Wii FreeLoader? (mod free way to play imports)

[PDorr3]

Taken from joystiq, they link to this:
http://us.codejunkies.com/Products/Wii-FreeLoader__EF000593.aspx

Apparently its a disc that lets you boot up imports. Has anyone ever tried something like this before, and do you think nintendo will release an update which makes this thing useless? seems pretty cool to have though if it is around for the long haul....but better yet does anyone have a link of import only wii games not released in the us? (why couldent this thing have come out say a month ago in time for brawl?)

[DefaultGen]

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[Flack]

Taken from joystiq, they link to this:
http://us.codejunkies.com/Products/Wii-FreeLoader__EF000593.aspx

Apparently its a disc that lets you boot up imports. Has anyone ever tried something like this before, and do you think nintendo will release an update which makes this thing useless? seems pretty cool to have though if it is around for the long haul....but better yet does anyone have a link of import only wii games not released in the us? (why couldent this thing have come out say a month ago in time for brawl?)

#1 - It is entirely possible for Nintendo to release an update that makes this thing useless. Nintendo already released one update that broke Freeloaders (http://kotaku.com/gaming/rant/wii-update-breaking-freeloaders-287086.php) so the odds of them doing it again are pretty good.

#2 - Wikipedia has an up-to-date list of Wii games (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Wii_games). On that list you can see games and their regions.

#3 - Be careful about import games with built-in bios updates. It is a documented problem that the Wii does not check which region the bios updates are for and certain updates WILL brick your Wii.

[DefaultGen]

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[Flack]

I don't know if JAP updates on US systems are a problem. The biggest problem so far has been EUR/PAL BIOS updates on US systems, which will brick your system. A lot of people got screwed by running the European release of Super Mario Galaxy (which was PAL) on their NTSC Wiis. The PAL BIOS update included on SMG bricked NTSC Wiis. Any EUR/PAL bios update will brick an NTSC Wii, you just have to know which games include them (like Fifa 08).

I know of at least one case where a JAP Wii was bricked by the US release of GH3. Really it's not a good idea to flash your BIOS with games from other regions, period.

[xfrumx]

Damn, is there a way to have a running list of games with BIOS updates in it? I would love to start importing.

[DefaultGen]

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[josekortez]

So, wait a minute - are you guys saying that Wii games contain these hardware updates? I'm not a techie, so I'm just trying to understand...

[xfrumx]

So, wait a minute - are you guys saying that Wii games contain these hardware updates? I'm not a techie, so I'm just trying to understand...

Some do

[josekortez]

That's probably why my Wii won't work with the Gamecube version of the Freeloader even though it's never been connected to the internet. Mystery solved.

And this is why Wii will never be the machine for hardcore gamers. In my opinion, the games I would like to see will never hit these shores.

There's plenty of import stuff I want, Castle Shikigami III for instance, but I refuse to spend money on a Japanese system.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Well wait till April and you can get the US copy of Castle Shikigami 3.

The Gamecube Freeloaders worked on the early Wiis until an update knocked it out. So, I'm sure the new freeloader will get the same treatment eventually.

[josekortez]

Thanks for the information, Icarus. Luckily, most of the games I have wanted for Wii have come out here as budget games.

After reading Nick Des Barres' review of the Japanese version of Furu Furu Park in Play magazine, I never thought the game would come out here, but it did. Then, Balloon Pop showed up the other day.

I wish they would release the Karous/Chaos Field/Radilgy compilation, the Simple 2000 series or some of the other 2D shooters scheduled for Wii in Japan, but it looks highly unlikely. Instead, we get more of those crappy cheap domestically-made games from Destineer...

[Cryomancer]

seconded on the simple games, and onechanbara wii, etc. relaly anything by D3 I want to be able to buy in my own country, damnit.

[josekortez]

seconded on the simple games, and onechanbara wii, etc. relaly anything by D3 I want to be able to buy in my own country, damnit.

Yeah, you'd think they would have learned after how well Puzzle Quest did, but no.

[UniHamachi]

So, wait a minute - are you guys saying that Wii games contain these hardware updates?
Some do, and are required to play the games. But the firmware update is only distinguished by version and not region, so the Wii will just install it if it finds the firmawre version on the disc is higher than the one in your Wii.

As explained before, the bricking happens when PAL updates are applied to a NTSC machine (and vice versa). Since Japan uses NTSC as well, things end up in Japanese but it doesn't brick the Wii.

[rbudrick]

Couldn't you take an NTSC game with a higher bios version than the PAL game and update it to that and unbrick it?

-Rob

[jupitersj]

Well if it is bricked it probably does not boot into the OS or even turn on..

[Flack]

Couldn't you take an NTSC game with a higher bios version than the PAL game and update it to that and unbrick it?

-Rob

Yes, you can. Problem is, games with BIOS upgrades aren't released all the time. People who bricked their Wiis with the PAL version of Super Mario Galaxy are sitting around twiddling their thumbs, waiting for a new US game to be released with a US BIOS.

To answer someone else, the Wii only upgrades, not downgrades.