Hacking New version of Wii mobo??

[XeroRestraint]

Anyone seen a real live version of the new motherboard that's being reported??

Max Console
Dugg Mirror


Is it true that [N] is striking back against our scene efforts?

It's only a matter of time....

 

[Tomobobo]

I highly doubt that they were doing it to thwart the piracy efforts. If that were the case, they would have removed access to the "secret" serial port on the drive, instead of just moving it around.
Most likely, Nintendo is hiring as many manufacturers as it can to get the Wii out on the shelves, and this manufacturer had a different approach to making the Wii.

 

[XeroRestraint]

I highly doubt that they were doing it to thwart the piracy efforts. If that were the case, they would have removed access to the "secret" serial port on the drive, instead of just moving it around.
Most likely, Nintendo is hiring as many manufacturers as it can to get the Wii out on the shelves, and this manufacturer had a different approach to making the Wii.

While your conclusion may be right the premise that Nintendo lacks version control authority or would tolerate unintentional deviation from their exact designs and specifications does not sound likely (even if they did outsource production).

IIRC, Microsoft did the same thing for several revisions of the XBox in an effort to discourage modding. The scene's collective resourcefulness always triumphed though.

 

[Soybomb]

Nintendo probably doesn't spec the drive down to the pcb of the dvdrom, just that its a dvdrom of these dimensions, with this read speed, and this size. The drive might be coming from a different manu now. If nintendo were worried about modders there would be more efficient ways to do it, this just seems like standard hardware revisions in manufacturing.

 

[-KangaRod-]

it would render these first versions of the chips obselete eventually though.

 

[moshii]

I highly doubt that they were doing it to thwart the piracy efforts. If that were the case, they would have removed access to the "secret" serial port on the drive, instead of just moving it around.


Um, maybe they need that serial port during manufacture? You know.. to test/prog the drive. If they didn't need it they wouldn't have shipped with it in the first place, it's taking up board space.

QUOTEMost likely, Nintendo is hiring as many manufacturers as it can to get the Wii out on the shelves, and this manufacturer had a different approach to making the Wii.

A different approach to making the Wii?? It's not like lego. Any fab will be using Nintendo's design.. they won't have schematics but the right masks and tools. This looks like a simple tool change possibly something with the DVD reader has been corrected.




Anyone that thinks Nintendo aren't doing/won't do anything about piracy is a fool. However, the biggest threat against the "scene" (/me wonders how most people here can consider themselves part of any scene) is copy protection in the games themselves.. we can crack games but we can't run unsigned code or sign our own code. People should think before they start spouting their *theories*.

 

[-KangaRod-]

Nintendo has, and always will be strongly anti piracy.

 

[mustnap]

So what has Nintendo done to thwart the R4 (or similar) adapters for its DS?? (i'm curious to know)

Nintendo has, and always will be strongly anti piracy.

 

[Hiro_x2]

Takin from DigiTimes..

http://www.digitimes.com/systems/a20070327PD201.html



Nintendo has altered the circuit layout of its Wii games console in order to block the increasing use of modification chips (modchips). However, new-generation modchips capable of working with the revised Wii consoles may become available in less than a month, according to retail channels in Taiwan.

The new Wiis, which are part of new shipments of the console, have an altered circuit layout that makes modification more difficult than in earlier versions. Users attempting to mod the new consoles using current modchips are very likely to damage the system, the sources pointed out.

In view of past instances where Nintendo and other games console makers including Microsoft and Sony have revised the circuitry of their consoles in attempts to to disable modchips, it is a logical expectation that a more advanced modchip specifically for the new Wii revision will be available in less than a month, the sources indicated.

Some providers of Wii modification services in Taiwan think Nintendo could adopt BGA (ball grid array) IC packaging to prolong the time needed by hackers to develop new modchips to at least four months. The longer waiting time would likely reduce the willingness of some users to modify the consoles, the sources noted.

 

[ssj4android]

What is Microsoft doing to try to stop drivemods? It certainly doesn't seem like what Nintendo's doing is much designed to stop piracy.

 

[Smack]

What is Microsoft doing to try to stop drivemods? It certainly doesn't seem like what Nintendo's doing is much designed to stop piracy.

I am sure both MS and Nintendo have done the cost benefit analysis on how much it will cost to attempt to thwart vs how much money they are currently losing on moded systems. Plus they all know it is an uphill battle as pretty much everything is hackable. On the converse if they made it so complex that it would be tough to hack it may drive the cost of production up too much. It can be a delicate balance and ultimately of the 5mil Wii's sold how many do you think are currently moded?

 

[Soybomb]

I highly doubt that they were doing it to thwart the piracy efforts.  If that were the case, they would have removed access to the "secret" serial port on the drive, instead of just moving it around.


Um, maybe they need that serial port during manufacture? You know.. to test/prog the drive. If they didn't need it they wouldn't have shipped with it in the first place, it's taking up board space.

Most likely, Nintendo is hiring as many manufacturers as it can to get the Wii out on the shelves, and this manufacturer had a different approach to making the Wii.

A different approach to making the Wii?? It's not like lego. Any fab will be using Nintendo's design.. they won't have schematics but the right masks and tools. This looks like a simple tool change possibly something with the DVD reader has been corrected.




Anyone that thinks Nintendo aren't doing/won't do anything about piracy is a fool. However, the biggest threat against the "scene" (/me wonders how most people here can consider themselves part of any scene) is copy protection in the games themselves.. we can crack games but we can't run unsigned code or sign our own code. People should think before they start spouting their *theories*.

Sure it is, its not space shuttle components or even anything specialized at all, its a dvd drive. The wii is full of lego components. Nintendo doesn't care about the internal design of the brick, it just needs to put out x volts and be capable of x amps with a specific connector on the end. Memory is certainly a lego part, the wifi radio is a lego part. The wii uses tons of essentially lego parts, why reinvent the wheel.

The wii still isn't readily available in stores, maybe nintendo has went from matsushita (aka panasonic) to nec (hypothetical) here because they could supply the drives faster. Odds are nintendo isn't specing it down to the resistors on the drive, they'll say we want this many drives, these are the dimensions, we need this type of connection located here. Make it work on your fab equipment and place your bids. Maybe they're just cheaper. Electronics are known for having tons of changes through out their product lives without ever being piracy related. I just don't see anything to indicate this is any different then say microsoft changing dvd drives in the xbox several times through its life span. Its just a slot-loading dvdrom and if they wanted to obfuscate the points they could have done a much better job. Ymmv but I just don't see whats so special about the optical drive that it can't be a relatively generic part built to meet a few specific demands.

 

[XeroRestraint]

I highly doubt that they were doing it to thwart the piracy efforts. If that were the case, they would have removed access to the "secret" serial port on the drive, instead of just moving it around.


Um, maybe they need that serial port during manufacture? You know.. to test/prog the drive. If they didn't need it they wouldn't have shipped with it in the first place, it's taking up board space.

Most likely, Nintendo is hiring as many manufacturers as it can to get the Wii out on the shelves, and this manufacturer had a different approach to making the Wii.

A different approach to making the Wii?? It's not like lego. Any fab will be using Nintendo's design.. they won't have schematics but the right masks and tools. This looks like a simple tool change possibly something with the DVD reader has been corrected.




Anyone that thinks Nintendo aren't doing/won't do anything about piracy is a fool. However, the biggest threat against the "scene" (/me wonders how most people here can consider themselves part of any scene) is copy protection in the games themselves.. we can crack games but we can't run unsigned code or sign our own code. People should think before they start spouting their *theories*.

Sure it is, its not space shuttle components or even anything specialized at all, its a dvd drive. The wii is full of lego components. Nintendo doesn't care about the internal design of the brick, it just needs to put out x volts and be capable of x amps with a specific connector on the end. Memory is certainly a lego part, the wifi radio is a lego part. The wii uses tons of essentially lego parts, why reinvent the wheel.

The wii still isn't readily available in stores, maybe nintendo has went from matsushita (aka panasonic) to nec (hypothetical) here because they could supply the drives faster. Odds are nintendo isn't specing it down to the resistors on the drive, they'll say we want this many drives, these are the dimensions, we need this type of connection located here. Make it work on your fab equipment and place your bids. Maybe they're just cheaper. Electronics are known for having tons of changes through out their product lives without ever being piracy related. I just don't see anything to indicate this is any different then say microsoft changing dvd drives in the xbox several times through its life span. Its just a slot-loading dvdrom and if they wanted to obfuscate the points they could have done a much better job. Ymmv but I just don't see whats so special about the optical drive that it can't be a relatively generic part built to meet a few specific demands.

Soybomb - I have to agree and disagree with you ... While there are certainly a number of "off-the-shelf" (OTS) components that make up a Wii (or any other console), I would not go so far as to call them "lego" (not your choice of words, I know) for that implies ubiquity and far too great a degree of interchangeability.

I will further concede that Nintendo, via interviews and official press releases, made no secret that part of their design strategy was to incorporate as many OTS components as was practical to keep costs low, and the design simple (which was also intended to allow more efficient software development). With that said, however, I think your assumptions and speculation fail to recognize the critical aspect of standardization and quality control that I contend must take place in a company and product as large as this. By no means does that imply that, at any time, an arbitrary hardware substitution can take place.

It is most likely that Nintendo has an individual, if not an entire team, who's sole responsibility is hardware version control. Any potential changes to hardware specs would have to be tested and approved through them first. Really up until now we mostly agree and have been arguing semantics. The real question for debate is - was a hardware change made with the specific intent to retard modding efforts or was the effect on modding simply a by-product of a change made for other reasons (cost, availability, performance, et cetera)?

Personally I'd think it too coincidental for the latter to solely be the case. Oh, and there's also a pretty well documented history of console manufacturers following the former route.

All this I say, not talking out of my sphincter

, but as someone with years experience as a project manager for a company that also produces interactive computer systems.

 

[moshii]

... All that and the drive is custom in the fact that it can read Nintendo's "stamped in the disc" security tokens.