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Presented with a new toy to play with, Wii hackers have gone right to work producing a variety of game mods with the recently released Trucha Signer. For those of you out of the loop, the application allows programmers to run augmented games on chipped Wiis -- the gore-enabled Manhunt 2 mod is a good example of the software's possibilities.

So far, a lot of the developments focus on making it easier to play pirated copies of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but there are a few non-piracy-related modifications, too:

• Change the credits and increase character speed in Mario Strikers Charged
• Play Manhunt 2 in Italian or German
  
• Swap character movesets in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
• Invincibility mode in Manhunt 2

So, once you're tired of pirating Super Smash Bros. Brawl, make sure to test these out!

The Trucha Signer is the latest tool to hit the Wii hacking scene, enables kids at home to "modify the contents of a Wii ISO and then re-sign it with an electronic signature the Wii will accept." So, does this mean you'll be able to play pirated games without modding your console? No, not at all.

From what we understand, whenever someone alters the code of a Wii game, the resulting product will not match its signature, and the disc will be rejected. Using an undocumented bug, Trucha Signer will resign the code of an adapted ISO (disk image for storing data on a CD-ROM), allowing you to load the disc successfully onto a modded Wii. We're not sure yet what's possible with this new development, but we've already heard a wide range of fantasy scenarios -- downgrading firmware, copying VC games, switching regions, etc.

Already, GBAtemp forumer Mr.O has posted instructions for "enabling gore" in Manhunt 2 (chipped Wii required). Keep in mind that Nintendo can patch this exploit at any time with a firmware update.

[Via GBAtemp]

Homebrew hackers Team Symbiote have reportedly enabled DVD playback on Wii consoles, a feature that many have been waiting for Nintendo to officially support since the system's release. We can't really recommend using the DVD player, as you'll need to have a modchip installed, voiding your warranty. If that doesn't sound like a big deal to you, consider this: Modchip manufacturer Wiinja has warned its customers that using the application could "cause the [Wii's] lens to deteriorate quickly over time."

Playing MiniDVDs in your Wee, however, should be perfectly safe. Mick L. spotted this piece of electronics and its knock-off logo at a store in Japan earlier today. We wonder if it can stand upright?

Read - Wii Media Player DVD Edition (MFE)
Read - Weeeeeee!!!

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement mobilized today against a major threat: modchips. In "the largest national enforcement action of its kind targeting this type of illegal activity", they executed 32 search warrants of suspected modchip distributors. Nintendo put out a press release, which can be found after the break, in support of the government's actions in support of their massive business. "Nintendo and its developers and publishers lost an estimated $762 million in sales in 2006 due to piracy of its products," said Jodi Daugherty, Nintendo of America's senior director of anti-piracy, presumably counting every known piece of pirated software as a lost full-price sale.

The government (and Nintendo) may see console modding as a black-and-white piracy issue, but it isn't at all. Modchips are primarily designed to enable the use of games imported from other regions, the locking of which on consoles is also used to lock out illegal copies. Turn off region lock, and you cut the audience for mod chips significantly. But even beyond opening up other regions, modchips enable users to extend the utility of their consoles in interesting ways. For an example of modchips being used for awesome, we point at the Xbox Media Center, which allows audio and video media of pretty much any format to be played on a $150 Xbox.

After a tour of the country last year, Indian President Abdul Kalam described the Philippines as a "smiling republic." Wherever he went, Kalam was met with smiling faces. Well, you'd be grinning too if you saw how cheap their games are. Thanks to the black market, popular Nintendo Wii titles are priced as low as $5 in some shops. Piracy has become so widespread in the Southeast Asian country, even Sony admits that most of its Playstation software sold in the Philippines are bootlegged copies.

Filipino site GameOPS found that many stores also offer modchip installations. For about $51, you can have your system hacked to play these counterfeit games at the local mall or market. Furthermore, some shops advertise console bundles, selling imported and modded US Wiis with five copied games of your choice for around $450. Similar deals for chipped Xbox 360 systems with 10 pirated titles are actually cheaper at $388.

With such a high level of piracy already in place, Nintendo will have a lot to work against when -- or if -- it decides to finally launch the Wii in the Philippines.

If you've been curious about fixing your Wii to dabble with homebrew or play titles from other regions, but don't trust your abilities enough to mess with the console's innards, there might be a solution in the works for you. WiiNewz forum member Takrin recently posted photos of his hardware project in progress, a prototype modchip that requires no soldering to install.

With nothing to attach the modchip to though, how does it stay in place? Takrin suggests "double sided tape on one side" and "foam which presses it to your drive on the other." That doesn't sound like a very stable setup, but we hope to see this development spawn more sophisticated and accessible mods in the future. To be honest, if a monkey can't install it, we probably wouldn't be able to either.

[Via MaxConsole]

In a friendly reminder of how to steer clear of prison, Nintendo issued a warning to everyone in the UK, via it's Nintendo of Europe website, concerning their latest console and illegal mod chips. Apparently, they aren't suited for one another and unless you're the kind of person who enjoys living in small spaces, along with a regimented day, then you might want to avoid that option. We'd have to agree with just about the whole warning; the Wii console is already plagued with too much piracy as it is, at home and abroad.

And we're not being sarcastic at all.

Apparently, when the Wii was introduced into the market in Shanghai, it retailed for a price of 3,000 Yuan, which comes to about $388 USD (we could be wrong, apparently there are different types of Yuan over there). Shortly after that, the consoles started showing up with modchips built into them and Japanese consoles imported into the region dropped their price to 2,100 Yuan, which is about $271 USD. Even worse, pirated games could be found VERY cheap over there, only costing 10 Yuan, or little over $1 USD.

The price for a console over there has shot back up to 3,000 Yuan again, which is likely due to the demand for the system being skyrocketed by the cheap solutions the piracy scene offers over there. This, of course, will definitely attract Nintendo's attention, hopefully causing the company to take action. But really, what action can they take?

See also: Wii circuitry changed to thwart modchips?

DigiTimes has a provocative explanation for reports of a new Wii motherboard in production. "Nintendo has altered the circuit layout of its Wii games console in order to block the increasing use of modification chips," reports Digi. If that were true, then why, as Wii Fanboy notes, does the updated circuitry only affect quicksolder modchips, like WiiKey? We emphasize "affect" because WiiKey most certainly is not blocked by the new board. According to a MaxConsole forum post (#6), solder point 3 is no longer on the PCB, so WiiKey must now by connected via the 5th leg of the IC chip -- got it?

If Nintendo revised its motherboard to thwart modders, the engineers failed miserably. Our guess? The minor nuisance that the new hardware poses to modchip users is just a coinkydink.

The IIPA, a coalition of US media groups that includes the Entertainment Software Association, is urging the Bush administration to blacklist Canada for its failure to protect intellectual property rights. The IIPA alleges that Canada has not delivered on its promise to modernize the country's copyright laws, in turn, fueling a hotbed of piracy.

Canada was placed on the US's low-priority watch list three years ago, but the IIPA believes it's time to elevate the bordering nation to the "priority watch list," joining notorious pirate havens like Belize, China, Indonesia, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and Venezuela. Canada has supposedly emerged as a leading exporter of console mod chips, led by organized-crime rings like the Hells Angels in Quebec and the Big Circle Boys in Ontario and British Columbia.

"Canada remains far behind virtually all of its peers in the industrialized world with respect to its efforts to bring its copyright laws up to date with the realities of the global digital networked environment," claimed the IIPA in its submission to the US trade czar.

See also: Mod chips soon in vogue Down Under

Today's most-watched YouTube game video just shows some guy inserting and mounting discs in a Spanish-language Wii. Boring? Yes. But the M. Night Shyamalan-worthy twist is that these aren't ordinary discs; they're homemade burns. And the Wii? It's been modded to play "backups" with the Wiinja chip. Are you freaked out yet? (Seriously, that idea is free, MNS.)

While piracy is bad, mkay, we expect that the mod will let a Wii play games from any region, something that excites us alpha gamers.

And yes, there could be a second Wii connected to the TV in the video. Why do you always have to be so cynical? (You know who you are.) Just enjoy the video after the break, and hope the chip makes it into the wild.

Convicted console modder Stephen Fitzgerald can avoid jail time if he forks over £5,210 (more than $10,000) owed in legal fees and fines. Fitzgerald made the ill-advised decision to offer a "while you wait" modding service in his booth at a computer fair back in April 2004. Needless to say, his brash criminal activity was not ignored by authorities. In addition to the fees and fines, Fitzgerald has been ordered to serve 120 hours of community service.

Think they ever caught that Patrick Cai guy?

Expected to be passed this week, Australia's Copyright Amendment Bill 2006 will make it legal for consumers to use mod chips designed to bypass region coding. If these chips subsequently circumvent anti-piracy technology, then that's cool too. Despite pressure due to obligations established by its Free Trade Agreement with the US, the Australian government has opted not to amend wording that would outlaw code-busting chips.

While likely too small of a market to force the alteration of current manufacturing processes, Australia could push game console makers to separate their region coding and copyright protection technologies in the future. "I think people are just going to have to sit down and think about manufacturing standards," recommended Carolyn Dalton of the international law firm Minter Ellison; that, or just cut the Aussies off. No PlayStation 3 for yous!

About a week ago, the very first hardware PSP modchip came out, called Undiluted Platinum. However, it didn't feature a BIOS upgrade at the time. Now, the modding solution is totally complete. If you're willing to spend $200 on the modchip and use a microscope to do the installation, go ahead. Personally, I'd rather get the pricey, but more-likely-to-work $450 pre-installed PSP. The BIOS allows you to have all the functionality of the most current firmware, with the flexibility to run homebrew. It also has "ultra reliable" UMD emulation, which allows users to run games from Memory Stick, even games that need the newest firmware. Heck, you can even used compressed ISO files so that you can squeeze more burned games to your system. Best of all: if you ever brick your PSP, you can use the recovery menu of the Epsilon BIOS to get your baby back and running.

One aspect about the Epsilon BIOS that is highly touted is the fact that its "bootloader" always runs before the real firmware. That way, every protection attempt by Sony in the future will be useless, theoretically, on a modded system. I guess that's the way it should be, considering how much money you've spent on it. Personally, I'd rather just buy some real games, and if I want to hassle with homebrew, I'll trust the software route instead. Spending so much money to avoid spending money on games seems a little silly, don't you think?

[Via Maxconsole]

[Thanks, steve!]