Forums

Topic: Did Nintendo make a mistake by not including a hard drive?

Posts 21 to 40 of 64

SCRAPPER392

Bankai wrote:

SCAR392 wrote:

Bankai wrote:

DudeSean wrote:

Installing the game on a ps3 increases load times. It doesn't make content appear on the screen faster.

Hm.

So DudeSean tells me it makes loading times longer.
Dead or Alive 5's "please install to improve performance," must be a lie. Plus, having played the game both uninstalled and installed - that improvement to loading times and framerate in-game? Yep, entirely my imagination. Because DudeSean said so.

Well, I agree it does make the games run slightly faster, just as it does on Xbox 360, but Wii U can get the same performance from PS3/Xbox 360 game installs without installing it. I'd say that's an improvement.

Yeah, right until the laser blows up in two years from overuse.

I don't think the Wii U is even reading the disc constantly, it's definately spinning in the disc drive, but I don't think it's reading it with the laser.

Qwest

3DS Friend Code: 4253-3737-8064 | Nintendo Network ID: Children

Bankai

SCAR392 wrote:

Bankai wrote:

SCAR392 wrote:

Bankai wrote:

DudeSean wrote:

Installing the game on a ps3 increases load times. It doesn't make content appear on the screen faster.

Hm.

So DudeSean tells me it makes loading times longer.
Dead or Alive 5's "please install to improve performance," must be a lie. Plus, having played the game both uninstalled and installed - that improvement to loading times and framerate in-game? Yep, entirely my imagination. Because DudeSean said so.

Well, I agree it does make the games run slightly faster, just as it does on Xbox 360, but Wii U can get the same performance from PS3/Xbox 360 game installs without installing it. I'd say that's an improvement.

Yeah, right until the laser blows up in two years from overuse.

I don't think the Wii U is even reading the disc constantly, it's definately spinning in the disc drive, but I don't think it's reading it with the laser.

Fair enough. It's still in continuous use, however, and that means by default (technology does not get better with use) that it's wearing down.

I can guarantee people are going to be disappointed that the Wii U, as the current model, does not last nearly as long as any previous Nintendo product.

SCRAPPER392

We will see, considering stuffs going in a digital direction anyway.

Qwest

3DS Friend Code: 4253-3737-8064 | Nintendo Network ID: Children

Lan

Bankai wrote:

This headline is misleading. The Wii U has a hard drive included in it. 8GB or 32GB.

Not misleading at all. The Wii U has flash memory included. Not a hard drive.

Lots of censorship here...
3DS: 1676-4603-1823
Dragon friend safari

Nintendo Network ID: Dylan1

skywake

You could ask the same of a fair chunk of PS3/360 skus throughout their life. Most of the early ones, due to the capacity of drives at that point, didn't have much more storage than the Wii U does and lately some of the cheaper skus have come with ~8GB flash anyway. The suggestion that developers are restricted because there's not as much assumed storage equally applies to the PS3/360 and yet I don't think there's been that much of a problem.

As for whether it's an oversight... it probably will be a bit of a problem for heavier users but for most I doubt they'll ever realise there's a limit. Plus storage is so cheap you can just plug a HDD in anyway. Much more elegant than what we had to deal with on the Wii. I still wish there was a way to store saves on the Wii U and data on the external drive but... meh...

Personally I'd rather see a Wii U with Gigabit Ethernet and USB3 before one with a cheap 320GB HDD built in.

Some playlists: Top All Time Songs, Top Last Year
"Don't stir the pot" is a nice way of saying "they're too dumb to reason with"

Scollurio

I never had any laser of any disc-reading-device EVER break down on me because of too much use. I had 3 xboxes redringing on me (which has nothing to do with the laser) but besides that - I believe the gain you get from installing discs on your PS3 might be quicker loading times since a hard disk is quicker than a disc drive but "prolonging the PS3's" life argument might be neglectable, except you want to play it 30 years+...

Not wanting to sound like a smartass btw.

#supportindies
Top 5 Indies I'd recommend you try: #1 Lovecraft's Untold Stories, #2 Moonlighter, #3 Hotline Miami, #4 Inside, #5 Into the Breach.

Switch Friend Code: SW-5821-0423-7909 | My Nintendo: Scollurio | Nintendo Network ID: Scollurio | Twitter:

Sean_Aaron

I agree. Never had my original Playstation in the shop and that had a double speed CDROM that ran games exclusively. Having said that I'm not interested in packaged media so it's hard drive or bust for me. A faster connection would be nice, but USB2 is plenty fast enough given how much RAM the machine has.

BLOG, mail: [email protected]
Nintendo ID: sean.aaron

MAB

My external HDD is alot faster & better then the cheap one Nintendo would of given us

MAB

Gigagator

I actually hadn't even considered the potential effect it could have on the laser.

I remember I had to replace the laser module in my PS2 because it became practically unusable over time.
Still, that's not to say the same will happen with Wii U.

Personally, I found using an external hard drive more hassle than it needed to be. I can't really use an external power supply as I don't have enough power outlets left, and the system wouldn't run a HDD using just one USB port. The only option was a USB y-cable, which obviously takes up 2 USB ports. To top it off, I have to plug the HDD into the front of the system as I have an ethernet adaptor in the back. Kind of spoils the nice sleek design of the system.

GTA 5 on Wii U Petitions. Please sign!
http://www.change.org/petitions/rockstar-north-make-gta5-for-the-wiiu-platform
http://www.change.org/petitions/grand-theft-auto-v-for-wii-u

Nintendo Network ID: Gigagator

SKTTR

Since you can have unlimited memory by adding USB harddrives there's absolutely no issue downloading tons of Wii U games.
The only memory problem is that VC and WiiWare are restricted to Wii Mode's 512 MB and a flawed SD Card Menu with only 240 free slots.

Edited on by SKTTR

Switch fc: 6705-1518-0990

cornishlee

I'm quite happy to use an external. Particularly since I already have a shiny black 1TB mybook that, although four years old now, I'm ready to format and stand next to the Wii U (I stopped using it as my main backup device a while back). I doubt developers will worry about that - as someone else pointed out the kind of people who will buy those games will no doubt buy several of them and be the kind of people to have already taken care of storage. Optional peripherals are always a concern for developers though and I really, really hope that Motionplus isn't forgotten by developers. I want some more Red Steel 2 action!

As for the laser issue. Is it really more likely to wear out than the laser in the Wii?!?

Please sign the petition to get Hitman on the Wii U: https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/square-enix-ltd-release-hitman-absolution-and-hitman-hd-trilogy-on-the-wii-u

Nintendo Network ID: cornishlee

Gamesake

With the way Nintendo has been pricing their digital games I don't think I'll need a hard drive.

...in my pants.

The_Fox

Scollurio wrote:

I never had any laser of any disc-reading-device EVER break down on me because of too much use.

You've been lucky, then. The original Playstation and Dreamcast were notorious for the laser failing. Back in the day there were all sorts of tips on how to stack the Playstation on its side or upside down to prolong the life of malfunctioning systems. And not long after the Dreamcast ceased manufacturing there was a blitz on online retailers by collectors looking to get a second or third backup Dreamcast who knew what fate awaited their system The PS2, while more reliable than the PS1, also had plenty of similar problems..

"The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion."

-President John Adams

Treaty of Tripoly, article 11

CanisWolfred

That is odd. Nothing bad ever happened to any of our lasers either. Anyways...

Portable hard drives are fairly cheap - only $100 for 1TB, and the smaller ones will only get cheaper, so I'd say it isn't much of an issue.

I am the Wolf...Red
Backloggery | DeviantArt
Wolfrun?

SteveW

Nope, they didn't make a mistake. I like the option of just being able to plug in any size hard drive. This is one of the best features of the Wii U.

Edited on by SteveW

SteveW

SkywardLink98

In my opinion? Yes. Nintendo has been trying to make the jump to digital world but 32GB isn't much memory. I'd pay an additional $50 for a built in 1TB hard drive. Though it does support external hard drives and $50-$100 gets you a fairly large one.

My SD Card with the game on it is just as physical as your cartridge with the game on it.
I love Nintendo, that's why I criticize them so harshly.

3DS Friend Code: 4296-3424-5332

ShadJV

I've also NEVER had a problem with lasers failing, and I've played the heck out of my disc based systems (GCN, Wii, PS1, PS2, 360 which I haven't installed many games from and often play from the disc, PSP if that counts)... in fact, all my consoles are in great condition and I still play them. If it wears on the laser, I haven't ever seen it do anything.

More on topic, I think it would have been a mistake if Nintendo DID include a HDD. That's unnecessary hardware to charge us for instead of letting us find the best deal we can on storage. One of my big gripes with Microsoft was that I had to pay so much for a specialized HDD for my 360 when I can get a rather large USB one for cheap through my college. I have a nice 1TB HDD for the system for less cost than I had to pay for a 120GB HDD for my 360. Forcing consumers to pay for their HDDs is ridiculous, not everyone needs a lot of space and I doubt this affects developers, it's fairly safe to assume anyone who needs a HDD can find one for cheaper than it would've been to include it. The casuals who would find this as an issue wouldn't even need that much space.

Feel free to add me on the Nintendo Network: ShadJV
Here's my 3DS FC, always looking for Pokemon X Friend Safaris: 2191-7643-5167
Peace!

teus

Gigagator wrote:

Hi all,
Just wondering what everyone's thoughts are on Nintendo not designing the Wii U with a built-in hard drive.
It didn't bother me at first, as I figured 32GB would be plenty and I purchased an external hard drive anyway, but I've been doing some thinking in the past hour and the following springs to mind...

For starters, I think quite a few developers were expecting a hard drive, especially since consoles have featured the use of hard disk drives since the PS2 era.
I also think some games are going to rely on hard drives. Have any of you played Skyrim on PS3 for example? I think that game installs something like 5GB of data to the hard drive straight away? That's just one game; I'm sure a lot of you know how quickly games ate up space on PS3 and Xbox 360. I think developers are going to rely on the hard drive a lot more in the next generation too, especially with games getting so much larger.

Of course, there's always external hard drives to use, but no developer can really guarantee that everyone has access to that, unless they included one with the game package which would likely never happen due to cost.

So I've put forth my two cents, will be interesting to hear other peoples' views on this. Would just like to add that I love my Wii U which I got at launch so I'm not a hater, just worried that third party developers are going to turn their noses up again.

If nintendo were to do that it would definatly drive up costs for the wiiu... if anyone has a wiiu its inevitable that a hard drive purchase, and i like the fact that the consumer can choose the hard drive that best fits their needs... plus external hard drives are easier to replace should something go wrong with it..

NintendoID: Lazymutant

teus

SCAR392 wrote:

PS3 installs disc based games on the HDD to 'cut corners', while Wii U runs disc based games straight off the disc with no extra data being used. I think Nintendo figures that people will buy an ext. HDD if they want digital downloaded games, but for discs it won't be a problem. Technically, any device cost more than just the console, because you're gonna but controllers, accessories, etc, so it's really up to the consumer to 'seek out' what exactly they want to get the function they want out of their purchase. Xbox 360 consoles with 320GB go for $400 + tax, while a Wii U goes for $350(deluxe) + tax and whatever size HDD you get 500gb-2TB variences in memory space is $60-100 + tax which is slightly more expensive, but you're getting alot more for your money. It all comes down to whether you want a bigger memory space, and Xbox 360/PS3s 320/500gb space vs. Wii U 2TB IMO.

fyi game update data takes hd space...

NintendoID: Lazymutant

teus

Bankai wrote:

SCAR392 wrote:

Bankai wrote:

SCAR392 wrote:

Bankai wrote:

SCAR392 wrote:

PS3 installs disc based games on the HDD to 'cut corners', while Wii U runs disc based games straight off the disc with no extra data being used. I think Nintendo figures that people will buy an ext. HDD if they want digital downloaded games, but for discs it won't be a problem. Technically, any device cost more than just the console, because you're gonna but controllers, accessories, etc, so it's really up to the consumer to 'seek out' what exactly they want to get the function they want out of their purchase. Xbox 360 consoles with 320GB go for $400 + tax, while a Wii U goes for $350(deluxe) + tax and whatever size HDD you get 500gb-2TB variences in memory space is $60-100 + tax which is slightly more expensive, but you're getting alot more for your money. It all comes down to whether you want a bigger memory space, and Xbox 360/PS3s 320/500gb space vs. Wii U 2TB IMO.

Sigh.

PS3 installs data to the hard drive to speed loading times and minimise the use of the laser, thus prolonging the PS3's life. It's got nothing to do with cutting corners.

The Wii U's laser is going to burn out hella quickly, considering it continues reading the discs even when the game isn't being played. I'm fully expecting to have to buy a new Wii U in two years.

I know what it does, and I called it 'cutting corners'. I have a PS3 slim. I think Nintendo used the flash storage so Wii U can read discs and have the data being constantly run so it doesn't have to install it. I agree though, it does probably prolong the life of the console, but it's also kinda reliant on installing games in order to work at all in some cases. Some games don't even install that much data on PS3, topping out at 200mb sometimes, so what about those games that don't install? At that point, you might as well download you games, because not only will you have a disc, but also a ton of memory taken up by installing it.

It's not cutting corners, so you called it wrong.

The Wii U does not save game data to the console. It saves saves, and perhaps some extra data (DLC, SpotPass), but what's on the disc needs to be read by the console.

And yes, you might as well download the game to the PS3. What's your point?

Let me clarify my 'cutting corners' comment. Wii U can physically read a disc similar to bluray and put the content on screen as immediately as a PS3 without installing. I guess I should rephrase that to an obsolete way to run disc based softare when it comes to consoles, so not cutting corners, but rather outdating it.

The PS3 is capable of running games without installing them. Some do.

true... not all ps3 games require any installation whatsoever... some has it as a option while others require it

NintendoID: Lazymutant

This topic has been archived, no further posts can be added.