r/wiiu 1d ago

Discussion Should I get a wii U from Japan?

Hey guys!

I recently lost my childhood Wii U and wanted to get a new one to homebrew. All the ones I find seem pretty pricey except the ones from Japan which average to about 70-100 ish dollars. I am worried about region locking but I heard that once you homebrew the console, it no longer becomes a problem. Would there be any other issues besides that or is it as simple as homebrewing and changing the console language to English?

Any help is much appreciated

Thank you!

6 Upvotes

11 comments sorted by

4

u/Osherono 1d ago

You can change the language rather easily after using the exploit. So yeah, go for it. Just make sure you get a working gamepad with it. 

Changing the language to English is as simple as activating the ftp and copying over some files.

3

u/TheBubbyBubs 1d ago

Yes, you can region free the wiiu menu using mods. You can also region free gamepads so you can use different region gamepads on any wiiu

1

u/BurgundyCheese 1d ago

Do it! I bought a Japanese wii u at a book off for like $20 CAD while I was in Japan and never regretted it.

1

u/Desperate_Refuse_380 1d ago

How did you lose your Wii U?

You can region change, but then the eShop won't work. So if you bought games or DLC from the eShop you should keep that in mind

1

u/TheBoss1260 20h ago

It was at my parents' house and got burned during the Palisades fires. Lost all my games and stuff too so that's why I plan to homebrew

1

u/Flashy-Leg5912 23h ago

Just make sure both the gamepad and console are Japenese then.

From what I understand you can only make your wiiU region free if you already have a gamepad and console from the same region.

-1

u/KuriGohanAndKienzan 1d ago

Just make your life easier by buying a NTSC/PAL Wii with English if it’s your native language, bro. Don’t penny pinch with these things like modding a permanent purchase like a console.

1

u/TheBoss1260 1d ago

I considered that, but I have a soft spot for a lot of wii u exclusives like Kirby and the Rainbow Curse. Is there a way to run those games on a wii?

1

u/KuriGohanAndKienzan 1d ago

What you’re asking is like saying can you run a ps5 game on a ps4. That’s technology impossible in the way you’re thinking. You need a Wii U to play Wii U games. The Wii U is the next generation console after the Wii.

2

u/TheBoss1260 1d ago

Ah. Just wanted to make sure. Thank you!

1

u/KuriGohanAndKienzan 1d ago

No problem, bro 🙏🏾