Every Nintendo fan loves hearing about download sizes for major Wii U and 3DS titles — mainly due to the fact that whenever a new game is released you usually have to decide which title you've going to expunge from your console's internal memory because you still haven't gotten around to buying a bigger SD card (in the case of the 3DS) or purchasing an external hard drive (in the case of the Wii U).
With the release of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD getting ever closer, it's that time again. We can report that Nintendo's high definition remaster will take up 1792MB of space on your Wii U — that's the size of the European version of the game, so the figure may vary depending on what part of the world you happen to find yourself in.
If that seems like too much data then you've got ample opportunity to order that additional memory before the game launches in October.
Comments 73
Am I the only one wary when its that low? That being said pikmin was only 3 gb and thats a huge and stunning game
It's about 2.5GB over here in America.
That's not too big! I consider downloading this one, does the game also come early on the EU eshop like in NA?
@Marshi Given that the original was only around 1GB in size, it's quite a big jump up.
2.5GB... That is impressive the amount of content and awesomeness Nintendo can achieve with low gigage
Why is the american game 700 mb more than eu version?!
Just pre-ordered the limited edition console. Can somebody tell me if the 32gb on the console is actually 32gb or not. My iPod touch says 32gb but it only has about 28. It's seriously not a big deal, but if somebody could tell me that would be awesome.
@Giggity55 I believe it's like 29.5 available.
That's a tiny file size. Admittedly the original fit on a 1.5gb GameCube disc, I find it hard to believe that transferring that whole game into HD only adds 200mb??
Is this a mis-print and actually it's 17gb? Or have I missed something?
@Giggity55 I know you said Deluxe, but I feel like pointing out that the Basic 8GB only has 3GB after all updates. I think that Deluxe is closer to 27GB.
Any of you guys know if the Wii U supports SDXC cards up to 64/128Gb?
wouldn't have been simpler to say its 1.75GB of space instead of the MB #.
@MadAussieBloke
Well that's mostly due to it being an older game. I wouldn't be surprised to see X or a proper Zelda U hit up a bigger file size.
If the US version is less than 2GB, I think I will download it. Wouldn't hurt to have it two weeks in advance either.
@Knuckles thanks, nice to know that I made some sense with that question.
@Sony_70 Yeah of course X will be like Lego City size, possibly 25GB or more... But 2GB for Wind Waker is bloody good
I am not downloading this at all. My internet service data won't allow it AT ALL. So, I'll buy physical.
@Sony_70 That's how it's listed on the Wii U itself.
@MadAussieBloke Well back in the Gamecube age they were forced to code pretty efficiently due to the restricted size of the discs. Also, they generally seem pretty good at keeping their file sizes relatively low.
i have 1 terra HD's for each of my Wii U's so downloading is not an issue
When you consider there are alot of eShop indie games that are bigger file sizes and aren't packed with content, also rather short... Nope! Wind Waker HD at 2GB is bloody awesome
That's really tiny. I don't know exactly what they did with the game, but I guess lo-poly geometry and simple colour palette has something to do with it being just 1,7GB. Still, on promotional videos, visually it's a 1080p stunner. I can't imagine this game looking better while still remaining faithful to the original art style.
Why is it 700MB smaller than the Japanese version?
@DESS-M-8 Gamecube discs were 1.5GB but the actual data was usually a much smaller amount. I'd be surprised if the original Wind Waker was any larger than 500MB.
I can use an SD Card on my Wii U? To expand the internal memory?
That's a pretty small size, especially considering that some games can go up to ~20 GB today. It's definitely a testament to how Nintendo crammed their games with content.
O Diogo e paneleiro
@datamonkey @Richink I'm not sure which SD cards Wii U supports, but in any case you can't use SD cards to store Wii U games! You need an USB device!
I can't wait to play it again.
I just wish it was cheaper!
Awesome! Just means I'll download it that much faster if it's the cheapest + quickest option when the release date comes around
@datamonkey Remeber to expand the internal memory you need a hard drive. Not an SD card.
Didn't this already get reported...?
Physical copy for me please !
It's Smaller Than trine 2? Woah
@Marshi It's not surprising. It's an old GameCube game. May have only weighed less than 1 GB back in its day. Adding newer shaders, updating graphics and changing some gameplay elements, that's not a MAJOR update. There's no voiceovers, nor anything that would require an immense amount of space.
@Nintenjoe64 It was 1.08 GB.
Small size, a bunch of eShop credit sitting on my system, 10% back on digital purchases, earlier release...
Yup. Probably going digital on this one.
I want to go digital this time... But I'm pre-ordering my copy with the Ganondorf figure so I have to make a sacrifice and wait two more weeks!
@Marshi Obviously, Nintendo uses S3TC to compress textures, something that most devs don't seem to understand.
To help those who are asking about SD cards, would they be able to use a SD card with a USB adapter or card reader?
@Richink The SD card is only for the Wii mode of the system for storing Wiiware and VC games and for transferring data from a Wii system to a Wii U.
@jcags - Buy the DL, buy the package, sell the game from the package, keep the Ganandorf figure.
It's a very cartoony game. so not alot in the graphics dept. And not a whole lot of voice acting and music. It's still an impressive feat. The Puppeteer (PS3 PSN 2D side-scroling platformer)) was about 5.8GB for the DEMO. (Though it's possible that demo size is the same for the whole game.)
No dent in my 1.5tb external
@MonocledMetroid d'oh, some of them are shockingly tiny
I have a giant gorilla on my back called Lego City Undercover. With a whopping 18GB that stuffed my Wii U. I do hope in the future that Nintendo eventually puts the amount of space needed for download and install. After buying the game on a impulse decision, I didn't expect the punishment of the wait that I had to endure for the game to download and install on my system, being a early adopter, the servers that Nintendo have for the eShop were ill prepared for downloads that large.
Having a 50Mb Internet connection, Nintendo's servers took nearly an entire day to download the game data and about an hour to install. LCU does load at a quick pace but at the price of a major hit to the internal memory of my console. I still love the game mind you, but had I known the size, I would have bought retail.
The reason Wind Waker is such a small file size is because of Cel-Shading Technology, it doesn't use bit-mapping so theoretically you can make this game any resolution size with the same size game. The reason it may be a little bigger then the original is lighting and shading, weather effects and a little bit more functionality.
ROFLMAO, I have no idea why I thought the headline was talking about a game named Space Zelda: The Wind Waker. LOL IMAGINE THIS.
@Giggity55 After the system update, you could have anywhere from 25-30 GB. The update is huge.
@Marshi It's a game that originally was 1.1GB, so it's acceptable.
You know, Nintendo is well known to make a good use of their codes, they can have Xenoblade Chronicles made in 9GB, considering how many assets they are, a game like that on PS3 would be at minimum 50GB i reckon.
That's pretty small for a 1080p game!
@hwrose379 i thought all systems after a period wouldnt require the day1 update we had. So even if u get the zelda bundle u still have to download and install the OS?
Seems very reasonable.
Just waiting for my 2 TB Western Digital to arrive, then I'll shoehorn this bad boy into it!
@ungibbed
But that downloading time must have been very exciting. And then fiiinally being able to play that nice game..-
But theoretically it would be possible for you to erase the game, install other stuff and download it any time again from the shop when you like. But is it possible to keep your saved-files somewhere? ..anyway having a 1-2TB-HD is probably best, cheapest and most comfortable solution.
@rjejr
PS3 demos are generally the same size as the full game, and simply download an unlock code to unlock it to the complete game if you purchase.
The largest PS3 game I've seen is around 32GB, though that's only if you download about a dozen optional language voice packs, and I assume most people aren't planning to play through the game in every language... and wouldn't actually download that much.
Aside from that I believe 19.5GB is the biggest for a single game. The vast majority end up between 5-8GB. Anything over about 10GB is pretty massive for a PS3 game, you seldom see games that large though there are some obviously.
FWIW, 25GB is the single layer BluRay disc limit, 50GB for dual layer disc. So I'd assume 50GB is the fixed limit they allow.
I have the Basic model, so i'm gonna' need some space. I got an external hard drive but it needs some sort of "Y cable" or something to work... I think im gonna buy it from the store anyway, then i can get that Ganondorf Statue! XD
@3Daniel Yes. The OS has to take up some of the storage space. Even if it comes preinstalled in the future, it will still take up space on the hard-drive. For example, my 8GB iPod Touch really only has about 6.5GB of storage because 2.5GB of the storage space is taken up my the OS.
@mch I will eventually get a external HDD for my Wii U but wish Nintendo would have gone the extra mile for USB 3.0 for much faster data transfer speeds. What would be ideal is a external shell that fits the profile of the Wii U that stacks upon it possibly adding additional cooling underneath the system if sitting horizontally. Something that matches the look of the system and not out of place.
For now, I have a temporary solution with a 4GB MicroDrive that is in a Compact Flash format (same cards my DSLR uses) and it gets the job done for now with a USB adapter. The drives are durable enough and easy to find much larger ones as they are the same used in the iPod classic.
Still, I feel like getting a physical copy of the LoZ: WW HD and eventually a physical copy of Lego City Undercover if I can get it at a reasonable price. This is the first time I've ever stuffed a console to near limits aside from the original Wii which I had to juggle Virtual Console games until Nintendo allowed play from SDHC memory cards. Now with my virtual console library and photos that I show often, I've barely made a dent in the 32GB SD card for my classic Wii which I refuse to part with. Mainly since I have one of the black consoles that still has GameCube backward compatibility. So I have three Nintendo systems hooked up at the moment along with my PS3
Wii classic (all black Wiimotes and accessories) plus my black GameCube controllers and memory cards.
Wii U Deluxe (nuff said)
N64 (my personal favorite "retro" game system). All of which games I have that are not available on the Virtual Console service and likely never will be. Bad Fur Day being one such title that's not only brilliant, but highly sought after for collectors and gamers alike since emulators can't reproduce some of the effects Rare managed to get out of the 64 bit beast.
I love my games and systems. Always proud to have them just a click away from some great fun!
@hwrose379 lol i know that. Im asking if ppl will still require the day1 update that i had. I already own wii u since launch.
@3Daniel Ah, I see. Well, my friend did just buy a Wii U...he hasn't set it up yet but once he does I'll have to ask him if he had to update it.
@Rand the one PS3 game that I've yet to see any digital release is MGS 4 which is a dual layer BD and Gran Turismo 5. The one oddity is the nice warning that is place on the PSN Store if you want a digital copy of 'The Last of Us' which upon purchase, downloads a installer and then nearly 23GB (IIRC).
Being a game from Naughty Dog though. A large amount of that data is all textures, sounds, and one of the best PS3 games of all time. Of what I'm rather surprised though. Why is there no digital release for many other PS3 games since the HDD on the PS3 is so easily upgraded. 750GB in mine and not a dent in it after so many PSN games purchased and Vita backups.
Back to looking at the Wii U, I really do hope if/when the system does pick up momentum, a redesign of the system to accommodate a 2.5" HDD would eliminate any woes or second thoughts of digital downloads.
I went nuts with the classic Wii after SD support. Over $600 invested in virtual console games alone as a am a huge fan of the 8 and 16 bit era and the multiple systems emulated perfectly on a console so tiny. I loved having so much gaming options in such a small package and the reason I never migrated to my new Wii U is that my old Wii still has GameCube compatibility and F-Zero GX alone is one reason for keeping it around.
Am I reading that right? 1.7GB? Are the Japanese wizards or something?
gotta love nintendo compression, you guys know the gamecube wind waker was 6gb uncompressed? and this is hd? awesome
2.5GB for short! XD
I have to buy a bigger harddrive, Gamestop was selling a 1TB for Wii U, only $70
May get it for christmas
Hard copy; want to have it after Wii U dies.
@VolcanoFlames I plan on going physical with this one as well. The extra five dollars to buy a collectible Ganondorf with the game seemed like a no brainer.
Man Nintendo have always amazed me with how much they can cram in to a cartridge. Thier games are always so well compressed. Not that it matters... This is definitely a game I don't want to download. Hard Copy please!
I might actually download a WiiU game this time around since it hits the eshop 2 weeks before it hits stores! That'd give me time to finish it before the life sucker that is Pokemon X and Y consume me.
That is actually a bit lower than I expected the download size to be. Still, I definitely prefer to have boxed retail versions of all Legend of Zelda games, so that is what I'd go with unless I bought the Windwaker Wii U bundle.
Nintendo aims for smaller loading times, hence why their download sizes are much much smaller than other AAA games.
its amazing how gorgeous Pikmin 3 is and yet is 10% the size of other, worse looking games like TLOU.
@ungibbed
Very nice! Game on bro!
I've just got $25 more to pay on my preorder. Physical all the way.
Will it work to store WindWaker on a USB stick?
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