Modchips make Nintendo's Wii a winner down under

MODCHIPS for Nintendo's successful Wii games console are not only plentiful, but also apparently a big hit down in South America. So successfully that offers of "chipped" consoles outnumber 'virgin', un-modded ones.

A quick look on Ebay's local affiliate site MercadoLibre shows that only four listings for Wii consoles -out of 27 results for the keyword- are for Wii consoles apparently "virgin", that is with no mention of the word "chipped" -the latter meaning consoles with a ModChip already pre-installed by the seller.

'Chipped' Nintendo Wiis galore

The "Wiinja" modchip is selling for around $100 greenbacks with installation, while another is peddling "Wiinja V2" with "do it yourself" installation for $24.95 USD. The "Wiikey" modchip is selling for around $50 dollars.

One apparently not chipped! :)

Speaking of modchips, a recent forum post [Spanish link] claims that Nintendo is detecting modchip users and banning on-line gaming. The user reports that " external" mods with the "Wiinja" chip allow the user to alternate between chipped and unchipped modes and thus play on-line with originals and off-line with "backups" and modchip enabled. I don't own a Wii -yet- so I cannot confirm these claims, but you have been warned.

Seller offering Wii modchip with installation for $90 greenbacks

Apparently the local price for Wii consoles is $500 unchipped and $539 to $550 chipped. One seller is even offering the modded console with "five games of your choice, for free" -surely originals, *cough*. While these prices are totally expensive to anyone outside Latin America -due to import duties and VAT tax- it proves that availability of modchips can indirectly act as a sales tool for consoles in markets with higher piracy rates and where originals are relatively expensive for local income levels. Perhaps console manufacturers would like to adapt game prices to the local market, that approach seems to me like the only way to beat piracy.

Modchip features, as advertised on local eBay affiliate

How does the modchip factor affect the Nintendo-Sony-Microsoft war?. I have said it before and I will say it again: the realities of the local market coupled with the high price of originals in US dollars makes any modchip-friendly console instantly a winner in the South America marketplace. A search for "modchip PS3" on the MercadoLibre auction site, currently shows no results. Zero, nothing, nada. Which means that the "chipped" Wiis are selling down here like hotcakes, unlike the still-unmodded PS3.µ

See Also
Wii modchip works
Wiinja modchip previewed
Sony announces Playstation 2 price drop
XBox 360 outsold by Playstation 2
Playstation 2 is Xbox360's biggest challenger in South America

L'INQS
Nintendo warns against modchips