Wii homebrew dev CashMan has released another quick update for Wii Home, further improving the app’s multi-language support. Some of the translations have been improved and UTF-8 character support has been added thanks to a new default font.

Wii Home v1.3 changelog:

• The default font was changed.
• Added UTF-8 characters support with the new font.
• Better English translation.
• Better French translation.
• Better Spanish translation.
• Using Dollz 3.0 to have a little size (943 ko -> 559 ko : 384 ko earned).

Download: Wii Home v1.3

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Related articles:

• Wii homebrew - Wii Home v1.2 now with multi-language support
• Wii homebrew - Wii home v1.1

 

The rumor mill is starting off strong today with a new rumor: a remake of the first Silent Hill game for the Wii and the PSP. Now this is one remake I want to see happen.

The rumor comes from VG247. Although they don’t give their source, they do cite the website of the studio Climax, which states that the studio is working on an unannounced PSP and Wii game. Climax was the studio who worked on Silent Hill: Origins, so if the rumor is true, then the remake is in good hands.

Here’s hoping the game will have a bunch of new features like the PSP port of Persona. It really should though, or else they should have just released it on PSN as a PSOne Classic. We’ll get back to you once we find out more about this rumor.

Yes, we’ve heard you guys. Over at the forums. Over at the comments section. Heck, some of you even emailed us about having problems emailing us! (Err, what?) Well, that’s all water under the bridge now. The news tip submission system here on the front page is fixed!

See, some people have been pointing out that they’ve gotten some MAILER-DAEMON errors bouncing back into their inbox. But now, we had the issue investigated, and as a result, there you have it: both the “Send us news tips” and “Contact us” online forms on the front page are in full working order (err, a bit of a caveat below)!

Thanks to all of your feedback! Without some of the info we’ve been getting from you guys, we wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint where the little bugger took root. It’s squashed. It’s dead. It’s been flushed!

Now, if some of you don’t feel like contacting us via the front page forms, there are other alternatives too:

• there’s the forums - you can create a thread there, which could eventually be picked up by our trolling eyes…
• via the forums too, you can even send us private messages
• and then, if that’s not your thing, there’s still the FaceBook account - write on our wall, chat with us when we’re online…

The choice is definitely up to you! So the next time you have something to share with us (keep it safe for work please!), we’ve got all these options and means for you to contact us. Whether it’s about a news tip or maybe some other message you might want to communicate with us - a little bit of “QJ you guys rock!” doesn’t hurt every now and then, y’know. Cheers!

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in full working order - except for attachments. D’oh! Yes, attachments don’t work in the “Send us news tips” form, however, it’s still possible to send us pics (say, you have a screenshot of something, a pic of streetbroken Killzone 2 or whatnot - just make sure they’re safe for work, we don’t want to see unmentionables please!) if you manually send us an email to tips@qj.net, through your own email client/service, with the attached picture or zip file.

 

Nintendo’s going on a swashbuckling offensive, asking the US Trade Representative for help on making pirates walk the plank. Not the first time they did so either. They’re particularly targeting circumvention devices such as game copiers and mod chips, saying:

It is important for parents to note that if users of circumvention devices are children, they may be exposed to unsuitable content downloaded from the Internet and played on their Nintendo systems.

Hmm… so does that make it ok if the circumvention devices are used by adults? Hurr hurr. Nintendo also sent out a press release, calling out certain countries where “piracy is rampant,” and China is at the top of their list, describing it as the “hub of production for counterfeit Nintendo video game products.” Hell yeah. Remember the Vii?

Also making it on their black books are Brazil, Korea, Mexico, Paraguay, and Spain. Sounds like we’re going to hear more news about video game raids soon enough.

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Nintendo is harsh on piracy:

• New Wii drive spotted, renders all current modchips useless
• Hong Kong raid nets 10,000 game copying devices, mod chips for Nintendo consoles
• Beware latest Wii Firmware Update: contains homebrew blocks

Wii homebrew dev waninkoko has just released his DVD Info, which basically allows you to access and obtain some data straight from the DVD drive of the console.

Since this app gets info from DVD drives, multiple users may generate enough data for waninkoko to create a database with information on different DVD drives.

If you wanna pitch in, you may send waninkoko your Wii info like this example below:

Quote:

• Level Code: 0000
• Device code: 0002
• Release date: 20060526
• Drive Chip: D2B

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More Wii homebrew:

• Wii homebrew emulator: ScummVM Wii v0.14.0 SVN r28811

Wiibrew dev Crediar has released an update for Preloader, a homebrew app that replaces your Wii’s System Menu with a simple loader lets you automatically load the Homebrew Channel, .dol or .elf file you installed via SD, or the System Menu itself.

Here’s the changelog for Preloader v0.28:

• rewrote the hacks parser, it’s more solid now and detects syntax errors much better
• added a new font
• optimized the menu layout
• you can now add unlimited offsets/value in one hack entry
• added beta version related code
• added a setting which allows to always turn you Wii off even when standby is enabled
• fixed that when shutting down from the System Menu, the Wii always got powered down instead of using the set shutdownmode.
• fixed a bug which prevented updating to a non beta version during beta testing
• fixed a bug in the System Menu hacks scrolling code

Download: Preloader v0.28

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Related articles:

• Wii homebrew - Preloader v0.25

 

Developer spiderdave has update Splatter Castle, his platformer homebrew game that has a very Castlevania feel to it. It’s only in 2D, but that just adds to the charm. And the gigantor axe and the liters of fountaining blood is major plus points for me.

 The game was updated with new enemies, physics, and levels. A new life system and an item shop was also added. Here’s the changelog:

• Various tweaks.
• Improved player collision with blocks.
• New Enemies:
• Will-O-the-Wisp
• Turbo Zombies
• The skeleton’s bones now bounce, and there are skeletons with different weapons.
• New Levels
• Added lives system. If you run out of lives, you’ll continue at the start of the level.
• Item shop (WIP). For now, everything is free, and most are similar to each other.

Download: Splatter Castle v20090225

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Previous versions:

• Wii homebrew - Splatter Castle v20090127
• Wii homebrew - Splatter Castle

Although the Wii homebrew scene has been enjoying the Commodore 64 emulator for some time now, Nintendo only recently remembered about the classic console.

Now that they have though, they’re adding three new Commodore classics to the Virtual Console: The Last Ninja, International Karate, and Pitstop II. Each costs 500 Wii Points.

Needless to say, these are very old games, older than most of the other old games on the VC, but they’re enjoyable nonetheless, if only for the nostalgia factor. And they’re cheap.

The Last Ninja is a 1-player game where you get to play Armakuni, the um… last ninja… who swore to take revenge for the deaths of your fellow ninjas. International Karate is a 1-2 player fighting game. PitStop II is a 1-2 player racing game with split-screen support.

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Related Articles:

• PSP Commodore 64 emulator
• Wii Commodore 64 emulator

Discerning Wii gamers are in for a bit of bad news regarding Platinum Games and Sega’s MadWorld. It has been confirmed that the game won’t be running in 480p.

According to IGN’s Matt Casamassina, MadWorld will only be supporting a widescreen 480i resolution. The lack of 480p support will most likely be a sticking point for quite a few Wii owners, especially since the console itself supports it. The game still looks damn fun, though.

This turn of events begs the obvious question of “Why?”. Stick around in case either Platinum Games, Sega or Nintendo decide to address this issue.

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Related articles:

• Black and white shouldn’t be this red: MadWorld gameplay vid
• MadWorld starts bloody North American reign on March 10

There has been a lot of disappointment for FF fans when the direct sequel to Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy IV: After, turned out to be a Japan-only mobile phone game. But hey, there’s hope for that yet. Siliconera just caught Square Enix filing for new IP, called “The After Years.” Sounds a little too familiar?

It’s not for Japan only this time, this one’s for the US too. What “After Years” will be can only be rumors at this point, but I’m definitely hoping for an FF4 sequel