I'm curious as to how they dumped it, too. The timing with the announcement of the WiikeyU is too much to be a coincidence. It's possible that VENOM were given an early model of the device in advance to get some quality-assured dumps into the wild. But it's equally possible that they've had the capability themselves for a while and were just biding their time waiting for a method for the dumps to be at all useful before releasing them...
Renowned Scene Release Group Dump 1st WiiU Game
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Given just those two scenarios, I'd say the first is more likely than the second. For example 3DS games have been dumped for ages, and PS3 games were dumped for years before they were playable (and then the first hacks needed the ISOs to be modified/extracted because of that).
EDIT: Clarification: Dumps tend to not find their way to public sites if they're not usable. Nobody will seed it at that time, etc.
Yes, I agree. Of course it's all just speculation at this point, we'll all be waiting on more info from either the Wiikey team or Venom, or even from someone like crediar who seems capable of figuring these things out himself 
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Just because they CAN strip off the encryption, cut out the padding, extract everything and pack it into a nice little download doesn't mean it would be useful that way. We can trim disk images of their padding on other systems to take up less space because once we're done we can put them back into a form that could be used again.
The encryption and signing process is meant to be a one-way thing. Nintendo has the key to encrypt it and sign it and we now have the key to take the encryption off. Once we've stripped out the padding and made the necessary changes to the file system to show where the moved files have ended up, we don't have the means to RE-encrypt it so that the Wii U will accept the smaller disk image. (having a smaller disk image could also be a real easy way for the firmware to flag a pirated game, too)
What this COULD help with, though, is the eventual development of a Wii U emulator. In that case it wouldn't need to do the security checks to see if it's legit or not. Getting through the encryption to see the game files is all it would need and we at least have THAT now.
It's probably just a little smaller than the full 25GB of a blueray disk because of normal RAR compression, not because they were able to cut anything out.
Makes sense, thanks for you and Rydian for the clarifications. If only somebody with influence could ASK nicely for HBC in Wii U mode. As an idea, since these are blu ray anyway I guess, WHAT if somebody dumped the firmware for the Wii U drive, and maybe found some CLUES there, or even a way to mod firmware for a normal BR drive? Reaching but nobody seems to talk about the firmware being dumped, or the Wii U eMMC (nand). Heard the "nand" is AES+Hmac but not sure that was a reliable source. Interesting developments though. Like having half of the puzzle; F0F seems to be the only ones with the other half. For me, now, HCB matters the most. Interested to see what people come up with.
Firmware off BLU RAY drive is what I would bet opened most of this up. What could/would reveal a LOT. From Wii U side, it may check only for the SIGNATURE, or AES key, however you want to put it. It may be that if rest passes in disc drive, check key, then go from there and run. IMPOSSIBLE to say but I think the firmware would be the way to go. Anyone specialize in this, or know of it being done. I KNOW it has, just as the eMMC being dumped and likely checked. This process was on WiiUbrew, lmfao (the hardware connection anyway).
This doesn't seem to involve homebrew. Even if you mod the drive's firmware to get it to read whatever disc you want, if the data you pass to the Wii U itself is not properly signed, it's not going to run it.
I know, BUT if the Wii U does check ONLY the signature, we can spoof a game with the signature and get disc to run on drive before that;-)
Firmware one half, see it and check about modifying it (or see a whole to get something to run), but then it depends on Wii U NOT checking for modded firmware, and if the signature can be added to something we want to run. "Here is Mario U, AES key, passed disc drive check (with mod or hole)" then that is an entry. I heard some say Wii was opened up this way.
EDIT: I know I am stupid with this stuff, but without anyone coming out of the woodwork with any answers, at least I am using imagination.
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Modifying the firmware of a normal BD disk drive (if that's part of what you were talking about) after comparing with a dumped Wii U drive, on the other hand, to dump Wii U games from a computer MIGHT at least be possible but a whole lot of work AND since firmwares are so drive specific, your mod would only work on ONE model and you'd have to do all that work again every time you want to make it work on another new drive.
I wouldn't know if they went this far but I'm sure there's ways to make a drive's firmware undumpable. Allowing people to look at the firmware isn't really needed for normal operation. Changing the firmware, on the other hand, while it could be a useful tool by Nintendo to get around modchips, it could also open the door to softmod the drive. Who knows what's really possible and not, to tell the truth.
I wouldn't know if they went this far but I'm sure there's ways to make a drive's firmware undumpable. Allowing people to look at the firmware isn't really needed for normal operation. Changing the firmware, on the other hand, while it could be a useful tool by Nintendo to get around modchips, it could also open the door to softmod the drive. Who knows what's really possible and not, to tell the truth.
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Only because Fail0verflow hasn't shown us how. It still doesn't look like a modchip would be able to help with homebrew, though, no.
Because we do not have the official signing keys or a hole in the security to exploit and force our own code in there?
I liked the call out, something like "Where are the titans who cracked the Wii U in December." Something like that, paraphrasing. Those who have dumped the eMMC won't comment so I cannot know who to ask if they can decrypt the eMMC (nand). 360 was a cat-and-mouse game with drive firmware. Anyone else remember that? Nobody will say they looked (who is knowledgeable, like C4Eva from 360 scene) at the Wii U disc drive. I am glad somebody found some GOODS and released it. Funny they called out others. Too bad the "others" hold all the cards and are too "fail/bored/lazy" per twitter to release something.
Wel
Once you have freedom you want nothing except freedom.
Wel
Some do but are too fail/bored/lazy. Lol, I made a thread asking if a "Hack bounty" would be necessary. Like rooting an Android phone or unlocking them. Dan Rosenberg releases his findings and sometimes OTHERS offer a bounty but I've never seen him ask. Not that I track everything he does/says but he is truly one of my favorite people in any scene. Android phones are crap-ware filled and privacy violations out of the box (most of them). I cannot own a phone without root and won't ever buy a locked phone again. I think I am at the same point with game systems.
Once you have freedom you want nothing except freedom.
The Wii U most likeley checks the actual game data passed to it after it starts reading the disc.
1 - Get disc inserted.
2 - Check disc for sigs and authenticity.
3 - User tells me to run the disc.
4 - Read more of the disc, grab the main binary, check it.
5 - Run it if it checks out.
I assume, at least.
Of course, but not sure of anything without firmware and Wii U side. May checking nothing, drive may do it all. Might be checking everything including firmware itself (360 began doing this during updates). Nobody who knows is talking, no way to figure it out (my feeble skills stop at soldering and following directions). I speculate a lot and need to stop that. Those who have and know are not talking.
The WiiKey is worth it if it works with the latest software update..since I already updated last week.. I just hope that it works with that otherwise I'm screwed
Am also guessing that these games are region locked so any game that I do end up getting has to be US release
Am also guessing that these games are region locked so any game that I do end up getting has to be US release
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Okay, I guess that could be true but IF it's true a system menu update could probably add the checks on the Wii U side later, blocking anything done to the drive itself.
It's been a little more than 2 years with the 3DS and Nintendo did say they were gonna buff up their AP on the system. Seems to be working well so far, on the 3DS side of things.
Wii U, hmmmm, I have a feeling that even with all this evidence out there, it just feels like it doesn't add up. I very well could be proven wrong shortly and it's cracked open but meh, if it happens, it happens - firmware updates here we come.
Though I'd really like the SNES emulator on the gamepad.
That's all I really want.
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