Well just looking it up an SSD connected via USB2 gets around 300Mbps and via USB3 was doing at least 1.5Gbps (I suspect the SSD was the bottleneck). A typical HDD you'd find in a new desktop HDD enclosure can sustain about 600Mbps. So USB2 vs other interfaces we're talking 300Mbps vs ~600Mbps. On the optical disk drive side of things we're talking upto ~400Mbps if it's a top notch Blu-Ray drive running at full speed but more likely closer to ~250-300Mbps. To put that in perspective the Launch Wii's DVD drive does closer to ~60Mbps, the Launch 360 did ~130Mbps and the Launch PS3 did ~70Mbps.

So in theory an external drive on USB2 could be slower than reading from the disk but only marginally and at those speeds you'd be enjoying the marginally slower but significantly quieter HDD I'd think. Higher speed interfaces? Sure, faster again... but not by massive amounts unless you've got an SSD hooked upto it.

Very good suggestions, anyone else?

I would love to see something that lets you play 3DS games on the big screen. Something similar to the SNES super gameboy or the gameboy player for Gamecube. The Wii U controller has the same buttons as the 3DS, or you could use the 3DS as the controller. It will be able to connect to Wii U so why not?

They showed off video playback and video calls in the promo video from last year's E3. I'd like to see them, if they're doing that, to support Skype and Youtube. If they don't then I'm not going to bother with either feature if they're a proprietary Nintendo thing given I can already do both on TV and iPad via those services already.

I kinda like the idea of being able to use skype/youtube like I do with the iPad already but with the added extra of:
a) being able to do it without having to pick up a second device.... taking a skype call mid game for example
b) having a large screen hooked upto it and being able to throw the video from the tablet to TV very easily

if they let me do either of those two things I could kinda half live with the proprietary nonsense.... a bit.... but it would be better if it was more open. What's the point of video calls if you can't call anyone right?

I've thought about the idea of running 3DS games on Wii-U and whilst it sounds nice in theory I could see Nintendo balking at it because it would encourage developers to take less risk rather than putting effort into exploiting the strengths of the individual systems and you might instead end up with the same game running on the Wii-U without taking advantage of any extra bells and whistles like extra graphical horsepower.

Although easy for a developer it might create the wrong impression for the consumer - imagine if all the iPad did was run iPhone games in a zoomed-in mode rather than have games built to its specific screen resolution? Some kind of add-on device to run 3/DS games sounds like a decent idea, but I think Nintendo would be best advised to keep 3DS downloads off the Wii-U shopfront unless they've been retooled to take advantage of the better system specs.

I'd make a football game that would allow you to play with both the Wii Remote and Wii U controller.

The option would make your Wii U controller a playbook that you could choose plays from and draw on (all the x's, o's, dotted lines and underlines you can make), allow you to get calls from the booth above on your calls, and even notes from the booth written to help you with your play calling. All the while, you will be using the Wii Remote and Nunchuck to, actually, control the player(s) in the football game: throwing, catching, and rushing.

If you have a friend over, you can allow him/her to be the coach or the player depending one whether or not they have the Wii U controller or the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. However, if you are by yourself, you can still do the Wii Remote and Wii U controller combination, but you can also choose to be only the coach (only Wii U) or only player (Either Wii U controller or Wii Remote & Nunchuck).

My apologies if this didn't make a lot of sense.

A new Pokemon Snap where you are able to use the Wii U controller as the camera. It's got motion technology it has a camera and it works with the TV screen so why not? It would function the way that shield game demo Nintendo had at last year's E3 did but instead of aming the remote to shield yourself you use it to aim a camera. Plus we're overdue for one and we have way more pokemon now than we did back then.

I said this in another thread but I think it's worth repeating. Remember how Animal Crossing on the Wii had this feature that you'd never use where you could "pack your stuff in a DS suitcase" and carry it around with you? It was a way of transporting your character to another console so you could visit. What if they did that as an almost standard thing?

You link your 3DS and Wii U together (maybe just one Mii profile?) and then you "streetpass" it when you walk near it transferring a list of what Wii U games are streetpass compatible and associated streetpass data to a "Wii U suitcase" app on the 3DS. Once it gets there the 3DS does it's 3DS streetpass thing but in silence not telling you whether you've walked past someone with a Wii U suitcase or not. When you get home, if you've streetpassed someone, your Wii U notifies you.

@AD3Supa
I'd say that's definitely going to happen in some form. Although being an Australian I know I'm probably never going to play an American football. Would be interesting to see what they can do with cricket on the Wii U however.

they should have gamecube games as downloadable on the wii U shop, so i don't waste another 6 months trying to find a copy of wind waker on ebay!

They should make new controllers for games like smash bros, most people used the GC controllers for Brawl it'd be nice to have another controller similar to it because most people won't like using the Wiimote considering only one or two controllers are supported per system