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Posts with tag Freeloader

Homebrew program enables region-free, Freeloader-free gaming

Posted Apr 15th 2008 5:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News, Homebrew


This isn't quite the perfect solution yet, but homebrewer Nuke's latest program is pretty damned amazing, if it works like it says it does. Gecko Region Free is a homebrew loader for Wii games from any region! It's sort of a free Freeloader without the disc.

Why "sort of?" Well, obviously, you have to be able to run Wii homebrew to operate this, and there are still some challenges in that area. Like the ten-minute limit on the recent "Homebrew Channel." And the Twilight Princess requirement. In other words, you still need a disc -- but not the Freeloader disc. And we think that homebrewers are going to do a better job of staying ahead of Nintendo's patching than Datel will.

[Via DCEmu]

Retailer confirms Japanese Mario Kart Wii working with Freeloader

Posted Apr 10th 2008 5:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News

When NCSX got their shipment of Japanese copies of Mario Kart Wii, they immediately popped a disc into a U.S. system to test the rumor that it wouldn't work with the Freeloader. At first, their experience bore that rumor out: the game boots to a black screen.

But what we thought would break Freeloader support actually seems to have fixed it: after updating the Wii's firmware to version 3.1U (with a Brawl disc), Mario Kart ran just fine through the Freeloader. Of course, this is no guarantee all updates will be so accommodating to the Freeloader, but you've at least got the green light to import Kart.

Rumor: Freeloader not compatible with Mario Kart Wii

Posted Apr 8th 2008 5:00PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: Rumors, Imports

If you tried importing the Japanese version of Mario Kart Wii to Europe or the U.S. in order to get your copy early, you may have received this message from Play-Asia: "We received the first small delivery today for testing and unfortunately we have to inform you, that the game is not compatible with the Datel Freeloader (US and PAL Version)."

However, we've heard from NWF reader Nils that this isn't true, and an imported copy of Mario Kart has worked just fine on his Wii (we're still waiting to hear back on what version he imported). Still, we're sure Play-Asia wouldn't make such things up, since this will only lead to the site losing sales. So, at this point, just be cautious with your imports, and let's hope that Datel's Freeloader isn't outdated already.

We'll update the post if we find or hear more accounts from Mario Kart Wii importers, so be sure to tip us if you've tried it first hand.

Gallery: Mario Kart Wii



[Via Go Nintendo]

Wii Warm Up: Loading

Posted Feb 29th 2008 9:00AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Imports, Wii Warm Up

The Freeloader seems to be of primary importance to European gamers who want to play games the year they come out. But a side effect of that functionality is something that many American and European gamers have always striven for: the ability to play Japanese games. And as for Japanese gamers, we're sure there's something they haven't gotten yet -- like Ninjabread Man.

Now that (for twenty bucks) the world of Wii gaming is wide open, what import would you most like to play? And don't say Smash Bros., because that's boring. We know Smash Bros. Think of something else. As for us, we have this embarrassing temptation to play Miburi & Teburi.

Where is the Wii Freeloader? Oh, it's finally here!

Posted Feb 28th 2008 2:15PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News, Imports, Homebrew

For those of you looking to import games for your Wii, Datel's Freeloader will likely be the solution for you. But, where exactly is it? We haven't hear anything about the device since 2006 (although there were some rumors floating around last year about it releasing).

But now, finally, it looks like the Wii Freeloader has released. In checking out Datel's official website, we came across the product. It's for sale, right now, so we can only assume that most retailers will be getting their shipments in soon, if they already haven't. So now you can get back to enjoying your import GameCube games again, not to mention the Wii titles that will be fun to get ahold of.

What's your first import going to be?

[Via DCemu; thanks, Craig!]

Latest firmware update kills Freeloader

Posted Aug 8th 2007 12:00PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News, Imports


One of our readers wrote in to inform us that, with the latest firmware update for the Wii, Freeloader no longer works with the system. In trying to load the software, the Wii merely spits error messages at the user, laughing maniacally as they attempt to use it. This is just another feature that snuck its way into the update.

Eurogamer contacted Nintendo in regards to the issue, but Nintendo could only display apathy. What with it not being an official Nintendo product, they see no problem with the newly-found incompatibility of the two.

Rumor: Wii Freeloader this month?

Posted Jun 4th 2007 12:45PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Rumors, Imports

This particular bit of news concerns PAL gamers, but-- if it's true-- we can all benefit soon enough. A listing has popped up for a Wii Freeloader on an Italian shopping site called YouToo.it. The listing says that it will be released on June 30 for € 24,99 ($33.59), but that the price and release date are subject to change. In addition, that box looks exceptionally mocked-up, so take this whole thing with a grain of salt.

A NeoGAFfer named radioheadrule83 then contacted Datel's technical department to try to get more information. The Datel rep told him that "Its my understanding that there is a product on the way that will work for Wii games as well, yes" but also that "There's no release date as yet". We may yet enter a world in which we can all play games when they're released.

[Via NeoGAF]

Wii Freeloader is en route

Posted Dec 15th 2006 2:00PM by Jason Wishnov
Filed under: Peripherals, Tech stuff

So crucial.After a bunch of Perrin Kaplan flip-flopping and general mass hysteria, it turned out that the Wii would in fact be region-specific after all. Importing games that the world has deemed too insane for the American public is one of our greatest joys in this world, and lo, Nintendo cut us down without mercy. But in this rare tale of Nintendo playing the role of evil, a shining knight gallops toward us with an interesting coat of arms adorning yon shield ... it's Datel, Advanced Gaming Technology™! Yes!

Apparently, Datel has announced plans to bring a Wii version of their popular Freeloader boot disc, allowing a gamer to essentially ignore any and all region-locks. Though the updatable nature of the Wii theoretically might allow Nintendo to block this product in the future, we'd imagine that even evil has unexpected bouts of lenience.

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