• Ever thought it'd be cool to have your art, writing, or challenge runs featured on PokéCommunity? Click here for info - we'd love to spotlight your work!
  • Dawn, Gloria, Juliana, or Summer - which Pokémon protagonist is your favorite? Let us know by voting in our poll!
  • Welcome to PokéCommunity! Register now and join one of the best fan communities on the 'net to talk Pokémon and more! We are not affiliated with The Pokémon Company or Nintendo.

Homebrew controversy

Tonitonichopchop

Cottton candy lover
  • 62
    Posts
    16
    Years
    Hi all, I've been thinking about it recently, and I've started to wonder what everyones stand is on Homebrew (For any console really, but I'm focusing on the wii for my debate) and if it should or shouldn't be done.

    The good for Homebrew:

    It adds new features that the wii woulnd't normally support
    It allows developers to get feedback for their work
    It allows for playing games from all over the world
    It is constantly updated since fans are faster (Usually) than developes
    It can improve the preformance of your console

    The bad for Homebrew:

    It voids your warrany
    It is purposely voided by Nintendo updates
    It can be used for pirating purposes
    It give Nintendo no money whatsoever for their console
    There is a slight chance of ruining your wii using it


    So I'd say that using Homebrew is a big Catch-22. You get the good and the bad, but is it worth it? One application I use is usb loader since I'm terrible at taking care of my games. I know that it can be used as a pirating tool, but because I don't like cheating the original creators I only use it as insurance for my games. Does anyone else feel like I do that it is o.k as long as the developers get their dues?
     
    Last edited:
    I'm all for homebrew. Morally, I know it's wrong but there's a certain aspect that lures me into homebrew scenes. I currently run homebrew on the DS, Wii and XBox.

    I can understand why Nintendo has taken action on the Wii homebrew scene. The homebrew scene has pushed the boundaries on what is acceptable and what isn't. I won't go into details here.

    There's a high chance of ruining my Wii you say? Actually, there's a fairly small risk of running homebrew. There's even less now with some of the major progressions that have occurred this year in the Wii homebrew scene.
     
    I'm all for homebrew. Morally, I know it's wrong but there's a certain aspect that lures me into homebrew scenes. I currently run homebrew on the DS, Wii and XBox.

    I can understand why Nintendo has taken action on the Wii homebrew scene. The homebrew scene has pushed the boundaries on what is acceptable and what isn't. I won't go into details here.

    There's a high chance of ruining my Wii you say? Actually, there's a fairly small risk of running homebrew. There's even less now with some of the major progressions that have occurred this year in the Wii homebrew scene.

    "High Chance" probably wasn't a good choice of words. I'll fix that. And as far as that "lure" you're talking about, I know exactly what you mean. It started as a way to play gba games on my wii and now I have loads of custom wads, region free from the disc menu, usb loader, Snes, Gba and Nes emulators etc.. I think I would like my wii less without homebrew ;).

    I'm all for Homebrew too, but I sometimes find it a little unsettling that Nintendo is actively trying to get rid of it (Very unsuccsessfully I might add). Right now I'm waiting in ernest until Dsi homebrew comes out.
     
    The bad for Homebrew:
    It can be used for pirating purposes
    Pirating? Bad? For the guys who created, sure. For me, naw. I pirate all the time, and I don't feel bad about it. Personally, as long as you know what you're doing there's really no consiquence for using homebrew channel.
     
    You know, I didn't mind it one bit until people started hacking in the online play. Now I am completely against it. Nintendo needs to get creative and stop hombrew Wiis from using Wi-Fi so that legitimate players can enjoy the games on it without being slaughtered by guy with infinite health.
     
    You know, I didn't mind it one bit until people started hacking in the online play. Now I am completely against it. Nintendo needs to get creative and stop hombrew Wiis from using Wi-Fi so that legitimate players can enjoy the games on it without being slaughtered by guy with infinite health.

    Yeah, no kidding. You can thank Ocarina for that ;). I don't cheat on wi-fi, but if I'm not online and I've completely beaten a game cheats can make thing very interesting.
     
    I don't think Nintendo hate homebrew by itself. What they're against is the fact that homebrew can be used against their purposes.

    Take a DS flashcart, for example. If everyone used flashcarts for the sole purpose of using homebrew to watch videos, would that really hurt Nintendo in any way? If that was the case, I suspect Nintendo wouldn't give a damn. However, that is obviously not the case.
     
    I very much am not against homebrew, and though I haven't physically messed with my hardware short of an AR, I have used emulators, I know what this is about, and I've formed my own opinion.

    It's not a problem to use homebrew for the apps and such, in any respect. It's free, uncopyrighted software. No dispute, legal or moral.

    As for ROMs, It's discouraged, but not illegal as such. The most you'll likely get is a cease and desist. If you use a backup copy of your own game, there's not a problem with that, and if you like what you're getting, you should go out and support your new favorite games with a purchase. I almost think that Ninty is sort of having a back-and-forth with the developers of homebrew, since there's no real push short of software updates and warranty voiding.

    Cheats, such as from an AR, are fine so long as you aren't using it to screw with other people's multiplayer data, or have the other people's express permission. This is probably the hardest thing to keep within my "guidelines", as every Pokemon noob and his mom seems to have a 999-stat Arceus with Wonder Guard or something stupid like that. The only thing I have really used an AR for is obtaining event-activated content and messing with my character's species and skills (ahh, Disgaea~).

    In short, I think it's a cool way for us nerds to come up with projects for ourselves, and enjoy other's creations. If the big wigs say stop, I'll stop. Until then, happy ROM-ing. And there you have my input. ^^
     
    Last edited:
    Hi all, I've been thinking about it recently, and I've started to wonder what everyones stand is on Homebrew (For any console really, but I'm focusing on the wii for my debate) and if it should or shouldn't be done.

    The good for Homebrew:

    It adds new features that the wii woulnd't normally support
    It allows developers to get feedback for their work
    It allows for playing games from all over the world
    It is constantly updated since fans are faster (Usually) than developes
    It can improve the preformance of your console

    The bad for Homebrew:

    It voids your warrany
    It is purposely voided by Nintendo updates
    It can be used for pirating purposes
    It give Nintendo no money whatsoever for their console
    There is a slight chance of ruining your wii using it


    So I'd say that using Homebrew is a big Catch-22. You get the good and the bad, but is it worth it? One application I use is usb loader since I'm terrible at taking care of my games. I know that it can be used as a pirating tool, but because I don't like cheating the original creators I only use it as insurance for my games. Does anyone else feel like I do that it is o.k as long as the developers get their dues?
    It can be used for pirating purposes
    Emphasis mine. And how does it give Nintendo "no money whatsoever?" You paid money for the console and whatever games you buy for it, does putting homebrew on it suddenly take that money away?

    If people want to put modified software on devices that THEY paid for, I have no problems with it. That's their decision, they bought the hardware. Companies that claim they aren't actually selling hardware, but "licenses" for their hardware, are full of crap, and there's legal precedent to support that claim (publishers tried to pull the same stuff with books a long time ago, and that got stricken down).
     
    Emphasis mine. And how does it give Nintendo "no money whatsoever?" You paid money for the console and whatever games you buy for it, does putting homebrew on it suddenly take that money away?

    If people want to put modified software on devices that THEY paid for, I have no problems with it. That's their decision, they bought the hardware. Companies that claim they aren't actually selling hardware, but "licenses" for their hardware, are full of crap, and there's legal precedent to support that claim (publishers tried to pull the same stuff with books a long time ago, and that got stricken down).

    Like I said before, I don't think they're against homebrew for the reasons you're thinking of. The problem is that people have pushed homebrew too far on the Wii. There are lots of ways to run backups on the Wii and the files that enable this to happen are easily distributable. If they don't do anything about it, soon every Wii owner will stop buying their games.
     
    Like I said before, I don't think they're against homebrew for the reasons you're thinking of. The problem is that people have pushed homebrew too far on the Wii. There are lots of ways to run backups on the Wii and the files that enable this to happen are easily distributable. If they don't do anything about it, soon every Wii owner will stop buying their games.
    The PC gaming industry isn't failing (not even close), and piracy is rampant here. You're still thinking along the lines of the RIAA, where one download = one lost sale, which is simply untrue (the ratio is closer to 2500:1).
     
    Back
    Top