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Nintendo starts shipping mod-proof Wiis in Japan

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On May 30, 2007, 1:37 PM

Console makers and modchippers have been playing the cat and mouse game since the rise of the CD-based consoles over a decade ago. With the huge success of the Wii, the black market for Wii games piracy emerges. In an effort to halt the viability of Wii mods, Nintendo has rolled out new Wii motherboards that are supposedly tamper-proof.

The motherboard has been changed as three pins have been cut from a surface-mounted IC to stop the current line of mod chips from working properly. New chips will likely be coming out to go around the problem but at the moment it is not a possibility.
Wii console sales don’t seem hurt by modchippers; in fact they might actually be boosting the console’s demand in markets with raging piracy issues. Game sales on the other hand, are more likely to be affected by this. According to George Harrison senior vice president of marketing at Nintendo of America, the company is targeting sales of 35 million Wiis in the US.

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  1. May 31, 2007 11:54 PM
    PanicX said:
    "Wii console sales don’t seem hurt by modchippers; in fact they might actually be boosting the console’s demand in markets with raging piracy issues"Even if thats the case, the real profit of consoles is in game revenue, which is precisely where modchips affect. Consoles themselves make little profit and in some cases cause losses.
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