Wii Shop Channel

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Wii Shop Channel
Wiishopchannel.jpg
Version21
Title IDHABA, HABK (Korean Wiis)
TypeGeneral channel
Installed fromSystem Update
PeripheralsWiimote1.svg Internet

The Wii Shop Channel was the place Nintendo released official software to allow for payment/download from the internet directly to a Wii. Lots of different software could be downloaded to a Wii, including new channels, Virtual Console games and WiiWare. The latter two could be paid for using Wii Points, which were obtained by either buying a points card at a retail store, or by entering a credit card into the channel. On January 31, 2019, the Wii Shop Channel was shut down. The shop can still be accessed, however, only the Wii U Transfer Tool and The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword Save Data Update Channel are downloadable.

When a channel is paid for, a small piece of data known as a ticket is downloaded from Nintendo. After this, the Wii Shop Channel downloads the title from NUS, and decrypts it using the key found in the ticket. Most of the software that was in the shop is still on NUS, but the software is simply hidden from plain view, unless if they were already paid for by the user, in which case the ticket is detected on the NAND.

Whenever Nintendo released an anti-homebrew update, they often updated the Wii Shop Channel and made their servers incompatible with the older version, in order to convince people to update. However, WiiSCU can work around this.

Channels

The Wii Channels section featured additional non-game channels that could be downloaded and used on a Wii.

The Wii Channels section in the Wii Shop Channel was originally under the name of WiiWare in North America and Wii Software in Europe, before moving to its own dedicated space when WiiWare launched. This was reverted in 2019 when the shop closed.

Downloading

During downloads, an 8-bit Mario runs across the screen collecting coins, representing the download's progress. Every 33%, Mario will hit one of the three blocks on the screen. The third and final block is a multi-coin block that Mario will stand under and continue to hit from 99% until the download is complete. Pressing the A button will make Mario shoot fire balls if he is Fire Mario. Sometimes, Luigi appears in place of Mario, or both Mario and Luigi will swim across the screen. There are six different animations, some appearing more often than others.

Software downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel is saved onto the Wii console's internal memory. After a download is complete, the new software appears on the Wii Menu as a channel. Software can be copied to SD cards or deleted and re-downloaded if it was previously paid for. Wii consoles with system software version 4.0 can download software directly to SD cards.

Revisions and Updates

The Wii Shop Channel has received several updates since launch that have added new features and functionality.

  • On November 30, 2006, the Wii Shop Channel was switched to fully use HTTPS.
  • On February 16, 2007, PAL regions received an exclusive update that added secret pages called Warp Zones. These pages feature highly detailed background information and tips and tricks for newly added Nintendo published games. These secret pages are accessible only on certain pages through links disguised as ASCII faces.
  • On March 30, 2007, PAL regions received separate news articles for every new game added in an update to the Wii Shop's front page. Previously, all new games in an update would be announced in a single piece of news (with the exceptions of some flagship titles, such as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time), with very little background information. This was added to the North American Wii Shop Channel on May 14, 2007.
  • On August 6, 2007, the Wii Shop Channel's interface was heavily updated. Four "Recommended Titles" are now featured on the Wii Shop Channel's splash page where they can be easily accessed, with new titles and prices indicated. Games are now categorized by system, genre, and publisher with the number of games in each category shown. A search tool was also added to allow users to search for a specific game.
  • A December 10, 2007, update added the ability to send software as gifts to Wii Friends. Along with this update, European Wii owners were given the ability to exchange points collected on the Nintendo of Europe website ("Stars") for Wii Points. The update also included a redesigned start screen and Wii Menu icon that now promotes recently released games.
  • On March 20, 2008, the Wii Shop Channel was updated in preparation for the launch of WiiWare games coming out later that spring.
  • On October 22, 2008, the Wii Shop Channel received an update where the controller information was moved to a separate window within the game program. The Wii Shop Channel also prompts the user before he or she pays for a game to confirm if the user has the required controllers. The Wii Shop Channel also supposedly loads faster after this update, and it now uses IOS51.
  • In November 2008, the Wii Shop Channel was updated by adding "Wii Download Ticket" feature. Wii Download Tickets may be found packaged with select retail software and accessories (such as Wii Speak) and contain a 16-digit code (which can only be used once) that allows you to download specific software titles.
  • On March 25, 2009, the Wii Shop Channel was updated so that channels can be directly downloaded to an SD card, and it was switched to IOS61.
  • On October 20, 2009, the Wii Shop Channel was updated so that demo versions of certain games could be downloaded for no charge at different points in time.
  • On September 8, 2010, Nintendo released another Shop Channel update. This adds the "Korean IOSes" to all regions as well as a new Shop Channel which requires an updated IOS56.
  • On November 6, 2012, Nintendo released a Wii Shop Channel update alongside a new IOS (IOS62) to add Wii U Transfer Tool compatibility. Interestingly, nothing else was changed in the update.

Technical Information

In order to use the Wii Shop Channel, you have to configure your Wii's connection settings. It uses a secure connection to the servers, so we cannot sniff it. In previous versions of the channel, the connection wasn't secured.[1] Please note that these are outdated, and may have changed in newer versions.

You can also access the Wii Shop Channel from a PC, but it will not look as it does on the Wii, because the HTML refers to Wii-specific fonts and Wii-specific JavaScript APIs. We've tried using these codes on the Internet Channel without success.

To find out used URLs and IPs refer to the Wii.com article.

The Wii Shop Channel's title ID is 0x0001000248414241 (HABA), and for Korean Wiis, 0x000100024841424B (HABK).

If you have the latest git of libogc, available from git://hackmii.com/home/ogcgit/libogc if you have a git client, you can use the following code to start the Shop Channel and jump to a specific product:

WII_LaunchTitleWithArgs(0x0001000248414241LL, 0,"/startup?initpage=showTitle&titleId=*FULLTITLEID*", NULL /*terminator*/ );

where *FULLTITLEID* is the full ID in hex of the software.

For example, to open the European version of Columns on the Megadrive in the European version of Wii Shop Channel, you would use:

WII_LaunchTitleWithArgs(0x0001000248414241LL, 0,"/startup?initpage=showTitle&titleId=000100014d414250", NULL /*terminator*/ );

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