Nintendo Wii update ends the evil homebrew menace

Posted on October 24, 2008 at 5:09 am (PST)

Homebrewing, or "amusement terrorism" as it’s known is certain circles, has always been a thorn in the side of Nintendo. It’s cited as the main reason the big N waited so long to transfer over to disc format in the first place. They have a paranoia about it that borders on the schizoid. So, when the homebrewing community set up stock in the Wii, we all knew it wouldn’t be long before their homes were foreclosed and their adorable kittens were kicked out on the street.

That time has come. A Wii System Update released last night blocks new installations of the Homebrew Channel and anything existing therein. Previous installs are unaffected but you won’t be able to get anything new and, as any homebrew enthusiast will tell you, that’s half the fun.

However, this increased vigilance on the part of Nintendo could be in response to a a program making the rounds called the Wii Backup Loader, which lets people run pirated Wii games right on the system. Still, it’s kind of sad given that a great percentage of the homebrew software available does nothing illegal. Oh well. They’ll figure something else out. They always do. The homebrewers will outlive us all.