Starlight Spotlight: A Hospital Wii in a New Light
8 days ago
- #Starlight-Foundation
- #Nintendo
- #Gaming-History
- In the early 1990s, hospitals banned consumer electronics due to electromagnetic interference (EMI) concerns, leaving children without entertainment during extended stays.
- In 1992, the Starlight Children's Foundation partnered with Nintendo to create hospital-approved gaming kiosks, starting with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).
- The Starlight kiosks evolved over the years, incorporating newer Nintendo consoles like the Nintendo 64, GameCube, Wii, Wii U, and Nintendo Switch.
- The Starlight Wii Fun Center was unique because it had to comply with EMI regulations, requiring wired Wii Remotes and a Faraday cage to block wireless signals.
- The Starlight Wii featured a custom hard drive-based system with 22 pre-installed games, bypassing the need for physical discs and enabling quick game switching via a custom menu.
- Unlike other Starlight kiosks, the Starlight Wii did not use a retail console but instead a modified development unit with a DVD drive emulator and a 160GB hard drive.
- The Starlight Wii's save files were deleted on every boot, a design choice likely to prevent inappropriate content or bricking from unauthorized modifications.
- Hacking the Starlight Wii proved challenging due to its lack of a standard Wii Menu, internet connectivity, and restrictions on additional controllers, but researchers eventually succeeded using the BlueBomb exploit.
- The Starlight Children's Foundation continues its partnership with Nintendo, now providing Nintendo Switch-based kiosks and handheld units to hospitals.
- The Starlight kiosks have served over 15 million gaming sessions, bringing joy to children during difficult hospital stays.