Hacking A wedding present. Can I use the Wii U or should I use the Wii?

[Wheel Of Morality]

Two of my very good friends are getting married soon, however due to some unforeseen circumstances I won't be able to attend. I want to send them an awesome present. They both game a lot and the guy has a huge gaming collection. The problem with that is they live in a kind of small place and having the games spread around everywhere kind of drives his wife to be a bit nuts. I was hoping to be able to create a machine with various emulators (Gamecube, N64, PS1, SNES, Gambeboy) and get them to load off USB, preferably, or SD card. Doing so would give them access to all the games without having all the clutter around or having to rebuy scratched discs.

I've modded my Wii to have a USB loader, play DVDs, and tired DeSmuME Wii, so I am somewhat familiar with the process. Ideally I would like to get them a new Wii U to do all of this since they already have a Wii. However, I'm not sure if doing all that would be possible with the Wii U or if it would be completely stable. Also, keep in mind that neither of them are that good with technical things. What do you all think I should go with?

P.S. If you know anyone who would do custom art on the outside of the Wii/Wii U please let me know

PPS I have about 3 weeks to complete this project

Thank you

 

[mysticwaterfall]

Anything you can do on the Wii you can do in the Wii Mode of the Wii U. Only difference would be you need to unplug the usb device before turning off, or the Wii u will bug you to format it.

 

[emigre]

Can't you just buy them a smoothie maker or something?

 

[Snailface]

Buying a WiiU for Wii hacking is not a good idea. Its not as stable as Wii.

But I'm sure they would like a WiiU just for legit use.

 

[calmwaters]

Can't you just buy them a smoothie maker or something?

Sure, if it comes with a remote and a sensor bar.

 

[jayjay123]

Anything you can do on the Wii you can do in the Wii Mode of the Wii U. Only difference would be you need to unplug the usb device before turning off, or the Wii u will bug you to format it.

There is a solution now, though a tiny bit tech... but if you're able to mod your vWii then this should be easy
http://gbatemp.net/threads/hdd-for-wii-u-and-vwii-use.352248/#post-4728464

 

[snikerz]

Can't you just buy them a smoothie maker or something?

I also think that a hacked Wii is a rather strange marriage present. Marriage is a very special festive occasion that should be celebrated by typical gifts.

 

[dreams062]

if possible get a wii with gamecube ports

 

[Wheel Of Morality]

There is a solution now, though a tiny bit tech... but if you're able to mod your vWii then this should be easy
http://gbatemp.net/threads/hdd-for-wii-u-and-vwii-use.352248/#post-4728464

That's awesome that you found a solution so recently

If I were to use this program, would they have to know how to use it in order to make the hard drives function correctly or is it something I could do once and then forget about?

I also think that a hacked Wii is a rather strange marriage present. Marriage is a very special festive occasion that should be celebrated by typical gifts.

They would get tons of use out of this and I think it would be a unique present that no one else could get them.

Buying a WiiU for Wii hacking is not a good idea. Its not as stable as Wii.

But I'm sure they would like a WiiU just for legit use.

This is what I am most concerned about. I don't want to get them a present that turns out to be a tech support project.

Anything you can do on the Wii you can do in the Wii Mode of the Wii U. Only difference would be you need to unplug the usb device before turning off, or the Wii u will bug you to format it.

So would I be able to load USB/SD card load Gamecube/Wii/PS1/WiiWare/etc. on the Wii U without bricking it?


Thank you everyone for your suggestions so far.

 

[mysticwaterfall]

Gamecube is a little tricky since currently you need a Wii that reads GCN discs and the original game because of the antipiracy in devolution. But Wii, Wiiware, NES, Super NES, Genesis, etc work fine. PS1 isn't the best right now, but is still being worked on I think.

 

[LegendAssassinF]

I would say WiiU since eventually they will buy it if they even remotely like Nintendo games

 

[markehmus]

WiiU !

 

[Taleweaver]

You won't be able to get a wiiu to play DVD's. Or most wii's, for that matter.

Theoretically, if you could find a wii that can still read non-standard discs (or swap the disc reader around) that could be arranged. And you can use a USB loader and priiloader to start and return to a games menu that shows wii games, gamecube games and all emulator games. Postloader can do this (I've done this on my old wii), but I'm sure wiiflow and CFG can do this as well. And probably GX too.

Still...it's a pretty weird gift. At first everyone will go like "but they already have a wii", and explaining that you but a bunch of pirated games on it won't make you popular. Even more since you won't be there. Piracy is like drugs, really. It's okay if you do it to yourself (take your own responsibility, that sort of thing). But you really don't want to start pushing others into doing it. But hey...that's just like my opinion, right?


And if they really game a lot...wouldn't it be better to just get them a regular wiiu? The way I see it, the warranty is at this point worth more than any attempts at hacking if you already have a wii.

 

[Wheel Of Morality]

You won't be able to get a wiiu to play DVD's. Or most wii's, for that matter.

Theoretically, if you could find a wii that can still read non-standard discs (or swap the disc reader around) that could be arranged. And you can use a USB loader and priiloader to start and return to a games menu that shows wii games, gamecube games and all emulator games. Postloader can do this (I've done this on my old wii), but I'm sure wiiflow and CFG can do this as well. And probably GX too.

Still...it's a pretty weird gift. At first everyone will go like "but they already have a wii", and explaining that you but a bunch of pirated games on it won't make you popular. Even more since you won't be there. Piracy is like drugs, really. It's okay if you do it to yourself (take your own responsibility, that sort of thing). But you really don't want to start pushing others into doing it. But hey...that's just like my opinion, right?


And if they really game a lot...wouldn't it be better to just get them a regular wiiu? The way I see it, the warranty is at this point worth more than any attempts at hacking if you already have a wii.

It's not really pirating since they own all these games. Think of this as an organizer. If I told you I was getting someone an organizer for their wedding gift it would seem less weird. Basically that's what I am doing.

The wii I have is one of the originals from 2006. It plays DVDs so I could use that if push came to shove.

 

[Wheel Of Morality]

Gamecube is a little tricky since currently you need a Wii that reads GCN discs and the original game because of the antipiracy in devolution. But Wii, Wiiware, NES, Super NES, Genesis, etc work fine. PS1 isn't the best right now, but is still being worked on I think.

I have a wii that reads GCN if that makes a difference

 

[morphius]

Is there any reason in particular you are going with nintendo hardware? I would think a PC setup as a HTPC with various emulators installed would work WAYYYYY better. You can even use the Wiiu Pro controllers via a mayflash adapter.

 

[jayjay123]

That's awesome that you found a solution so recently

If I were to use this program, would they have to know how to use it in order to make the hard drives function correctly or is it something I could do once and then forget about?

It's really simple to use, though they would need to be told to cancel the 'this drive needs to be formatted' message that pops up in Windows when you connect it in hidden state. Try the app yourself on a blank flash to see how it works and get a feel for whether you think they can use it. Bear in mind that once hidden, they can simply backup their games to the drive from the USB loader and don't need to connect it to Windows. Also bear in mind that as of now, only two USB loaders work with it... USBLoaderGX to follow soon.

This is what I am most concerned about. I don't want to get them a present that turns out to be a tech support project.

I'm not sure you're going to be able to avoid this if you get them a hacked Wii U - that's just my experience

So would I be able to load USB/SD card load Gamecube/Wii/PS1/WiiWare/etc. on the Wii U without bricking it?

Not in Wii U mode - only in vWii mode. Getting back to the question of technical support, remember that a Wii-U update could arrive tomorrow that disables homebrew on vWii... you never know.

 

[Wheel Of Morality]

It's really simple to use, though they would need to be told to cancel the 'this drive needs to be formatted' message that pops up in Windows when you connect it in hidden state. Try the app yourself on a blank flash to see how it works and get a feel for whether you think they can use it. Bear in mind that once hidden, they can simply backup their games to the drive from the USB loader and don't need to connect it to Windows. Also bear in mind that as of now, only two USB loaders work with it... USBLoaderGX to follow soon.

I'm not sure you're going to be able to avoid this if you get them a hacked Wii U - that's just my experience

Not in Wii U mode - only in vWii mode. Getting back to the question of technical support, remember that a Wii-U update could arrive tomorrow that disables homebrew on vWii... you never know.

This is an incredibly salient point that didn't even cross my mind. I could do it all and then bam update and it's ruined.

 

[Wheel Of Morality]

Is there any reason in particular you are going with nintendo hardware? I would think a PC setup as a HTPC with various emulators installed would work WAYYYYY better. You can even use the Wiiu Pro controllers via a mayflash adapter.

I hadn't considered a PC. I'd probably want a laptop. What kind of spec would I need to make a good machine. Also, how good is the Wii/Gamecube emulator?

 

[morphius]

I wouldn't go laptop ... too underpowered for the price. For wii/GC dolphin is the way to go.