebrewInstall	Wii Unlock Plus	Brewii
Downloadable Guide
High Def Videos
Standard Videos
Bonus How To Videos
FREE Updates
Play Backup Games
Play Imported Games
Homepage	Visit Site	Visit Site	Visit Site	Visit Site

nintendo wii modchips
Learn How To Mod Wii

Which Is The Best Nintendo Wii Modchip? is a post from: Nintendo Wii Mod Chip

Nintendo Wii Sales Going Crazy

Matt — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:29:38 +0000

The Nintendo Wii has been on the market for 3 years now, and is still flying off store shelves. The Wii has seen a price drop recently and reports are coming in that more and more of you are going crazy for it. Cammie Dunaway, the executive vice president of sales and marketing for Nintendo has stated that sales are up 85% on a week by week basis.

UK Retailer, John Lewis are also reporting that they are selling 1 Nintendo Wii every 60 seconds on the run up to Christmas which is crazy for a product that has been available so cheaply for 3 years already.

Nintendo Wii Sales Going Crazy is a post from: Nintendo Wii Mod Chip

Nintendo Owns 80 Percent Of Female Market

Matt — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:52:46 +0000

Nintendo recently announced to the BMO Capital Market conference that the Nintendo Wii is thrashing its rivals when it comes to female uptake of the console.

According to Nintendo’s Reggie Flis-Aime the Nintendo Wii captures 80% of the entire female gaming market. While the Xbox 360 (11%) and Playstation 3 (9%) cant even begin to compete against that number.

Thats a pretty impressive number, and you have to commend Nintendo for reaching out to previously untapped audiences in the market, like my gran!

Via kotaku.com

Nintendo Owns 80 Percent Of Female Market is a post from: Nintendo Wii Mod Chip

Ju-On: The Grudge Reviewed And Prices Compared

Matt — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:15:36 +0000

The good folks over at WiiDS.co.uk have just posted a review of the Ju-On: The Grudge. The game is based on the Japanese horror film ‘Ju-On’ which was later used as a basis for the film, The Grudge. If you have seen either of these films, then you should have a small idea of what the games has in store for you. If you havent, then I suggest you hold on to your seats tightly!

Read the full review at WiiDS.co.uk

Ju-On: The Grudge Reviewed And Prices Compared is a post from: Nintendo Wii Mod Chip

How To Mod Wii Without Chip Installation – My Experience

Matt — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:44:27 +0000

The easiest way to mod Wii without chip installation. Have more fun with your unlocked Nintendo Wii and play your favourite games backups without the risks of installaing an expensive modchip!

Recently I wanted to unlock my Wii and began to search the internet and find out exactly how to mod Wii and discovered that you dont actually need a modchip to unlock your Wii’s full potential, in fact the best way is to mod Wii without chip installation.

I spent endless hours searching around the internet, read endless forums and downloaded various free guides and software to mod Wii without chip. I thought I could just pickup a free guide online and no sweat!

What Did I Get?

I was wrong, very wrong. All of the information I found was outdated, incorrect and misleading which actually lead to me breaking my Wii and I couldnt even get past the first screen that says press ‘A’ to continue! I was going crazy trying to work out how to get my Wii working again!

I learned the HARDWAY!

How To Mod Wii Without Chip

If you want to unlock your Nintendo Wii you have 3 options-

1. Buy A Pre-Unlocked Wii
You can buy pre-unlocked Wii’s but you have to pay the price and it is not cheap. They can go for upto $750 which is ridicolous, no body is going to pay that extorinate amount for a pre-unlocked Wii.

2. Find A Free Guide Online
This was my original choice, mainly because it was free. However as you already know this was a disaster for me which ended up killing my Wii due to the outdated inconsistent information available.

From my PERSONAL EXPERIENCE I would not recommend this Wii modding option

3. Unlock It Yourself
You might be wondering how to mod the Wii, but there are a number of proven guides online that have helped thousands of gamers like us realise the full potential of our Wii. The guides are very detailed, and contain everything you need in one place with instrucional videos. It’s so easy your sister, brother, daughter, mum or grandma could do it without any experience.

It is so easy to mod Wii without chip, that thousands of people are doing it online everyday. Once you have unlocked your Wii you will get access to thousands of new games, and also transform your Wii into a rich multimedia powerhouse that puts every other games console on the planet to shame.

What You Can Do With Your Unlocked Wii

Play Backed Up Copies of Your Wii Games
Play Homebrew Games and Applications
Play Classic Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, Playstation 1, Nintendo and Sega Games On Your Wii
Turn Your Wii Into A Powerful Media Centre With DVD Support
Without Ever Using A Modchip, Soldering, or Dismantling Your Wii

Which Is The BEST Wii Unlocking Guide?

When I wanted to Unlock my Wii, all I wanted was a highly detailed ‘how to mod a wii’ guide that came with everything I needed to unlock my Wii easily and safely. I struggled to find a guide that included detailed video tutorials, FREE support and instant lifetime updates.

What The Best Guide Should Contain

The best how to mod Wii guides should allow you easily mod wii without chip installation and provide fantastic support.

What I Look For-

It must be compatible with all of the different Nintendo Wii software versions from 3.0-4.3+

It has to be done without the use of a modchip or the dated zelda twilight hack that requires a copy of the Zelda Twilight game which is expensive to buy

The files I need should be easy to find and download in the private members section

It must include a detailed guide clearly illustrating how to mod Wii

Ideally it will also include detailed video guides to compliment the written guide in case I run into any problems

The guide also needs to teach me how to load new games and applications onto the Wii easily

And the most important thing im looking for with all of the Wii unlock guides I have tested-

A 100% no quibbles money back guarantee if im not satisfied for any reason

I personally bought a few of the different how to mod a wii guides and have compared them below, without doubt the MyHomeBreWare unlocking guide is the best and easiest to follow.

	MyHomebreware	HomebrewInstall	Wii Unlock Plus	Brewii
Rating	5/5	4.3/5	3.9/5	3.0/5
Price	$29.95	$29.95	$29.97	$34.95
Link to Site	Visit Site	Visit Site	Visit Site	Visit Site
Features
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Customer Support

Web site	MyHomebreware	HomebrewInstall	Wii Unlock Plus	Brewii
Downloadable Ebook
HD Videos
Videos
Bonus How To Videos
Lifetime Updates
Play Backup Games
Play Imported Games
Link	Visit Site	Visit Site	Visit Site	Visit Site

Additional Resources:

How To Mod Wii Console Slightly outdated now
Nintendo Wii History An interesting read around the history of the Wii

If you have any wii modding questions or want to know how to mod a wii then feel free to ask them by leaving a comment below!

How To Mod Wii Without Chip Installation – My Experience is a post from: Nintendo Wii Mod Chip

Review: New Super Mario Brothers Wii

Matt — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:58:44 +0000

Pre-Order New Super Mario Brothers And Save Money Using Our Price Comparisson Below

What looks to be the first review for New Super Mario Bros, ComputerAndVideoGames have sang Nintendos praises and given it a pretty solid 9/10

It was like being seven years old all over again as we excitedly stormed into Nintendo UK’s office and headed into the clean white room, where a TV displaying the title screen for New Super Mario Bros. Wii awaited us.

This is an exciting time for old-school Mario fans. It’s the first proper 2D Mario platformer for a home console since Super Mario World on the Super NES. And we’re glad to say that it doesn’t disappoint.

I have personally been waiting for New Super Mario Brothers for a long time, and im hooked on the opportunity of playing classic mario WITH my friends. Have a look at the video of the multiplayer action below-

Click here for the full review

Review: New Super Mario Brothers Wii is a post from: Nintendo Wii Mod Chip

Wii Chipping – The Definitive Guide

Matt — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:02:27 +0000

Nintendo Wii chipping is a broad and complex subject. I recently began researching which was the best way to unlock my Wii easily and safely. I spent many hours searching through various Wii chipping information from various websites and forums and would like to share my first hand experience with you. Please note I have had a lot of experience with modding games consoles and used to fit modchips part time mainly in the Xbox, Xbox 360, Playstation 2 and Playstation 3.

The Benefits Of Wii Chipping

Direct loading of Nintendo Wii backups and copies
Direct loading of Gamecube backups and copies
Can also load games from an external USB hard drive
Loads both Wii and Gamecube games from any region
Can read both DVD-R and DVD+R media
A library of homebrew applications to add new functionality
Nintendo Wii media center
Emulators for past games consoles

Wii Chipping – The Options

There are various different ways to successfully chip your Wii, and these are broken down into 2 categories a modchip and softchip. Both the modchip and softchip achieve exactly the same thing and unlock the true power of your Wii. All that really separates the modchip and softchip is the cost, installation process and future upgrade options.

Modchips

Modchips are the traditional way to chip any games console, in the days of the Playstation 1 you would take the console to a local electronics shop that could solder the modchip into place and allow you to play copied games freely. The same is true with the Nintendo Wii and there are a range of modchips available such as the WiiKey, D2CKey and Cyclowiz.

Modchips cost in the region of $40-$60 and give you all of the features listed above. The main issue with any modchip though is that it does require professional installation which involves dismantling your Wii and physically soldering the modchip into place. Not only can this be quite expensive to get done, but it is also a high risk process that could do irreversible damage to your Wii and it will also void any warranty you have on the console.

Modchip Summary

Costs around $40-$60
Require professional installation at an additional cost
Voids your warranty
Upgrade the chips via a DVD

Softchips

The softchip is an all new and innovative way to mod your Nintendo Wii. Essentially a softchip is a virtual version of the modchip that costs around $30-$35. The softchip is very straight forward to setup, and can be done by anyone without any previous experience.

The softchip follows a simple 3 step installation process which takes less than 5 minutes to do-

Buy the softchip and copy it to an SD memory card
Put the memory card into your Wii
Follow the included instructions

Once the installation is completed, the Wii will reboot and be fully unlocked. If for any reason you need to reverse the process, you can simply reset your Wii back to factory settings and the softchip will be completely removed. This means if your Wii does develop a hardware fault (stops reading discs etc) you still have a valid warranty with Nintendo.

Softchips also come bundled with additional software and applications out of the box such as emulators and games.

Softchip Summary

Costs $30-$35
Can be installed by anyone
Can easily be uninstalled
Detailed video instructions
Leaves your warranty intact
Regular updates, upgrades and enhancements
Excellent 1 on 1 customer support
A range of bundled applications and software

The Best Method Of Wii Chipping

Although I have had previous experience with games console chipping and am more than comfortable fitting modchips myself; the benefits of the softchip severely outweigh the traditional modchip. Not only is it cheaper to buy, but you don’t need to splash out on expensive installation as you can do it yourself with ease.

Why The Softchip Is Better Than The Modchip

Costs roughly $10-$15 cheaper
Do not require expensive installation
They offer the same features as a modchip
Is a full ‘Do It Yourself’ solution
Does not void your warranty with Nintendo
Can be uninstalled quickly and easily
Includes detailed video tutorials and guides

Choosing The Best Softchip

I came across various Wii Chipping guides online that utilize the softchip method. Although they all offer the Wii Chipping software the quality of service, support and guides do vary between them. When looking to buy a softchip I would recommend you look out for the following-

The softchip must be compatible with all system versions of the Wii
Must include everything you need to unlock the Wii
Beware Some softchips require Zelda Twilight Princess – avoid these!
Detailed step by step instructions that are well written and easy to follow
Additional video guides to complement the manual
Customer service and support availability

I have tried a few of the different Softchips out and compared them below for you. It should also be noted that all of the Softchips below offer a full 60 day no quibbles money back guarantee if you are not satisfied for any reason!

After buying a few of them, MyHomeBreware offers the best overall product and service in my opinion. It includes High Definition videos and a range of bonus products such as cheats and Wii game backup software.

MyHomeBreWare Video Demonstration

	MyHomebreware	HomebrewInstall	Wii Unlock Plus	Brewii
Rating	5/5	4.3/5	3.9/5	3.0/5
Cost	$29.95	$29.95	$29.97	$34.95
Homepage	Visit Site	Visit Site	Visit Site	Visit Site
Features
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Customer Service

Web site	MyHomebreware	HomebrewInstall	Wii Unlock Plus	Brewii
Downloadable Guide
High Def Videos
Standard Videos
Bonus How To Videos
FREE Updates
Play Backup Games
Play Imported Games
Homepage	Visit Site	Visit Site	Visit Site	Visit Site

Wii Chipping – The Definitive Guide is a post from: Nintendo Wii Mod Chip

Sexy Black Nintendo Wii Release And Price Compare

Matt — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:51:15 +0000

Nintendo has released an exclusive black Nintendo Wii console in Europe on the run up to the christmas period, and you have to agree it is sexy as hell. The RRP is £179.99 although some retailers are already caught up in price wars over the new system in a struggling economy.

Black Nintendo Wii

The black system also comes with Wii Sports Resort and Wii Motion Plus for extra value, which makes it an unbeatable package in my eyes. I expect this to sell out fast!

Sexy Black Nintendo Wii Release And Price Compare is a post from: Nintendo Wii Mod Chip

The Best WiiMote Accident – Live On TV

Matt — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:39:30 +0000

Since the release of the Nintendo Wii, we have seen a host of Wii related injury pictures appear online, everything from broken TV’s to girlfriends with black eyes! It even spawned fan sites such as http://www.wiiinjury.com. But when HSN were pushing the Nintendo Wii on their shopping channel, the presenter made a classic mistake.

Skip to 4:40 to see the magic unfold

The Best WiiMote Accident – Live On TV is a post from: Nintendo Wii Mod Chip