Game console companies have been involved in a long battle against modchip manufacturers since the early days of gaming. The custom chips are used as add-ons to the circuitry of game machines and allow gamers to play backup copies of original game disks. The Wii has been successfully hacked in this manner already, but Nintendo is taking steps to prevent this from happening by producing a new batch of Wiis containing altered circuit boards which make "chipping" harder to do.
According to a report on DigiTimes, "The new Wiis, which are part of new shipments of the console, have an altered circuit layout that makes modification more difficult than in earlier versions. Users attempting to mod the new consoles using current modchips are very likely to damage the system."
But the solution will most likely be short lived, as hackers continue to develop new chips that will circumvent security efforts. DigiTimes stated, "In view of past instances where Nintendo and other games console makers including Microsoft and Sony have revised the circuitry of their consoles in attempts to disable modchips, it is a logical expectation that a more advanced modchip specifically for the new Wii revision will be available in less than a month, the sources indicated
"Some providers of Wii modification services in Taiwan think Nintendo could adopt BGA (ball grid array) IC packaging to prolong the time needed by hackers to develop new modchips to at least four months. The longer waiting time would likely reduce the willingness of some users to modify the consoles."
