page_title: Homebrew (video games)
section_title: Wii
hierarchical_section_title: Homebrew (video games) / Seventh-generation consoles / Wii
caption_attribution_description: English: Wii Channel banner for the Homebrew Channel
context_page_description: Homebrew is a term frequently applied to video games or other software produced by hobbyists and amateur developers targeting proprietary hardware platforms that are not typically user-programmable or that use proprietary storage methods.
  Homebrew can include software made using unofficial, community maintained, toolchains or games developed using official development kits such as Net Yaroze, Linux for PlayStation 2, or Microsoft XNA.
  A game written by a non-professional developer for a system intended to be consumer-programmable, like the Commodore 64, is simply called hobbyist.
  Some popular targets for homebrew games include the Dreamcast, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation Portable, and older consoles like the Nintendo Entertainment System or the Atari 2600.
  All major sixth generation consoles are given attention in Homebrew development, but less so than earlier generations.
context_section_description: In advance of the Wii's release, WiiCade was the first site to host Adobe Flash Homebrew games specifically designed for the Wii and its remote, which could be played without any exploits using the Wii's Opera web browser. The Wii was hacked via a custom serial interface in December 2007. The goal of most Wii exploits is to install the Homebrew Channel, a custom channel that lets users run Homebrew software on the console. The Homebrew Channel's first full release was in December 2008. Though Nintendo successfully patched various older exploits to install the Homebrew Channel, many exploits to run the channel on current firmware exist. This channel can be installed using exploits in games such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl, an exploit in the Internet Channel, or it can be installed via an exploit in the Wii's messaging system. Note that only exploits that use disc games are compatible with installing the Homebrew Channel on the vWii (virtual Wii) mode on a Wii U, with the exception of "wuphax", an exploit that installs the channel via Wii U specific system permission exploits. The Wii Opera software development kit let developers make their own games in JavaScript. The console's controller was also a popular target for modification. On Aug 9, 2010, Team Twiizers released an exploit called LetterBomb which uses a malformed mail letter (Buffer overflow) to load a boot.elf file into memory, which then installs The Homebrew Channel to run unsigned code.
  In recent years, other methods exploiting the Internet channel (Flashhax) and EULA have been released (str2hax). In 2019, an exploit using Bluetooth called bluebomb was released. Bluebomb meant the Wii Mini was hackable for the first time, as it was previously not possible due to the Wii Mini's Internet and Wii messaging capabilities, and SD slot removed.
caption: Wii Homebrew Channel logo
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