Topic: Do formated Wii need to re-purchase Wiiware/DLC bought?

Topic.

My answer would be no to Wiiware but yes to DLC.

Are you sure about that?

I was under the impression that formatting your console would remove all downloaded content (VC/WiiWare) and make it so that you had to re-purchase any content if you wanted to re-download. If you want to format the console but keep downloaded content available then you need to send it to Nintendo. (Of course, my understanding might be wrong.)

I did it once. You don't have to pay again. You just lose all your data. :3

No, your Wii is linked to an online account on the Wii Shop Channel. You can redownload any content you already bought at no additional cost

That's awesome. For some reason, I thought that formatting my Wii would break the link to my online account -- and any games that had been purchased would no longer be available from the Wii Shop channel.

Would DLC be kept if you create backups of the appropriate save files on your SD card first?

Actually I think that would work

Your online account is tied directly to your wii console. You should be able to re download the content you bought if you are still using the same console.

the Wii Shop keeps record of everything you buy with your Wii, whether Wiiware, Virtual Console games, or DLC. You should be able to redownload everything no problem. If you're worried, though, you can always call Nintendo's support hotline to find out for sure.

Just going to add in. You can put all your VC and Wiiware on an SD card. After you format, at first it wont run. Just visit the Shop Channel once and go back. Should work on SD card now. The worst that happens when you format is you loose some game data (that cannot be copied to an SD card) and FCs and people you added on the Message Board. You get a new Wii FC.

There's only one way to delete your Wii Shop Account: Go to Settings/Other in the Wii Shop Channel and select 'Delete Account' (or something similair). If you do that, you'll have to pay for everything again.
As long as you don't delete your Wii Shop Account, you will be able to redownload everything (no matter what it is, VC, WiiWare or DLC).

@invmat: Ah, that's the clear explanation I was looking for. Thanks to everyone who chipped in for this thread - it was really helpful to learn this.