Wii U Reportedly Hacked To Allow Users To Run Games From USB Devices

The builders of Wii hacking devices, Wiikey, have announced that they’ve found a method to hack the Wii U to play content via USB media. The kit also claims to work on devices from any region and requires no soldering.

Because there is no mention of “homebrew” content like video players and the like, this looks to be a hack that enables piracy on the platform. Called the WiikeÜ, the device will connect to the Wii U via USB. The current WiiKey device allows you to hack the original Wii in a similar way.

The quest to hack the Wii is not new. The homebrew community is also working on methods to run media via USB and there are ways to add a Homebrew Channel to the Wii U, allowing users to download apps not licensed by Nintendo. Users cannot yet burn copies of games onto recordable disks because the Wii U copy protection is built directly into the Blu-ray drive, making a software hack difficult.

While this is no good for Nintendo in terms of piracy, it could pique interest in the platform as a homebrew system. Sadly, piracy usually comes first and foremost in cases like this one.