Hacking the Wii

I recently decided to hack my Wii console so that I can play games from a USB back up drive. I won't go into details of how I accomplished the hack as you can find many very well written tutorials using Google. Instead I will be going into why I chose to hack my Wii. 

Convenience is the main reason that I did this. Now that it is hacked I only have to put a disc into the Wii when I first bring a new game home from the store. After a simple installation process the game is copied to an external USB hard drive and can be loaded using a special Wii channel added during the hacking process. The USB channel displays a list of all of my games with thumbnails of the game covers that I can scroll through and launch with a simple click of the Wii controller.

In addition to convenience I also chose to do this for security. Discs get damaged and lost over time, especially with kids using them regularly. With the game discs stored somewhere safe I will be able to re-install them if my console ever malfunctions or is stolen.

The app store for the iPhone and iPod Touch already takes this a step further. When you purchase an application in the app store it is added to the list of applications you have purchased. You are able to download the application and install it, as well as copy it to other compatible devices in your household. When you get a new device the applications are automatically copied over to the new device without having to re-purchase them.

Although many who choose to hack their Wii do it so they can copy games they have not purchased I have chosen to copy only games I have actually purchased. I develop software for a living and believe that the game developers deserve to be paid for their work.

Hacking the Wii was a quick and easy process that allows me much more convenience and security than the Wii did before. Hopefully more vendors will go the route Apple did with the app store and in the future the no one will need to worry about losing or damaging an application disc.