Hackers make first step toward cracking Wii U

Nintendo’s Wii U hasn’t even been out for two weeks in the UK and hackers are already enjoying early success in cracking the console.

A renowned hacking site reports that the Wii’s Homebrew Channel is already up and running on Wii U. It doesn’t run in the Wii U’s UI but is bootable from the emulated Wii interface.

Homebrew Channel allows for the running of unofficial code on the console.

"Please note that this is not running in full Wii U mode,” the site notes. Running this on a Wii U will probably work just like on a Wii. Also, due to technical limitations of the virtual Wii mode, BootMii will not work on a Wii U.

If we are able to resolve this, we will make a new release with BootMii support. We can all try to hack the Wii U together from inside Wii mode."

As we’ve seen with the PS3, early hacking breakthroughs don’t always lead to full-blown piracy. But Nintendo will undoubtedly be worried. Its success with 3DS will give it encouragement, but its track record in these matters is not the best.