We're picking up word that two mod chips have been confirmed to be able to run backup copies of Super Mario Galaxy from Nintendo for the Wii. The first is D2CKey, whose team officially confirmed that the DC2Key modchip's intial release could run backups of the U.S. version of SMG on an NTSC Wii. The hack has limits, however - the U.S. copy of SMG reportedly failed to run on Wii consoles from other regions.

The second chip, Team Cyclops' Cyclowiz, was enabled to run Super Mario Galaxy, thanks to a recent firmware (3.6) update. Before the owners make their update, however, Team Cyclops did warn that the new fw release is still in the beta phase, and not all the chip features/setups were fully tested.

Yet another chapter in Nintendo's heavily documented clampdown on piracy closes today with the shutdown of the CycloWiz modchip's website. This was made apparent when we accessed the said site and were greeted with a memo from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA).

It indicated that actions had been taken against a perceived violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Here reads part of the said memo:

The sale of circumvention devices, including modification chips, is actionable under federal law. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 1201) ("DMCA") prohibits the manufacture, sale, import or offer to the public of any technology, product, service, device, component or part thereof that is designed to circumvent a technological measure that protects the right of a copyright owner or controls access to a work protected under federal copyright law.

ESA has a good faith belief that the IP address 207.96.32.240 (http://www.cyclowiz.com/) infringes the rights of one or more ESA members by offering for sale circumvention devices.

Just the other day, Nintendo Company Ltd. cracked the whip against several Korean sites that were illegally distributing copies of Nintendo game titles. We'll let you know if we hear any related news regarding the CycloWiz modchip or its dev team for that matter. You can read the whole memo by clicking on the Read link below.

For the Wii console owners running on Team Cyclops's CycloWiz modchip, we've got news. The team has just announced that  users can now update their modchip via PC. It will be noted that prior to this announcement, the modchip's firmware was updated via downloads from the Cyclowiz site, which were subsequently burned into a DVD, and loaded into the Wii.

This new procedure will require a DVDTool cable, and a PC flasher application that can be picked up at the Team Cyclops site's forums. This feature allows allows users to upgrade CycloWiz version 1 to support D2B, and will also chip recovery in case of a bad flash.

It's been a while since the last Cyclowiz update, but we're pleased to hear about the latest information Team Cyclops has on the Cyclowiz modchip. According to their news, the latest drive revisions of the Wii are "100% compatible" with their modchip.

Here's what they had to say about this little development:

First of all, we received two new Wii consoles for testing, one from Japan and one from Hong Kong. Both have the new drive revision that was spotted in Taiwan last week. Guess what, while the drive PCB is different, CycloWiz has been tested and is 100% compatible with the new boards! Not only is it working as usual, but it is possible to install it using quick-solder method, as the alignment of the points didn't change. (emphasis theirs)

In addition to this, they also have a new upgrade ready for people to try out. There's now an upgrade 3.0B that is compatible with D2B chipsets. According to Team Cyclops though, you won't need to run it if you already have 3.0 on your modded Wii.

Team Cyclops, the people behind the CycloWiz modchip for Nintendo's Wii videogame console, have just released the first upgrade for their upgradeable modchip. The upgrade includes a special version of GCOS that allows users to run Gamecube Multi Game discs. This special version is fully compatible with the old Viper format.

As for which switch to use, Team Cyclops says that "any toggle switch should do the job, as well as push buttons that don't need to be held." The next batch of CycloWiz modchips will also include a switch so users won't need to buy one separately. Here are a few more notes from Team Cyclops regarding the upgrade:

• If you turn off your console during the welcome screen or switch test screens, make sure it is in deep sleep mode for at lest 10 seconds, it won't recognise discs until you do it. If you have any doubts, unplug the console for 10 seconds.
• If you get stuck in a Programming - Verifying loop for more than 10 cycles, it is likely that there is an installation problem with the S wire. You have to turn off the console to fix this, but make sure you never turn it off before trying at least a dozen cycles. We got two reports of this behaviour and it was fixed both times.
• Make sure the switch pads are not in contact with any metal part of the Wii, including shielding. If there is such a short circuit, the fuse next to the X point can blow and drive won't spin or eject anymore until you fix the fuse.

There are some new updates regarding the Team Cyclops' Cyclowiz. According to the team, the chip disable wire that leads to the reset button won't be needed for the update.

Also, as you can see on the right, they posted a picture of a portion of the test bench they're using for the Cyclowiz. As their website statement indicates,

It's a time consuming task, we're making sure everything runs smoothly on a lot of different drives, consoles and chips so that everything will fine on each and every user setup. It also helps us find bugs, a couple were already fixed since last post.

Hopefully, Cyclowiz will only get better with each revision. Let's wish Team Cyclops the best of luck for the next phase of their modding project.

Better late than never, apparently. A little less than a month ago, TeamCyclops, the brains behind the CycloWiz modchip for the Nintendo Wii, added a DVD upgradability feature for their chip. A few days later, the team promised hopeful Wii owners that they would be featuring a demo to show off how this update would be done. Fast forward to today, and we introduce readers to this video demonstrating what appears to be the CycloWiz DVD upgradability in the works. Watch and see (via whackawookie over at Youtube):

Unfortunately, we're unsure of how the whole process took place, given the lack of any verbal instructions. Future Cyclowiz owners may want to sit down and view this video to give them an idea of how to run the DVD update -  one of the past milestones this modchip has already overcome. Just be careful of the chip version you're making ready to purchase, and you're all set.

Ah, modchips for the Wii. So how many are they so far? There's the CycloWiz, there's the Wiinja modchip, there's the Wiikey... what else? Oh never-mind, they're too many to bother. Anyway, here's the latest in electronic workarounds for the Wii, presenting: The Wi-ic.

 

Yeah, that's all the info we have on it. The site is yet to work, and there isn't any info on pricing or availability, or even the team/group that developed this supposed mod. Yes, this isn't news, see the off-topic/rumor tag up there? There just isn't enough of the important stuff yet to warrant this as a contending solution for your Wii "backup" needs.

Anyhoo, if they do update their site, or if any further info is revealed about this potential product, we'll let you folks know. If you want you could check out the products site yourselves by clicking on our read-link below. (Not functioning as of this writing, but still somewhat informative.)

TeamCyclops' modchip for Wii">CycloWiz, modchip for Wii">TeamCyclops has recently announced in their official site that a number of CycloWiz units from the latest batch that they've released have an issue that disables the modchip's functionality. They say that due to a problem at the PCB factory, the A, B, and C points of the CycloWiz ended up connected together. They say that unfortunately some of the defective units were already shipped to customers.

They urge customers to verify that they do not have one of the defective CycloWiz modchips before they install it. An identification guide is offered at their official site. We suggest that you go look for it there, but this image below should be helpful.

TeamCyclops offers free replacement of defective units through their retailer network. They also offer free replacements with D2B chipset support for people who have a D2B console and a CycloWiz from an earlier batch that doesn't support the D2B chipset.

Buy: [CycloWiz]

Hold on to you bank accounts, kiddies! Just before you decide to buy either the Wiikey or the CycloWiz modchips for its recently announced D2B compatibility, we have an announcement to make: Team Ninja has just posted on its website that it has now updated the Wiinja modchip. It now carries D2B support.

Given just how long the team's been lurking in the shadows since its first announcement, we'll just have to see how the Wiinja will fare, now that we have three competing models to choose from (Wiikey, Cyclowiz, Wiinja). And on that note, no word yet on the Wiip - which was ironically branded as an open-sourced competitor. And as  point for comparison, here are the Wiinja's current features:

• Non Swap / Direct Boot
• Boots Own Region WII Backups Directly
• Boots Own Region Gamecube Backups Directly
• Boots Imports Gamecube Backups by SWAP
• D2B Drive Support and Improved Read Method
• AudioFix ;)
• MultiDisc/MultiGames
• Easy Soldering & Remove / 5 Wires
• New!! 25€ Retail Price (Doesn't include taxes)
• Support DVD-R and DVD+R (Burn +R on DVDROM Booktype)
• Universal EUROPE/USA/JAPAN Wii Console Supported
• Stealth Mode
• NOT Upgradeable / ON SALES NOW!!