Homebrew Is It (Still) Worth Buying a Nintendo Wii in 2018 to Softmod?

[Tee_]

Hey guys. I'm looking to expand my collection of modded consoles and have wanted to own a Wii to add to this collection. I'm basically asking, is it worth doing now? With the Wii U and the Switch - is buying a console and the peripherals needed to mod (SDcard, games, hard drive etc.) this late into the consoles life cycle still worth it? I'm just wondering since games are no longer released on the Wii and online play is no longer. This is of course open to discussion and I'd mostly like to know what you have all used the power of the softmod for? All opinions, pointers and tips are appreciated. Thank you.

 

[EmulateLife]

Are you saying you have a Wii U because you can just softmod the Wii within the Wii U to play Wii games.

If not I would say that depends on you. I'm all about single player games and I don't really care how old they are so I'd say yes. You can play Wii and Gamecube games with it.

 

[Hanafuda]

You can't do native playback of Gamecube, Wii, or Wii U on a Switch.

I just dug a Wii out of storage after 10+ years to get it back in shape and then mod it. And I already have another modded Wii in use. I might eventually get around to doing the same with a Wii U, but all that's missing with a modded Wii vs. a Wii U are the actual Wii U games, and it's quite likely most of the really good ones will end up ported to Switch anyway.

 

[Harsky]

My modded Wii still gets used because or the ability to run Gamecube games from hard drives. Also since Wii component cables are cheap, you can run GC games at 480p instead of paying big money for the Gamecube component cables.

 

[Tee_]

Are you saying you have a Wii U because you can just softmod the Wii within the Wii U to play Wii games.

If not I would say that depends on you. I'm all about single player games and I don't really care how old they are so I'd say yes. You can play Wii and Gamecube games with it.

I don't actually have a WiiU. Whether or not I should buy a WiiU and mod as opposed to just the Wii was kinda of what I was getting at, but I didn't word that properly on my end. Sorry. I have always been a fan of GC and would find the extra functionality of the Wii useful in that aspect.

You can't do native playback of Gamecube, Wii, or Wii U on a Switch.

I just dug a Wii out of storage after 10+ years to get it back in shape and then mod it. And I already have another modded Wii in use. I might eventually get around to doing the same with a Wii U, but all that's missing with a modded Wii vs. a Wii U are the actual Wii U games, and it's quite likely most of the really good ones will end up ported to Switch anyway.

Thanks. I'm leaning more towards the Wii mod. I would like a WiiU just for the collection but as you said, popular WiiU games will probably find their way to Switch anyway, so it's becoming more pointless.

 

[Ryccardo]

Yes, with the current price of Wiis you should buy one even if your only intention is to wipe your butt with the remote shell

 

[Hanafuda]

I don't actually have a WiiU. Whether or not I should buy a WiiU and mod as opposed to just the Wii was kinda of what I was getting at, but I didn't word that properly on my end. Sorry. I have always been a fan of GC and would find the extra functionality of the Wii useful in that aspect.



Thanks. I'm leaning more towards the Wii mod. I would like a WiiU just for the collection but as you said, popular WiiU games will probably find their way to Switch anyway, so it's becoming more pointless.

The one caveat there, the Wii's best output at this time is 480p component. (Or maybe RGB where you are? Not sure about that.) The Wii U has HDMI out. But with a component to HDMI adapter, the Wii should be all good. I have a Framemeister so I run the Wii though its component input to 720p upscaled hdmi out. I've seen it mentioned here and there that may be an upscaling HDMI internal hardware mod coming for Wii, but I don't have any info about it.

 

[RattletraPM]

Hey guys. I'm looking to expand my collection of modded consoles and have wanted to own a Wii to add to this collection. I'm basically asking, is it worth doing now? With the Wii U and the Switch - is buying a console and the peripherals needed to mod (SDcard, games, hard drive etc.) this late into the consoles life cycle still worth it? I'm just wondering since games are no longer released on the Wii and online play is no longer. This is of course open to discussion and I'd mostly like to know what you have all used the power of the softmod for? All opinions, pointers and tips are appreciated. Thank you.

To be completely honest, there weren't many games that had decent online multiplayer on the Wii with very few exceptions (namely Mario Kart Wii and SSBB. It was never the Wii's stronger suit so I wouldn't care about it too much, but if you REALLY want to play them online there's always RiiConnect24Wiimmfi.

That aside, Wii consoles are dirt cheap nowadays and extremely easy to mod, plus even really small hard drives will be able to hold a plethora of games, for example a 250 GB one might still be more than enough for most people.

So, as I see it, it's pretty much down to two things:

1. If you have a PC powerful enough to emulate a Wii and don't care about playing the games on their original hardware, then don't buy a Wii. Use Dolphin instead.
   
2. On the other hand if you prefer playing them on their original hardware or simply want to add a console to your own collection, get out there and buy one. You can find really good deals from time to time and if you don't care about the DVD drive you can find Wii consoles with all cables and accessories with broken drives for literally dirt cheap.

 

[smf]

The one caveat there, the Wii's best output at this time is 480p component. (Or maybe RGB where you are? Not sure about that.)

Component is better than RGB anyway. You can get 480p over component and you get no crashes with import games.

It's better for the PlayStation 2 as well as the DVD player works with component but not RGB (although I suspect you can get an RGB patch now).

 

[AkikoKumagara]

I bought mine in 2016 and I think it was worth it, even though at the time I didn't realize GameStop's price tag was way on the high end. I paid around $80 USD for the Backwards compat Black model with a Wii Motion Plus controller and Nunchuk. It also came with an SD card, but that just happened to be in the console, it wasn't something guaranteed to be included. You can pick one up for half of what I paid, easily. If you're lucky, you'll find an older model that can read DVD backups in the disc drive. Mine, unfortunately, cannot do that...

Also, in response to everything people are saying about component cables... these are basically necessary if you're not using a CRT. I got a couple multiconsole component cables I use for Wii and PS2, they also have an Xbox 360 connector on them. Those run from about $10-15 USD here.

 

[Ryccardo]

It's better for the PlayStation 2 as well as the DVD player works with component but not RGB (although I suspect you can get an RGB patch now).

Yep, I posted the install guide on gbatemp for that

In both cases (and every other console, actually) they are artificial restrictions and not an intrinsic limitation of RGB

 

[wormdood]

all this poppycock if you can afford it then the wiiu is your best bet not only does it do everything the wii can do but in all honesty the use of a second screen makes it that much better think of a perfect comparison the gba was awesome in its day but if you wanted to buy a gba or a nds to "hack" (well for flashcard use but i digress) it would be an easy choice as is this . . . so i say again if you can afford it get the wiiu

 

[M7L7NK7]

Echoing going with a Wii U, it does everything the Wii can and more, with overclocking emulators in vWii mode plus having a handheld screen is amazing

 

[wormdood]

popular WiiU games will probably find their way to Switch anyway, so it's becoming more pointless.

i wish to address this and will likely be flamed, but i have two examples of games that had superior controls on the wiiu that are lacking fluidity and ambiance otherwise.

the first being an "supposed" wiiu exclusive Zombiiu, it had horrid sales on the wiiu (as well as other consoles) but the game in itself was not bad a survival horror. with heavy use of the gamepad from using your flashlight, to containing your always accessible inventory, that second screen gave the game a whole other atmosphere when you had to actively look away from the tv to get a item out of your bag, and this feeling is absent from the single screen adaptation titled zombii . . . not to mention the total lack of the offline 2 player minigame in the remake/port

and my second example is a fan favorite splatoon. although not a port but a squeal splatoon 2 fails to keep my attention despite its vastly better gameplay mechanics. the original had something going for it that the second is lacking, it contained a full map that did not require you loose sight of battle to see. the fact is you could simply raise your arms and see it, plus you could click a teammates icon or position to squidjump (teleport) to them

. . . ok so my point is as far as ports they are/were far better on the system they were made for. that said dont count on ports/remakes/squeals/ect to hold the same experiences as their original wiiu counterparts, because when translated to a single screen some things stop being possible. and yes a bunch of games did not heavily make use of the second screen but most did . . . the wiiu had everything the wii had (save for gamecube controller/mc ports) and so can give you the proper experience for all games made for both consoles, something you cant get guaranteed to you in a port

 

[Ryccardo]

"supposed" wiiu exclusive Zombiiu it had horrid sales on the wiiu

Did it? I always remember claims going roughly "perhaps the biggest irony of mid-2010s Nintendo is that 3DS was a disaster for its first couple years while WiIU launch was rather successful", and despite never having played it I still remember the name well...

 

[wormdood]

Did it? I always remember claims going roughly "perhaps the biggest irony of mid-2010s Nintendo is that 3DS was a disaster for its first couple years while WiIU launch was rather successful", and despite never having played it I still remember the name well...

as you should it was in an optional bundle (sold alongside a black wiiu"deluxe" . . . still laughing at the deluxe part lol@32gbbullshitinsult) at wiiu's release so the name was promoted everywhere wiiu was (as far as retailers)

 

[Maeson]

Sorry, but a Wii U is not going to be able to do everything a Wii does.

A Wii U has no support for real GC Memory Cards, and several GameCube games have problems with emulated cards on Nintendont, so you're screwed there.
A Wii U requires an accessory to use GC controllers that takes two USB slots, while the Wii has all you need integrated into the system. And not using original controllers can be annoying with games that made use of their pressure-sensitive L & R Triggers.
As far as I know, the GBA- GC cable does not work on Wii U either, but it does on Wii, so you'll be unable to use the features on some games, like Zelda Four Swords, the Sonic Adventure games, Pokémon or Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles.
Wii U as far as I know cannot output 240P, which a whole bunch of people playing retro games care about quite a bit, specially people with CRTs.
I also read on the shmups forum that Wii games on Wii U actually look worse than playing on original hardware.

There are more things, but those are the ones I can say from the top of my head. Bottom line is that vWii mode capabilities on Wii U are not entirely the same as a genuine Wii. Yesterday I saw Wiis being sold for 20 euros here, with cables and everything, so they seem to be very affordable if you want one. Softmodding a Wii is very simple and the benefits are gigantic, there's simply no reason for not doing it, even more in this day and age, and the Wii is still great for an emulation machine, specially because besides emulation you get native support for two entire system libraries for such a low price. If you end up wanting to get one, here's a tip: Buy a Wii that's red, black or blue to be sure you get a good revision.

Also, I find Wii homebrew to be quite a bit more stable and less dangerous all around, but I don't have nearly as much experience with Wii U than I have with Wii.

Now, the Wii U has its own good unique points, and it can make for a great emulation machine too, don't take this post the wrong way, but make no mistake thinking that a Wii U makes a normal Wii obsolete, because that's just not true. Specially if you care about GameCube stuff.

I would invite you to read around here and other places on the net to make the decision, although, as I said, with the Wii being so cheap and all around useful for what it is, getting one won't hurt you; and getting both wouldn't be much of a hassle either if you collect systems.

 

[Jayro]

I have a total of 9 Wiis in my house, 8 of which I'm willing to soft-mod and sell "as-is", ready for retro ROMs to be dropped onto the SD card.

 

[Tee_]

Sorry, but a Wii U is not going to be able to do everything a Wii does.

A Wii U has no support for real GC Memory Cards, and several GameCube games have problems with emulated cards on Nintendont, so you're screwed there.
A Wii U requires an accessory to use GC controllers that takes two USB slots, while the Wii has all you need integrated into the system. And not using original controllers can be annoying with games that made use of their pressure-sensitive L & R Triggers.
As far as I know, the GBA- GC cable does not work on Wii U either, but it does on Wii, so you'll be unable to use the features on some games, like Zelda Four Swords, the Sonic Adventure games, Pokémon or Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles.
Wii U as far as I know cannot output 240P, which a whole bunch of people playing retro games care about quite a bit, specially people with CRTs.
I also read on the shmups forum that Wii games on Wii U actually look worse than playing on original hardware.

There are more things, but those are the ones I can say from the top of my head. Bottom line is that vWii mode capabilities on Wii U are not entirely the same as a genuine Wii. Yesterday I saw Wiis being sold for 20 euros here, with cables and everything, so they seem to be very affordable if you want one. Softmodding a Wii is very simple and the benefits are gigantic, there's simply no reason for not doing it, even more in this day and age, and the Wii is still great for an emulation machine, specially because besides emulation you get native support for two entire system libraries for such a low price. If you end up wanting to get one, here's a tip: Buy a Wii that's red, black or blue to be sure you get a good revision.

Also, I find Wii homebrew to be quite a bit more stable and less dangerous all around, but I don't have nearly as much experience with Wii U than I have with Wii.

Now, the Wii U has its own good unique points, and it can make for a great emulation machine too, don't take this post the wrong way, but make no mistake thinking that a Wii U makes a normal Wii obsolete, because that's just not true. Specially if you care about GameCube stuff.

I would invite you to read around here and other places on the net to make the decision, although, as I said, with the Wii being so cheap and all around useful for what it is, getting one won't hurt you; and getting both wouldn't be much of a hassle either if you collect systems.

Some absolutely brilliant points here. Thank you for taking the time to make this post. I think I'll get the Wii. The WiiU will join my collection at some point but only for collecting purposes. I appreciate your time.

 

[Ryccardo]

A Wii U requires an accessory to use GC controllers that takes two USB slots, while the Wii has all you need integrated into the system.

The second plug is for rumble power only, a bit like an Y cable, and the WiiU has 2 more ports on the front
(not that it solves all disadvantages, like lack of support in commercial Wii software)
Not all Wiis have GC ports out of the box either (look for those with the text on buttons the right way up when the console is vertical - which ironically is what you wouldn't want for GC controller use)

Perhaps the biggest argument I personally have against the WiiU is that in 'most every WiiU software, 4:3 is letterboxed
(and that, while you don't need an external display for most software, you need one for the initial setup: wtf?)