Wii Menu update v3.3 blocks Twilight Hack; WiiBrew responds *Update*

News just hit us that Nintendo has released a new update to the Nintendo Wii’s Menu, but Wii Menu Update v3.3 does more than deliver great news for owners of the console. Nintendo hid a little present inside the upgrade which permanently deals a blow to the Wii homebrew community‘s efforts. The company has stated that unauthorized modifications have been rampant, and now they’re putting an end to it. Get more details, plus a response from the WiiBrew community, at the full story.

Wii Menu Update v3.3 has been released, and though it adds welcome features for the Mii Channel, it has also reportedly addressed the problem of “unauthorized modifications” to the Nintendo Wii. And the problem they’re resolving with this software upgrade is Team Twiizer’s Twilight Hack, which you may note from the update’s notice statement:

Because unauthorized modifications to save files may impair game play or the Wii Console, updating to Wii Menu version 3.3 will also check for and automatically remove such save files.

Wii Menu Update v3.3 adds more functionality to Mii manipulation in the Mii Channel, which allows users to immediately swap Miis from the Mii Plaza to the Mii Parade. The software allows this through the addition of an icon which Miis can be dragged into for the transfer to initiate.

The Twilight Hack has been the beginning of endless possibilities for the Nintendo console, which include many things from converting the machine into a low-power Web server to being an able organizer of Wii-compatible software.

But Nintendo thinks enough is enough, and it’s probably because of concerns of piracy over Virtual Console and WiiWare software. We await official word from WiiBrew and Nintendo regarding this development. Stay tuned.

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*UPDATE*: Word from developers at WiiBrew, the home of Nintendo Wii homebrew, is that while the Wii Menu update does successfully remove the altered The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess game save from the Wii’s primary NAND Flash storage, it has not affected Team Twiizer’s Homebrew Channel in any way.

In fact, we hear from several sources that all homebrew applications are apparently left untouched. Even some applications that write to the SD cards are not affected by the Wii Menu’s new security procedures.

The update is true enough, however: several users have noted that the Wii Menu does delete the Twilight Hack save game, and even prevents the duplication of altered game saves of Twilight Princess to the Wii’s storage.

As far as the homebrew developers are concerned, the Wii Menu update is not critical to the homebrew community’s efforts. It is for the most part circumvented by the existence of the Homebrew Channel on your Wii, which is capable of launching homebrew software on its own without the help of the Twilight Hack.

We intend to update you as soon as we get more word on the issue.

Thanks to QJ.NET reader digicron for the heads up!

Via WiiBrew