Nintendo continues their war against piracy, arrrrr. They've revised the design of the Wii drive to render all current modchips completely useless. Sucks for "backup"-ers who came late to the party then.

Announcing a mod...for a modchip. Takrin over at WiiNewz has been working on a variation of the Wiifree modchip that's currently in circulation. What makes Takrin's mod interesting is that it combines the Wiifree's (free) software coding to a PCB, held in place with just double-sided tape and foam - the chip isn't soldered onto the Wii console. Takrin also added solder pads on the chip in case users preferred soldering the chip in.

The modder hasn't tested the chip during the time of this report - he further comments that this solderless Wiifree mod is still a prototype. Just keep in touch in case Takrin updates with test results, project updates, or even an instruction guide. For now, here are sample pics of the chip - the larger PCB is for the upgradeable, while the smaller PCB is for the non-upgradeable version of this Wiifree mod.

   

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.

Let's face it: Humans have the natural tendency to tinker with what's not broken. In the gaming world, that often leads to interesting results. The Nintendo Wii game console has seen a lot of that lately. Mod chips are all over the place, prompting the Japanese console manufacturer to rewire the Wii to stop the ruckus.

We don't know yet if Nintendo will win its war against modders, but one thing's for sure: the clever people behind these innovations won't be daunted that easily, just like the people at WiiRez.

They've come up with the WiiRez chip, a small PCB that expands your Wii's functionality beyond the ordinary level. Just check out these features:

• Direct Boot for Wii backups and GC backups
• Direct Boot for Homebrew in GC mode
• Direct Boot for NTSC region Wii games/backups on US and JAP consoles
• Support of PAL backups/original on the NTSC WII (some with swaps)
• Support of NTSC backups/original on the PAL WII (some with swaps)
• Support of IMPORT GAMES GC on different region WII (some with swaps)
• ALL CONSOLE NTSC AND PAL SUPPORTED
• solder-less POINTS
• PADS FOR NORMAL CONNECTIONS (for future consoles or for who don't like solder-less)
• Full D2B Drive Support
• Built-in audio fix
• Full support for DVD-R/DVD+R and DVD+RW/DVD-RW without Booktype
• Supports Multi-Disc games for both Wii and Gamecube
• Recovery Mode for incomplete/Bad Upgrades
• Stealth mode

Without a doubt, the best asset of this chip is its solderless application. Those of us who don't have the dexterity for that part will find it easier to avoid breaking the Wii. The stealth mode is also a nice addition to keep a low profile from Nintendo's eyes and avoid the hassles that come with getting caught.

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]

  

PSPDoom, nice guy that he is, decided to send us a tip about his experience in doing the "A" button modification we wrote about a week or so back. He actually decided to go the distance, however, putting LEDs on his Wiimote and his Classic Controller. He even sent us some pictures and video of the controllers in action.

Of course, he says it's a simple mod, though complete newcomers to modding will probably want some supervision if they're thinking of doing something like this. Here's what he had to say about it (with some editing for clarity, of course):

Using 3v mini blue LED's, just solder to the "red" wire pin on the classic remote pcb board (you will see it once you open it) for the 3v positive & solder to the "black" wire pin off the remote pcb board for the ground.

We don't completely understand that last bit about soldering off (We prefer to keep our warranties, in case of problems), but if it's only a matter of soldering and case replacement, then we're pretty sure Wii-users with the requisite experience should have an easy time with this.

This mod highlights two great features, however:  this mod doesn't eat up any significant battery life and the Wiimote mod looks really pretty. For now, feel free to enjoy the video (Click the "Full Article" link below!), and if you're up to it, why not mod your own controller as well?