New Wasabi mod for Wii poised to make Wii modding universally easier

[Zeus]

The Wasabi team has announced their new mod for the Wii which is the first ever mod to work on all Wii revision from DMS to the latest D2C drives. It claims an easier install than any other chip for the D2C drive as it is only 9 wires, with three of them connected to a pin/via. It is also claimed it is as clean as DMS/D2b chips giving full control ove the drive's firmware with no dynamic pathcing needed.

<Center><A href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/wasa.jpg" target="_Blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/wasa1.jpg"></center></a>

Official Website: <A href="http://www.wasabi.net.cn/" target="_blank">Wasabi.net.cn</a>

[meangreenie]

We believe !!! ;)

edit.. I should comment that this is not the first time 'wasabi' have made fantastic claims, remmeber the 5 wire d2c mod from a few months back ?

[dowse99]

Damn, this mod looks great.
Good work by the team, i bet argon and d2ckey will for sure have something very similar soon enough.

[nuke868]

Do anybody know where the wikey team is and if they still have an homepage ?

[malsuk]

this part is an interesting read :-

" Did you know that current ISO dumpers are currently missing a few KB of data stored in the barcode (BCA) and lead-in area ? This "extra" data could be read by the console and used to detect chips. SMG and SSBB are the first games to call one of the related drive commands, without interpreting the data yet. We take that as a warning. Thanks to on-board memory, the "extra" data of your whole game collection could be stored on the chip itself if that becomes necessary. The flash memory is also used to store the drivecode and could store patches and Wii/GC binaries in the future. "

[Ell2Cool]

If this is true which i hope it is, then the ability to upgrade the firmware by DVD will f*ck over every other D2C chip out there.

I know a lot of people who would modd their wii but wouldnt be too keen on the idea of re-opening up the wii every time you wanna upgrade the modchip, me included :D

[Ebf18]

If this is true which i hope it is, then the ability to upgrade the firmware by DVD will f*ck over every other D2C chip out there.

I know a lot of people who would modd their wii but wouldnt be too keen on the idea of re-opening up the wii every time you wanna upgrade the modchip, me included :D

Thats where an external installation comes in handy, but this chip connects to different points than the Wiikey, Cyclowiz, and YAOSM. Darn :(

[hitman43]

If this is true which i hope it is, then the ability to upgrade the firmware by DVD will f*ck over every other D2C chip out there.

I know a lot of people who would modd their wii but wouldnt be too keen on the idea of re-opening up the wii every time you wanna upgrade the modchip, me included :D

Why? D2CKey,D2Pro,Infectus and Argon are updateble with an USB Adapter.
The DVD Update Features doesn´t allow the users to reprogramm the whole chip.
This means,that Argon,Infecuts,D2Pro,D2Ckey can also have the same features like wasabi with only one update thx to JTAG programming feature with the external usb connector board.
Also you didn´t need to burn an updatedisc thx to the usb addon/adapter!;)

[des]

I am pretty sceptical about this however I will look out for tests!

[Ell2Cool]

Why? D2CKey,D2Pro,Infectus and Argon are updateble with an USB Adapter.
The DVD Update Features doesn´t allow the users to reprogramm the whole chip.
This means,that Argon,Infecuts,D2Pro,D2Ckey can also have the same features like wasabi with only one update thx to JTAG programming feature with the external usb connector board.
Also you didn´t need to burn an updatedisc thx to the usb addon/adapter!;)

yeah maybe so but atleast with programming by Disc you dont need to spend £15+ on the programmer thingy :D

[lord^infamous]

I'm an installer and i'll be giving this chip a try the day it comes out. Multi version chips are an installers dream. I just hope they don't put an outragous price tag on it.

[sd5150]

Looking at the diagram, it seems a lot easier for those of us with cut legs...hope it lives up to what they say...I may just attempt to chip my wii again...

http://www.wasabi.net.cn/wasabi10.pdf

[frosty0705]

site down???
maybe overloaded with all the new traffic

[frosty0705]

now its back up again!!!

[LordX]

Site is damn slow , here is a mirror for diagram http://rapidshare.com/files/96043669/wasabi10.pdf

looks nice , but how about stability ? media detection ? for now infectus Argon is best.

Hmmm , Chip PCB looks poor .. maybe just beta version ? click for full size image,
http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/6533/chip2wk9.th.jpg (http://img186.imageshack.us/my.php?image=chip2wk9.jpg)

[wiggim]

sounds too good to be true, it likely is.

Anyone remember infectus/argon fiasko? Aside from it taking the team 8 releases to get on-par with the rest of the mods the Infectus 2 is $5 more expensive and comes with programmer that otherwise costs $25. They are doing dual firmware releases for both chipsets, and argon is more difficult to upgrade.

Hope this chip is the 'one-for-all' that puts the rest to shame.

[josho]

Love the
"Supports all regions, configurable via jumpers"!

Hurray for JPN console on all region gaming! Now... gotta see when the shop get this and I shall try this Wasabi chip out. Hope it's better than WiiKey. :D

[Alastair]

They should have spelt it with a double I: Wasabii!

[oscarRSM]

Hi guys,

WASABI firmware will be available on INFECTUS2 (that is FULL hardware compatible with 512 flash on board)... this is only to demostrate how POWERFULL is a JTAG REPROGRAMMING SYSTEM...
On argon too, but without DVD upgrade...

Well is important to note that DVD upgrade is really funny... the FPGA is not a microprocessor, the flash can only have few patches data inside, but if something came out like a new D2XX console, they need to release a new MODCHIP!!
REMEMBER, D2PRO and INFECTUS teams follow JTAG way because is the best way and not a BULLSHIT only to show to users that a modchip updatable by DVD is better...

In few days D2PRO team will announce probably the same thing... hehe WASABI a project killed probably before born.. :D

A PROMOTIONAL VIDEO WILL BE ONLINE ON INFECTUS.BIZ END NEXT WEEK... STAY TUNED...

Is nice to see how is excite the WII scene! :)

BYE BYE

[mannyman789]

Hi guys,

WASABI firmware will be available on INFECTUS2 (that is FULL hardware compatible with 512 flash on board)... this is only to demostrate how POWERFULL is a JTAG REPROGRAMMING SYSTEM...
On argon too, but without DVD upgrade...

Well is important to note that DVD upgrade is really funny... the FPGA is not a microprocessor, the flash can only have few patches data inside, but if something came out like a new D2XX console, they need to release a new MODCHIP!!
REMEMBER, D2PRO and INFECTUS teams follow JTAG way because is the best way and not a BULLSHIT only to show to users that a modchip updatable by DVD is better...

In few days D2PRO team will announce probably the same thing... hehe WASABI a project killed probably before born.. :D

A PROMOTIONAL VIDEO WILL BE ONLINE ON INFECTUS.BIZ END NEXT WEEK... STAY TUNED...

Is nice to see how is excite the WII scene! :)

BYE BYE
thats nice news, ill be sure to pick up a D2PRO then

[frosty0705]

OscarRSM seems to have the inside information on d2pro team. Maybe he will let us know if the infectus or argon or d2pro will be able to use the lesser wire install as well and whether the availability of them will improve or will supplies be kept low to keep the prices high.

At last some competition that may break the monopoly. It seems to me that one company is funding development of all the current d2c chips and that the lack of supply is convenient to keep the prices high. If this new chip can come in at a lower price then we will at last see prices tumble as we did with the wiikey when all the other chips came out. wiikey clones are now below USD3 from some sources, and seem to work equally as well as the originals.

Maybe oscarRSM can ask the team/s whether this is likely. i salute the company for their forward thinking and investment in the development of these chips but it now seems that these people are on the other side of the fence. Where they had a complaint in the amount of clones of their products coming out, it now seems that someone has come up with a new way to do things and all of a sudden it is ok to take this new setup and use it themselves.

[oscarRSM]

Well...

I'm for competition, the important thing is that if there is a new modchip based on ACTEL this NEED TO HAVE JTAG UPDATE SYSTEM...
The people need to understand that a new modchip without JTAG is an OLD solution and in the middle time is a bad choice...

THE ACTEL IC is a FPGA technology that cannot be updated like a microprocessor... the firmware need to be programmed by JTAG and cannot stay on an external flash... you can change only few things with this kind of solution with an update... if something new came out only with JTAG UPDATE you will have the full security that you can have a new firmware that works...

All remembers what happen with MATRIX INFINITY, with v12 console they need to release INFINITY GREEN POINT, because is impossible to change the core of the project with an ACTEL IC...

SO right now the choice is D2PRO or ARGON...

This is the important point right now...

[zosh]

Well is important to note that DVD upgrade is really funny... the FPGA is not a microprocessor, the flash can only have few patches data inside, but if something came out like a new D2XX console, they need to release a new MODCHIP!!
That is some strange argumentation to bash a competitor. That very same argument holds true for any modchip, FPGA or microprocessor - unless you are a professional stocking a serious number of modchips, or move an Infectus between different Wii consoles on a regular basis.

For the one-time modding job that permanently stays inside one machine it certainly does not make any difference whether it is completely updateable or not. And 128 kByte is a LOT of space to store necessary patches (just take a look at what Bell does with the 12F629's 64 bytes of flash memory in his 3.0 version).

On the other hand it looks like the Wasabi team put some serious thought into their firmware, bringing up some points that others didn't even remotely address yet. After all, why else would it be worth ripping off?

Edit: I apologize, you obviously don't want to "rip it off", but rather demonstrate that you can reprogram your chip to any firmware.

[pwntendo]

Oscar do you know who is the team behind Wasabi? I have heard it is most probably not even real. :eek:

[idog]

Send a mail a couple of days ago requesting prices for large amounts and also a request for a sample, but no response.

Anyone else with more luck in contacting them ?

[Ebf18]

Send a mail a couple of days ago requesting prices for large amounts and also a request for a sample, but no response.

Anyone else with more luck in contacting them ?

Maybe they thought you were small time. hehe :p

[onyxx]

Site is damn slow , here is a mirror for diagram http://rapidshare.com/files/96043669/wasabi10.pdf

looks nice , but how about stability ? media detection ? for now infectus Argon is best.

Hmmm , Chip PCB looks poor .. maybe just beta version ? click for full size image,
http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/6533/chip2wk9.th.jpg (http://img186.imageshack.us/my.php?image=chip2wk9.jpg)

I have to disagree with you there the d2cKey seems to work flawlessly so far. so if both are working good then argon is a little more pricey than the d2ckey making it a step below the d2ckey in my book.

[idog]

Maybe they thought you were small time. hehe :p

If a price quote for 1000 pieces is not enough, then I'll take my business elsewhere :D

[panaconsoles]

I have send an email with a price request, and this is the answer :

From sales@wasabi.net.cn :

"Hello!

Our official reseller Lucky Trading will contact you asap. You can also contact directly their manager Luke at: wholesale.division.luke@gmail.com Thank you for your interest in Wasabi!

Faithfully,
Team Wasabi."

Does somebody know the company ?

[idog]

Me too, just received this mail :

Hello!

Our official reseller Lucky Trading will contact you asap. You can also contact
directly their manager Luke at: wholesale.division.luke@gmail.com
Thank you for your interest in Wasabi!

Faithfully,
Team Wasabi.

Standard answer e-mail.

edit : Got a mail from Luke :)

Hello

We have been told by wasabi team you are interested in buying wasabi.
tell me how many pcs you want to order and give to me all your company details.
Then we make proforma with complete price for you.

Thanks

[Mg1982]

Why? D2CKey,D2Pro,Infectus and Argon are updateble with an USB Adapter.
The DVD Update Features doesn´t allow the users to reprogramm the whole chip.
This means,that Argon,Infecuts,D2Pro,D2Ckey can also have the same features like wasabi with only one update thx to JTAG programming feature with the external usb connector board.
Also you didn´t need to burn an updatedisc thx to the usb addon/adapter!;)

Yeah i agree, the d2pro is still a great chip, future proof in this regard.

[oscarRSM]

Who is back WASABI is DIVINEO ... so MAXCONSOLE related...

this only to understand better the situation arround this modchip..

Anyway

INFECTUS2 will have with new firmware
1- DVD UPDATE (of 512 KB flash about 3 times more space than wasabi)
2- JTAG UPDATE (that wasabi haven't)
3- Very similar price than WASABI

ARGON will have
1- DVD UPDATE (of 256 Kb flash 2 times big than wasabi)
2- JTAG UPDATE with external INJECTUS programmer (optional, necessary only for big updates or to update stocks in hands of distributors with new firmwares for other consoles)
3- Price same than wasabi

A funny thing that I read arround is the question "why a modchip need to work on many console? if I install into WII sure I don't disconnect it to install inside a PS3"

Damn, I ask me every time how is possible that people don't see the potentiality of JTAG...
If a distributor or a reseller have like 500 ARGON in stock, we release a firmware for example for PS3, he can use ARGON for WII and PS3 customers with same hardware.. just reprogramm the stock...

Be sure that who stock JTAG based modchips have a potentiality to beat the competitors 10 times more than who belive in OLD technology of modchips (without jtag)...
The strategical power of a JTAG HARDWARE is 10 times more than any other solutions... and the funny thing is that a LOT of resellers and distributors don't understand this..

bye

[des]

You're related to infectus? Since you said "we" release ...! If so hire someone to write proper news posts or at least someone who knows how to write a press release without sounding extremely aggressive without a real reason.

[oghre]

Yes hes related to infectus. Hardstore to be exact. Hes the EXACT reason I will not order Argons.

If hes confident in the product hes advertising why does he feel the need to bash every other modchip that comes out? That does not make me very confident in their modchip of they have to bash their competition as a form of advertisement.

(remember that the loudest man in the room is normally the weakest)

And no argons are NOT the same price as wasabi if you factor in the PROGRAMMER ($30 usd or so) that may leave you SCREWED if you dont own it
(gotta love him also leaving out details so his Argon looks better!)

[oscarRSM]

ARGON will works like WASABI with DVD UPDATE, so price is the same...

the good thing is that if in the future there will be necessary a BIG update, argon will have JTAG UPDATE like second chance... wasabi haven't other chance...

D2PRO will follow same way of ARGON in few weeks...

All can risk what they want.. wiikey situation is under eyes of all... I can say only good luck

bye bye

[Ell2Cool]

ARGON will works like WASABI with DVD UPDATE, so price is the same...

the good thing is that if in the future there will be necessary a BIG update, argon will have JTAG UPDATE like second chance... wasabi haven't other chance...

D2PRO will follow same way of ARGON in few weeks...

All can risk what they want.. wiikey situation is under eyes of all... I can say only good luck

bye bye

its quite clear to me (if not others as well) that you are part of the infectus team.

Enough with all the wasabi bashing, its only showing how concerned infectus are that they have to mirror most things that wasabi are doing.

funny how they announce a new 5 wire mod days after wasabi announce theirs, and how you are constantly showing everyone wasabi's flaws, which i dont really see.

i dont know if i speak for others but i for one will be more than happy to purchase a wasabi when it is available in the area i live in, as DVD upgrading for me is a plus. i dont wanna have to open up my wii every time a new update comes out to conenct my modchip to my computer.

:D

[Adam.Giles]

its quite clear to me (if not others as well) that you are part of the infectus team.

Enough with all the wasabi bashing, its only showing how concerned infectus are that they have to mirror most things that wasabi are doing.

funny how they announce a new 5 wire mod days after wasabi announce theirs, and how you are constantly showing everyone wasabi's flaws, which i dont really see.

i dont know if i speak for others but i for one will be more than happy to purchase a wasabi when it is available in the area i live in, as DVD upgrading for me is a plus. i dont wanna have to open up my wii every time a new update comes out to conenct my modchip to my computer.

:D

I think the Wasabi looks like a great Wii chip. It means I can now just keep one chip for all versions of Wii. I've got some on order, so will know very soon how good it is.

Infectus does go one better though, because I can then have just one chip for every console. Also with the Jtag programmer, you don't need to open your wii to upgrade.

[Cade]

ARGON will works like WASABI with DVD UPDATE, so price is the same...

the good thing is that if in the future there will be necessary a BIG update, argon will have JTAG UPDATE like second chance... wasabi haven't other chance...

D2PRO will follow same way of ARGON in few weeks...

All can risk what they want.. wiikey situation is under eyes of all... I can say only good luck

bye bye
So tell me Oscar, when will the Argon be available with the 9 wire install and the firmware of Wasabi already preflashed on the chip?

That's the only thing important to most of us if you want to be on the same level as Wasabi. If I would buy the Argon at this very moment I would have to wait with installing it till the new Wasabi firmware is available for it so that I can solder it with only 9 wires (or I have to desolder it again which I don't feel like so the only option is to lay it aside). Next to that I MUST also buy the JTAG programmer only to be able to flash the Wasabi firmware on it when it's available for it. So buying it now to have the same features as Wasabi is more expensive and more of a hassle.

So you see, buying an Argon now is not the smart choice for new users. If you want to be on par with the convenience of Wasabi (and don't want to loose to much terrain to them) you better release the Argons with preflashed Wasabi firmware very, VERY soon.

You make a point with some of the things you say but it's only relevant when you release the Argon with preflashed Wasabi firmware. Only then can you call yourself a competitor to the Wasabi.

So Oscar, when can we buy these "new" Argons? I hope it's this month or else you will loose me to Wasabi after all. I'm already waiting to long to make a decision which D2C modchip I'm going to buy and before the end of this month I will make my choice. So if you don't want to loose another potential customer to Wasabi you'd better hurry :)

[krayziexploiter]

I'm sure many/most resellers will offer out of the box wasabi argon chips. Anyway. This battle isn't won in the first week. We have to look in the long term. Argon should theoretically be superior since jtag updating is far more advanced then dvd updates. What if a new nintendo firmware comes out disabeling your chip (I know not very likely but possible). With jtag you can update the full logics of your chip without the need of having a working modded wii.
Anyway. I hope this develop into a little price war. I will get the cheapest.