FutureFive New Zealand - Consumer technology news & reviews from the future
Story image
Wed, 1st May 2013
FYI, this story is more than a year old

The Wii U so far hasn’t been the powerhouse next-generation frontrunner it was supposed to be, and today it took another blow as the console has apparently been hacked successfully.

According to modding site WiiKey, the Wii U has been successfully cracked as of today.

“Yes it’s real – we have now completely reversed the Wii U drive authentification, disk encryption, file system, and everything else need for this generation K3y. Stay tuned for updates!”

That’s what the website reads, and if you’re aren’t put off by the word ‘authentification’, then there’s no reason to believe it isn’t legitimate.

What will this mean for Nintendo?

Well, according to those in the know on NeoGaf, if this is official then the new device will probably not allow hacked or cheated games, won’t let gamers cheat online, and will most likely not make the device region free.

It remains unclear if a cracked console will play back-up games (please note that back-up games is a euphemism for games I illegally copied at a friend’s house).

A response from Nintendo regarding the news is that they haven’t noticed any security breaches as yet.

“Nintendo is aware that a hacking group claims to have compromised Wii U security.

"However, we have no reports of illegal Wii U games nor unauthorised applications playable on the system while in Wii U mode.

"Nintendo continuously monitors all threats to its products’ security and will use technology and will take the necessary legal steps to prevent the facilitation of piracy.”

If this is legitimate, this is a big setback for Nintendo and the Wii U – especially considering this is the same group that made life hell for the original Wii by doing exactly what they’re claiming to have done now.

Cracked consoles are nothing new of course, as many people will be familiar with mod-chipped PS2 and Xbox consoles that can store any game on their hard-drive.

I’m not condoning such behaviour, but I do like having Fable at my beck and call whenever I want.

Any news on the Wii U cracking situation will be posted here as soon as we hear it.