Nintendo Wii Hacks

106 Articles

nintendo wii hacks

No More Updates To Wii Backup Loader

September 19, 2008 by 20 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yBTsNwOO1I]

You can now play backups on your Wii without a mod chip. A beta version of the bootloader made by [Waninkoko] has been leaked onto the net. Keep in mind that it is unfinished, so your results may vary. All you need is the bootloader and a legal copy of Zelda.  After a few patches and some installing, you’re ready to play backups, no mod chip necessary.  We covered this before, but there is a twist this time. Unfortunately, [Waninkoko] states that this project has been officially abandoned, probably due to the leak. Apparently crackers get hurt by leaks too.

[via Gizmodo]

Wii Backup ISO Loader

September 15, 2008 by 15 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xtu0kQHaIhI]

The video above shows a new Wii backup loader that’s in development. It works via the easy to use Homebrew Channel we covered previously. From the news post it seems you have to rip the original game disc and then patch it before burning the copy. No release date has been set. As Nintendo Wii Fanboy put it, there’s much more interesting things to do with homebrew than wait for this to be released.

Wiimote Head Tracking In Processing

August 25, 2008 by 3 Comments


[Manuel] has been playing around with [Johnny Lee]’s Wiimote head tracking code. He’s posted a preliminary port outlining the code in the Processing environment. It relies on darwiinremoteOSC so you won’t see this outside of OSX, but it should help you out if you’re trying to do this is in Processing on another platform.

[via Create Digital Motion]

[photo: nicolasnova]

Wiimote Missile Launcher

August 15, 2008 by 1 Comment


[toelle] has shown yet another use for the Wiimote by having it auto aim his USB missle launcher. The bill of materials is pretty simple: a Wiimote, a motorized USB missile launcher, some duct tape and glovepie.

Simply tape the Wiimote to the missile launcher, install glove pie and follow his instructions for some custom code and off you go. He goes in depth on how to connect the Wiimote to the PC, as well as details on how the custom code works. It only tracks IR targets right now, which is a bit of a bummer, but that would see TV remotes right?

Is there any way this could be combined with the sonar controlled missle launcher that we covered in July?

[via Hack N Mod]

Watching DVDs On Your Wii

August 14, 2008 by 9 Comments


Nintendo Wii Fanboy explains how to watch DVDs on your Wii using the new MPlayer application. Although the reviews are mixed, some claim it works and others claim it doesn’t, most are excited about this new feature which has been missing since the Wii’s launch. To get this working, you need to run the Twilight Hack and get the Homebrew Channel. Then you download the MPlayer software onto your SD card and install that using the Homebrew Channel. From there, you can launch the application and play your DVDs with ease using the minimalistic DVD player interface.

Although this seems like a lot of work just to watch a DVD, especially considering this might not work for you, it is interesting to see people trying to push for media center software on the Wii. Now they only need to find ways to get past the Nintendo’s attempts to stop this Homebrew movement.

Wiitendo: A Wii In An NES Case

August 11, 2008 by 17 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTs8c4r8m94&hl=it&fs=1]
[Matt] has managed to cram a Wii into an old NES. The write up is fairly short, but does mention a few details. He installed some Game Cube controller ports and a Game Cube memory card. He’s added some external LEDs connected to the Wii’s power button. He put a lot of effort into this, as he said almost every area of the internal case needed some serious dremel action to make the Wii fit inside. He’s even promised a more detailed write up, so keep an eye out for that.

You might also remember the Wii Laptop previously on Hackaday.
[via Hack a Wii]

More Wiimote Hacking From Johnny Lee

June 23, 2008 by 2 Comments

Our friend [Johnny Lee] has been quite busy traveling and moving to a new city. He hasn’t had time to put together any new videos because of this. He’s been doing more Wiimote research though and has put together an extensive post about what he’s working on and thinking about.

Right before the move, he put together a demo for throwable displays. The square pieces of foamcore have retro-reflective tape added to each of the corners. The Wiimote sees the orientation of the square and adjusts the projected image to fit perfectly; even when you pick it up and throw it. He used it to add a trail to an airhockey puck. Embedded above is an earlier project where he used the Wiimote to track a foldable display and project accordingly.

[Johnny] has also been working on 3D tracking with two or more Wiimotes. Since the Wiimote is camera based, stereo triangulation is simple. Check out the video below from the University of Cambridge that uses two Wiimotes for motion capture.

Have a look at [Johnny Lee]’s full post for even more Wiimote ideas.