# Wii: NTSC to PAL ISO Patcher released!



## Costello (Feb 25, 2007)

*Wii: NTSC to PAL ISO Patcher released!*

Patch and play NTSC games on PAL Wii units








_SYNDiCATE _have just released an impressive new tool that is said to patch NTSC game images, allowing them to be played directly on PAL Wii units. The patcher offers the same functionality that the WiiKey modchip offers, but will of course work on any Wii unit that has been modified to allow the playback of backups.

The team say that the patcher will work on approximately 70% of current NTSC games (same as WiiKey), and should even work on Japanese NTSC games.

The tool works by modifying a section in the image that contains region information. Surprisingly; this area is said to be unencrypted. Download and NFO file below:







Download v1.2




View NFO






 We have also started a compatibility list for this patcher.


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## delta123 (Feb 25, 2007)

wow this is great news. if its true then i wont have to wait till the wiikey is stocked at gamebank.


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## xiaNaix (Feb 25, 2007)

Wa-wa-wee-wa!!!


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## Knightmare (Feb 25, 2007)

Now we know that's possible.
Wait and Wii !


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## Mike83 (Feb 25, 2007)

Thats great news, I've been putting off installing a modchip till I see if something to help with region free comes along.


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## RefiX (Feb 25, 2007)

Nice work


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## mastermaw (Feb 25, 2007)

Naturally you will still need a modchip...


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## Jax (Feb 25, 2007)

F*** YEAH! Naruto, here I come!


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## jaxxster (Feb 25, 2007)

This is amazing news!!!!


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## jon-t (Feb 25, 2007)

Is it the update to wab's/syndicate's iso loader that Alonetrio was talking about on irc last night ? Tought ha said something about region free...


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## -EX- (Feb 25, 2007)

Geez, now all Wii users will orgasm in unison 'cause of this.


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## gov78 (Feb 25, 2007)

well this is good news for wiinja owners


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## elomaniak (Feb 25, 2007)

i thought the wii discs are encrypted
or is the header of the discs unencrypted and the checksum of the encryped part will be the same


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## mattwasx (Feb 25, 2007)

QUOTE(Jax @ Feb 25 2007 said:


> F*** YEAH! Naruto, here I come!



Was thinking exactly the same thing.  Bleach to.


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## lookout (Feb 25, 2007)

the best new ever!


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## Volsfan91 (Feb 25, 2007)

Is this the deal where you'll still have to hook that cable up to the Wii's DVD drive and run that patching program everytime that you want to load ISO's?


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## Vater Unser (Feb 25, 2007)

I *knew* something like this was coming before there's a real region-free modchip 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




I hope it will be updated to support more games...or that at least some releasegroups will patch the big releases manually...

a real region-free mod would be much nicer, though...still, I'm going to get a modchip as soon as possible


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## Sinkhead (Feb 25, 2007)

Diggity Digg!

Clickety Click!

- Sam


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## The__B (Feb 25, 2007)

Now we wait till somebody releases a wii freeloader so i can (semi)legaly play imports


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## Mehdi (Feb 25, 2007)

QUOTE(mattwasx @ Feb 25 2007 said:


> QUOTE(Jax @ Feb 25 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > F*** YEAH! Naruto, here I come!
> ...



Would be hilarious if exactly those two games aren't compatible with the patch.


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## lolsjoel (Feb 25, 2007)

Holy carp, that's exciting.  Course, I still don't have a modchip, nor plans to buy one anytime soon...


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## FAST6191 (Feb 25, 2007)

Good news if this pans out although I was thinking the same thing as elomaniak. Unless of course it does not modify the code being pumped in but a register/ram value instead....

If it does pan out though it will definitely be time for a Wii.


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## GameDragon (Feb 25, 2007)

Great news, now all I need is a modchip... =/


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## shaunj66 (Feb 25, 2007)

Region_Free_Patcher_NTSC_To_PAL_WII-SYNDiCATE


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## H8TR (Feb 25, 2007)

QUOTE(-EX- @ Feb 25 2007 said:


> Geez, now all Wii users will orgasm in unison 'cause of this.


Too late. I already did. I need to get my ass a Wii.


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## jaxxster (Feb 25, 2007)

Is it out already?


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## corbs132 (Feb 25, 2007)

ZWOW! Release group? Details? DON'T HOLD OUT ON US GBATEMP!


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## m3du54 (Feb 25, 2007)

From the .nfo file

+-APP.iNFORMATION

Run this app to patch NTSC games to run on PAL.

Rename your unscrambled iso to backup.iso and put in the same 
dir as our application. We'll bring a better gui version soon.

Metal Slug is the only game we tested, but more should work. Some
will not work due to how the game is coded, the same reason no 
PAL will work on NTSC when patched.


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## Tomobobo (Feb 25, 2007)

This is really cool.  Too bad though it's only NTSC to PAL.  I was hoping for a NTSC-J to NTSC-U patcher, sence I plan on making my own Chiip.


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## Monkey01 (Feb 25, 2007)

QUOTE(Volsfan91 @ Feb 26 2007 said:


> Is this the deal where you'll still have to hook that cable up to the Wii's DVD drive and run that patching program everytime that you want to load ISO's?
> 
> It patches the images, so it doesn't mather if you use a modchip or a weird cable.
> 
> ...


Hmyeah, I wonder how it works too, I thought that changing anything would break the checksum and make it unplayable... A well appearantly not.


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## Elrinth (Feb 25, 2007)

same as wiikey... I say just Meh! I'm waiting for better compatibility.


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## Costello (Feb 25, 2007)

QUOTE(Tomobobo @ Feb 25 2007 said:


> This is really cool.Â Too bad though it's only NTSC to PAL.Â I was hoping for a NTSC-J to NTSC-U patcher, sence I plan on making my own Chiip.



actually they are running tests as we speak and its perfectly possible that the patcher supports NTSC-J to NTSC-U.


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## blindr (Feb 25, 2007)

does mean mean you can patch NTSC-JAP games to work on an american console?


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## elomaniak (Feb 25, 2007)

i hope there will be a list of non working games soon


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## jaxxster (Feb 25, 2007)

Hmm which NTSC game to test?


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## Tomobobo (Feb 25, 2007)

QUOTE(Costello @ Feb 25 2007 said:


> actually they are running tests as we speak and its perfectly possible that the patcher supports NTSC-J to NTSC-U.



Well then that's just the bees knees.


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## jaxxster (Feb 25, 2007)

Well looks like i wont be sleeping anytime soon! Fk, i need more DVDS!!!


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## H8TR (Feb 25, 2007)

Well, this is useless to most as most Wii owners aren't in Europe. PAL can now play NTSC but NTSC still can't play PAL.


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## blindr (Feb 25, 2007)

who cares about NTSC playing PAL, most games come out in North America first anyways. I just want to know if NTSC-J works with NTSC-U consoles.


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## Elrinth (Feb 25, 2007)

QUOTE(H8TR @ Feb 26 2007 said:


> Well, this is useless to most as most Wii owners aren't in Europe. PAL can now play NTSC but NTSC still can't play PAL.



well actually it's pretty useful for those who bought the firstgen chip. and yes I know there are more wii-owners in the states than in europe.
however, that doesn't mean we don't want this. you are bending the truth, don't do that 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 it's not exactly like we are 400 wii-owners in whole of europe and there's 400000 in america... the numbers are very diffrent than that.


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## captain^k (Feb 25, 2007)

QUOTE(Mehdi @ Feb 26 2007 said:


> QUOTE(mattwasx @ Feb 25 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > QUOTE(Jax @ Feb 25 2007 said:
> ...


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## Hero-Link (Feb 25, 2007)

well once someone tests this and gives it a feedback... i might go buy NOW a modchip!


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## FAST6191 (Feb 26, 2007)

I will leave the working yes/no questions for another day but can someone test it out and say what has been changed (I realise doing a resnyching check on a several hundred meg/ several gig file is asking a bit much).
I would do this myself but I have no Wii isos as I prefer roms/isos I can use (as well as Ska record nowadays) to be clogging up bandwidth.

Edit, Costello seems to have started a compatibility list (and confirmed it at the same time):
http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=45352&hl=


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## NoNameFace (Feb 26, 2007)

has anyone tested yet?
I'm going to grab the COD3 and test on my Japanese Wii


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## other (Feb 26, 2007)

QUOTE(blindr @ Feb 26 2007 said:


> who cares about NTSC playing PAL, most games come out in North America first anyways.



And that's why we care. Duh.


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## jhoff80 (Feb 26, 2007)

Pretty cool for the Europeans here, but it'll only matter to me when there's a J to U patcher.  I would think it would work pretty similarly so hopefully it shouldn't be too long.

Edit:  Just saw the post about testing now, hopefully it'll work.


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## Costello (Feb 26, 2007)

OK apparently the patcher converts * to PAL.
It shouldn't be long before a * to NTSC-U patcher is out... the coder told me it was possible!


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## jaxxster (Feb 26, 2007)

Is this app safe to use on a cyclowiz? Theres a madman reporting that after trying metal slug nothing worked after, not even originals or games that worked before.


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## MC DUI (Feb 26, 2007)

This is great news!

I was hanging off on a Wii modchip till a region-free one came out, but hopefully this program will cover most of my needs.


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## jaxxster (Feb 26, 2007)

At least we all know what cyclowiz's suprise feature wil be now


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## niklasnyfiken (Feb 26, 2007)

QUOTE(jaxxster @ Feb 26 2007 said:


> Is this app safe to use on a cyclowiz? Theres a madman reporting that after trying metal slug nothing worked after, not even originals or games that worked before.



Of course it's safe. THIS WILL NOT DESTROY YOUR WII OR YOUR TV. Don't listen to your friend the madman.


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## darrab (Feb 26, 2007)

Wow - great release BUT...

is running a PAL console with a NTSC only game basically as good as screaming for a ban? 
So much for your modchip being stealth.

Am I reading too much into this?


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## ssj4android (Feb 26, 2007)

Bah, I have a US Wii, so this doesn't really matter to me. Someone modify it to patch from PAL to NTSC.


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## captain^k (Feb 26, 2007)

Apparently this is the source:

http://www.elotrolado.net/showthread.php?s...stid=1706976234


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## Costello (Feb 26, 2007)

it's not the actual source, they have only found which bytes are replaced and rebuilt a small piece of code from it 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




but yea the actual source code should look very similar to this anyway

now check the new version... with a GUI


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## imgod22222 (Feb 26, 2007)

QUOTE(-EX- @ Feb 25 2007 said:


> Geez, now all Wii users will orgasm in unison 'cause of this.


why would NTSC users? It doesn't help us.. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 will wait until something like this does the opposite 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



WiiSyndicate seems to have alot of muscle behind the wii scene. The most dumps, the loader, this, the SDK... i wonder how they get all this stuff.


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## xiaNaix (Feb 26, 2007)

QUOTE(imgod22222 @ Feb 26 2007 said:


> why would NTSC users? It doesn't help us..
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Because now we can run Japanese games!  Of course, that's if you get the patcher running.  This GUI version keeps crashing on me.


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## jhoff80 (Feb 26, 2007)

Awesome that there's a J to U version now.  I'll have to find something to test this on.


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## sdoc96 (Feb 26, 2007)

This is outstanding news, for Pal users.  I knew it would be coming sooner or later, just like the old DC days and Pal Patcher.
Is there anything like this for GC iso's?  Now that would be extra icing with sprinkles.


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## Renegade_R (Feb 26, 2007)

Just watch, in a day or two you'll see WAB release something that 'improves' the functionality of this program some how.

Scene war rocks.


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## Dirtie (Feb 26, 2007)

QUOTE(captain^k @ Feb 26 2007 said:


> Apparently this is the source:
> 
> http://www.elotrolado.net/showthread.php?s...stid=1706976234
> 
> ...



Can anyone post the same area from some NTSC games?


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## Achilles (Feb 26, 2007)

Warioware NTSC-U

```
0004e000h: 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00; ................
0004e010h: 80 0A 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80; €.€€€€€€€€€€€€€€
```
Wii Play NTSC-U

```
0004e000h: 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00; ................
0004e010h: 80 06 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80; €.€€€€€€€€€€€€€€
```
Elebits NTSC-U

```
0004e000h: 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00; ................
0004e010h: 80 06 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80; €.€€€€€€€€€€€€€€
```
Excite Truck NTSC-U

```
0004e000h: 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00; ................
0004e010h: 00 06 80 00 80 80 80 80 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00; ..€.€€€€........
```


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## xiaNaix (Feb 26, 2007)

Offset 0x04E003 contains the region code...

00 = NTSC JAP
01 = NTSC USA
02 = PAL

Offsets 0x04E010 to 0x4E01F need to contain the 16 bytes from any other game in your region.


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## SirDrake (Feb 26, 2007)

great news for pal console owners.

wii scene is moving nicely


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## Dirtie (Feb 26, 2007)

QUOTE(xiaNaix @ Feb 26 2007 said:


> Offset 0x04E003 contains the region code...
> 
> 00 = NTSC JAP
> 01 = NTSC USA
> 02 = PAL


I thought as much, but what's the relationship of the other 16 bytes? Every game seems to be similar in some way, but I can't see any definitive pattern :/


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## xiaNaix (Feb 26, 2007)

I don't know if they are releasing that info but here is some source to play with.  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




http://ebgp.org/wii/info/patch.c


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## Dirtie (Feb 26, 2007)

List of possible values based on those used so far:

```
0x00004E01X


PAL ISO

0 Â1 Â2 Â3 Â4 Â5 Â6 Â7 Â 8 Â9 ÂA ÂB ÂC ÂD ÂE ÂF

00 80 80 00 03 03 04 03 Â00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
80 Â Â Â 06 07 07 06 07 Â07 80 80 80 80 80 80 80
Â Â Â Â Â0C 0C 0B 0C 0C Â0E


NTSC ISO

0 Â1 Â2 Â3 Â4 Â5 Â6 Â7 Â 8 Â9 ÂA ÂB ÂC ÂD ÂE ÂF

00 06 80 00 80 80 80 80 Â00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
80 0A Â Â80 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80
```

(yeah I'm bored 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




)


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## ChowMein (Feb 26, 2007)

Now we only need a PAL to NTSC convertor


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## Achilles (Feb 26, 2007)

This works brilliantly! I'm currently playing Kororinpa NTSC-J on my NTSC-U console! Sweetness!


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## EarthBound (Feb 26, 2007)

QUOTE(Achilles @ Feb 26 2007 said:


> This works brilliantly! I'm currently playing Kororinpa NTSC-J on my NTSC-U console! Sweetness!




If an update fixes all NTSC-J 2 NSTC-U im going to cancel my wiikey =)


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## blindr (Feb 26, 2007)

ill get a wiikey just incase haha


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## FAST6191 (Feb 26, 2007)

Thanks for looking into how it was done guys. What hex editors are you guys using by the way?


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## Deleted User (Feb 26, 2007)

khexedit is a GREAT hex editor. And it's an advice from someone making a lot of edit.


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## Rocco Savadgie (Feb 26, 2007)

Do patched games play at 60hz on a PAL Wii? Or are they forced into crappy 50hz mode?


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## Dirtie (Feb 26, 2007)

QUOTE(FAST6191 @ Feb 26 2007 said:


> Thanks for looking into how it was done guys. What hex editors are you guys using by the way?


I was recommended Winhex not too long ago and it's great, makes me wonder how I put up with all those other crappy editors before (ie. Ultraedit, Hex Workshop, etc.) 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




The more we know about the disc structure, the better.


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## ds_barf (Feb 26, 2007)

woohoow 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 best news since sliced-bread!


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## pipesfranco (Feb 26, 2007)

I get an error when using the GUI version but V1 works fine

Error is "Unknown Name error" I have changed it to backup.iso first

anyone else getting this? I am on Vista, wonder if that has probs with it?


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## iNFiNiTY (Feb 26, 2007)

use the new version to fix that error


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## FAST6191 (Feb 26, 2007)

I use a hex editor pretty much daily (much more if I am coding/hacking) even if only to replace end of line stuff.

Well I fiddled with rom hacking hex editors for quite a while (mainly for table support) before moving to hex workshop (a big step up from DOS and windows 3.1 style editors) but I just tried winhex and damn that is a fine editor.

I would try khexedit but I can not seem to find a windows version and have no *nix OS on hand.

In an attempt to steer the thread back on track DGSystems made a Java "port" (more a remake) http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=45378&hl=
If you get it working I am sure DGSystems would like some replies there though.

edit, my apologies for the mixup DGSystems


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## levipols (Feb 26, 2007)

Wow, this is great


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## jaxxster (Feb 26, 2007)

Will there ever be a version that will support any game? Any way to tell if a game can work before its patched? Some one probally turn this is into an .iso image like a wii free loader.


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## NoNameFace (Feb 26, 2007)

There is no NTSC to NTSC-J in the 03 version.


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## DGSystems (Feb 26, 2007)

QUOTE(FAST6191 @ Feb 26 2007 said:


> In an attempt to steer the thread back on track DGSystems made a Java "port" (more a remake using a very old java version purportedly) http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=45378&hl=
> If you get it working I am sure DGSystems would like some replies there though.
> 
> 
> ...



That would require being able to run unsigned code, which is currently impossible (I think the WiiKey uses something similar to this on the chip, so its likely that this will be in all the chips in the near future)


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## ShortFuse (Feb 26, 2007)

This somewhat upsets me. I was investigating this as a possibility at #wiidev and i was shot down because they said the disc was encrypted. i was like, maybe that part isn't. anybody with a hex editor could have done a comparison of an american release and a japanese release. i didn't have a modchip to test it all. this was around the time about wiikey when they claim imports worked.  it's good news, nontheless, but i'm upset because anyone could have figured it out (at least anyone with a modchip)


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## niklasnyfiken (Feb 26, 2007)

Well #wiidev is a joke so it's no surprise they gave you the wrong advice.


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## imgod22222 (Feb 26, 2007)

75users are reading this topic, (72 guests, and 0 anonymous users)
wow. I thought the world was registered to GBAtemp. O.O

Anyways, it doesn't support everything, so i won't freak out yet. ATM this is as close to region-free as we're going to get. However, i don't like the idea of patching ISOs. :S it just doesn't seem right. I prefer on-the-fly patching where I, the user, don't have to do anything and invent bugs that aren't really bugs. (IE, a program with no bugs, but a user says its not working... ITS THE USER WHO BROKE IT!)


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## FAST6191 (Feb 26, 2007)

So patching DS roms, not a problem
GBA, likewise
PC, likewise
PS1, not to such an extent but also done.

The list goes on for a very long time.


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## TaMs (Feb 27, 2007)

Great! Hope they make a new version with 100% compability


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## DGSystems (Feb 27, 2007)

Any chance someone could get offset's 0x04E010 to 0x4E01F for WarioWare NTSC_J?


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## niklasnyfiken (Mar 1, 2007)

00808080808080808080808080808080


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## DGSystems (Mar 1, 2007)

QUOTE(niklasnyfiken @ Mar 1 2007 said:


> 00808080808080808080808080808080



Thankyou


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## dani146 (Mar 9, 2007)

Hi,
I have ssx blur usa and tried with folowing strings but without success (I need conversion to PAL):
0x04E010: 80 80 80 00 03 03 04 03 00 80 80 80 80 80 80 80
0x04E010: 00 80 80 06 03 03 04 03 07 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x04E010: 80 80 80 00 03 03 04 03 00 80 80 80 80 80 80 80

If anyone have success please post the 0x04E010 string you use.
I also think they use another zone for protection now...

WBR,
Daniel M.

P.S. I have wiinja 2


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## Apakarta (Aug 17, 2007)

does it really work?.... 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 do i have to have a moded wii


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## christian56 (Dec 23, 2007)

hi. Really excited about this download. Dont no what to do though.
Can someone please tell me how to download the nintendo wii patch and what to do with it when i have downloaded it.

Thanks


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## mobro1 (May 9, 2008)

Sorry for ignorance, but what do you do to use this patch? Very new to wii use- please use basic terms. Am familiar with movie downloads only.
Thanks


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## adriskrayzee (Sep 8, 2008)

This worked great converting to NTSC from PAL.
Does anyone know if it works with Gamecube ISOS too? If it doesnt, does anyone know what other tool should I use to convert gamecube ISOS from PAL to NTSC?
Thanks in advanced.


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## Barquest100 (Oct 9, 2008)

it wont let me download it...cos it says that it needs a website to find and veiw the item.....help!


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## Fat D (Oct 9, 2008)

Apakarta said:
			
		

> does it really work?....
> 
> 
> 
> ...





Necromancy is bad, m'kay?


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## n00gz (Sep 6, 2009)

wheres the link???


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## sori (Dec 25, 2009)

with this patch you have no brick risk ?
if i update the game ?


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## Guild McCommunist (Dec 25, 2009)

sori said:
			
		

> with this patch you have no brick risk ?
> if i update the game ?



Read your inbox 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





This is obsolete by any means. Practically every loader (except for the old ones) have automatic region patching.


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## Tubcat (Dec 31, 2009)

Will this update an iso to be playable with a 4.2 system? Will this patch PAL to NTSC-U? If not, is there something that will?

My son updated the system from 4.1 and now all PAL disks will not work.  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




I have WiiKey2 v1.3


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