Now that LEGO City Undercover is available for download in the North American eShop, IGN has completed a download and confirmed that it is a 22GB file that will squeeze onto a Wii U 32GB model with enough space. That confirms the suspicion that Nintendo's official website stating a hard-drive is required was, ultimately, there for caution and simply didn't elaborate enough on specific details.
Original Article
Since Nintendo outlined the included memory in its two Wii U SKUs, many rightly pointed out that the 8GB and 32GB available in each model wouldn't go far with current-day HD games. It was justified as a means of keeping the cost down, while it's simple for gamers to plug in an external hard drive and have all the space they need. That extra memory is a necessity if you like downloading games, but it seems that even if the upcoming LEGO City Undercover is your first dalliance with a retail download, a hard drive will probably be required.
It's been spotted around the web that the official website for the game has the following message under the 'pre-order' information - "An external hard drive is required to download this software. Visit support.nintendo.com for information about storage options." The reason for this may simply be that TT Fusion's open-world game is a bit of a beast, with Eurogamer reporting that the file size is apparently 22GB; considering the 32GB model only provides an actual 25GB of usable space when first booted up, the hard drive warning makes sense. Naturally, the Basic 8GB model isn't ideal for any retail downloads at all, with just 3GB of usable space.
If that file size is accurate, it also suggests that anyone downloading this title from the eShop could have a lengthy wait on their hands, though it's unclear whether the download will insist on having access to an external drive if, technically, the game could just about squeeze onto a practically empty Deluxe model. We're hoping for clarification and official word from Nintendo, and will update this article with any further information.
[source eurogamer.net]
Comments 67
No complaints, just go to the store and buy the game like we have been for years.
Big deal my 2TB Seagate HDD only set me back a whole $90 and will last me the life of the WiiU
Nah, I will go with the physical copy, especially since I can get a Chase McCain mini-figure wit that ^_^
And this is why I still buy retail whenever possible.
Shouldn't it be "we'll" instead of "will"?
But man, this game is huge! Never knew games got that big.
I though about buying this game digital due to thinking loading times will be shorter having it installed on flash memory...(and convenience of having all my games ready to go). So I might as well just get the disc with that awesome mini fig.
i got a 1TB Seagate portable hard-drive, which works just fine; cost me £63, so will come in useful for this or any other upcoming games i decide to d/l instead of retail. Drive has a black case and even a blue drive light so matches my U
Hmm. Guess U won't be going digital on this one.
Let's get physical, physical.... ♫
22 gig wow see i didnt even think the games would be so big maybe 10-15 gigs not over 20 to say the least. I dont own an extra external hard drive. I have the basic wii u too , guess its time to invest into another HDD specially if games going to be so big.
For retail games, I always get them physical. So this won't affect me, if I get this.
@BestBuck123
Could you ellaborate on this? Are you complaining about the need to purchase an external hard drive? I think the people who prefer digital copies would already have hard drives and others can still buy the hard copy.
Question to people who use an external hard drive with the console : can you launch games straight from the hard drive ? Do you have to go through a separate menu to do that ? Or do they appear directly on the main Wii U menu ?
Thanks
They launch from the HDD and the icons are on the main menu. The HDD turns off with the console and the games load quicker too
Just buy a physical copy....
Another good reason to buy physical... and how long it would take to be downloaded? 3 days?!?
@MadAussieBloke
Same here! Got the same hard drive for the same price and upgraded the internet download limit to 200GB so I'm all set for downloading Wii U games.
Can someone explain to me why they download Wii U games? They take ages to download; can impact on any cap that your ISP has, are at risk if you're Wii U breaks, cost you an extra hard drive, and even after the 10% discount you may have with the Nintendo Network Premium, still cost more than you can buy from a shop. Let alone taking into account you can't play the game on a friends machine, or if you wish to, sell it on once you've finished it.
Am I missing something that makes it better to download games?
Lol ......
@MrGawain Do you have a problem with the way I roll bro
@MrGawain: I have no download cap and a high-speed net connection (currently 18Mbps down; should go to 35Mbps when I re-up my contract next month). I don't like shuffling discs and I like having all my software in the menu.
I'm not feeling the risk because I have a Nintendo Network account my purchases are tied to and I live in a territory where Nintendo sells hardware locally and has a local service centre.
The only real downside is download times (I'm patient) and cost (RRP is worth the trade-off in convenience/space). I'm good really, but thanks for your concern.
I have a white Wii U with 2tb of external storage space. Knew I would fill the internal one up real quick and liked the white unit better anyway.
Let's hope that the huge caos with the new SimCity is teaching something about online gaming...
@MrGawain: it's an option. No one is forcing you to use it :3
Another reason for keeping it Disc-only on retail games for me. I might consider downloading some 3DS games if they're hard to find but not for the Wii U, that huge file would probably take a week to download in my house with constant surveillance to secure the internet is working correctly.
@theblackdragon @Sean_Aaron @MadAussieBloke
Not at all, just curious what makes it better to download than to buy a retail copy. I have no problem how people spend their money, just pointing out there are quite a few negatives to the whole process.
I feel so cocky with my $50 1TB external hd right now. Even more so when people complain about downloads. It like knowing a secret to everybody :3
even with the external hard drive it would still take 2 weeks to download lol
ANd this is why I prefer just buying a disc of the game when that option is available.
Got a 500GB hard drive hooked up to my Wii U and I don't mind waiting for the DL if it means I don't have to touch a disc. No problem here.
Also, if the installed size is 22GB, it's likely you still need a HDD even with an empty Deluxe model because the install files have to briefly live alongside the game files and there's not enough working room left after you remove 22GB of the Wii's 25GB of space. They also might be factoring in a reasonable amount of space for the save files, which will be put in the same location as the game files and if they're large enough could present a problem if multiple saves are used.
Still, I think Nintendo made it pretty clear when they launched the system that people wanting to take advantage of retail downloads would need to obtain an external drive. The whole entitlement issue that some people seem to have is silly to me. For $350 you got an HD console system, the world's most advanced controller, a fantastic collection of first-party games and a modest amount of internal storage suitable for storing several eShop games or many hundreds of virtual console titles. If you want more than that, having to shell $50-100 for supplemental memory is not that unreasonable of a request.
@oldaq The games have an icon on the main menu and you launch just like anything else.
I bought a 2TB hard drive a week before launch as a contingency. If the stores around me don't have the game yet or release it until tuesday when the release date is monday, then I will download it. I guess I'd get 5 bucks back anyway so I might just download it towards the digi deluxe promo:)
@MrGawain Depends on the game. mario U costs the same on the eShop as it does at GAME in the UK. I downloaded it as with the premium eshop bonus it worked out marginally cheaper to buy it on the eshop
I will never buy retail games digitally unless they are force to be digital like Unchain Blades. I will only download games that are smaller in form like Mighty Switch Force, Mutant Mudds, and many other WiiWare, VC, and indie-dev games.
Well that settles it. I'm certainly not downloading this.
Why would I download the game for $60 when: I can go to the store, use a coupon to get it for $50, play it, then trade it in for $25 store credit. Effectively meaning I only payed $25 for the game.
Good thing Nintendo decided to include an ethernet port for these huge DLs, would hate to DL that over Wi Fi. Oh wait...
It takes me about 10 minutes per GB on my wired PS3 - so that would be 3 1/2 hours at best. Considering how slow some of Nintendos small updates have been I'm guessing this is going to take awhile.
And for all of you with an external HDD, what happens when it bricks? You know it will probably happen to half of you eventually. Has anybody bought a game, DL it to an external drive, remove the drive and put on a new one, and try to re-DL the game again for free? Just wondering if purchases are locked to your Wii U or the external HDD.
Most people know the discs the WiiU use at the moment hold upto 25gb of data so its obvious that sooner or later if you plan on downloading disc based games your will be downloading games of the same size.
Nintendo has done the right thing With WiiU If you not into downloading games/dlc they don't force you to pay extra for storage you'll not need, but allows users who do want to download content/games to buy the amount of storage they do want.
I don't see any reason to moan about a game being a large download that almost guarantees you'll need to buy an external hdd when its available on disc and the systems discs are designed to hold the amount of data the download is...
Unless your just finding another un-reasonable reason to hate.
@GiftedGimp - Unless Nintendo decides to release something this big as DL only? I think there are a couple of large DL only games on the PS3. Agarest War and maybe Ken's Rage 2.
Got a 1 TB drive a day or two after I got my (Deluxe version) Wii U. Thanks, Amazon Warehouse Deals!
I've already preordered the limited edition with Chase McCain figurine for much cheaper than the digital download will be so its all good to me haha
Disc for me. Considering the SEGA Racing DEMO practically took all day to download, there's no telling how long it would take to download 22 gb on Wii U. (On my pc, I'd download that much in a fraction of time!)
@rjejr Agree, if Nintendo were to release as a first party title any bigger than 10gb as dl onlythen its wrong. (at the moment)
People who go and buy or brought the 8gb model I would assume to have the common sense of not wanting to dl games at all or have/will buy the 8gb model with the intention of buying a external HDD.
3rd party publushers who would choose to release larger file size games as Download only would be the responsibility of that publisher, but having said that I would assume Nintendo would advise against it.
Having said that when you sign up to Nintendo Network and you opt in to sending usage information to nintendo (and even 1st/3rd party games with said option) I would assume some of that information would be if your using a HDD or not, in which case Nintendo would be able to see what % of users are using a HDD or the Internal memory and it may be eventually only a minority only use the internal memory, and they rarely dl content, making the need of a HDD needed to purchase a dl only title a non-issue.
I believe most people who intend on dl games reguarly from the eStore either own or intend to buy a external HDD.
Ouch 22GB to download on the Wii U better leave it a whole day to download and then another half day to install. (it's ridiculous how slow the Wii U is)
@PinkSpider Something that size requiring a HDD the Install is much quicker as the internal memory has a much slower write speed than a external HDD.
Simple test if you have a HDD, copy a game from the HDD to Internal memory then copy it back there's a Massive difference.
The Slower Write speed also one factor that slows down the Download speed.
I will probably start downloading this game and then fall asleep.
Yeah,since the game looks a big as heck.Just imagine if Minecraft was on here and not a watered down version.
I would download this but my interenets so slow it'd take 3 days to download, id love to be able to download a game in 5 hours, just start it at midnight if its a midnight release and then its ready when you wake up, Soon im getting faster internet, but not till later this month
So what are you gonna do when that disc drive burns out... Also there are alot of games out/coming out that be eShop only so that means you miss out on some great stuff because of a fear of HDD's and waiting for something to download in the background or while you sleep
I'm downloading but i don't have an HDD. i looked some up, I'll get one eventually I just hope it's not necessary for the download. i have a deluxe and all my downloads are on a USB. so i have the space.
Even though I'm very impressived and a little doubtful that LAGO City takes up 22GB.
I mean I download games all the time on 360 and the biggiest game I downloaded was Fallout 3 AND THAT WAS ONLY 6 GB!! Any1 who knows F3 knows that game is huge and it's not made out of lagos either.
At the same time I really do wish Ninny had put in more GB in a NEXT-GEN console but it's not a big deal I guess.
The Wii U hard-drive isn't meant to store games. It's meant to store the OS and related Apps only.
@RetroGamerFan could you post the model number of your drive? Thats the one I've been looking for!
@NINTENBOY thats because the disc media is dvd, a max capacity of just under 8gb.
On some Ps3 only games the data files are much bigger due to being able to take advantage of the blu-rays storage capacity.
Its reasonable for any game thats not going to, or on Xbox360 to be bigger than the capacity limit dvd has.
@LDXD I think you mean disc drive mate If my HDD dies I can get another one and download the games again. If my system dies I just send it off to Nintendo for repair and they can sort it out... You can do the same too or just buy another system for $300 if you really want to waste heaps of cash
@LDXD I think what @MadAussieBloke is getting at is the most common console failures are down to the Media Disc Drives wearing out.
By downloading games your obviously not using the disc drive as much thus prolonging its lifespan.
Hopefully Nintendo will change from linking the drm rights to the console to your nintendo account at some point but by downloading to a HDD, you are as I say reducing the risk of a console failure. HDD's have a decent life span, but if it was to fail then you simply buy a new HDc and redownload the games as the drm link to the console will be un-affected.
Yeah most of the Xbox lifetime sales are peops just buying a new one when their console dies instead of dealing with the crappy Microsoft customer service and expensive repair bill
2TB Seagate Expansion USB 2.0/3.0 AU$90 probably even cheaper now
Since I don't have an external hard drive, I might as well go to the store and purchase that disc.
@LDXD Yeah the Seagate is AC powered mate.
@MadAussieBloke @LDXD Thats the one I got. Got the Link from Nintendo Website.
2, (Maybe 3) year manufacturer Warranty on it to, MUCH faster than internal memory too.
UK price from Amazon £57
i was going to buy at best buy anyways
@Lionsgate Yeah but you wouldn't have the game you paid for.
@oldaq They're right on the main menu. I've always bought disc but with the wii u, due to the 10% off wii u deluxe promotion, i've been downloading them. Now when I want to play a game I do have on disc, I find myself saying, ah man I gotta get up and put a disc in. It's quite handy having them all on the hard drive. No noticeable difference between reading off the hard drive compared to disc either.
People, if you want it: Just buy the physical copy!!
disc is cheaper and you have a proper copy,digital downloads are worth nothing try to swap game system with games on hard drive and you dont get a penny,also cost more look at wii u eshop prices are crazy 50 pounds for digital copy get real.and new titles will cost even more rip off shop it should be called.
@Radencker
Sorry for slow reply - It's a Seagate Expansion Portable Stbx1000201 (1TB). I should stress this does not appear on the list of compatible hard drives listed on Nintendo's website, although their list does include some Seagate drives. Nintendo only list desktop hard drives with external power supply...
EDIT: All going too well, playing last night from a demo (MH3) installed on HDD. On my second play session the WiI U no longer recognised the drive right in the middle of a a game. Will try a Y cable to see if that remedies the problem. Stick to the official reccoemended HD list and consider this model incompatiblle with Wii U, even though it does appear to work most of the time; most of the time is not really good enough as it is risking major problems and i don't want to make the Wii U more unstable...
If you only use the eShop for indie games and Purchase retail blockbusters as retail discs, then space won't be an issue.
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