Modded WiiU - Worth it? Exactly what is it good for?

The last modern Nintendo devices I owned were an original Wii (which I DID mod) and Nintendo DS.

Honestly, I am not as big a fan as I was in the 8-16 bit days because frankly most of the franchises defaults (Mario / Zelda / Metroid etc) just do not interest me, I have nothing against them but am more into emulation and very genre specific titles like Survival Horror these days. THAT SAID, I had almost bit on a 3DS when Resident Evil Revelations released but never did. I patiently waiting through the whole launch and fall of the WiiU as there was only ever a handful of titles that even slightly interested me. What I am into is modding consoles and doing more with them then what was intended, emulation of various systems (mostly 8-16bit stuff) as a collector as well I often get into a after it has seen it's best days so any games I do get for it are still new and fresh to me. What I am asking here though is insight and opinions especially from those who not only had and enjoyed a WiiU but also did mod it, or at least can inform me about the usefulness of software hacks and mods, is it worth it? Might it still hold interest to someone like myself who might not otherwise be interested in a stock default WiiU experience? Will it allow for homebrew, emulation etc? Keeping in mind I DO own an original Wii as well please, would it still be worth it? I am well aware of the Switch and know it is doing very well and some day I may be making similar inquires about that but for now just focusing on the WiiU, what do you think? THANKS.

 

A WiiU can be softmodded twice, in WiiU mode and Wii Mode.

Wii mode is just like any other Wii, works as a separate console and it's not affected by WiiU mode at all, it can be modded with the same methods like a real Wii.
On WiiU mode it can allow homebrew like RetroArch, and also what you might think people use it in the first place, with the help of a USB HDD, SD Card and a mounted server.

 

There is Nintendon't version for Wii U that allows playing GameCube titles using Wii U gamepad including it's screen.

 

I'd think that a modded WiiU is a perfect way to play DS games, but I've owned neither.

 

I did not know that. PS2, sure, but Wii(/U) too? If you don't mind, could you point me in the right direction? I've only ever seen the SD and USB stick/HDD routes.

 

For modding the WiiU, I used an exploit of the console's web browser to kickstart the homebrew that allows the installation of all that stuff, someone had to mount a public or private web server with the files that run the exploit. I haven't been up to date in the recent months if there's a new method that doesn't require the web browser exploit.

 

Ah, I though you were running games via network. For jailbreaking, these days there's loadiine - which you don't need to self-host.

 

It's a recent development, but you can install Gamecube and even Triforce arcade games straight to the internal storage or USB storage and play them back from the Wii U menu as if they were officially released Wii U titles, even in true widescreen
Granted, they're 480p, so it's only really worth it if you don't have a PC capable of running Dolphin playing GCN games in native 1080p and higher like I enjoy doing, but if you have a distaste for emulation, the games are running natively, it's a hardware virtualizer or something like that
Loadiine is completely outmoded. Use Mocha and install your games directly to the Wii U menu, or use CBHC for a more permanent solution that doesn't require you to open the browser every time you want to play a game that needs sigchecks to work (anything that wasn't released on disc in your native region)
Games that were released in your native region on disc you can install directly to internal storage or external and play back using Brazilian method without needing to patch your sigchecks
And no, you don't need to host your own server, use http://loadiine.ovh