Wii wish you a merry Chipmas

December 30, 2007 8:52 AM

I'm in Ireland. Was given a gift of a US version of a Wii game. It doesn't work on my european Wii. Am I boned?

So, the girlfriends cousin arrived back from NY with US version of Godfather: Blackhand Edition for the Wii. I *really* want to play it but I believe there is region locking on the Wii (I bought mine here in Ireland).

Is there any way I can play this US game on my Oirish Wii without having to resort to the dreaded mod-chippery? Back in the day, there used to be alternative bootloaders and stuff for the Dreamcast. Would such a thing exist for my (software/firmware updated) Wii? Any help greatly appreciated, but I'm boned... right?

(I realise a similar question was aksed back in November, but I'm hoping there's been some developments since then)

posted by ReiToei to Technology (9 answers total)

I think you are unfortunately "boned" at the moment, without a hardware mod.

But the Wii Hacking community is getting close. Check out this presentation:

Wii homebrew

It's not clear (to me) from the video whether they'll have a software-only solution yet, but within a year they might get it.

If you want to play your game right away, I think you'll have to exchange it somehow.
posted by jozxyqk at 9:14 AM on December 30, 2007

Yeah, you could use a chipped wii to make a backup ISO of the game, and then use a region (RegionFrii, I think) utility to change that ISO to a PAL-identified ISO, and then play the backup on a chipped Wii, but none of that helps you, and it's a convoluted non-solution anyway.

WiiKey is regarded as the gold standard in this realm, and you can find all the info you need on getting, installing, and properly feeding (updates) one here.

Hm, it appears that WiiKey's homepage is down at the moment. Strange.

Still, that forum page is way more helpful than the WiiKey folks ever were. Also, if you probe around that forum, you might find a semi-pro modder near you. This helps attenuate the risk involved with chipping your Wii, and these days it's pretty cheap, too.
posted by SlyBevel at 10:15 AM on December 30, 2007

...And what I forgot to say above is that a WiiKey would enable region-free play on your console, making it possible to play a US game in your PAL Wii as is. No ripping, no burning.

So none of the complicated crap I mentioned above would really be necessary.
posted by SlyBevel at 10:16 AM on December 30, 2007

Wait, wait, wait. It could be as simple as you having an NTSC version of the game (the U.S. standard) and a PAL television (the European standard). Go down to your local shop and see if you can simply exchange it.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 11:32 AM on December 30, 2007

Not so, CPB...the Wii doesn't really care what kind of TV you've got it connected to.

US and PAL as used above are Wii regions, and Wii consoles and games are region locked. The TV's got nothing to do with it.

In fact, I play PAL and JAP region Wii games on my US Wii and US TV all the time. Sometimes the picture dimensions are a little different, but the TV works fine in all cases.
posted by SlyBevel at 11:35 AM on December 30, 2007

...the Wii doesn't really care what kind of TV you've got it connected to.

...For the purposes of our discussion here, anyway.
posted by SlyBevel at 11:37 AM on December 30, 2007

Response by poster: Cool. Thanks for the pointers, everyone :)
posted by ReiToei at 1:48 PM on December 30, 2007

You could try ringing your local Nintendo office and asking what you're supposed to do. I mean, being given a game as a gift by a traveler must happen all the damn time. If they can't offer any suggestions, you might wish to register your disappointment in becoming collateral damage in their fight against whatever they think region coding prevents.

Mind you, with the recent homebrew development, I expect Datel will have a region-free-afier for the Wii out within six months.
posted by krisjohn at 7:15 PM on December 30, 2007

I have a US Wii and I'm in the UK. Nintendo weren't interested in helping, so I had to return the gift game I received and continue to order from the US.

Installing the WiiKey is non-trivial and it usually done by people who want to download and play games they haven't paid for. Homebrew for the wii? A weak excuse to justify the free games.

Best is probably to sell it to someone who has a US Wii in Ireland.
posted by quiet at 6:45 AM on December 31, 2007