Highly addictive, tons of fun and best done in a dark room. Sounds like something dirty, but this is the world of a Wii fanatic. Ever since Nintendo launched their Wii console the world of gaming has been turned upside down and even hard core PlayStation fans like myself made the leap over to the lighter side of video games.

If you are as passionate about Wii games as I am, then you probably know just how expensive this hobby can be. Apart from the console, the games and accessories can run into the thousands of dollars and if you are a parent, you better be careful what you unleash when buying that first Wii game. It’s likely to be 10 or more Wii games by this time next year.

One of the most controversial issues with console games is the whole copying issue. Is it legal, is it not, should, you shouldn’t you? It’s a bit of a grey area because when you buy the game you should have the right to make a backup. Or not? Games manufacturers are fighting a constant battle against pirate copies that flood the black market at a fraction of the cost and this is where the problem lies.

When I buy a music CD, I immediately rip it to MP3 and zap it unto my iPod. I want the CD, because it’s part of my collection and having the original CD is just so much more valuable than a mere direct download. With Wii and other console games this is even more relevant. Having the original “box” has all the booklets, instructions and other cool stuff that avid gamers are after. Making a copy of the original Wii game is the smart thing to do.

These games are incredibly fragile and having to buy the same game twice is just plain stupid. Small scratches and even just exposing your Wii game disks to too much sun can damage them beyond repair. This is why I am a hard core supporter of making backups of all my games and keeping them safe. Games have a funny way of going “walkie” and with all your friends and family borrowing games, before you know it half your collection is somewhere else.

So, how do you copy Wii games? There are many methods out there and many forum discussions go on and on about how to do it. The truth is that you do not need to break up your console to make or play backup games. Be careful. Breaking open your console will automatically make your warranty void and in the process you may even break your console.

There are many software packages out there. Some free, some paid. All have their glitches and difficulties. The free ones are usually 3 or 4 different software packages that you have to use at different stages of the copy process and this can be a bit of a pain. Most of the time something goes wrong somewhere in the process and you end up wasting a lot of time ripping massive files to your hard drive.

Paid software makes the process much easier and since the software is quite cheap, it’s well worth the investment. I’ve tested most of these packages and I only found one that’s really worth it. It’s the only package that is an all-in-one method to copy a Wii game. Point and click with no guesswork and no having to hack through “unbreakable” copy protection.

Basically, all you have to do is to strip the data off the disk, dump it on your computer’s hard drive and then use the software to copy it back unto a blank disk using your computer’s DVD drive. The trick is to strip the data and then to copy it back so that your Wii console will read the disk as an “original”.

And that’s it. You can use the free software, but from my experience it’s not worth the time and effort. I’ve put together a tutorial on my website to show you how to copy Wii games. Don’t break open your console. Stay safe and stay legal and most of all enjoy your Wii.