UPDATE: We've since been contacted by Official Nintendo Magazine - the source of this particular piece of news - to clarify a few points. According to ONM, a post on the Japanese Wii U website was "misinterpreted" and it has NOT been confirmed by Nintendo that software cannot be played directly from storage media. ONM have contacted Nintendo for an update, and we'll keep you informed as soon as we hear the outcome. In the meantime, the original story is below.
ORIGINAL STORY: One aspect of Wii U that’s had a few people biting their nails with apprehension is the storage capacity of the console itself. With the Wii U eShop promising to be the biggest digital store on a Nintendo home console to date, it’s understandable that people may not think the 32GB capacity of the premium system is enough. For example, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U Edition will be available to download from the eShop in Japan, but it comes with a hefty file size of 16.7 GB, more than half of the entire premium Wii U capacity.
While we knew that external hard drives would be supported, details of how these USB storage solutions will be used have now emerged. Unfortunately, external devices are apparently — according to the source article, there is doubt — for storage purposes only and games cannot be played straight from the drive; so if you want to play something it looks like you'll need to transfer it back onto the console first. It is clear that you won't be able to make a copy of the data, so if you’re considering sticking a game onto a USB memory stick and heading over to your friend's house with it, don’t expect to be able to play anything; in addition each USB storage device will only be able to work on one Wii U console. Perhaps most intriguingly, while an SD card is used as part of the Wii to Wii U transfer process, you can't store Wii U eShop download software on that format.
So, what do you think? We bet you never thought you'd be asking Santa for USB storage this Christmas!
[source officialnintendomagazine.co.uk]
Comments 132
This sounds terrible. Maybe I am misunderstanding this, but does this mean that the Tekken game will not even be playable on the 8 gb console?
@DrKarl. The download version will not be playable on a 8gb wii u, no.
You can still go out and buy the Disc version and play Tekken on wii u with no downsides though.
I at least hoped it would be like it can be done with the Wii today. Leave enough space on your Wii U for the biggest game and you can play it from your external HDD.
Sounds like quite the fiasco for comfyness.
Wow, this is crazy. You should be able to play the games from the USB drive! heck, even people with hacked Wiis can stream full DVD games from a USB drive, I would think the Wii U would be able to handle it.
So it won't even function like the Wii does, where you store games on the SD card but they're temporarily moved to the console itself each time you start them?
@DrKarl What he said - and then some. 8GB console should come with a disclaimer - no "retail" DL games will be playable on this system!!
Seriously, if you have to copy a 16GB game back onto your 32GB console to play it you might as well just re-DL it. Yes I know it's faster from USB, but you still have to wait and it's an extra step and you ALWAYS need 16.7GB FREE on your 32GB, so you can't store ANYTHING internally..
So the external usb drive will be used for backup only? Thats would be so stupid... i should install and uninstall games on the little 32Gb space every time i want to play a different title.... gosh.
Nintendo, have you not learned anything?
What? It's too early for April 1st. How could they make the Basic only 8 GB if there will be digital downloads larger than that!
Um, this does not sound right at all, especially after seeing the 3DS being able to run downloaded retail games straight from the SD card.
Me personally, would have rather paid more money for more harddrive space to begin with. This is just one of those things that Nintendo hasn't gotten a very good concept of it seems like. I guess I'll stay with buying games from retail instead of trying to download a game that takes half my system's room. I guess there goes digital purchases out the window.
So what have I learned today :
-Wii U no achievement system (I don't care but some people will use this against Nintendo)
-Gamestop is not doing a midnight launch.
-The external storage concept for the Wii U kind of sucks.
...but I'm still hyped! Can't say I'm not a true Nintendo fan
This has actually put me off buying the Wii U. I intend to download many retail games along with download only titles. If I have to move my games on and off an external hard drive every time I want to play something I simply wont do it. Downloads are all about convenience. This isn't convenient! I hope there has been a mix up in communication. I would rather pay extra for a 350GB hard drive installed in the console.
I'm pretty sure there was a mistranslation here. It is said elsewhere that you can't go taking the USB drive to your friend's house and play your games there, so you "can't make copies". The games themselves are going to be signed just like they are with the Wii, 3DS, etc
From a Google translate of another page:
"The premium body storage memory set, the basic set, this can save what you do each of the software?"
Capacity of the game software varies depending on the software, I will not be able to answer a number of software that can be saved unconditionally. You can check when you purchase the software in the "Nintendo e shop" for the amount of the software. If the capacity is not enough you can also connect the storage media USB, to extend the storage memory body.
@Discostew You are most likely right. Having a storage system that can't even do what the wii and 3ds can makes no sense.
So appalled by the usb storage, I missed the last sentence about not being able to store software on SD even! What the . . . ?
Why are some people assuming you'll have to manually transfer games from the external hard drive onto the console itself? That's very unlikely to be the case. Remember how the SD Card Menu on Wii functioned - you'd pick a game and it'd automatically move the necessary files to and from the Wii console. I don't believe for a second you'll have to manually transfer games with Wii U. This might be from the official Japanese website, but this is by no means an official translation, so I expect there's some very unfortunate mistranslations here.
I hope you are right Discostew. How will the system even support DLC if you can't expand the storage.
I've tweaked a line in this (though Andy's quoted the source absolutely accurately), as the section about not being able to play games directly from a hard drive is only on ONM, at present. The other details about SD cards and not being able to copy a game to play on a friend's Wii U are reinforced elsewhere and in a crude translation of Nintendo Japan's Q&A.
As for the hard drive bit, in terms of it only being storage and not being able to play games from it, that's tweaked to reflect that it's as reported from the source article, but there's some existing doubt.
The answer - just don't buy download-retail games. They end up much more expensive in the long run, and no piddly amount of mickey mouse points would ever make it worthwhile - in my opinion at least.
Thanks for making my decision much easier, Nintendo.
Thinking about this again, it could simply be that Wii games (not WiiU games) cannot be ran directly from the USB, and must be copied over, just like how on the 3DS, DSiWare can be copied to the SD card, but cannot be ran from it and must be copied back over to run them.
"Unfortunately, external devices are for storage purposes only and games cannot be played straight from the drive — so if you want to play something you'll need to transfer it back onto the console first."
This can't be true. Since there's an 8gb WiiU, and there will be full retail games that far exceed that size, there wouldn't be a way to copy that whole file to the system. Pretty sure this is a mistranslation.
@Discostew Can't possibly be the case - Wii games (i.e. WiiWare and Virtual Console) are stored on the SD card. It seems that's the only reason the SD card slot is there - to maintain backwards compatibility with Wii and the Wii Menu.
Found this full translation of the support page - there is nothing on there about needing to keep moving data between HDD and WiiU internal memory.
http://nintendoeverything.com/104950/nintendos-full-wii-u-qa-translated/
Why this? It have no sense. Why not playing directly from the USB device?
This and the impossibility of using the GamePad microphone for online chat are two incongruities of Nintendo.
To reiterate, we've amended the part about playing games directly from hard drive to acknowledge that there's doubt, as this is currently only reported by one source. The Japanese Q&A doesn't mention it, but it's not explicitly clear that this is ONM's source, they may have got it from elsewhere on the Nintendo Japan site.
The wording now reflects that doubt.
@DrKarl Not unless you buy some external storage.
Thanks Thom!
(If this is real) This is ridiculous. I thought the point of the external HDD is that you don't have to use space on the console itself. I'm not even planning to DL retail games and I may still run out of room. I hope Toki Tori and Trine 2 don't take up much space...
Well, I guess the Wii U will be used mostly for retail games then.
If it is true that you can't play off the External drive Nintendo is being stupid. I don't mind not being able to copy data though. I buy hard copies of everything anyways..
It talks quite clearly about USB storage being used to 'extend the main storage memory'. There is no way that ONM story is accurate.
this storage issue is not good. well i have multiple external harddrives. but how are you trying to give people an incentive into downloading and the storage is so damn small. here what im thinking, with the wii you couldn't play dvds on it, and then it was ummm made some way to play dvds. this is looking to be the same way on the wii u. someone will find a way to play games straight from an external hard drive. im not saying it right or wrong. im just saying that someone out there might get creative as usual..
Thanks for that link BJQ1972. breathes a little easier
Don't believe it for a second. It's ONM, they aren't the most reliable source if you ask me.
For one, they gave MySims 94%.
That really sucks Nintendo!!!! WTF!!!
Never mind I just checked up on the data moving and it is bogus.
Ofcourse we will be able to play games from an external device. It's just too bad that the internal capacity isn't bigger than 32GB. I don't like to use external hard drives that much.
@Mikau94 Yeah, there's a lot of doubt around that, at the moment we can only assume ONM has an alternative source confirming that. Our wording is certainly making that clear!
The rest is pretty much confirmed though. I'm not surprised that you can't shift a game onto a USB stick and run from another Wii U, while Wii U eShop games maybe aren't suitable for SD cards (and that's confirmed by many, many sources).
So question, does this mean u can download it to the USB and only play it on the console its registered to? Because if thats the case that fine with me. I wont be takin it with me to play on other consoles anyway since idk and other person getting one.
@Assassin87 that is certainly the way it reads to me.
I AM VERY MAD VERY MAD RIGHT NOW WHAT IS NINTENDO DOING?
@Mikau94 IS IT TRUE?
Thnxs @BJQ1972 and @SanderEvers i read that link also and that was helpful. But in that case, i really dnt see that being an issue. That also prevents people getting the game with out buying. This is exactly what i though since the very beginning. Besides, if i dont get more space ill just download the games that are only available to download. Also, if anyone remember the way Wii downloaded games they used a block system so this might also contribute to the storage sizes of the Wii U. Although I wish we knew which download system they would do, GB or Blocks!
@Joshers744 The midnight launch at gamestop depends on the store and how many pre-orders they get. Fortunately, my store got enough to have a midnight launch.
CAN I PLAY GAMES OFF MY USB EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE ON MY WII U?
@MYCO seems that way, you just cant put it on someone else system. Btw, I think your caps is on!
Maaan .. You have got to be kidding me .. What the hell are they doing ? How the hell can you promote digital download and and and ... I just don't f'ing get it .. :s
OFFICIAL CONFIRMATION PLEAAAASEEEEEE !!!!!
Then I'm not buying many downloadable games. I'm not going through DSiware again. I don't think they get the concept of external storage.
OK guys, just chill. The only actual source mentioned in the article on ONM this post refers to is the Official Nintendo Japan website. They link to it. Go there using a little search engine called "Google" (Google it) and select "Translate". This is what you get lifted directly from that page regarding the storage (NOTHING ELSE IS MENTIONED REGARDING PLAYING OFF THE USB DRIVE OR THE NEED TO MOVE DATA TO INTERNAL STORAGE, IT JUST MENTIONS THAT YOU HAVE THE OPTION TO MOVE DATA BACK AND FORTH (as opposed to Copy) THAT IS ALL THAT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED! onm pulled the rest of that info out of their ass because they didn't cite any other credible source that confirms otherwise:
(Directly from Google Translate Nintendo Japan page)
Are you able to connect the storage media USB, to extend the storage memory body?
Use the storage media USB, you can expand the memory storage unit. SD card is not available as a recording media to extend the main storage memory. Will be announced at a later date our website for more information about USB storage media have been tested.
Are you able to copy or move between storage memory and USB storage media body?
I can not copy can be moved. For details, refer to the "Data Management" in "System Settings" Wii U menu.
From further reading of the comments, it sounds bogus.
Heres another point: Would Reggie actually lie about this? No. Tada!
I still would like a confirmation though.
Bleh, i dont like this.
Just sit down and think about this. The Basic Set is 8GB internal storage. Let's call that closer to 6.5GB of available space after you back out OS, system reserve, and admin.
The Tekken example of 16GB aside, on average current XBOX games are frequently 6GB to 8GB minimum. There is no way Nintendo would release a system they make less money on to begin with (the 8GB) that doesn't even have the capacity to play ANY full retail download games EVER (from which they make all teh moneys on the backend). Because if you believe the nonsensical claim that all game data needs to be moved from your USB Flash Storage to your internal flash storage in order to play, you are by virtue of that logic claiming that the Wii U Basic is not capable of playing any digital game that exceeds roughly 6.5GB.
Think about how ridiculous and irresponsible a reporting claim that is. How would ANY 3rd party developer agree to produce content that only half the population of Wii U owners would ever have access to?
Just use common sense guys.
even if this is the case I'm sure it will be upgraded in the future, remember like the wii and the sd cards?
@SwimyGreen
Don't Worry Both Those Games Are Nowhere Near 8gb. One Is The Size Of A Glorified DS Game And The Other Is Wii Size.
Could it be that all this will be resolved on the 18th with the new firmware update? I guess someone with a review copy of the WiiU is talking to much?
Well I am glad that the Wii U has the ability to read up to 3tb of external data.
@ei8htbit
"There is no way Nintendo would release a system they make less money on to begin with (the 8GB) that doesn't even have the capacity to play ANY full retail download games EVER"
The Nintendo 3DS.
/Argument
@Molotov touche.
Welp, at least they gave us USB3.0 capab-WHAT?! not even that?!
Time to flip over some tea tables and cancel pre-orders!!!!
So the only reason the SD card drive exists on the Wii U is for data transfer from Wii? Could you use it for Wii Shop software in Wii mode, or is it just a useless hole in your Wii U once you've done a system transfer?
If true, it is idiotic. Sadly, it sounds like something nintendo would do. Pricing retail and digital similarly is the same idiocy, so great games and idiotic media stances? Yep, sounds perfectly nintendo.
Okay the tea table has been delicately re-positioned and the pre-order is still intact.
Does anyone have a banana I can stare at until this gets resolved definitively?
@SilentHunter382
Well Sheesh Thats Comforting.... Oh Wait, Its Not.
"Well I am glad that the Wii U has the ability to" Make Video Calls And Record Voices On Its Controller. Oh Wait, It Doesn't Apply That Function On The Two Most Important Features, Game Voice Chat And 3rd Party Video call Applications.
@ei8htbit while I do agree that having no 3.0 usb is weird. I think it is cheaper in the long run for majority of people.
@SilentHunter382
Oh I completely agree, I know why they stuck with USB 2.0 from a cost perspective (especially if they are already selling the hardware at a loss according to reports) but I also fear that perhaps it is potentially the data transfer limitations of USB 2.0 that necessitates moving all content to the internal hdd in order to play (although I'm not a tech expert who knows enough to say that Blu-Ray disc reading data transfer is just as fast if not slower than USB 2.0 HDD data transfer which would quickly negate that claim)
I know you can run 3DS games off the SD card, but 3DS games also aren't buffering 1080p textures and millions of polygons into it's 128MB of RAM, whereas the WiiU has 2GB available RAM (split CPU/GPU) which requires a whole lot more pushing of data to keep the stream a flowin...
I doubt Nintendo is foolish enough to limit storage that badly. Even if the Wii U doesn't have enough memory they probably assume anyone serious about buying digital will use external storage. I have a feeling @ei8htbit's post(#52) is correct, that the usb storage just expands the existing memory. So say, 32gb+500gb external hard drive=532gb and either reads as one big drive or similar to moving files to usb devices on a pc.
@erv Sony is just as bad if not worse.
IIRC Nintendo has already said you CAN play games straight from any USB drives, i think it was during the E3 launch
@Assassin87 SO IS IT A YES OR A NO?
If true, you've got Homebrew and the resulting Pirates to thank. Besides, a Boxed copy is actually resellable unlike the downloads - Be lucky Nintendo didn't go the PS/XBOX route and limit the physical products to one console only.
@ei8htbit
If the others can have games run off externals then Wii U should, too. USB 2.0 is not a limiting factor for playing games off externals at all. 3.0 would've been nice, but it's not necessary.
@Koto
OK cool, I've only pulled over game saves from USB on my XBOX 360 and PS3 as opposed to running full games directly off of them so I wasn't sure..
Sigh. I swear every time Nintendo does something right, they do something wrong. What is the point of having the 8gb system if it can't even play some of the retail games? I'm going to wait until Nintendo actually makes a 250 gb Wii U before I buy one. This is just ridiculous.
OUTTAKE FROM THE NINTENDO DIRECT VIDEO CHAT BETWEEN REGGIE AND SATORU
IWATA: "Do you think anyone will notice or care that they have to transfer all content from USB storage over to Internal storage in order to actually use it?
REGGIE: "....and I love Wii U also, let's make good launch. I'm in Redmond!!"
IWATA: "No, I said regarding the USB--"
REGGIE: "My USB is Ready" draws heart on screen
IWATA: "Okay I'm glad this is resolved (LAUGHS)"
(MORE LAUGHTER)
REGGIE: "Okay, I'm coming down the hall now let's grab some curry and hit up one of them crazy maid cafes or hostess bars I hear are all the rage over here".
...They better do a firmware update then. >_>
I doubt this will happen to me, but yeah...
It seems unlikely that this is correct, wouldnt it require a two tier eshop, as any downloads over a certain size would be unavailable to those with the cheaper Wii U? Seems like that would have been mentioned before, if it was the case. Interested to find out!
This shouldn't be a problem for me, because I never buy retail download games. I only download virtual console and some wiiware
I'm taking this with a grain of salt until someone with a Wii U in their hands can confirm or deny it (or, Nintendo themselves come out and say it, which is unlikely).
@MYCO You can download them to your USB drive, yes! But I was stating you cant play them on any other console if you tried to move the USB from one console to another. But this is all a rumor!
Well...I've decided to start looking up these devices you guys call..."HDD"s. I also suppose I won't be downloading any retail games...since I have the Basic Bundle.
the link BJQ1972 gave is more reliable I think (http://nintendoeverything.com/104950/nintendos-full-wii-u-qa-translated/)
and the article just disappeared on ONM, I think they made a mistake.
here's nintendo everything transcript of the japanese faq:
"How many titles can the Premium and Basic Sets store in their internal storage memory?
The size of software titles will vary, so it’s difficult to give a concrete answer. Please refer to the software size in the Nintendo eShop before purchasing. If there is insufficient internal storage memory, an external USB storage device can be connected to expand upon the internal storage memory. SD cards cannot be used to expand upon the internal storage memory. Details on USB devices confirmed to work will be posted in the following days."
it's pretty clear
This is actually one of the stupidest things I have read about the console. Im very disappointed but did I really expect anything different from Nintendo? not really
In a time where we live with external hard drives this is truly unacceptable
@Assassin87 OK IF I DOWNLOAD THEY TO THE USB DRIVE CAN I PLAY THE GAME IN MY WII U?
So ONM has now pulled the article. I don't wish to complain about the standards of journalism in the UK but it took me two minutes to find the page on Nintendo's Japanese website and translate it via Google, and then another 30 second search and I found a full, proper translation on another website. It's not rocket science.
I don't like this.
So the official Nintendo magazine is unreliable?
What the ...? Is this a joke? This is so damn bad that I actually am considering postponing getting a Wii U at this point.
I see no reason to have to transfer one 16gig game over to my external hard drive, delete then transfer another to the Wii U storage.
Fix this crap Nintendo. Fix. It. Now.
Rayword, I agree. What is the point of downloading a game onto two devices? This is extremely hurr durr, if the point of putting something on an EHD is because of lack of space, you shouldn't have to keep the game on the lack of space device.
this refers to SD cards and not external hard drives....other websites have the correct translation. Nintendolife should really update the article
Not using SD cards are fine, but not being allowed to use USB STICKS for data? That can't be right, as TTT2 would be unplayable on basic.
Hopefully this is just a mistranslation because it would be absolutely ridiculous if you can't play Wii U games from the USB stick and had to shift games around to play games stored on a USB stick.
Well, ONM took down the page, that should say something about it's credibility.
I will be getting the wii u at launch with assassins creed 3 and for Christmas after glow headset zombie u and 500 Gb or 1tb hard drive
I don't accept that you cannot play games directly from the USB external hard drives. Even the SD card bit seems a little weird, though I'd accept it. I believe this to be some form of mis-communication or poor translation.
Silly, Official Nintendo Magazine.
@ChunkyDroid How many titles can the Premium and Basic Sets store in their internal storage memory?
The size of software titles will vary, so it’s difficult to give a concrete answer. Please refer to the software size in the Nintendo eShop before purchasing. If there is insufficient internal storage memory, an external USB storage device can be connected to expand upon the internal storage memory. SD cards cannot be used to expand upon the internal storage memory. Details on USB devices confirmed to work will be posted in the following days.
Of course they will add external HDD support, maybe not at launch but VERY VERY soon. come on people Nintendo are not idiots...
Wow im soo glad they misinterpeted the info cuzzz i was about to have TANTRUM!! lol jk but i still hope we are able to play the games direct from usb
@TornadoX7 I think we have to accept that only Wii U retail and Wii U Downloadable games will play form a Hard drive. Everything else have to be played from either Internal drive or SD, But thats ok, considering the Pirate Issues
I'm fine with that, what do you guys think?
I'm so glad it was misinterpereted! That would be a very dumb move by Ninty..
Another way to look at this is that when the time comes that a game comes out that requires the space of a dual-layer Bluray disc, would anyone really believe that it won't ever be a downloadable game (because the capacity of up to 50GB wouldn't even fit in the Deluxe version)?
@Discostew Jepp, another great train of a thought
@DrKarl thats my problem as well. i really think the translation is wrong here since the original webpage was in japanese. it makes no sense to release a console that wont be able to play a good number of retail downloads (like Tekken), but can have USB storage added on.
I want a Nintendo Direct for North America to clear this stuff up before launch, then I will feel better.
#FireReggie
@Nintendokim If this turns out too be the case, thats fine with me as well. In fact, that was my plan all along.my 32gb sd card on my Wii was going to store all my WiiWare and VC titles when I move to Wii U. The external hd is for retail and eShop diwnloads.
Make it so, Nintendo.
#FireReggie
I certainly hope that the translation wasn't spot on. It would be a pain to not be able to play a game directly off of the USB.
I can't believe that this was even reported, or that people are taking it seriously
@SteveW I don't think it's about capability. I think it's about making sure that privacy's more difficult on the Wii U, If the Wii U is playing games directly from a USB port, out of the box, it'll only be easier for the pirating geniuses running non-purchased games from USBs in no time.
Is it just me or is the Wii U turning out to be a P.O.S.? Either way I will wait until they sell the console with a better deal before purchasing. Can't even play VC games on the gamepad... Booooo. What is Nintendo thinking?
@theberrage The Wii was a terrible piece of hardware as well (from a typical gamer's perspective), but it still had great games. We just have to hope that the same thing happens with Wii U
I hope that isn't the case, I mean I understood the Wii requiring the games to be transferred back to the system given it wasn't a feature built into the console. But given the OS is most likely a lot more complex on the Wii U I expected you'd be able to play directly off a USB Harddrive without the need to transfer back to the console. If the discs on the Wii U are 22MBps transferring, then a Harddrive should be able to keep up, most of them I've used do 30MBps ish depending on the quality of the drive on USB 2 ports. Its going to be a real pain transferring a game like Tekken Tag Tournament 2 at 16GB back to the console each time you want to play it (if it works like the Wii and deletes the temporary data each time you change titles)
@Ideal_Hero The translation was spot on. What ONM did was read something that quite clearly says one thing, and interpret it as something completely different.
I will never be sold on downloadable games because there is no resale factor. I can't resale a digital copy, especially for usb stick that can only be formatted for one system. This just means I will never switch to downloads with the current system.
Well if the SD card is solely for backwards-compatibility with Wii (some titles could access music or DLC there) then that makes sense, but disappointing that that's all it's good for. Guess I'll be getting an external drive then!
Doesn't help NoE or NoA haven't actually give us official information on this very important feature. What is the dang truth of it? Typical Nintendo!
how about stop being lazy and going buy a physical copy of TTT2 and other such retail games. derp
Thanks for update. XD
People, people, they say it was a misunderstanding. Let's just wait until an official communicate from Nintendo.
If the above article is going to prove true then that will completely KILL the WiiU system for many and well as the download segment on the system would prove to much effort for people to bother.
I didn't comment the original piece of news because it was entirely based on speculation. And now I see this update that says this information could be totally wrong! But you got 120 comments, Nintendo Life. Problem is when people get tired of not confirmed pieces of news.
@Sun
Well, if you don't like the way Nintendo Life reports, then you don't have to read their articles. Also, it sounds like the blame lies with ONM, as it was the one who misread the original post. NL was just reporting what it thought to be important information.
@True_Hero, don't manipulate, if you don't like my comment just ignore it. I like things well done and I will always criticize things bad done as this one. I don't care ONM said it before, most of the information on the Net is inaccurate (and rubbish), that's why I don't visit them all.
@Sun
I was not trying to manipulate anything. I was simply stating my opinion on the matter. Also, if you didn't like this article, then you should have ignored it, following your logic.
@True_Hero. No, I comment whether I like the article or not. Sorry if that doesn't please you, or you are not able to understand constructive criticism. I am not changing myself to suit you.
@BJQ1972 Thanks. I must have misunderstood what the update was saying.
@Sun "I'm not changing myself to suit you."
Isn't that what you're asking NL writers to do with your constructive criticism? How come it's wrong when I give you constructive criticism, then?
@NL Be sure to give us all an update when you have all the details!
if nintendo lets us play games directly from an external usb hard drive, I WILL be getting a terrabyte hard drive asap
@Marioman64 I believe that I would have to do the same thing.
Why does the WiiU have a SD card slot at all if everything is stored on USB?
Still not sure if I want to transfer from Wii to WiiU.
Will I lose my Rock Band songs?
What about the 100 games I have on my SD card, do I have to download them again one by one?
What about Bomberman (WiiWare) and TG-16 games that supported GCN controllers to play 5 or even 8 people. Do they all become 4 player games?
I'm glad I'll not be getting a WiiU until Christmas. It should give some time to figure out this mess.
@Sean_Aaron I've come to the same conclusion that the SD card slot is purely for the Wii backwards compatibility. I was hoping that I would be getting a new fridge - to use Nintendo's old analogy, but it looks like I will be having to make do with the old one.
What I suspect will be possible is that if you plug the SD card into a USB reader then it will work as extra storage for the WiiU - unless the WiiU tests the write speeds of USB drives before allowing them to be used.
No, this can't be right. Not able to use SD as storage for eShop titles? Ridiculous!
It may be that playing straight from external hard drive is not available out of the box, but it's such an important feature that a future update should add it!
That would be silly. First of all it's dumb to only allow space for 1 or 2 retail games on internal storage and secondly you would always need to keep that space open yet you will be filling it with Virtual Console titles and such too.
Compatiability and direct play is the safest bet. HOWEVER are they going to force us to keep non-Wii U titles on the piddling system memory for no damn good reason.
I'm looking at you DSware titles. That arrangement was grossly out of touch when it was new.
@Rect_Pola it looks very much to me like that will be the case. The SD card menu option is still there on the Wii mode that you must switch to to play WiiWare and Wii VC. Whether the Wii u will still only allocate around 2200 'blocks' of the internal memory for the Wii mode, and the SD card menu is still restricted to 240 slots is unknown, but I think highly likely.
@cyrus: I think you're fine. With this reveal that the SD slot can't be used for Wii U storage it appears that it's there solely for Wii titles like Rock Band that use it for extra storage for DLC.
The idea of using a card reader via USB to use SD external storage is a good one. I happen to have an external USB card reader, so I'll try that out.
I do find it a bit strange that the internal SD drive would be excluded for Wii U software like this unless it's using a separate controller with throughput that's too poor for streaming HD content? Of course it's hard for me to imagine that USB 2 (I'd be surprised if it was anything faster) is going to be that much better. The only other thing that occurs is if the Wii U internals put the SD card controller on a daughterboard with the rest of the old Wii hardware so it's simply not available to Wii U software. Of course if that's true then why are USB ports and optical drive shared?
Is it any different functionally from having GameCube media slots in the Wii that weren't used to store game save data by Wii games? Just don't know enough about the internals of this kit to answer these questions.
@SpaceKappa well, think. its one thing for a wiiware game that takes up only a tiny amount of space to be moved temporarily on to the system. its another for an almost-17 GB game. where would it be moved to, temporarily or not?
and, yes, i know that this is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of date.
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