Some months ago I wrote the first article about the release of 3 different Nintendo Wii Mod Chips. Being a homebrew fan myself, it was hard to hide my enthusiasm when it came to these Wii mod chips simply because I have been a fan of homebrew games - and more importantly import games, since the days of the good old Nintendo Entertainment system. While it took only a little bit of cutting with an exacto knife back then to play the latest Japanese games on my North American Nintendo Entertainment system, I've pretty much done whatever I needed to do to be able to play those games. Including installing a mod chip in virtually every game system that needed one since then.
I am not into pirating games at all (having unauthorized copies of games that I don't own) as it takes away from the developers that invest time, money, and a whole slew of blood, sweat and tears into making these amazing games. I say this only because the modchips I am about to talk about also allow you to play copies or backups of your Nintendo Wii games - but I am not at all talking about them for this reason, nor will I be able to respond to any questions about this - simply because I wouldn't know what to tell my readers anyway.
In my last Wii Mod Chip Article, I covered three different Nintendo Wii Mod Chips. These included the first ever Wii chip to be released, the Wiinja chip, as well as the Wiikey and the Cyclowiz modchips for the Wii. I won't go into the details and features of these three Wii chips, as my previous Nintendo Wii ModChips Article covered all of their features and functions. I'll instead focus on the newer chips that have just been released.
Before I continue with the rest of the article, I think that it is important for me to say that first and foremost, these are my opinions, and my opinions only. While I prefer to use, or have a chip that I find to be the best all around chip, both for features, functions and price, it does not, by any means mean that you should go with my own personal favorites. I state that I like one chip over another because I am lucky enough to be able to test each new chip as it is released. I'm able to compare the features, the functions, the ease of installation, but it is again, only my opinion. Opinions vary from person to person.
I'll start with my new personal favorite, the WiiC wii mod chip. The features of the WiiC wii mod chip, also called the Wi-IC are very similar to those of the other Nintendo Wii Mod chips on the market today. But what makes the WiiC stand out is the fact that rather than just updating setup settings via a DVD update disc, you are actually able to update and upgrade the built in bios on the WiiC itself. While this may seem trivial, it is a HUGE leap forward as far as support for any type of mod chip. Just imagine new games coming out that don't work with a specific mod. Other mod chips will allow you to settings only. Which means you can set your Wii to think it's a Japanese Wii instead of a Nintendo Wii purchased here in the USA. With the WiiC wii mod chip, you'll actually be able to re-program the chip itself, so that should a game NOT be compatible, you'll be able to update the chip to make even that NEW game compatible.
Keeping the theme of updates. You can easily update a mod chip, even just settings, and end up with a dead chip. The WiiC actually has a built in failsafe for this. A built in sort of DEFAULT option, that will reset the chip and put it back to the state it was in prior to the update. Making it appear as if no update was ever done to the chip, so that you could start again from scratch. And if you're worried about whether or not an installation you did works, it also has built in multi function LED's which will give you an install diagnostic and status, to ensure that your installation worked perfectly, as it should have. And if not, you can check all of your installation / wiring before spending all of the time to put your Nintendo Wii back together again. There are currently no other chips on the market that have all of these features. Of course, it'll play all of your import and backup games, as well as Gamecube import and homebrew games, etc... Not bad for a chip that costs less than $30.00
The second, and last mod chip in this article will cover another new chip to the Nintendo Wii Mod chip market. WiiD wii drive chip, from Team WiiD. Most online stores call this chip a wii mod chip for advanced users. I can only assume that this statement is made because of all of the advanced features that are touted by the manufacturers to be coming soon. Being first to market has tremendous advantages, especially in the video game related products category. Be the product a controller, or, as in this case, a modchip. But being first to market also means that you could potentially release something a big too early, and have it not work with every type of machine that is on the market, or yet to come. While the WiiD manufacturers had the technology ready to produce their mod chip, they decided to wait and release it after thoroughly testing it with every single type of Wii console on the market.
The WiiD is a fully featured Nintendo Wii mod chip. Allowing you to quickly and easily play all of your import and backup Gamecube and Nintendo Wii Games, as well as Gamecube Homebrew games right out of the box. It's extremely easy to install, easy to upgrade, compatible with every single Wii console system on the market today. What makes this mod chip really stand out is the ability to either use the quick solder pads found on the chip, like many Wii Mod chips. But you can also use wires just as easily as using the quick solder pads, thanks to the pre set solder points right on the WiiD chip, making wired install just as easy, without having to solder to the quick solder pads.
