DSman’s next-gen news-bin

Via <a href=”http://www.gamespot.com/features/6162248/index.html>Gamespot</a>.

Interesting. It’s not complete. Yet still interesting.

It can be done!

Since we know that the sensor bar doesn’t actually relay any information with the console and only emits IR to help the Wiimote find its position, it is simple to make. <a href=”http://doctabu.livejournal.com/64758.html”>The article</a> below.

The Homemade Wireless Wii Sensor Bar!
From the moment I picked up my Nintendo Wii last Sunday morning, I’ve been very curious about the design and functionality of the Wiimote and its sensor bar. Of course, I’m not the only one. Through a few links on sites like digg, it has come to other people’s attention that the Wii sensor bar both only consists of IR LEDs and also sends no signal between the Wii and the bar… only power.

This had me thinking. It my apartment in Boston, I have a projector, but I feared hooking my Wii up to it because of the length I’d need to have in the cable to put the bar right under the image. Then, I thought, maybe I can make one.

So, I did.

With just a perf board, some wires, a bit of soldering, 4 AA batteries, and 4 IR LEDs, I was able to make this:

<img src=http://static.flickr.com/111/303986484_b1e7686fa9.jpg>

Yes, it’s ugly. Yes, it’s ghetto. But, it is a wireless, battery-powered Wii Sensor Bar. And it works.

First, I measured the distance between the middle of the left set of LEDs on the Nintendo sensor bar to the middle of the right set. That came out to be 7 1/2 inches. It wasn’t a perfect measurement, but since the Wiimote triangulates the distance, it’s accurate enough. Soldering wire from the positive side of the battery holder to a switch, the switch to the positive end of one of the IR LEDs, then to the next, to the next, to the next, and then back to the battery terminal, it was easily completed.

<img src=http://static.flickr.com/110/303985190_bfa2383384.jpg>

Placing the IR LEDs.

<img src=http://static.flickr.com/99/303985492_c16d51ae03.jpg>

Soldering some wires together!

Placed on top of my TV showed that it was a success… the Mii plaza, the Wii menus, Wii sports, and Zelda all worked and moved just as well as it had with Nintendo’s stock sensor bar. There is no need for a wireless transmitter or an extension cord. Just unplug Nintendo’s stock bar, put your homebrew wireless Wii sensor bar in place, and you’re good to go.

Some uber 1337s have used their handy-dandy packet sniffers to look inside how the Virtual Console works. I won’t post the whole story, but I will summarize.

-Wii uses a modified version of Opera to download Wii Shop Channel information.

-These javascipt objects can be accessed by PC.

-Adding Wii points is secure and uses SSL.

-And Wii Virtual Console games are of course encrypted and tied to the system.

According to Gamespot and easily confirmable by anyone with a Wii console itself, TG-16.

From the article:

When Nintendo launched the Wii on Sunday, it did so with the promised dozen downloadable retro games available on the system’s Virtual Console. But while the initial 12 offerings on the service included titles from the NES, the Super Nintendo, the Sega Genesis, and the Nintendo 64, the small slate of previously announced TurboGrafx-16 games was entirely absent.

Nintendo rectified that situation today, as the company has released a pair of TG-16 games on the Virtual Console. Gamers can now download Bonk’s Adventure, the debut of the system’s megacephalic mascot, and Hudson’s Bomberman ‘93. Each game will set users back 600 Wii Points, or $6.

By the end of the year, Bonk and Bomberman will be joined on the Virtual Console by a handful of other TurboGrafx games, including Super Star Soldier, Victory Run, and Dungeon Explorer.

My Thoughts
If you’ll remember, Nintendo has said, maybe slightly deceptively, that Wii would be receiving 62 games in total for the actual console itself and the VC in total during the launch period. As you can see there are still some Wii games yet to be released that were promised around launch, and these Virtual Console are just like those unreleased retail games. Just be patient, by early next year Wii should be running smoothly down the track.

Hello, all.

I might not have much time to be hangin’ around the DS homebrew scene (you guys rock), but I do keep a very close eye on the happenings of the next generation of videogame consoles. Something big happen? You’ll hear about it. Small but significant? You betcha.

I have close connections with those aspiring to hack the Wii who are also very intelligent people and are experts in videogame hacking.
Here’s to the next generation of gaming.