Hackers Attack Back - System Update 4.2

News

Hackers Attack Back - System Update 4.2

Nintendo's update may have caused a slight bump in the road, but the homebrew community is already answering back after just one short day.

Yesterday, Nintendo made a full-out assault against the Wii homebrew community by releasing a veiled update. The update did its best to wipe all hacks from the system, a task which it nearly completed successfully.

However, hackers were able to identify each piece of code that Nintendo had added in order to eliminate further hacks. This is allowing hackers to build countermeasures into upcoming releases of BootMii and the Homebrew Channel.

While the Twilight Hack has now been conquered, both Indiana Pwns and Smash Stack custom code launchers are confirmed functional. All the homebrew community needs to do now is release updated versions of their various other hacks and System Update 4.2 will be no more than a bump in the road.

Comments

Our Take

Nick DiMola Director

09/30/2009 at 08:42 AM

As a programmer I have a soft spot for homebrew. I don't see the purpose in defeating its usage. At least with Wii homebrew, playing pirated games is not a function enabled out of the box. Prohibiting that functionality is more understandable, as it does actually hurt Nintendo's business.

Jason Ross Senior Editor

09/30/2009 at 03:26 PM

That said, Nick, I think it's a poor move on Nintendo's part here. Apparently, there was an update made to "Boot2," something that helps start up the console. From what little I've read, updating it isn't always successful... causing your console to brick!

I'm not certain of the validity of the above assertion, but the truth is, Nintendo states that the update is to increase console performance, entirely on the back-end. However, performance isn't increased at all. The update was entirely to prohibit homebrew. That's just not nice. They should know, anyways, that once someone finds their way into your console, via things like homebrew, it's tough to permanently keep 'em out, and takes a lot more than a simple firmware update.

Kathrine Theidy Staff Alumnus

10/01/2009 at 04:18 PM

Will this affect the number of hackers in Mario Kart Wii?

Jason Ross Senior Editor

10/02/2009 at 01:43 AM

Nope, not at all. Apparently, though, Nintendo's (or Nintendo Power's) official forums had people claiming they had not hacked their Wii's, yet it bricked them. The guy who mentioned the Boot2 thing got banned, and then Nintendo said on the off chance it did brick a non-hacked Wii, to call their hotline, explain the situation, and they'd make a special case, checking and making sure it hadn't been modded.

As far as I can tell, everything in this update has been undone or avoided already. Only idiots would cheat in an online game like that, though. It's stupid that they do.

PixlBit