Modders make the Wii relevant again thanks to ingenious hack

If you want a music streaming server but don’t want to shell out the big bucks, and you happen to have an old Nintendo Wii around, then this clever hack might be right up your street.

The Nintendo Wii is in an awkward position right now. It sold like hotcakes when it was released, and everyone and their grandma had one to play Wii Sports or Mario Kart. But, now these once coveted consoles are not nostalgic enough to be retro, and not powerful enough to be repurposed – or are they?

A modder named Brad McGowen has developed an ingenious method of turning an old Nintendo Wii into a wireless music streaming server. Best of all, nothing in this method requires users to do anything illegal – no piracy involved here.

A low-cost music streaming server

As reported by Hackster.io, McGowen created the mod as a substitute for pricey music streaming systems such as those produced by Sonos. These products are high-tech and have several appealing features, including media streaming a the ability to sync up multiple speaker systems. But the cost is off-putting to many users. Using an old console as a substitute is a cost-effective alternative.

To use this mod, you’ll need a Nintendo Wii with a model number that is compatible with Boot2. There are lists online of what model numbers are supported, but the majority of the original release North American consoles in white should meet the requirements.

Then it is a matter of following McGowen’s guide on the homebrew mod to install Linux on the Wii. Once this is done, the Linux OS can be configured using SSH, and this will allow a PC or smartphone to be connected.

Finally, an open-source music server called Mopidy needs to be installed, a service that replaces much of the functionality offered by Sonos devices, only at a much lower cost. So if you have an old Wii gathering dust somewhere, it might just get a new life as a media server.