Wii: Datel SD Media Launcher review

January 31st, 2007, 21:51 Posted By: got_wot

There has been much hassle for us PAL Wii Homebrewers to say the least. Unlike our American and other NTSC region counterparts, the Action Replay Disk will not be read by our PAL Wii Console, so the use of a standard gamecube SD adaptor such as the Gecko is ruled out. Then, there was a little ray of hope Datel released a Pal Action Replay compatible with Wii. Now I must say, I don't think I'm the only one to have snapped one up quick, only to be met with devastating dissapointment when it was found the "Add new game code" option was removed from this release... It was a crippled Action Replay device that could only be used for cheat codes and Freeloader. The method used for accessing the SD card was made useless with it. Why of dear god why would Datel do such a thing? Were they sufferring from the guilt of allowing the Wii to be exploited in the same was as the cube was? The answer, sadly, is a definite no. Datel decided to cash in on the phenomenon, and offered (a more expensive) alternative the an AR for such a task - the SD Media Launcher. "What cheek!" I hear you cry - "How dare they!" we all scream. This is just yet another example of Datels money bways, but being short on options, I decided it was necessary to also buy this peice of equipment....and as strange as it sounds - I couldnt be happier!
Datel have actually got this one right! In the package you receive the Datel SD adapter, a 1GB SD card, a rather spangly multi card reader (not necessary, but it also reads compact flash and XD memory types) and the boot disk. A pretty good deal for £30 (as long as you werent conned into getting the AR first, bringing the price to £45)
For the first time on Wii you can get to playing your classic games thourhg emulator and homebrew gamecube programs without leaving your seat! You no longer have to start an action replay, eject the disk, insert the disk load into SDload and open your programs, no, the device automatically brings you to a rather slick looking interface (although deep down its just a clone of SDload) and allows you to open straight to your emulator or program, all form the comfort of your armchair (providing the boot disk was already in to start with, obviously..) Theres nothing that SDload can do that this can't do just as well with regards to compatibility, and somethings even load faster (snesGX loads instantly, rather than flikering for a few seconds as it did through the AR expliot and SDload) although I think this may be down to quality of materials and chips, the Datel adapter feeling much more solid than the Gecko, which I used previously...
Overall, I think if you can forgive Datels greedy money grabbing ways and purchase the package (I even made up for most of the cost Ebaying my Gecko and old AR) you won't be dissapointed, it's the fastest, most stable, easiest to use homebrew solution for PAL Gamecubes and Wii's. However, I'm not entirely sure if it is compatible with other region Cubes and Wii's, if anyone know I would love to hear from them via the comments...

Pro's: Fast, Easy to use, Stable and made of quality materials.
Con's: NONE (other than the feeling you've sold out to Datel )

Thanks for reading, and I hope I've convinced some of you PAL gamers that tis is the way to go...
Your PAL, Antony Lavelle
http://www.the-exp.com

There are 14 comments - Join In and Discuss Here