Hacking PIRATED VC GAMES - Easy to detect!

[recall2000]

BTW people are able to install them now? I though we needed a WAD packer? is it out?

Mine installs now. I was getting the code dump error with v1 of the was installer. I downloaded v1.1 and it worked first time

 

[superrob]

If you get a Code dump error then you can acturally download it from the Wii shop channel.

 

[coolbho3000]

If you get a Code dump error then you can acturally download it from the Wii shop channel.

I got code dump errors several times and did not notice anything on my shop account. I tried downloading SMB3 and it said I still needed 500 points. Same goes for Diddy's Quest. And "Titles You've Downloaded" shows nothing as well.

Good thing I never actually installed anything.

If anyone was wondering, the topic was based off the information I got from observing in #wiidev.

 

[DjoeN]

I already posted a tought about it in another gbatemp topic:

http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=831...p;#entry1099015

Question:
Can Nintendo see if you actually bought the game (Wii Points and your online Nintendo account, where you can see what games you actually bought)
If it's the case, can nintendo then ban the whole console from online, like MS can, if the want in the future.

Simply put:
When you buy a VC game you pay with wii points, Nintendo keeps track of how many wii points you have and how many wii points you spend and on what you spend your wii points.
When you buy a VC game it gets listed in your Nintendo Account, this way Nintendo can see who got a game and didn't pay for it.

So if Nintendo wants, the can now seek out all who got the game installed and redownloaded it from the VC shop and ban the consoles for online use?


It's just a tought in my mind, dunno if it's possible or not, but i wonder?
If the can and if the do, then alot of ppl who redownloaded it will be screwed, if not, the better for them

It's just an tought, so ignore this post if you don't care.

 

[kedest]

I've already downloaded a game, but this is keeping me from installing it.
Guess I'll just stick with emulators. There is a cool wiimode snes emulator, a gameboy color/advance emulator. I'm sure a nice N64 emulator will also follow in the near future.

 

[jaxxster]

when you re-download a game that you havent paid for it doesnt show in your wiishop history btw.

 

[SavageWaffle]

Nintendo doesn't give a crap actually. They can sue NDS Flashcarts but they ARENT for a reason, to sell more DS's, if they sued the Flashcart companys, there NDS sellement will drop. This is called the Underground Market. There is this thing called the "Vii", of course a fake version of the Wii. They can easily be sued, but the Vii sells more then the Wii.

 

[coolbho3000]

when you re-download a game that you havent paid for it doesnt show in your wiishop history btw.

Which is where the problem lies.

 

[DrQuack02]

Interesting how the Wii Shop knows if its on the Wii though....kinda odd....but some people are reporting that they aren't able to redownload...

Perhaps thats where you want to be...as Nintendo wouldn't know if it was on the system or not.

 

[ilovengage]

Interesting how the Wii Shop knows if its on the Wii though....kinda odd....but some people are reporting that they aren't able to redownload...

Perhaps thats where you want to be...as Nintendo wouldn't know if it was on the system or not.

I guess this is because of a different (language) version of the game. In the past SNES games usually only had a few language on the cartridge, so every country would have it's own version. For example a game which has Spanish and English in the Spanish version isn't the same as the French version (French and English, or possibly ONLY French).

But that's just an idea ...

 

[tatanga]

I'm only speculating, but I think we're giving Nintendo's security too much credit, and the Shopping channel only checks for the ticket on the console before allowing you to download. That's why the download won't appear in linked nintendo-europe.com accounts.

To sum up I don't think any info that you got the game gets sent to Nintendo's servers. At least not if you just use the full WAD install and don't download from them.

 

[Tanks]

Speaking of Nintendo and detection...

http://waninkoko.wiinewz.com/ = http://www.nintendo.com/corp/faqs/legal.html

...

 

[Drejjmit]

Speaking of Nintendo and detection...

http://waninkoko.wiinewz.com/ = http://www.nintendo.com/corp/faqs/legal.html

...

the real adress are http://wii.waninkoko.info/

 

[SleepyPrince]

but the apps links are dead anyway

 

[squirt1000]

They are working fine for me

 

[bowbowhead]

Hey I was wondering something, do the "tickets" contain a date?

I want to get the Internet Channel and I don't want Nintendo to be suspicious that I got the Channel for free AFTER June.

 

[jhoff80]

Not to add to the paranoia, but if anyone has actually bought a VC game, in addition to the above information, Nintendo probably has your billing address and name somewhere too.

 

[shtonkalot]

VC games is stored inside your Wii, in the form of a ticket. As far as I know, these are kept intact even after you delete the game! This means that some values on your Wii's NAND determine if you can redownload a game or not. The Wii Shop server (most probably) keeps logs of your transactions as well.

I was unaware coolbho3000 has access to nintendos internal server I apoligize for my speculation that he was merely speculating.

Internal server indeed.

Figure it out.

That shows that Nintendo have kept track of what you have purchased/downloaded when using the Wii Shop channel in the normal way.
It doesn't exactly prove that they have,can or will be able to tell if you have installed a VC title through "other means".
Without needing to make this an argument over semantics the point (I speculate!

) is that we don't know what Nintendo is recording on their servers when we access the Wii shop channel other than what you have shown. That doesn't show that they can or are recording info when a title is re-downloaded either legitimately or after installing a dodgy one.
It seems likely that they are able to record such info but it's not a definite.

Here's an interesting thing that may be helpful.
My original Wii console was faulty (corrupted graphics) and I had it replaced by Nintendo. I had purchased 2 VC titles at the time.
When I received the console back the titles were missing but I was able to download and install them again for free. What info did they have that made that possible. Did the new console (different serial #) have the info stored on it for me to be able to get them or was it just on the servers of Nintendo.
I must have had a different console ID as my Miis (backed up on wiimote) weren't editable on the replacement console, message told me I can only edit Miis created on this console or similar.

Unless a high up Nintendo rep comes and tells us all the internal workings of their data retrieval and storage for online connections to the Wii including past and future differences that have or will occur, and they prove it with evidence... then it's all speculation.
It's not a case of just figuring it out, we don't have the required info to do so.

All that said, without a doubt It is possible that Nintendo can and or will record any online activity and could retrieve just about any local info stored on the Wii console when online.
If they would do anything with that info is just as unknown as if they have it in the first place.

They could ban people from online services or they could send an update that bricks your console. Hell, they could send you a letter in the mail if your personal info is tied to your account, or maybe just get the cops to rock up and confiscate your console as evidence.

Definitely speculation.

 

[ricdanger]

Let's not forget that these games cost... points.
Not money, they cost you points.
Did you steal any points? No.

Secondly, how can Nintendo proof that you have or haven't buy the points and the game?
Internal logs?! Yeah right, like they can't be changed.
Legally, it would be hard for them to proof that you have the game without paying "points".
Remember: you don't need to mod the console in any way.
If you have the game in the console, and the console is not modded (not even the firmware), well... I guess that you can say that you bought the game with some "points".
"How did I pirated this game, given that my console has security measures that prevent me to do so, and I hadn't tangled it in any way?!".
That seems like a very nice argument a possible caught person can use.

As far as detecting pirated VC games, it can be possible.
But if Nintendo has your history on a server, why do the shop looks for the tickets on your console and not for such history on the server?
It seems like a dumb decision to me, as someone could mess with tickets and let the shop think that you buy everything... So, my guess is that they don't have the record of what you bought, or the points, for whatever reason (except if you linked your account with Nintendo Club).

Also, I don't see Nintendo blocking their customers. Notice one thing: you don't need a modchip for this hack.
So, people pirating VC games can be guys that buy regular Nintendo games and pay the full price of it.
Being that the most sold titles are first party, it would hurt Nintendo sales and royalties. Much more than the possible "losses" from that pirated VC games.

So, I only see one feasible action Nintendo can take. On the next update, they can check the ticket validity/integrity/signatures (but I guess they are the same as genuine ones, so this could be hard for Nint; there could be a bug somewhere though) and they can match the channels you have with some online history (if they have one). If
they found anything pirated, they block the pirated channels. Just that. They will not raid someone's house, they will not block anyone, let alone brick the console.

The #001 error is much more dangerous, as it proofs that you have modded your console and are playing games that cost much more money (not points), without paying a thing. They added that check to detect modchips. They only had to make the Wii report that #001 error was risen, the next time it was connected to WFC, or was being updated. Then, when you tried to play something, all it would take to block you would be to check if that error was shown anytime on your console. No need to check lists of games and signatures, tickets and stuff, no need to have an history on their servers, all it would take would be a bit on a database.
But guess what: Nintendo didn't blocked anyone.
For god's sake: Nintendo didn't even added a "warranty void if broken" sticker to the console!

And what about PAL consoles playing NTSC games online, either by using Freeloader or RegionFrii (modchip indicator).
Very easy for Nintendo to detect, but did they block anyone? Nope.

 

[Hero-Link]

LOL @ coolbho3000 for showing a picture of mynintendo / nintendo club, with games HE registered.

Plus i agree with ricdanger. Dont everyone remembered what Nintendo said? The Games you download are only kept in YOUR Wii, not on their servers... so if your Wii would be busted, you had to notify them about the games you downloaded, so they could confirm it when you shipped your wii.

Plus.. was it me, or was coolbho3000 that said whoever played SSBB (NTSC-J) with a PAL console or whatever would be banned FOREVER from online gaming with the Wii?
hmmm....