Nintendo, the gaming console maker, like Sony, is trying to tackle the homebrew installation issue in their gaming console - Wii. To eliminate homebrew (open source) applications/games deployment, Nintendo has revised Wii's optical drive, which makes any existing modchip useless. Hence, on these consoles, a user with a Wii containing a modchip can t boot his/her legally backed up content.

This might upset Indian gaming audiences since Wii and DS are now officially available in India.

Modchip is an additional hardware installed to modify or disable the built-in restrictions of the console while playing downloaded or illegal games. This chip basically bypasses the security requirement needed for the downloaded content.

A couple of days back, Modsupplier, at the Wiinewz forum, put up a post about the changes in the new Wii's optical disk drives. As stated by Modsupplier, they have combined the old D1A and drive controller chip into one, which is now called the GC2-D3, and the photo shows a big blank space on the PCB where the controller chip used to be.

This hardware change could also mean that Nintendo is focusing on hardware upgrade rather than blocking exploits and modchips in their best selling product. Quite a few new Wii owners must be rattled. Homebrew developers might be eyeing the Wiikey Dev Team to come up with a new modchip exploit that will make homebrew installations workable on these new Wii consoles.

The new optical drive revision was found in the Australian Wii model (LAH1098xxxxxx) of the console and hasn't been reported anywhere else. This update might also be one step closer to an entirely new Wii that is expected in 2011 as per our reports.

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