[Theory] Nintendo made rounded discs and a separate Wii channel for the same reason: Piracy prevention
Posted on 11 years ago by Austin(@NE_Austin) in Rumors, Wii U | 4 Comments
It seems odd that Nintendo would choose to force you to boot up a separate channel altogether if you want to play Wii games/old downloaded titles on the Wii U, doesn’t it? After all, every prior backwards-compatible Nintendo console just lets you play previous-generation games in the same way that you play the proprietary games on the system. Even 3DS puts your DSiWare titles on the main menu, as though they’re eShop games.
So why the change?
Well, I have a theory. You know how Wii U discs have rounded edges? At first I thought that was just a nice little touch to make people enjoy touching the sides of their games more (which admittedly did happen), but after a real examination of it I came to the conclusion that it was probably done to prevent piracy. After all, if you illegally download a pirated Wii U game onto an regular disc– no matter how good your Wii U hack or homebrew channel is– the console will just say “Hey dude, this disc doesn’t have rounded edges! It must not be a real Wii U game!”, spitting it back out and thus preventing you from pirating Wii U games. At least until someone gets a workaround.
But wait!, I thought, If it can’t read “regular” edge’d discs, how will it read the good ol’ Wii discs!?
Thus we begin to understand why Nintendo might have put in a separate channel for Wii games. When you open up the channel, it tells the system “Okay dawg, reboot yourself and drop the whole ‘No Reading Regular Disc Shapes’ thing for a bit.”
Then when you go back into “Wii U” mode, it turns the safety check back on.
Just a thought. And I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if this was the case! Anyone else come to different conclusions?
Rumor: Rayman Legends releasing on February 26
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Rumors, Wii U | 0 comments
Up to this point, Ubisoft has only offered a nebulous “Q1 2013” date for Rayman Legends. But based on a new report, a specific date of February 26 could be set.
We’ll wait for an official confirmation before getting too excited. If true though, the game would only be three months away from launching.
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed 3DS delayed to February?
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, Rumors | 0 comments
Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed could be seeing another delay on the 3DS. Amazon as well as GameStop are now listing the game’s release date as February 12, 2013.
This update should only be treated as a rumor for now. Officially, SEGA has yet to confirm a final date for the portable racer.
Rumor: Hacker unearths more Wii U specs
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Podcast Stories, Rumors, Wii U | 0 comments
A hacker going by the name of Marcan may have uncovered more Wii U specs. There’s information about the console’s clock speed, GPU core, and more.
All of Marcan’s are in the graphic above.
Retailers list Yoshi’s Land for Wii U
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Podcast Stories, Rumors, Wii U | 0 comments
Update: Added in Future Shop’s description and English link.
A couple of retailers are listing “Yoshi’s Land” for release on Wii U. Entries were located on Future Shop’s site, as well as on Best Buy Canada’s.
I wouldn’t get too worked up about these findings, but for what it’s worth, Best Buy and Future Shop included the following blurbs about the “game”:
“Take Yoshi on an epic adventure to remember in Yoshi Land for Nintendo Wii U. Check out Yoshi as you’ve never seen him before: in glorious high definition. Enjoy dual-screen control thanks to the Wii U Touchscreen GamePad, while you’ll also be able to experience full integration with Nintendo’s MiiVerse service.” – Best Buy
“Join everyone’s favourite dinosaur in his first big starring role on Nintendo Wii U – Yoshi’s Land. Utilise the power of the Wii U Touchscreen GamePad to enjoy dual-screen fun in this epic adventure with stunning HD graphics and connectivity with the MiiVerse.” – Future Shop
I get the feeling that the person/people responsible for these listings simply took some inspiration from the Miiverse mockup menu leak. But a man can dream!
Rumor: GameStop ditching its Wii U wait list
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Rumors, Wii U | 0 comments
GameStop has apparently disposed of its Wii U wait list in the wake of high demand for the console. A report has surfaced claiming that the retailer has simply decided to go in this direction due to significant pre-orders.
Those who were placed on the wait list will soon receive a call from GameStop about the change of plans, assuming this hasn’t happened already. From here on out, the console will only be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Best Buy website reveals Wii Mini redesign
Posted on 11 years ago by Patrick(@Patricklous) in News, Rumors, Wii | 0 comments
Earlier this week we reported on rumours that a new “mini” version of the Wii was in production. Now, if Best Buy’s website is anything to go by, this redesigned Wii model should be on store shelves before Christmas. And if the picture on the console’s box is to scale, it looks like it actually is pretty tiny (with a stylish red finish to boot). I’m not entirely sure who this outdated hardware is aimed at, but it should be available in the US on December 7th. The listing has since been removed, but one Neogaf poster took a screenshot of the console on Best Buy’s front page, which you can view over the break.
Rumor: Original 3DS to be discounted to $140, 3DS XL Mario Kart 7 bundle next week
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, Rumors | 0 comments
The original 3DS will allegedly be getting another price drop soon. Nintendo will adjust the MSRP to $139.99 in about two weeks, new rumors suggest. The system currently retails for $169.99.
Next week, you’ll be able to grab the 3DS for $10 cheaper than the upcoming price drop. Target will apparently sell the handheld for $129.99.
Meanwhile, a 3DS XL bundle featuring Mario Kart 7 will also be available next week – at least at Target – for $199.99.
Some New Super Mario Bros. U players seeing saves deleted following update?
Posted on 11 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Podcast Stories, Rumors, Wii U | 0 comments
Update 2: Bumped to the front page with the following from Andy:
“I think I might have figured out part of the problem. When I first got my Wii U going after the day 1 update I plugged in the external USB drive I had hoped to use to download digital titles. The first Nintendoland and NSMBU updates were downloaded and installed while the drive was plugged in. I didn’t think much of it at the time because they are disc titles for me, I didn’t figure any data would be getting sent anywhere but the system. After a few days I unplugged the external USB drive to save power. It was shortly after that I was alerted to two more game updates for NL and NSMBU respectively. It was after those updates that the save data vanished. If other users mention save data wipes it might be helpful to learn whether they were using disc-based titles or digital ones and if an external drive was plugged in at the time. I really hope this helps!”
Update: Austin is here to add that he just talked to someone on Miiverse who said that their ZombiU save was deleted after an update. The start of a pattern…? I hope not!
Nintendo Everything reader Andy Holland tells us that all of his New Super Mario Bros. U save data was wiped following an update ran by the game today.
Andy says two updates have been automatically applied for him thus far. The first did not cause any issues. The second one, however, did.
Andy has since contacted Nintendo. We’ll let you know about any major developments about the situation.
It’s possible that this is an isolated incident, so don’t freak out just yet!
Rumor: Nintendo to release Wii mini console
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Rumors, Wii | 0 comments
The Wii may be getting another, smaller redesign. Rumor has it that a “major retailer” is listing the Wii mini console in its internal release schedule.
Assuming this is true, the updated system would release on December 7 – that’s in two weeks.
Introducing the Wii Mini! Coming Dec 7 2012!
WII MINI CONSOLE
Compact Nintendo Wii Console
Comes with Sensor Bar, Nunchuk and Wii Remote Plus with Jacket.