Mod chip

[brentbizzle]

Well, first off it depends on your Wii. If you have a newer Wii then there's a good chance you've got a D2C chip in there. If that's the case, you're only option is the D2Ckey which requires a 31 wire install. With the FlexPCB from the D2Ckey group the install should be much easier, but as it hasn't been released the ease of the install has yet to be determined.

If you have a DMS/D2A/D2B Wii, then you can use any chip out really... The only mods out now that can play Super Mario Galaxy are:

Wiikey
Cyclowiz
Wiinja Deluxe
Datel Drive Doctor
OpenWii*
YAOSM*

*Free mods

If you've got some skill with soldering, you could make your own PIC programmer and use one of the free open source mods. Your only roadblock would be a D2B Wii with the cut legs. That install requires some pretty good soldering skill.

All the mods I mentioned do exactly the same thing. The only mods that are DVD updateable are Wiikey, Cyclowiz, Wiinja Deluxe, and OpenWii if used with an Atmega chip. Externally mounting an open source chip with a socket makes upgrading an ease. I personally use an externally mounted open source mod (currently Wiifree but soon YAOSM).

[brentbizzle]

Buying it 3 months after it came you either have a D2A or regular D2B... I can pretty much guarantee that. You can double check at http://nintendo-scene.com/wiitracker/search.php.

You will be fine with the mods listed above. OpenWii and YAOSM have great support. The leaders of those projects are very dedicated, so you should have no worries should you choose to go the open source route like I have done.

If you want to go retail I suggest Cyclowiz. While Wiikey does have decent customer support, you will see updates coming from Cyclowiz before the other companies. It's also DVD upgradeable so if a solid install is done you won't have to mess with it. I do have my PIC chip externally mounted so it is no problem for me to pop out the chip and reprogram it.