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This page describes various hardware used for Wii game and system development.
This page is only meant to provide a brief summary of each; more information is available at each individual page.
"Wired" model development hardware only supports Bluetooth (Wii Remote connectivity) over an RF cable.
NDEV (Wired/Wireless)
Main article: NDEV
The NDEV is the main development system for the Wii. It has expanded RAM and only loads games from a host PC over an optical disc emulation interface; there is no disc drive or hard drive.
RVT-R Reader (Wired/Wireless)
Main article: RVT-R Reader
The RVT-R Reader is similar to a retail Wii unit, but reads RVT-R Discs instead of retail Wii discs (RVL-ROM).
RVT-H Reader (Wired/Wireless)
Main article: RVT-H Reader
The RVT-H Reader is a Wii with expanded RAM and an internal hard drive replacing the optical disc drive, with a built-in optical disc emulation interface.
RVT-R Writer
Main article: RVT-R Writer
The RVT-R Writer is a special DVD burner used to write RVT-R Discs.
RVT-R Discs
Main article: RVT-R Disc
RVT-R Discs are recordable discs which are readable in RVT-R Reader units.
Wired Wii Remote
Main article: Wii Remote
The Wii Remote is available in a wired version for development purposes. Additionally, there were several prototype versions of the Wii Remote included in various development kits; more information is available on the main article.
RF Splitter
The RF Splitter is used to connect up to 4 Wired Wii Remotes to one development kit which only has 1 RF cable port (all development kits have this limitation except for NDEV prototypes).
Waikiki
Main article: Waikiki
The Waikiki is a serial-to-USB adapter used over the EXI interface (typically the Memory Card Slot B). It was used internally by Nintendo for system development and factory purposes.
Barnacle(2)
Main article: Barnacle
The Barnacle (and Barnacle2) are devices which provide bootstrap code for the Gekko/Broadway by emulating the console's bootrom over the EXI interface. These were used for internal system development only.
NR Checker
The NR Checker is a device which connects to a GameCube controller port on the Wii and can be used to activate certain functionality (such as allowing repair programs to run or the Wii System Menu's recovery mode). The check for this device typically appears to be a check for a GameCube controller with all 4 D-pad buttons held down (this is normally impossible without a modified controller).