Tethering the Wii :: The Future of the Internet

Tethering the Wii

October 31st, 2008 | by Yvette Wohn | Published in Generativity | 2 Comments

By Yvette Wohn

The Wii game console is a perfect example of what the book describes as tethered technology. In designing the architecture of the Wii, Nintendo did not want users to use the Wii for purposes other than playing Wii games. It took a step even further, creating different regional and country codes and segmenting the market so that some games could not be shared.

This, however, did not deter creative hackers who constantly found ways to get around the closed engineering. The hackers discovered bugs that enabled them to install applications that would run independent programs; these applications were dubbed homebrew. With homebrew, you could turn your Wii into anything from a DVD player to a Linux operating platform.

Nintendo has been trying to stop the homebrewers, but the brewers are still in the lead. As reported recently in Slashdot, Nintendo patched a few bugs in its latest update that disabled certain homebrew functions. The update, however, was cracked within eight hours.

It is interesting that Nintendo is making so much effort to keep the Wii tethered when the console has so much potential for innovation. For instance, Carnegie Mellon grad student Johnny Lee used the Wii remote along with a $5 infrared pen and projector, to create a low-cost interactive whiteboard. Other fun inventions include a digital paint sprayer and a surf board-style remote control that can maneuver a Roomba vacuum cleaner.

Perhaps it will take a little more time before Nintendo realizes that these new adaptions can actually be used for their commercial purposes. As noted in Chapter four, Eric von Hippel has a model that integrates user innovation with manufacturer innovation. Von Hippel suggests that users create “disruptive innovation,” which, in time, expands to widespread demand and eventually– commercialization.

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Michael Nielsen » Biweekly links for 11/03/2008 says:

November 3rd, 2008 at 5:53 am (#)

[...] Tethering the Wii :: The Future of the Internet — And How to Stop It [...]
Anonymous says:

November 3rd, 2008 at 4:11 pm (#)

Actually I’d guess that Nintendo’s updates are aimed more at bootleggers than at homebrewers. Bootlegging of video games is a serious business in large parts of the world…

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