A new update to the Wii Menu was released today. Along with the usual enhancements like better Mii support, Nintendo included a bomb that may cripple the burgeoning homebrew community.

The message sent to Wii users contains the following text:

Because unauthorized modifications to save files may impair game play or the Wii Console, updating to Wii Menu version 3.3 will also check for and automatically remove such save files.

It's not yet clear if this update completely removes the Homebrew Channel for existing users, or if it simply blocks new users from installing it. Either way, the homebrew community faces a massive setback today.

Update: The folks over at HackMii have posted an update that suggests they have found a workaround to Nintendo's attempt to block the homebrew channel:

Congrats to tmbinc and tehpola for finding a combination of two bugs in the code that Nintendo added that — when combined — allow us to fool their check into ignoring the TP hack. More info will be forthcoming — I still wouldn’t rush to update my system, anyway.

Special thanks goes to WiiFanatic and Zim for pointing out this news in the forum!