Last week's post talked about The History of Homebrew
as related to software and video games. Nintendo's newest console is already
closing in on the original Xbox as the most successful for homebrew
programmers. This week we'll look specifically at Homebrew for the Nintendo Wii,
and help you get The Homebrew Channel up and running on your system.
The Homebrew Channel
The Wii Homebrew Channel is channel used to run applications and games that
are developed by consumers, as opposed to only games officially released by
Nintendo. Installing the Wii Homebrew
Channel on your console is legal and there are many developers who have made
freeware games that you can load and play. Although there are plenty of legal
uses, the channel can also be used to play pirated video games (which we won't
get into here).
Twilight Hack
The release of the Twilight Hack enabled Wii users to run homemade content on a
SD Card (Secure Digital Card) without the need for a ModChip. This SoftMod
opened the floodgates for Homebrew on the Wii. The Twilight Hack is a hacked
save game file for Zelda Twilight Princess that causes the system to crash and
load the code that will install the homebrew channel.
To install The Homebrew Channel on your console you will
need the following:
-
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (rent it
if you need to)
- SD Card
- SD Card Reader (for transferring files from your
PC)
- Free downloadable files – Twilight-Hack & The_Homebrew_Channel
Back and Forth with
Nintendo
Nintendo has tried and tried again to disable the Twilight Hack and
installation of the Homebrew channel by updating their system software; however,
a new version of the Twilight Hack has been released to work with all new
versions of the Wii software. One of the recent updates was released 8 hours
after the Wii update to disable it!
Since the software versions are constantly being updated, I
suggest following the link at the bottom of the page to use the installation
instructions from the developer. Depending on your Wii System Software version and
the serial numbers on your Zelda disc, determines which version of the Twilight
Hack you should download.
Even though the Twilight Hack works with the current version
of the Wii System Software (version 3.4), it is not recommended you update your
console. The only thing the newest update does is try to disable the homebrew
channel without adding any new features.
Installation Complete!
After you've installed the homebrew channel on your Wii, you're probably
wondering how to take advantage of the new functionality. If you are a software
programmer, then I'm sure you can't wait to start tinkering around in Linux; but
for the rest of us, there is a large library of applications that have been
developed to download to your SD card and run for free.
WiiBrew.org has an extensive list of every
application known for Wii Homebrew, with links to download all of them from
their respective publishers. This is definitely a good resource as it is
updated most frequently; but another site has put together a Wii Pack Generator, which will let you select all the applications you would like
and creates a custom zip file containing the selected items.
Wii Emulators
Many different emulators are available for the Nintendo Wii Homebrew Chanel
including;
FCEUltra - Nintendo Emulator
GenPlusGX - Genesis Emulator
GnuboyGX & RIN Wii - Gamboy Color Emulator
Hu-Go - Tubo Graphix 16 / PC Engine Emulator
Neopop - Neo-Geo Pocket Emulator
SMSPlus - Sega Master System / Game Gear Emulator
Snes9x & Snes9xGX - SNES Emulator
Visual Boy Advance -
Gameboy/Color/Advance Emulator
Wii64 - Nintendo 64 Emulator
Yabause - Sega Saturn Emulator
(*note I haven't tested out all of these and some work
better than others)
Resources:
WiiBrew.org Twilight Hack Installation Guide
The Homebrew Channel - Official Download Link
Complete List of Homebrew Applications
Wii Pack Generator
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