Just a couple of months after Wii's launch, mod chips that allowed the console to play pirated games were available in Japanese markets. But not for long.
Or at least that's what Nintendo hopes. According to a Japanese hackers' discussion board, the latest Wii consoles available in Japan use a new board that can't be modded using existing mod chips and that will be very hard to mod. Apparently, the new boards have 3 crucial-for-modding pins physically cut off.
But hackers have already managed to mod the new Wii using existing mod chips. All they needed was some insane level of soldering skills. The hackers had to drilled through the IC until they exposed the roots of the 3 precious pins and then preciously soldered the modchip legs through the tiny holes.
The new un-moddable Wiis didn't reach USA yet and there is still no news regarding the Europe, but expect them to surface soon.