A Closer Look at Nintendo Wii Modchips
Since the first video games thirty years ago, individuals have been compelled to subvert and hack the game code and also the systems they run on. From the game hacks on the ZX Spectrum giving you invincibility on Jet Set Willy back in the 1980s, to Nintendo Wii Modchips enabling you to play a larger range of apps on their Nintendo.
Console manufacturers and software developers have had an on/off relationship in regards to modders and gamers who are frequently one and the same. In one way, they add value to the systems and games - for example chips that have been modified make it handy for games players who can play backups on their consoles. Likewise, game hacks brings extra value to “uncompletable” games, and in the modern gaming era it’s even de rigeur for games producers to embed cheat codes for gamers to discover.
Then again, software manufacturers say that this type of modification damages their profits, as chipmods are also used to get around steps against illegal copying, and bypassing hardware that fixes discs to play only in certain geographical locations. These are compelling reasons for hardware and games developers to continually develop new steps to make chipmods more and more tricky.
However, no matter how powerful the causes are against chip modification, modding is a large market that isn’t going to go away.
