The Wii mini's circuitry is so peculiar, not because how different it is, but how familiar it is. The chips and layout of the core circuitry is almost exactly the same as later revision Wiis. It even has pads to solder on a wifi module, as well as test pads for GameCube and SD cards
I dont know, any true fan should have a homebrewed Wii. Those things are just monsters. (Wii, GC, SNES, NES, GB/GBC/GBA - N64 via Virtual Console) There are 20bucks HDMI Cables from Hyperkin that are plug and play. You can support 1tb of SSD Drives. They are amazing.
@@livinlicious True, but the Dolphin emulator has rendered all that obsolete. Dolphin will allow you to run all your GC and Wii games at 4K, and even in 3D with a compatible tv/projector. All the hardware is compatible with Dolphin now at the hardware stack. My modded Wii has been sitting in a storage box for years, probably never to be used again.
@@chazcov08 But Dolphin does not emulate the Wii perfectly. For example there is no IOS. For playing games it's fine but for actual homebrew software it's not ideal.
@@jeanmorales257 You can just connect a Wiimote via Bluetooth and it'll work like you'd expect, including motion controls. Pretty sure it also supports pretty much any other controller with a motion sensor.
In fairness, this thing cost like $80 and included a copy of Mario kart Wii. It's almost a free Wii with your copy of Mario kart, it's not terribly surprising that they cut every available corner to reduce cost.
If we look back, when Nintendo stopped activating the Nintendo 64's RGB output just to save a few bucks, it's no wonder the amount of filthy savings that she made and continues to do.
I was going to pick one up when they launched as a 2nd Wii because I love the look, but not having Wifi at time when Netflix, and Hulu where still supported on the Wii, along with 480p was a deal breaker for me.
A few pointers: - As Shank mentioned in another comment, the Wii Mini's hardware is extremely similar to the Wii even if it doesn't seem like it. Test solder pads are present for GC ports 1 and 4, memory card slot A, and all the necessary pins for an SD card slot. This is because they need access to that to set up all Wiis at the factory. So it is possible to solder in those things relatively easily. There are also pads present for the Wi-Fi module connector, but that requires some other surface mounted components as well. All these things have been done by people. - Component video is also possible to add back with a PCB design that is available. It has been tested and confirmed to work. - Hardware is only half the battle. Because a normal Wii would lock up without the Wi-Fi module present, Nintendo removed the Wi-Fi code from all the Wii Mini system software, including IOS (with revision numbers to ensure no game disc tries to overwrite it). They also removed the SD code. So while it is possible to have Wii software (including the Wii system menu with normal internet settings and all) installed on the Wii Mini through homebrew, you have to either install Wii IOS revisions *with Wi-Fi patched out* or also install a Wi-Fi module. Basically, everything the Wii Mini lacks in both hardware and software can be added back with varying degrees of difficulty.
@@wiimaster2847 Yeah but it could still read the SD Card as a USB Drive right? Then you *somewhat* have SD Card support it would just show as a USB. But yeah i get it won't be native SD Card Support.
Saw this when it came out, it's incredible what the homebrew community and security researchers have made possible with consoles that were deemed 'useless'. Thanks for the insightful video, awesome and thorough as always!
I mean, it basically is useless. The best games you can play on your Wii are Gamecube games, and you can't connect a GC controller to a Wii Mini. Regular Wiis sold a downright absurd amount of units, so they'd be way easier to come by and they're much better from both a regular gaming and homebrew perspective.
@@angolin9352 hey let's not discredit the Wii cuz has it also has it's fair share of amazing games too: MKWii, Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime trilogy, to name a few..
@@codezero7981 Metroid Prime Trilogy is 2/3 Gamecube games, and the porting job is notable for lacking some effects and features of the originals. Mario Kart blows. Galaxy was good. All in all, the Wii has maybe 10 games worth playing on it, and everything else ranges from barely tolerable to just plain bad. If it wasn't for homebrew and Brawl, I would have hardly used my Wii at all.
@@angolin9352 NMH1 and NMH2 are underrated on the Wii ive played them when i was a kid i played NMH1 on the PS3 and i was planning to play the series again in the Switch since the new one is out now but ye i mostly used my Wii as a HD GameCube player
You can also get a Mayflash adapter for the Wiimote that allows you to connect a Gamecube controller. It gets detected as a Classic Controller but at least makes it so you can use your GC conrtoller.
@@gumbyx84 You're thinking of the USB to GameCube adapter. The thing this guy is talking about connects a GameCube controller to the bottom of the wiimote
You can also hook up a powered USB hub to the back of the thing and then connect the Nintendo or Mayflash GameCube Adapter there to have these controllers wired and with rumble enabled.
I still think the Wii Mini is a very poor hardware revision that should be avoided, but it's neat that there's a way to get *some* use out of it now. It's amazing how the only thing stopping this version from connecting to the internet with LAN was Nintendo purposefully leaving-out the driver for it.
To be fair that's usually what stops USB devices from working on other USB ports. It's actually a little ridiculous we have so many controllers with nearly identical button layouts using USB and yet we have to worry about which ones are hooked up to which.
Technically they didn't even remove the driver for it, they just removed the settings GUI for it. All the enabler does is insert a settings file from a normal Wii that has ethernet configuration set up already. And if you install a normal Wii system menu on the Wii Mini (which can be done quite easily if you know what you're doing), you can access the standard internet settings.
I almost bought one purely as a novelty when I thought it was going to be Canada-exclusive. Once they said they were bringing it out in the US I lost interest.
This is really great if you received one as a Christmas present and you don't know what to do with it. But I wouldn't recommend anyone to go out of their way and buy one, this is more limited than a PSP Go. Just the no progressive output is a deal breaker. Buy a regular Wii, or better yet a Wii U instead, if you're looking for Wii homebrew or to play the games in OG hardware. Wii U is the definitive Wii if you ask me: 3 generations of Nintendo natively supported, progressive scan for everything.
Exactly my thoughts and i'm surprised MVG didn't say it himself. These hacks are a neat tool for those who already have a Wii Mini and want to make it useful, but they are far inferior to what can be done with a regular Wii which is cheaper and easier to acquire.
It's a great option on the cheap, but tbh the upscaling for the vWii mode is so bad (especially if you have a 4k set for double upscaling) that you're better off using a regular Wii on a retrotink (2x or 5x). Or if you have the space, a Wii on basically any CRT will look best.
@@DeToxCommunity You can improve the scaling by lowering the resolution on the Wii U to the system you plan on playing and then let only your TV handle it. So 480p for GC and 720p for Wii games. Sadly there is no hack that switches output to native resolution when you open the app, you have to change it manually.
I despise composite video and interlaced video so I'd personally never want a wii mini, but that retrotink 5x is doing a remarkable job at digitizing the signal. I'm impressed.
@@ModernVintageGamer They just did another run of the 5x and I managed to snag one. On top of that I find myself with a Wii with an unreliable disc drive so I'm lining up plans to hack it!!
@@ModernVintageGamer It’s pretty incredible from what I’ve seen lately of it. The price is a bit steep unfortunately for my wallet, but I totally understand why it costs what it does.
There's something honestly cathartically funny about this. Nintendo tried their best, got rid of so many features along the way, yet the internet persists and shoved all the features back into the hardware through any method they found possible. Honestly inspiring lol, great video too! Glad I own an original Wii model though, much easier to homebrew.
@@HistoryandReviews People who don't have money can't buy a game. People who don't wanna pay will not pay anyway. Stop simping for corporations, go hold a girl's hand or something
I got to give this a shot on my own Wii Mini a while ago, about the only difference being I used my laptop and loaded up Ubuntu I believe from a live USB device. I tried many times from a VM but despite everything looking like it worked, I never had any luck actually pushing the required payload until I used something other than the VM. Despite that, definitely a fun and interesting experience, although very much a situation where we can do it just because we could. However, isn't that the spirit of modding?
Using a VM is pretty tricky to pull off. Not only do you have device passthroughs, but they tend to run slower (despite on-die technologies), suck memory, and have some serious timing issues (I work with a VM on production hardware in the field, synchronization is a nightmare). Aside, love the videos you do. Used your guide for my PS2 mod, and will probably do my Falcon 360 shortly.
Had the same with fastboot flashing ROMs onto my old Xperia phones (Z and Z1 Compact), Windows didn't really work, although I had the drivers installed then I tried it with Kubuntu and it was successful on the first try as far as I remember without any additional drivers...
Wish I had the know how to do these types of things in my mind this is next step after getting into modified pc games where’s as this is like being a developer for your own benefit
@UChs6fbxAVA_nNMJ2rxg_dvw It has 512MB of internal memory, so it can install any extra apps that you want as long as you don’t exceed the allocated space. But you probably won’t. Most apps also have forwarders which are basically just a picture and a small code that directs the Wii to the USB where the app is actually stored, thus saving space on the actual Wii.
I remember when these first came out in Canada. They did not stay at the $99.99 MSRP for long. Within just a few months of release you could grab them for $50 bucks. I bought one because I wanted a wiimote/nunchuck for my PC and the $50 dollar wii mini, which came with a wiimote/nunchuck, was cheaper than just buying a wiimote/nunchuck. I sold the console for 30 bucks on ebay and still have my nice red wiimote/nunchuck to this day.
Really cool to see this. You were a big inspiration on me getting into retro modding. 3 GameCubes later and a Wii U I’m now working on, I appreciate the hobby I’ve picked up. Thank you
Unless you can find one super cheap to complete a Wii collection, then I still don't think the Wii Mini is worth it even with it being hacked now, simply because of all it's limitatons, and given how common, and cheap an OG Wii still is, but still cool to see nonetheless.
Shhh, investors, and speculators, and Wata and Heritage, and RUclips- and Twitch-watching zoomers will start snapping them all up to resell for a profit or start their own gaming channel. 😒
This console was being sold around the same time frame Nintendo killed Nintendo WiFi Connection for the Wii/DS. They really didn't have any reason to do that and the only reason this was ever sold was to get rid of the stock of chips they had for the Wii
@@devnol This started being sold in 2012 and they killed off the Nintendo wifi in 2014. I think the lack of internet capability was due to save costs and sell this as cheap as possible.
@@user-vn7ce5ig1z The OLED screens also are excess inventory. They are single layered while most modern tablets and phones are dual layered. So Nintendo got a good deal as Sharp had a whole lot of them still and wasn't really selling them.
The fact you reused the sd card insert at 1:56 from your 'How a pair of Tweezers defeated security on the Nintendo Wii' is amazing and also really smart.
Is it possible to use Dualshock 4 on Nintendont without adapter? For regular Wii and Mini. I use my DS4 with PS2 Slim wirelessly through BT (I have Dualshock 2 connected to enter OPL because PS2 can't detect Dualshock 4 natively)
@@main_tak_becus6689 only one way to find out. I'm assuming if you can connect it to a specific Bluetooth device like one of those game controller converter things for switch and whatnot, you'll be able to connect it with Bluetooth over USB. If you're trying to connect a ds4 straight to a Wii though that won't work
How about a USB SD-card reader connected through into the hub as well? I am assuming that from the system standpoint it's just seen as a storage device, and since USB flash sticks work, then an SD card could also work, right?
It’s reasons like this that I love the video game hacking community. Such a cool accomplishment. Well done job to all involved. Thank You from the community.
@@umageddon It's part of the new "identity politics". I am not totally against it though, but I agree that it makes SOME PEOPLE sound like they are a WHOLE BUNCH of people (see weasel words).
The "hacking community" for anything is great, is always fun to see in what creative ways people manage to get past restrictions. And why did you say "video game hacking community"? That's not a thing, people that hack consoles are generally not the same that hack games so they can be pirated, or those that hack to cheat. I really hope you're not dumb enough to think it's all the same people. Anyway, what you're talking about is the console homebrew community. I think comment sections are cursed. No matter what comment section it is, like on what website or for what specific thing they're for, people always manage to say the dumbest things. And no matter how much you prepare and how aware you are of the idiocy, people always manage to be more dumb and say weirder and more illogical things. It's really disturbing.
Quickly wanna mention that GameCube Controllers can be used on Nintendon't specifically through the Wii U/Switch GameCube Adapter (3rd party ones have issues with Nintendon't). The Mini only has one USB port, and the adapter has 2 USB ends, one gray and one black, but only the black one is needed for controlling the game. Pretty sure the gray one is for Rumble. This way, Mario Kart Wii's CTGP Mod can also be played with a GameCube controller too. Don't think there are any other homebrew apps/mods that support it though. Would be neat if there were more. This also works on any other Wii model (including ones that doesn't have GameCube controller ports, aka the Wii Family Edition), and the Wii U.
Note: I believe Nintendont comes with drivers for the Nintendo GameCube Controller Adapter [Wii U] on the Wii. If you have a USB Hub that works solely off the Wii’s power, you can effectively restore the GameCube controller functionality that Nintendont provides. So, you’re not really out of using a GameCube Controller on the Wii Mini. (Someone wanting to test this?)
People have successfully used USB hubs, yes. And even if they hadn't, GameCube ports can still be soldered on relatively easily. The test points are still present on the board.
@@wiimaster2847 It’s just that so many people reported that USB Hubs that rely on an external power source, like a Micro USB, tend to cause issues inside of Nintendont or not function at all. But unless it was purely by preference, would it be worth it to solder GC ports? Interesting that the Wii Mini still retains those testing points!
@@itsMKiAM Whether it's worth it or not to solder GC ports is up to you. It's definitely possible and if you want more information on how feel free to join the Wii mini hacking discord if you haven't already (link in the wii guide in the video description)
hardware is so cheap these days and the switch is not super powerful, so hacking the switch seems A little ridiculous considering its emulation is coming along so well. But I'm excited to see how it will be done anyway.
@@AylaMeo it's not a exploit, it was always intended to work like this, if you put the chip in something that shouldn't run forin software it's your job to take care of that not happening
@@alfiegordon9013 Oh yeah for sure! Any console you can hack will be a fantastic value for its price and play lots of cool stuff. I just mean that the price gap between consoles and PCs that can run the same games Is rather narrow at this point.
Been loving this series on the history of exploits and homebrew on various consoles. 'specially considering you've been part of the scene for a long time, I've used some of your og Xbox software way back in the day :)
the wii mini was a ready bad product idea to be honest. By that point it was really easy to find second hand wiis for dirt cheap anyway so paying $100 for it wasn't really a good deal when it could barely do anything but play wii games off line.
Nintendo litterally made a downgraded Wii U, and stripped everything that made people buy the Wii, just to feel some temporary victory against hackers, just to have someone later casually hack it. Great going, nintendo.
Well, I do believe the Wii Mini exists just for the soccer moms to think "this is much more reasonable" and then some kid gets screwed over from a real Wii.
That’s awesome. Glad to hear they’ve defeated the Wii mini. It always amazes me the way these hackers find ways into these machines. Even when nintendo strips away every thing they can to stop you from doing it. Lol.
Installing the letter bomb hack felt so pleasant back in the day, like you were helping the wii achieve its full potential. 😆 The interface was so seamless.
Sense you can pair Bluetooth with a pc. I think in Linux you might be able share internet through Bluetooth. I wonder if that can work for the mini? I use to do that back in the day from pc to pc when I only had one connected to the internet on DSL.
This might actually be worth the trouble if it could do 480p. But that's not possible so I'll stick to the regular Wii. I'm still hoping full GameCube disc capability will be figured out one day. I'd like to have my GC discs natively playable.
One day you're making a video of how you worked on several games that are on the Nintendo Switch....another day you're explaining how to hack a Nintendo Wii. Man I love this channel.
I admire these kind of 'because I can' hacks. If it hasn't been done already, I'm sure someone could get Doom running on the Wiimote if they really wanted to!
It's the same reason why people still grab the original PS2 model rather than the Slim model. While the latter is super convenient since it takes little to no space, it lacks features that makes PS2 homebrew possible.
@@BeatsbyVegas It's not a backwards comparison, though. The PS2 slim has less features than the original model, most notably the lack of the expansion bay, just like how the Wii Mini lacks several features from the original Wii revision.
@@AgsmaJustAgsma I have both PS2 consoles and tbh, the expansion bay is not thaaat worth it. Also thought it would be a very cool thing to have with FreeHDBoot, but at the end, I just went with Slim and FreeMCBoot. Yes it‘s kinda more inconvenient to use discs instead of the hard drive (and no, USB is not a good alternative because of USB 1.1), but if you really want that space, it‘s definetly the better way. Especially if you also have a Jailbroken PS3 which can emulate many PS2 games effortlessly, you need even less burnt discs for the PS2 then! :D
@@Adeyum64 I have both the PS2 and PS3 but they only shine on CRT’s (which I don’t have). Emulation is fine for those systems- and even more so on the Wii.
Man I really wish I kept my Wii mini. I got rid of it solely because I thought I couldn't hack it. This seems like it would be a really fun project. It's such a nice looking little console too. I loved my Mini
I didn’t expect the bluetooth smash - what an incredible find. Not sure I’d even get the mini as a collector item - it’s very paired back. The Wii (here in AU) is still incredible value 2nd hand and is a good kid proof device (provided you use a cheap tv of course!)
It would be very interesting if someone can modify the Wii Mini so it has all (or some) of the missing features while maintaining it's more compact form factor.
Please do a tutorial to set up Nintendon't GameCube Games for the Wii mini! Every time I turn on the Mem Card Emulation in Nintendon't, it keeps turning off my Wii mini.
If it wasn't for your prior videos on how easy the Wii and Wii U are to softmod and how much better they are after it, I don't think I would've done that earlier this year. I've also found a number of utilities (some even mentioned in this video, like USB Loader GX, CleanRip, and Nintendont) that seemed cool enough to try. Especially SensorMii, which just enables the sensor bar for when I go to play games in Dolphin. 😆 But anyway, thank you so much for helping me build the confidence to do this! I really, really appreciate it!
MVG’s videos: The only videos to win out over John’s Spawnwave on Monday mornings. Great video man, and keep up the great and entertaining content man, Thanks!
I knew they removed Gamecube Disc support, controllers, memory cards, the SD Card slot, 1 of the USB ports, the stand and Internet access, but I didn’t know they removed 480p support too
God I love the homebrew community's relentless efforts to hack everything! If I own a product, I should have the right to do whatever I'd like with it.
Its sad that the people that really care about the games, systems, nostalgia, preservation, are the gamers themselves. Original Super Mario Bros code - lost, Original FF8 Code - lost, and many more examples. Its not hacking in a negative sense, its making the software and hardware open and available for future generations. Imagine the Mona Lisa would be destroyed in a fire, and nobody took a picture. Mankind would have lost something of its history that it can never recover. Thats why we preserve, copy, document stuff. So that we have it, when we DONT have it anymore.
The wii mini was a neat idea. To me it was good for someone that already had regular wii and wanted a second for their kids or spouse, it just launched way too late. A whole generation late.
I'm not sure I understand how arbitrarily altering the firmware is a cost cutting measure. Maybe Nintendo thought people wouldn't understand why it's cheaper if it still played Gamecube games and could accept their first party ethernet adaptor.
I've been messing around trying to get this junk to work for over a year and now it's done in 30 minutes. I don't know if I'm happy or angry but thank you.
I understand the value of using the Wii Mini for "something". But lets be honest... when a used Wii is 20-40bucks, and most used Wii Minis go for the same, there is NO reason to even consider these. Its a nice piece of trivia, and technical challenge, but in my opinion completely worthless for anybody. A Wii can just do so much more. Funny enough, the Wii Minis often dont drop lower than 30bucks, while you can find Wii's without cables and everything for 5bucks often (as a backup system, switch and replace when your Wii breaks - perfect).
True. To be fair, even years ago, I bought an old cheap Wii simply because it was real simple to hack it so that the Gamecube side could use the Internet via WiFi, for some good PSO episode 1&2 plus goodness. No fuss, no real extra cost.
Just the fact that the wii is practically a full wii + a full gc, which the mini can never use gc controllers - which makes it not a full gc. End of story. The wii is a homebrew monster. It can natively or emulated play every Nintendo game (except nds) will the wii. That's EASY 30years of games. (native wii, native gc, emulated snes, nes, GB GBC GBA)
Theres sooo much power behind having a Wii / WiiU for emulation! Great video, really well explained. I might have to see if i can find a Wii-Mini. Because physically look great - an obscure bit of kit
Would it of killed Nintendo to at least add an HDMI port on this revision? What a terrible revision that just takes away features and options for the consumer.
I was on the Wii Mini project discord server in 2017-2019, I saw this happening. Some guy proposed to use the 512K memory on the Wii Mote used to store up to 10 Mii avatars, then a guy even soldered a 2006 Wii SoC and NAND Flash on the Wii Mini PCB.
Please fix the audio delay issue in the Switch version of Quake, I contacted the costumer support of Bethesda and haven't seen such a unprofessional customer service in a LONG time.
Super rad utility added to the Wii mini, but the hang for me is the lack of support for 480p or either component. I know 480i works great with retro 240p, but it still disappoints me. I don't know if the Wii dual works with the Wii mini. Still pretty great seeing an effort to keep old hardware relevant, and out of landfills. Thanks, you wonderful souls for enriching so many lives by breathing new life into the masses!
@@CinnamonOwO it is a Google or RUclips search away, but upon my own finagling it looks like it is not for sale anymore. It appeared incrementally better than the native output of a Wii u.
Hey, hope all is well! I watched a bunch of your xbox videos in 2019. Then stopped watching youtube for a while. Anyways, I appreciate your videos. I literally have one red wii, now as well as the White one. Awesome
Then you're just left with a crappy piece of hardware, which means you should just use a normal wii or emulate on PC. I remember hearing about this thing when it came out and just laughed because it didn't have internet capability. I wonder if the Skyward Sword fix was included on the console, because there'd be no way to patch that without internet. Also Mario Kart Wii was bundled with it in some places, which means you couldn't play it online.
Also because you can't connect online you're left with a few screens full of blank channels, because you couldn't download eshop games or channels... lol
This is huge! My daughters wii was broken during her move but I have a wii mini from a garage sale for basically nothing. Now she can play all her childhood back ups again.
Played an original Wii at my cousins house back in 2010 thru 2012. Had fun with Mario Kart, and Paper Mario. Never had the desire to buy one or a Wii U. There is no doubt the Wii has a big library of great games, so with that said hopefully those AAA and indie titles are ported to the Switch. Great video !
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The Wii mini's circuitry is so peculiar, not because how different it is, but how familiar it is. The chips and layout of the core circuitry is almost exactly the same as later revision Wiis. It even has pads to solder on a wifi module, as well as test pads for GameCube and SD cards
Hey Shank. Didn't expect to see you here.
Makes sense to use existing design and fabriction lines to lower cost.
So theoretically one could add back sd card support to a wii mini?
@@wiimaster2847 that is honestly kinda cool.
@@wiimaster2847 thank you for the info ;) this would broaden a bit the use of my wii mini
Hearing the homebrew channel music feels like taking shots of pure nostalgia.
I dont know, any true fan should have a homebrewed Wii. Those things are just monsters. (Wii, GC, SNES, NES, GB/GBC/GBA - N64 via Virtual Console)
There are 20bucks HDMI Cables from Hyperkin that are plug and play. You can support 1tb of SSD Drives. They are amazing.
@@livinlicious True, but the Dolphin emulator has rendered all that obsolete. Dolphin will allow you to run all your GC and Wii games at 4K, and even in 3D with a compatible tv/projector. All the hardware is compatible with Dolphin now at the hardware stack. My modded Wii has been sitting in a storage box for years, probably never to be used again.
@@chazcov08 I'm just curious about how dolphin handles wii games that use the motion sensing capabilities of the wii.
@@chazcov08 But Dolphin does not emulate the Wii perfectly. For example there is no IOS. For playing games it's fine but for actual homebrew software it's not ideal.
@@jeanmorales257 You can just connect a Wiimote via Bluetooth and it'll work like you'd expect, including motion controls. Pretty sure it also supports pretty much any other controller with a motion sensor.
I didn't even know they removed 480p support. That's just spiteful.
Nintendo is Latin for spiteful.
In fairness, this thing cost like $80 and included a copy of Mario kart Wii. It's almost a free Wii with your copy of Mario kart, it's not terribly surprising that they cut every available corner to reduce cost.
If we look back, when Nintendo stopped activating the Nintendo 64's RGB output just to save a few bucks, it's no wonder the amount of filthy savings that she made and continues to do.
I was going to pick one up when they launched as a 2nd Wii because I love the look, but not having Wifi at time when Netflix, and Hulu where still supported on the Wii, along with 480p was a deal breaker for me.
In case you forgot, Nintendo are very prone to doing questionable business actions
And Wii Mini just happens to be one of many of them
A few pointers:
- As Shank mentioned in another comment, the Wii Mini's hardware is extremely similar to the Wii even if it doesn't seem like it. Test solder pads are present for GC ports 1 and 4, memory card slot A, and all the necessary pins for an SD card slot. This is because they need access to that to set up all Wiis at the factory. So it is possible to solder in those things relatively easily. There are also pads present for the Wi-Fi module connector, but that requires some other surface mounted components as well. All these things have been done by people.
- Component video is also possible to add back with a PCB design that is available. It has been tested and confirmed to work.
- Hardware is only half the battle. Because a normal Wii would lock up without the Wi-Fi module present, Nintendo removed the Wi-Fi code from all the Wii Mini system software, including IOS (with revision numbers to ensure no game disc tries to overwrite it). They also removed the SD code. So while it is possible to have Wii software (including the Wii system menu with normal internet settings and all) installed on the Wii Mini through homebrew, you have to either install Wii IOS revisions *with Wi-Fi patched out* or also install a Wi-Fi module.
Basically, everything the Wii Mini lacks in both hardware and software can be added back with varying degrees of difficulty.
Can't you just connect a SD Card Reader USB Adapter in the USB Port and now have SD card support?
@@valtros2k10 No, it doesn't work like that. The Wii would just see it as a standard USB drive.
@@wiimaster2847 Yeah but it could still read the SD Card as a USB Drive right? Then you *somewhat* have SD Card support it would just show as a USB. But yeah i get it won't be native SD Card Support.
@@valtros2k10 Yes, but what would be the point of that? Just use a USB drive. The Wii has no real USB drive support officially anyway.
Saw this when it came out, it's incredible what the homebrew community and security researchers have made possible with consoles that were deemed 'useless'. Thanks for the insightful video, awesome and thorough as always!
Super slim :)
I mean, it basically is useless. The best games you can play on your Wii are Gamecube games, and you can't connect a GC controller to a Wii Mini. Regular Wiis sold a downright absurd amount of units, so they'd be way easier to come by and they're much better from both a regular gaming and homebrew perspective.
@@angolin9352 hey let's not discredit the Wii cuz has it also has it's fair share of amazing games too: MKWii, Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime trilogy, to name a few..
@@codezero7981 Metroid Prime Trilogy is 2/3 Gamecube games, and the porting job is notable for lacking some effects and features of the originals. Mario Kart blows. Galaxy was good.
All in all, the Wii has maybe 10 games worth playing on it, and everything else ranges from barely tolerable to just plain bad. If it wasn't for homebrew and Brawl, I would have hardly used my Wii at all.
@@angolin9352 NMH1 and NMH2 are underrated on the Wii ive played them when i was a kid i played NMH1 on the PS3 and i was planning to play the series again in the Switch since the new one is out now
but ye i mostly used my Wii as a HD GameCube player
You can also get a Mayflash adapter for the Wiimote that allows you to connect a Gamecube controller. It gets detected as a Classic Controller but at least makes it so you can use your GC conrtoller.
Exactly!!! No tutorial ever mentions this!
That requires two USB ports for connection and power though.
@@gumbyx84 You're thinking of the USB to GameCube adapter. The thing this guy is talking about connects a GameCube controller to the bottom of the wiimote
@@benjaminwilson7632 - Precisely
You can also hook up a powered USB hub to the back of the thing and then connect the Nintendo or Mayflash GameCube Adapter there to have these controllers wired and with rumble enabled.
I still think the Wii Mini is a very poor hardware revision that should be avoided, but it's neat that there's a way to get *some* use out of it now. It's amazing how the only thing stopping this version from connecting to the internet with LAN was Nintendo purposefully leaving-out the driver for it.
To be fair that's usually what stops USB devices from working on other USB ports. It's actually a little ridiculous we have so many controllers with nearly identical button layouts using USB and yet we have to worry about which ones are hooked up to which.
Quite a few people bought them towards the end of the Wii's product life, so it's great to know they have options now.
Technically they didn't even remove the driver for it, they just removed the settings GUI for it. All the enabler does is insert a settings file from a normal Wii that has ethernet configuration set up already. And if you install a normal Wii system menu on the Wii Mini (which can be done quite easily if you know what you're doing), you can access the standard internet settings.
@@wiimaster2847 Also.. Make sure to install *Preloader* first before switching Menus just in case of a brick..
I almost bought one purely as a novelty when I thought it was going to be Canada-exclusive.
Once they said they were bringing it out in the US I lost interest.
This is really great if you received one as a Christmas present and you don't know what to do with it.
But I wouldn't recommend anyone to go out of their way and buy one, this is more limited than a PSP Go. Just the no progressive output is a deal breaker. Buy a regular Wii, or better yet a Wii U instead, if you're looking for Wii homebrew or to play the games in OG hardware. Wii U is the definitive Wii if you ask me: 3 generations of Nintendo natively supported, progressive scan for everything.
Exactly my thoughts and i'm surprised MVG didn't say it himself. These hacks are a neat tool for those who already have a Wii Mini and want to make it useful, but they are far inferior to what can be done with a regular Wii which is cheaper and easier to acquire.
It's a great option on the cheap, but tbh the upscaling for the vWii mode is so bad (especially if you have a 4k set for double upscaling) that you're better off using a regular Wii on a retrotink (2x or 5x). Or if you have the space, a Wii on basically any CRT will look best.
Wii U is THE BOMB!!!
Regret selling Wii U 32gb Mario Bros U. Now people sell it for fortune. Gamecube and Wii U games on the gamepad was awesome.
@@DeToxCommunity You can improve the scaling by lowering the resolution on the Wii U to the system you plan on playing and then let only your TV handle it. So 480p for GC and 720p for Wii games. Sadly there is no hack that switches output to native resolution when you open the app, you have to change it manually.
Saying "Unhackable" makes you a target. Great video MVG!
honestly they never said that. it was assumed, since the known ways to hack was removed and the interesting for this mini was low.
I was just thinking this.
Ps5isUnhackablePs5isUnhackablePs5isUnhackable!!
@@igonatangi Wish came true lmfao. Private keys were extracted and firmware was dumped and decrypted. It's only a matter of time.
@@igonatangi xsx was sorta hackable from release thanks to dev mode and edge
I despise composite video and interlaced video so I'd personally never want a wii mini, but that retrotink 5x is doing a remarkable job at digitizing the signal. I'm impressed.
agreed - the Tink5x is god tier
You could use a Wii HDMI converter. I know. Same quality, but you lose the composite connection.
@@Casperdroid5 Wii2HDMI does not work on the Wii Mini. I wouldn't recommend it anyway. Awful product.
@@ModernVintageGamer They just did another run of the 5x and I managed to snag one. On top of that I find myself with a Wii with an unreliable disc drive so I'm lining up plans to hack it!!
@@ModernVintageGamer It’s pretty incredible from what I’ve seen lately of it. The price is a bit steep unfortunately for my wallet, but I totally understand why it costs what it does.
There's something honestly cathartically funny about this. Nintendo tried their best, got rid of so many features along the way, yet the internet persists and shoved all the features back into the hardware through any method they found possible. Honestly inspiring lol, great video too! Glad I own an original Wii model though, much easier to homebrew.
"Emulation doesn't hurt Nintendo, but I wish it did" - some meme I saw
@@Niop_Tres You thought that was super clever man, you really did
So you want to hurt a company whose games you buy and gave you pleasure since you were young 🤡
@@lennyface5314 they still make games 🤡 youre all ungrateful thieves!
@@HistoryandReviews
People who don't have money can't buy a game. People who don't wanna pay will not pay anyway. Stop simping for corporations, go hold a girl's hand or something
@@HistoryandReviews Thieves? In what way? Because I emulate games I already own?
I got to give this a shot on my own Wii Mini a while ago, about the only difference being I used my laptop and loaded up Ubuntu I believe from a live USB device. I tried many times from a VM but despite everything looking like it worked, I never had any luck actually pushing the required payload until I used something other than the VM. Despite that, definitely a fun and interesting experience, although very much a situation where we can do it just because we could. However, isn't that the spirit of modding?
The thing with a VM is you have to pass Bluetooth through correctly, which is not easy to do. A live USB is by far easier.
No
Using a VM is pretty tricky to pull off. Not only do you have device passthroughs, but they tend to run slower (despite on-die technologies), suck memory, and have some serious timing issues (I work with a VM on production hardware in the field, synchronization is a nightmare).
Aside, love the videos you do. Used your guide for my PS2 mod, and will probably do my Falcon 360 shortly.
i used a VM and it worked fine for me, maybe try looking at the bluetooth/usb modules
Had the same with fastboot flashing ROMs onto my old Xperia phones (Z and Z1 Compact), Windows didn't really work, although I had the drivers installed then I tried it with Kubuntu and it was successful on the first try as far as I remember without any additional drivers...
Hacked this myself back in February, neat little system IMO. Even modded the actual system to support the ethernet adapter.
Wish I had the know how to do these types of things in my mind this is next step after getting into modified pc games where’s as this is like being a developer for your own benefit
I Wonder if its hackable to install a usb hud, a 3d printed case and dreamcast emulator to made a DIY Mini Dreamcast..?
@UChs6fbxAVA_nNMJ2rxg_dvw It has 512MB of internal memory, so it can install any extra apps that you want as long as you don’t exceed the allocated space. But you probably won’t. Most apps also have forwarders which are basically just a picture and a small code that directs the Wii to the USB where the app is actually stored, thus saving space on the actual Wii.
@@fbussier80 a Dreamcast emulator... on a Wii... Dude?
@@alfiegordon9013 retroarch?
I remember when these first came out in Canada. They did not stay at the $99.99 MSRP for long. Within just a few months of release you could grab them for $50 bucks. I bought one because I wanted a wiimote/nunchuck for my PC and the $50 dollar wii mini, which came with a wiimote/nunchuck, was cheaper than just buying a wiimote/nunchuck. I sold the console for 30 bucks on ebay and still have my nice red wiimote/nunchuck to this day.
2012 and composite only output. I seriously have no idea how high Nintendo execs had to be to come up with that.
They assumed people still didn’t have HDTVs. like Iwata famously said, people do not care about HD
I heard that it's targeted to people who basically live in the woods with no Internet and who don't have access to modern tvs etc.
@@Sergeeeek aka hermits
@@Sergeeeek
And it never came up that they probably will buy it at the same electronics store that also has TVs for sale ?
I know, Nintendo was nukkin’ futs. And still are.
Really cool to see this. You were a big inspiration on me getting into retro modding. 3 GameCubes later and a Wii U I’m now working on, I appreciate the hobby I’ve picked up. Thank you
Unless you can find one super cheap to complete a Wii collection, then I still don't think the Wii Mini is worth it even with it being hacked now, simply because of all it's limitatons, and given how common, and cheap an OG Wii still is, but still cool to see nonetheless.
WiiU is the way to go if you don't already own a Wii
Shhh, investors, and speculators, and Wata and Heritage, and RUclips- and Twitch-watching zoomers will start snapping them all up to resell for a profit or start their own gaming channel. 😒
Removing Internet connection was a weird move, considering the popularity of TV boxes in the early 2010s. This could be a Netflix machine with games.
This console was being sold around the same time frame Nintendo killed Nintendo WiFi Connection for the Wii/DS. They really didn't have any reason to do that and the only reason this was ever sold was to get rid of the stock of chips they had for the Wii
@@devnol Like how they made the Switch OLED as a way to burn off their excess (and outdated) Tegra stock.
@@devnol This started being sold in 2012 and they killed off the Nintendo wifi in 2014. I think the lack of internet capability was due to save costs and sell this as cheap as possible.
@@user-vn7ce5ig1z The OLED screens also are excess inventory. They are single layered while most modern tablets and phones are dual layered. So Nintendo got a good deal as Sharp had a whole lot of them still and wasn't really selling them.
The fact you reused the sd card insert at 1:56 from your 'How a pair of Tweezers defeated security on the Nintendo Wii' is amazing and also really smart.
Ahh! Missed a pun there "When there is a _Wii_ there is a way" 😄
When you add more restrictions/hurdles, there is always someone who thrives on the challenge and innovates. Brilliant!
I think if you use a powered USB hub, you can then connect a Gamecube controller to USB adapter, like the official Nintendo one.
Is it possible to use Dualshock 4 on Nintendont without adapter? For regular Wii and Mini. I use my DS4 with PS2 Slim wirelessly through BT (I have Dualshock 2 connected to enter OPL because PS2 can't detect Dualshock 4 natively)
@@main_tak_becus6689 only one way to find out. I'm assuming if you can connect it to a specific Bluetooth device like one of those game controller converter things for switch and whatnot, you'll be able to connect it with Bluetooth over USB. If you're trying to connect a ds4 straight to a Wii though that won't work
How about a USB SD-card reader connected through into the hub as well? I am assuming that from the system standpoint it's just seen as a storage device, and since USB flash sticks work, then an SD card could also work, right?
@@NowThatsGreg sadly I don't think so, the USB circuitry wouldn't have any drivers of the likes
@@crf80fdarkdays but hackers made Drivers for Ethernet on the USB. Maybe they could make one for SDs at some point
That Terry A Davis motivation on the BlueBomb credits haha
Glad someone else noticed that! The 3 yr anniversary of his death just passed too. He is sorely missed.
Man, the ingenuity of some of these security researchers will never cease to amaze.
Nintendont is such an awesome piece of software. I love that it works on the vWii, I can natively play 3 generations of Nintendo games on one system.
It’s reasons like this that I love the video game hacking community. Such a cool accomplishment. Well done job to all involved. Thank You from the community.
'The community'. Overused term IMO.
Why always trying to lump everyone together as one?
@@umageddon It's part of the new "identity politics". I am not totally against it though, but I agree that it makes SOME PEOPLE sound like they are a WHOLE BUNCH of people (see weasel words).
The "hacking community" for anything is great, is always fun to see in what creative ways people manage to get past restrictions.
And why did you say "video game hacking community"? That's not a thing, people that hack consoles are generally not the same that hack games so they can be pirated, or those that hack to cheat. I really hope you're not dumb enough to think it's all the same people. Anyway, what you're talking about is the console homebrew community.
I think comment sections are cursed.
No matter what comment section it is, like on what website or for what specific thing they're for, people always manage to say the dumbest things. And no matter how much you prepare and how aware you are of the idiocy, people always manage to be more dumb and say weirder and more illogical things. It's really disturbing.
Quickly wanna mention that GameCube Controllers can be used on Nintendon't specifically through the Wii U/Switch GameCube Adapter (3rd party ones have issues with Nintendon't). The Mini only has one USB port, and the adapter has 2 USB ends, one gray and one black, but only the black one is needed for controlling the game. Pretty sure the gray one is for Rumble. This way, Mario Kart Wii's CTGP Mod can also be played with a GameCube controller too. Don't think there are any other homebrew apps/mods that support it though. Would be neat if there were more.
This also works on any other Wii model (including ones that doesn't have GameCube controller ports, aka the Wii Family Edition), and the Wii U.
Note: I believe Nintendont comes with drivers for the Nintendo GameCube Controller Adapter [Wii U] on the Wii.
If you have a USB Hub that works solely off the Wii’s power, you can effectively restore the GameCube controller functionality that Nintendont provides.
So, you’re not really out of using a GameCube Controller on the Wii Mini.
(Someone wanting to test this?)
People have successfully used USB hubs, yes. And even if they hadn't, GameCube ports can still be soldered on relatively easily. The test points are still present on the board.
@@wiimaster2847 It’s just that so many people reported that USB Hubs that rely on an external power source, like a Micro USB, tend to cause issues inside of Nintendont or not function at all.
But unless it was purely by preference, would it be worth it to solder GC ports?
Interesting that the Wii Mini still retains those testing points!
@@itsMKiAM It actually retains all points for the removed hardware basically.
@@itsMKiAM Whether it's worth it or not to solder GC ports is up to you. It's definitely possible and if you want more information on how feel free to join the Wii mini hacking discord if you haven't already (link in the wii guide in the video description)
"Unhackeble" Nintendo security was always laugheble untill the nintendo switch they started taking it serious then
hardware is so cheap these days and the switch is not super powerful, so hacking the switch seems A little ridiculous considering its emulation is coming along so well.
But I'm excited to see how it will be done anyway.
@@shutlol8378 To be clear, that was nvidias fault, the exploit exists in all of the early hardware based on that chip.
@@AylaMeo it's not a exploit, it was always intended to work like this, if you put the chip in something that shouldn't run forin software it's your job to take care of that not happening
@@nullvoid3545 idk the switch is pretty decent as a retro system, plus all the good games on it natively
@@alfiegordon9013 Oh yeah for sure!
Any console you can hack will be a fantastic value for its price and play lots of cool stuff.
I just mean that the price gap between consoles and PCs that can run the same games Is rather narrow at this point.
Nintendo: Our Wii Mini is UN-HACKABLE
Wii Mini: *Still gets hacked and homebrew*
Nintendo: >:|
Been loving this series on the history of exploits and homebrew on various consoles. 'specially considering you've been part of the scene for a long time, I've used some of your og Xbox software way back in the day :)
"The device, which was considered a collector's piece to some and worthless to many others, finally has some value."
Ngl, that sounds sad as hell.
the wii mini was a ready bad product idea to be honest. By that point it was really easy to find second hand wiis for dirt cheap anyway so paying $100 for it wasn't really a good deal when it could barely do anything but play wii games off line.
Nintendo litterally made a downgraded Wii U, and stripped everything that made people buy the Wii, just to feel some temporary victory against hackers, just to have someone later casually hack it. Great going, nintendo.
Well, I do believe the Wii Mini exists just for the soccer moms to think "this is much more reasonable" and then some kid gets screwed over from a real Wii.
That’s awesome. Glad to hear they’ve defeated the Wii mini. It always amazes me the way these hackers find ways into these machines. Even when nintendo strips away every thing they can to stop you from doing it. Lol.
Installing the letter bomb hack felt so pleasant back in the day, like you were helping the wii achieve its full potential. 😆 The interface was so seamless.
Sense you can pair Bluetooth with a pc. I think in Linux you might be able share internet through Bluetooth. I wonder if that can work for the mini? I use to do that back in the day from pc to pc when I only had one connected to the internet on DSL.
It’s nice to see the Wii mini finally get covered on this channel, thanks so much
Thank you MVG for making my lunch break very entertaining.
4:33
"Terry A. Davis - Motivation"
That cracked me up
Never seen this version before. It's like a PS1 bred with a Wii.
This hack is super ultra-extremawesomazing, especially with that Rainbow Dash.
Wait this is possible?? I absolutely love how this console looks. It's really cool!
When fans does Nintendont
Indeed
Absolutely brilliant this one. I miss Wii hacking so much. Pure nostalgia.
This might actually be worth the trouble if it could do 480p. But that's not possible so I'll stick to the regular Wii.
I'm still hoping full GameCube disc capability will be figured out one day. I'd like to have my GC discs natively playable.
All 7 that are worth having lol. I had a cube I loved it but there weren't many good games definitely some bangers though.
@@findantuThere are actually a lot of amazing gamecube games. Your comment would make sense if you were talking about the N64 though.
Very interesting and cool hack. I'm surprised the MVG doesn't get cease and desist letters from Nintendo, though.
He has for his Switch videos.
When Nintendo actually decides to release something in Australia for a reasonable price they can consider making threats that would be laughed off
One day you're making a video of how you worked on several games that are on the Nintendo Switch....another day you're explaining how to hack a Nintendo Wii. Man I love this channel.
I admire these kind of 'because I can' hacks. If it hasn't been done already, I'm sure someone could get Doom running on the Wiimote if they really wanted to!
Honestly, I love how it looks. It reminds me of the old famicom disc drive.
Aside from collectors, I have no idea why anyone would buy one of these.
Nowadays, no reason. Another thing is if someone already has it from back in the day
It's the same reason why people still grab the original PS2 model rather than the Slim model. While the latter is super convenient since it takes little to no space, it lacks features that makes PS2 homebrew possible.
@@BeatsbyVegas It's not a backwards comparison, though. The PS2 slim has less features than the original model, most notably the lack of the expansion bay, just like how the Wii Mini lacks several features from the original Wii revision.
@@AgsmaJustAgsma I have both PS2 consoles and tbh, the expansion bay is not thaaat worth it. Also thought it would be a very cool thing to have with FreeHDBoot, but at the end, I just went with Slim and FreeMCBoot. Yes it‘s kinda more inconvenient to use discs instead of the hard drive (and no, USB is not a good alternative because of USB 1.1), but if you really want that space, it‘s definetly the better way. Especially if you also have a Jailbroken PS3 which can emulate many PS2 games effortlessly, you need even less burnt discs for the PS2 then! :D
@@Adeyum64 I have both the PS2 and PS3 but they only shine on CRT’s (which I don’t have). Emulation is fine for those systems- and even more so on the Wii.
5:14 Did not expect to see Rainbow Dash.
4:33 God bless Terry A. Davis
Man I really wish I kept my Wii mini. I got rid of it solely because I thought I couldn't hack it. This seems like it would be a really fun project. It's such a nice looking little console too. I loved my Mini
"The new system is unhackable", said company known for making very hackable systems.
It was damn close to unhackable, they didn't think about bluetooth. It took a while for it to happen.
Yeah but it took so long. Xbox One is unhackable
@@solidsnakeandgrayfox if bluetooth were removed the wiimote would be useless
Well you know what they say, the S in Nintendo stands for security.
@@wiimaster2847 lets see if someone get wooooshed
I didn’t expect the bluetooth smash - what an incredible find.
Not sure I’d even get the mini as a collector item - it’s very paired back.
The Wii (here in AU) is still incredible value 2nd hand and is a good kid proof device (provided you use a cheap tv of course!)
It would be very interesting if someone can modify the Wii Mini so it has all (or some) of the missing features while maintaining it's more compact form factor.
Better to just trim a regular Wii, with the mini you would have to add so much hardware that you would likely need to sacrifice a regular Wii anyway
They can, and they have. Everything missing from the Wii has been added.
Please do a tutorial to set up Nintendon't GameCube Games for the Wii mini! Every time I turn on the Mem Card Emulation in Nintendon't, it keeps turning off my Wii mini.
I wanna point out that some homebrew apps won't work through USB, only through SD Card, so the Mini isn't a good homebrew console
You learn something new everyday. Thank you for the info.
Honestly, the homebrew channel theme is just as nostalgic as other Wii sounds for me, cause that was the first thing I did when I got my first wii
If it wasn't for your prior videos on how easy the Wii and Wii U are to softmod and how much better they are after it, I don't think I would've done that earlier this year.
I've also found a number of utilities (some even mentioned in this video, like USB Loader GX, CleanRip, and Nintendont) that seemed cool enough to try. Especially SensorMii, which just enables the sensor bar for when I go to play games in Dolphin. 😆
But anyway, thank you so much for helping me build the confidence to do this! I really, really appreciate it!
Woot. Monday night in Melbourne lockdown...thankyou MVG!
Same, thank goodness for video games!
STILL?
The hell is going on over there!?
Come to WA, we're all fine here!
I love my own wii mini and am always impressed on how useful these machines are still to this day.
MVG’s videos: The only videos to win out over John’s Spawnwave on Monday mornings. Great video man, and keep up the great and entertaining content man, Thanks!
I love the music switch at 2:16
Mistakes were made.
Use USB Loader GX to dump games. That way it converts the ISOs directly into the WBFS format, that saves A LOT of storage.
Any link on how to do that? I'm hesitating to do it for a long time, but with USB Loader GX already installed, it's gonna be much easer
@@BryantWhite I'm out of the Homebrew scene currently, but I think it was a very easy setup in USB Loader GX
@@Pflanzenritter29-old Ok, i'll try it later
@@BryantWhite Once you have USBLGX there's a + button near the bottom left that will dump the game disc inserted to USB.
I knew they removed Gamecube Disc support, controllers, memory cards, the SD Card slot, 1 of the USB ports, the stand and Internet access, but I didn’t know they removed 480p support too
God I love the homebrew community's relentless efforts to hack everything! If I own a product, I should have the right to do whatever I'd like with it.
That's what the Steam Deck does. They allow installation of any OS. :)
Hearing breakthroughs like this makes me hopeful for stuff like the Xbox 360 to have some new, easy hack method.
hahaha, love that you've just got a 1084s with tihs.
Woah, I had no idea the Mini had a top loading disc drive.
Anyone else find it weird MVG is showing us how to hack Nintendo consoles when he's technically a certified developer for the Switch?
Shhhh!
buddy he showed us how to hack a 3ds three times now thats nothing
I don't
Its sad that the people that really care about the games, systems, nostalgia, preservation, are the gamers themselves.
Original Super Mario Bros code - lost, Original FF8 Code - lost, and many more examples.
Its not hacking in a negative sense, its making the software and hardware open and available for future generations.
Imagine the Mona Lisa would be destroyed in a fire, and nobody took a picture. Mankind would have lost something of its history that it can never recover.
Thats why we preserve, copy, document stuff. So that we have it, when we DONT have it anymore.
@@livinlicious no hold it right there, who ever said that the original Super Mario Bros Code was gone?
Love your documentary style videos and your channel
Wii Mini hacked? Welp, prices goin up.
I call it the MVG Effect.
Possibly
this is a 2019 exploit
@@Mark_is Which a video is now telling everyone about.
No this isn't a "MVG effect" type of shit, Wii Minis are rare and there's not many units out there
@@CinnamonOwO You mad bro?
don"t forget the wii classic controller, that exists, allowing for proper gaming
I'm a simple man: I see a new MVG video, I click.
The wii mini was a neat idea. To me it was good for someone that already had regular wii and wanted a second for their kids or spouse, it just launched way too late. A whole generation late.
Nintendo: Bruh
I'm not sure I understand how arbitrarily altering the firmware is a cost cutting measure. Maybe Nintendo thought people wouldn't understand why it's cheaper if it still played Gamecube games and could accept their first party ethernet adaptor.
This could have been a great StreamingBox if they had given it a LAN port or WiFi
Great to know this works, I had no idea. I know someone with a Wii Mini who is going to love this.
What does Mario and Luigi smoke?
Wiid.
I've been messing around trying to get this junk to work for over a year and now it's done in 30 minutes. I don't know if I'm happy or angry but thank you.
I understand the value of using the Wii Mini for "something". But lets be honest... when a used Wii is 20-40bucks, and most used Wii Minis go for the same, there is NO reason to even consider these.
Its a nice piece of trivia, and technical challenge, but in my opinion completely worthless for anybody. A Wii can just do so much more.
Funny enough, the Wii Minis often dont drop lower than 30bucks, while you can find Wii's without cables and everything for 5bucks often (as a backup system, switch and replace when your Wii breaks - perfect).
True. To be fair, even years ago, I bought an old cheap Wii simply because it was real simple to hack it so that the Gamecube side could use the Internet via WiFi, for some good PSO episode 1&2 plus goodness. No fuss, no real extra cost.
Just the fact that the wii is practically a full wii + a full gc, which the mini can never use gc controllers - which makes it not a full gc.
End of story.
The wii is a homebrew monster. It can natively or emulated play every Nintendo game (except nds) will the wii. That's EASY 30years of games.
(native wii, native gc, emulated snes, nes, GB GBC GBA)
Theres sooo much power behind having a Wii / WiiU for emulation!
Great video, really well explained. I might have to see if i can find a Wii-Mini. Because physically look great - an obscure bit of kit
I would stick with og wii. Wii u got an update last year randomly.
Would it of killed Nintendo to at least add an HDMI port on this revision? What a terrible revision that just takes away features and options for the consumer.
So it looks like you could also theoretically do this with a Wii that has a broken SD card slot.
Nintendo disabling ethernet adapter is so nintendo
Yes, sounds like Apple lol
I was on the Wii Mini project discord server in 2017-2019, I saw this happening. Some guy proposed to use the 512K memory on the Wii Mote used to store up to 10 Mii avatars, then a guy even soldered a 2006 Wii SoC and NAND Flash on the Wii Mini PCB.
Please fix the audio delay issue in the Switch version of Quake, I contacted the costumer support of Bethesda and haven't seen such a unprofessional customer service in a LONG time.
I love your videos. I have never not learned something while watching them. Thank you, dude.
Super rad utility added to the Wii mini, but the hang for me is the lack of support for 480p or either component. I know 480i works great with retro 240p, but it still disappoints me. I don't know if the Wii dual works with the Wii mini. Still pretty great seeing an effort to keep old hardware relevant, and out of landfills. Thanks, you wonderful souls for enriching so many lives by breathing new life into the masses!
Wii dual?
@@CinnamonOwO it is a Google or RUclips search away, but upon my own finagling it looks like it is not for sale anymore. It appeared incrementally better than the native output of a Wii u.
Hey, hope all is well! I watched a bunch of your xbox videos in 2019. Then stopped watching youtube for a while. Anyways, I appreciate your videos. I literally have one red wii, now as well as the White one. Awesome
Nintendo: "We remove all good things so the Wii Mini can't be hacked!"
Wii Mini: *is hacked anyway*
Then you're just left with a crappy piece of hardware, which means you should just use a normal wii or emulate on PC. I remember hearing about this thing when it came out and just laughed because it didn't have internet capability. I wonder if the Skyward Sword fix was included on the console, because there'd be no way to patch that without internet. Also Mario Kart Wii was bundled with it in some places, which means you couldn't play it online.
Also because you can't connect online you're left with a few screens full of blank channels, because you couldn't download eshop games or channels... lol
Nintendo: "Nobody will ever hack this."
Hackers: hold my beer
*some time later*
Or would be "hold my controller" jkjk
next time i find a mini out in the wild, i'll probably pick it up. this looks like a fun one
This would be a pretty cool use of that new Clockwork Pi Dev Term device you recently reviewed, considering it has a screen built in.
Yes! BlueBomb works! It uses BlueTooth. BlueTooth is in the Wii Mini to connect to the Wiimotes.
This is huge! My daughters wii was broken during her move but I have a wii mini from a garage sale for basically nothing. Now she can play all her childhood back ups again.
Played an original Wii at my cousins house back in 2010 thru 2012. Had fun with Mario Kart, and Paper Mario. Never had the desire to buy one or a Wii U. There is no doubt the Wii has a big library of great games, so with that said hopefully those AAA and indie titles are ported to the Switch. Great video !