Wiinja - ModChip for Nintendo Wii

Author: Jani 'Japala' Pönkkö Published: 14.02.2007 Manufacturer: Wiinja Product Group: Game console related In English Suomeksi

Usage experiences

The chip does what it promises! This said, it is sad that the DVD-drive of the Wii is so selective that it is hard to burn working disks for it. There are many threads available on the net that discuss about the different media brands, DVD-burner models and firmware versions for them that work the best and produce the best working disks. The new V2 of the Wiinja is said to have better handling for cheaper DVD media. Currently it is hard to see how this chip that only tells the drive that the DVD-R inside is an original one, can somehow affect the way the drive handles the media. Perhaps it just instructs the drive to re-read the disk when it encounters an error? Anyway, this is something that we need to test in future parts of this series.

So the DRE (disk read error) is a common visitor when playing self-made backups. While in the GameCube the DRE booted the whole console, luckily in Wii, DRE produces a warning on-screen telling one that there was an error reading the disk. Just eject the disk from the drive and insert it again and the game will continue as normal. This until you encounter another DRE.

Conclusion

PROS Easy to install Totally transparent solution; Original games work the same, so does channels etc. Easy to operate; Just insert the backup or GC homebrew disk and it will work. CONS Not region free for Wii games Not upgradeable

So the Wiinja is one of the first, 1st generation Wii modchips. It contains many of the features that are needed to make it truly useful but at the same time it lacks some needed functions to make it future proof. Main drawback is the lack of update feature. If Nintendo manages to come up with a way to detect the chip or counter it in some way, there is no way to update the modchip to make it do its magic once more. If you want to play backups and do not care that much for Wii homebrew, Wiinja is a good choice. Now that there are around 5-6 modchips available to choose from, Wiinja is facing tough competition but most of these other chips have the same drawbacks. Next in line to review we have a modchip called CycloWiz. It will be interesting to see what new it can bring to the table. Stay tuned for the next part in this review series in very near future!

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Additional Information

Past related articles in MetkuMods Articles: Nintendo DS Homebrew What to do to make homebrew and backups work with Nintendo DS Reviews: Xbox Modchip SmartXX V2 & XboxMediaCenter Unleash the power of your Xbox with these goodies. Mods: Super Grip with Plasti Dip Shows you how to treat the game controller so that it handles better. XBOX CombiCable Make your XBOX gamepad work with PC.

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