Update: April 11, 2008
Just another update on Wii Mario Kart (JPN) and Datel's Freeloader. We updated our USA Wii console to the 3.2U firmware and it still works with the Freeloader and Japanese Mario Kart. So... the rumors of the update breaking Freeloader functionality are unfounded.

Of course, there's always the chance that the next firmware update from Nintendo will bust up the Freeloader but until then, Datel's boot disc is holding up rather well. As an aside, our U.K. partner who supplies us with European goodies like Freshly Picked has confirmed that the European version of Mario Kart Wii also works on a USA Wii (3.1U or 3.2U firmware) + Freeloader. If we had known that earlier, we would have imported the European (English language) version instead of the Japanese version.

Update: April 10, 2008
USA Wii owners can update their consoles to the 3.2U firmware without fear of it defeating the Freeloader boot disc. Please also note that the latest Japanese/European Nintendo game Mario Kart Wii boots fine with the Freeloader if you have 3.1U or 3.2U firmware installed on your console.

Update: March 13, 2008
A batch of USA Wii Freeloaders arrived yesterday and all preorders have shipped as of Wednesday afternoon. New orders will ship today.

NCS tested the Freeloader yesterday on one of our USA Wii consoles (Firmware v3.1U) and found it to be as easy to use as the original Gamecube version which was released many moons ago. Simply tuck the disc into the Wii's motorized drive, boot it up, and wait for two instances of colorful lines to distort the screen. Next, tap the eject button to remove the Freeloader disc and insert your Japanese or European Wii game and you're on your way to becoming an international player.

For our playtest, we loaded up Oneechanbara Revolution followed by Chocobo no Fushigi na Dungeon but we didn't have any European Wii games loose in our library. Datel however assures us with the following words from the product packaging, "Play Your Wii Games From Any Country On Your Wii Console!"

Who are we to doubt them? Please note the version that we have in stock is the USA Wii console version of the Freeloader. Pricing is set at US$23.90.

Product SKU: DUS0264 / UPC Code: 89066400164 / JPN JAN: 7194801666558

View the back cover for this item on the main NCSX website.

Videogamers the world over get really frustrated when games are released in other territories long before they reach the shops in their home country, if they ever get released at all. Or maybe you bought an imported Wii because you wanted to get it early, and you now want to play games from your own region without buying a second machine. Well, now you can. With Wii FreeLoader, you can play ANY region of game on your Wii!

Wii FreeLoader is really easy to use. Simply insert your FreeLoader disc and load it in the usual way. When the drive stops, eject the Wii FreeLoader disc and insert the game, which then loads and plays just like it would on its own region of Wii. It’s as simple as that!

Wii FreeLoader is 100% unofficial, and requires no modifications to your console. As well as letting you play Wii games from all regions, Wii FreeLoader also works with imported GameCube games when played on your Wii.

Product Features
» Play ANY region of Wii or GameCube game on ANY Wii.
» Easy to use.
» No console modification required.
» Play games never released in your region.
» Play local games on your imported console.
» 100% unofficial.

NCS is currently only supplying the Wii version of the Freeloader

Incompatibility Update - August 9, 2007
The Wii firmware 3.0 update released yesterday renders the Freeloader software incompatible. Please do not purchase the Freeloader if you intend on using it only on your upgraded Wii since it will not boot.

Incompatibility Update - May 18, 2007
Please note the latest version of the Freeloader which is compatible with the USA Wii to play Japanese Gamecube games is no longer compatible with newer versions of the Gamecube hardware. Ironic isn't it?

If your Gamecube only has an Analog AV port on back of the console and does not have the Digital Video port (for component video output), it will not be able to boot this new version of the Freeloader.

If you have a USA Gamecube, you will need to use the Freeloader to play Japanese games such as Battle Stadium D.O.N, Naruto Gekitou Ninja, Shaman King, and all those other Japan exclusive releases.

Steps for playing a Japanese import on a USA Gamecube
1) Insert Freeloader into Gamecube and close lid
2) Power up and wait for the Freeloader title screen
3) When prompted with "Insert Game Disc," open the lid
4) Remove the Freeloader disc
5) Insert Gamecube import disc
6) Close lid
7) Play

Thanks to a customer in the UK, we can now confirm that NTSC Gamecube consoles (Japanese and USA) will play European PAL Gamecube games in 50Hz or 60Hz (as long as the game supports both video modes.) NCS also confirms compatibility with Panasonic Gamecube DVD units for playing USA and EUR Gamecube software.

Note that USA and JPN save data may not be saved to the same memory card and separate USA and JPN memory cards are required.

July 23, 2003 Update: Please note that the Japanese version of F-Zero GX does not work properly with Freeloader v1.06B. The following information is from the main NCS website at: http://www.ncsx.org/2003/ncs072103/ncs0721w.htm