Many people new on the scene undergo the age old question – to soft, or to hard mod. A year ago the answer was pretty straightforward. However, with advancements being made on both sides, there is quite a bit of overlap, and both methods excel at certain things. I’ve written this little comparison to address these slight differences. I’ve tried to remain as objective as possible and to remain unbiased. The information below is based on facts and not the individual opinions of one side or the other.
Softmod
Pros:
- Free
- Many guides and an active community
- Allows loading games from USB/Harddrives
- No opening your case or fiddling with hardware
- Can be removed be usually removed
- Allows for customization of things such as the System menu.
Cons:
- Higher Possibility of bricking if something goes wrong
- Official updates need to be avoided
- Not all New Games Work sometimes require new hacks
- Requires users to read many guides
- The large Quantity of different apps/cios’s needed to be used is confusing to some
- If bricked and you send into Nintendo...and they read the NAND..results in higher Repair charges
Modchips
Pros:
- Just Install and Play...no need to learn and do anything else
- Install any Official Wii firmware updates
- 100% Games Play
- Games run from default disc channel or Autoboots directly from Game Disc
- Works on any Wii firmware versions on the market or make
- Bricks are very uncommon and Can easily be fix bricks
- Hassle free and “hands off” once installed.
- Burnt back-ups are read faster (with certain chips)
- 100% reversable easily, should you need Nintendo repair
Cons:
- Playing DVDs and USB Loading still requires Home Brew but not neccessarily a Softmod
- Costs money
- Must physically open the case of your Wii
- Older chips can become antiquated by features in newer chips
- Must buy chips from a trustworthy site
Overlap/Neutrility:
- Both methods CAN lead to bricking ( Softmod-Very High when compared t, Hardmod- is Very Low)
- Both methods allow gamecube backups.
- Both methods can play out-of-region games
- Both methods can block updates
- Both methods allow emulators (w/ HBC).
- Both methods work with online play
- Both methods allow Wiiware/VC installation (w/ HBC)
In the end, there is risk-v-reward with both and both methods have different strengths and weaknesses. Neither method is a “cure all” solution that will work for anyone.
Best and easiest Method if all you want to do is play Backup games from dvd and nothave to bother to learn or to maintain anything is a Hardmod with one of the newer modchips
If I’ve presented anything in this guide that is inaccurate, please PM me and let me know. I do not stay up-to-date on both scenes but will try to modify the above as new advancements are made.
Linear Mode
