News

Nintendo agrees Wii storage is now a problem

You are here: blasteroids.com / news / nintendo agrees wii storage is now a problem /

Latest news | News archive | Search news

Not registered yet? Register here.

DVDBack23 @ Jul 25, 2008 16:39 | 24 comments

Nintendo has confirmed that it is "urgently seeking a solution" for the limited storage space available on the Wii console.

The company has faced growing criticism for the lack of space available for downloadable content including WiiWare titles and Virtual Console games and hopes to have a solution soon.

"We have said publicly that we're looking hard at the storage situation, that we’re working on a range of solutions. We have nothing to announce now. But certainly it's an issue we are aware of and we’re working to find a solution and we will," said Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime.

"From an Americas-centric perspective, here is the reality we see. We have a consumer base who loves virtual console. We have a userbase who really is enjoying WiiWare content. So for us really our challenge really is how do we satisfy all these consumers who are loving all of the product we make available on a download basis?”

"In our view this is becoming much more of a mainstream problem, which is why we have a sense of urgency to solve it," he added.

Nintendo has also been under fire since last month when European marketing director Laurent Fischer jokingly said only "geeks and otaku" need extra storage space on the Wii.

Previous Next

Comments

Comment by: Vr0cK (Jul 25, 2008 17:27)

Roughly how big are each VC games? those 16gb SD cards isnt enough? thats only like 4gb less than an Xbox360 Pro. And there's also 32gb SD cards.

Comment by: glassd (Jul 25, 2008 17:33)

Is there a way to connect external storage to it? I dont know anything about them. My family uses the PS3 and PS2 but my little girl wants a Wii.

Comment by: nintenut (Jul 25, 2008 17:48)

Originally posted by Vr0cK:
Roughly how big are each VC games? those 16gb SD cards isnt enough? thats only like 4gb less than an Xbox360 Pro. And there's also 32gb SD cards.

Depends which system we're talking about.

The Wii doesn't support SDHC cards, so only up to 2GB.

As well, you can't run a game from the SD card, you have to copy it to the Wii's internal memory. Know how much that bugger has? 512MB, Mo'fo.

Comment by: SProdigy (Jul 25, 2008 17:57)

Exactly, the SD card expansion is practically useless. They need to unlock it or the USB ports for external memory usage.

The big problem is this: the channels, especially the new Nintendo Channel, eats up at least 128mb by itself. Some of the other channels aren't so bad. It's laughable that there are 4 screens that can have channels filled, when you can barely get 1.5 full before running out of memory!

The VC games vary. Most N64 games are around 40mb by themselves. It really depends on the game, because Sin & Punishment, or Star Fox take up more space than Mario 64. Of course, the NES games don't take up much space at all.

Comment by: glassd (Jul 25, 2008 17:59)

Quote:
Originally posted by Vr0cK:
Roughly how big are each VC games? those 16gb SD cards isnt enough? thats only like 4gb less than an Xbox360 Pro. And there's also 32gb SD cards.
Depends which system we're talking about.

The Wii doesn't support SDHC cards, so only up to 2GB.

As well, you can't run a game from the SD card, you have to copy it to the Wii's internal memory. Know how much that bugger has? 512MB, Mo'fo.

That's crazy. Do they have an USB connection that a Jump Drive could be plugged into so that maybe a firmware update could allow access to it?

Never mind. was ansewered before I could post.

Comment by: blueroad (Jul 25, 2008 18:33)

hmm..this article helped me alot..now ill hold on buying a wii till they work this out..

Comment by: beanos66 (Jul 25, 2008 19:41)

new model the WiiII ?

Comment by: blueroad (Jul 25, 2008 19:55)

hmm i dont think theyll actually brand it the Wii2 just as sony didnt say about the slim PSP it is PSP2 but i do think theyll start making a new Wii with more storage..was pretty stupid they didnt think about it in the first place..

The BPI Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI.
The RIAA Soundexchange Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI.
The IFPI Are: The same anti consumer lot as listed above!
The MPAA Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, DISNEY, PARAMOUNT, FOX.

Comment by: Buga (Jul 25, 2008 20:38)

Originally posted by beanos66:
new model the WiiII ?

LOL. Na, more like WiiWii.

I have a few friends that have started running out of room.

Comment by: nintenut (Jul 25, 2008 23:20)

Quote:
Originally posted by beanos66:
new model the WiiII ?
LOL. Na, more like WiiWii.

I have a few friends that have started running out of room.

I already have.

Comment by: DoomLight (Jul 25, 2008 23:43)

this is just another example of minimalist nintendo now biting their own tongue cause they screwed up.

as if they thought 512megs was gonna amount to anything. jeeze!

that thing (wii) should came with at least 10 gigs of space. u can't even buy a computer with less than 2 gigs of memory whether it be RAM or Hard Disk Space. nintendo u truly failed!

another example of their minimalist go at things would be the low resolution DS

the Whole Wii to be honest. since its an overclocked game cube.

N64 for using cartridges in a CD world

the list can go on. but u get the idea.

funny tho. a compressed n64 game for a PC emulator is way smaller than 40megs. interesting. maybe Nintendo should do what Ubisoft did and use proven l33t skills to compress their data to fit on that itty bitty 512mb

Comment by: core2kid (Jul 26, 2008 01:19)

Nintendo was never into multimedia, just pure gaming. Kinda like how the online for GC never caught on. They never worried about additional storage so this is probably a shock to them, seeing how downloads and additional things besides just games people use their game systems for.

You could just hack the Wii and use DVDs and SDHC cards can't you?

Comment by: SProdigy (Jul 26, 2008 01:24)

Originally posted by DoomLight:
this is just another example of minimalist nintendo now biting their own tongue cause they screwed up.

as if they thought 512megs was gonna amount to anything. jeeze!

that thing (wii) should came with at least 10 gigs of space. u can't even buy a computer with less than 2 gigs of memory whether it be RAM or Hard Disk Space. nintendo u truly failed!

another example of their minimalist go at things would be the low resolution DS

the Whole Wii to be honest. since its an overclocked game cube.

N64 for using cartridges in a CD world

the list can go on. but u get the idea.

funny tho. a compressed n64 game for a PC emulator is way smaller than 40megs. interesting. maybe Nintendo should do what Ubisoft did and use proven l33t skills to compress their data to fit on that itty bitty 512mb

Ugh. If you don't like the Wii, then get off your soapbox!

Don't take what I said as gospel, but I decided to list some of the wad file sizes here. 47 files and almost 1 gb in size.

Sure, the Wii only has 512mb of memory, but let's not forget that 512mb was pretty standard for flash drives and digital camera cards around 2 years ago when the system was being built. (I would also challenge you to find a PC for $250 that had over 512mb of RAM in it when the Wii shipped... this is when DDR2 just launched and before the dark days of Vista, where all PC's need 2-3gb of memory now.)

They did take the proper precautions in allowing USB ports and an SD card reader, but they need to unlock it for the consumer to take full advantage of it!

Also, Wii owners need to realize that some of the channels save in two different locations, one being channels and the other game saves. This caused me a headache with the bloated Nintendo Channel before I ditched both massive save files!

BTW, didn't the "awesome" 360 ship with a 20gb drive, half full of useless demos and movies? Just checking! ;-)

30,097,152 1080 snowboarding
13,837,696 alien soldier
12,631,808 altered beast
13,332,480 bomberman '93
19,638,144 breath of fire 2
13,120,640 castlevania 2
14,373,952 comix zone
15,005,760 contra 3
19,351,616 cruisin usa 64
22,133,824 donkey kong country 2
17,819,840 donkey kong country 3
17,225,664 donkey kong country
11,992,064 donkey kong jr
12,052,672 donkey kong
12,966,720 gunstar heroes
15,455,872 harvest moon
12,049,536 ice climber
12,326,656 kid icarus
39,142,720 king of fighters 94
29,972,864 kirby 64
13,123,264 kirbys adventure
14,970,432 legend of the mystical ninja
25,598,912 mario kart 64
12,587,200 metroid
12,599,936 ninja gaiden 3
42,240,576 paper mario
47,116,544 pilot wings 64
30,380,480 pokemon snap
12,426,112 punchout
12,718,144 river city ransom
12,996,992 rtype
47,116,544 sin & punishment
27,119,936 starfox 64
16,012,416 street fighter 2 turbo
13,721,728 streets of rage 2
21,303,616 super mario 64
12,561,024 super mario bros 2
13,033,344 super mario bros 3
12,756,032 super mario bros lost levels
12,117,568 super mario bros
13,373,824 super mario world
17,879,232 super metroid
47,116,544 super smash bros brawl
30,000,192 the legend of zelda
22,202,688 wave race 64
12,691,456 zelda 2
46,966,144 zelda ocarina of time

Comment by: SProdigy (Jul 26, 2008 01:26)

Originally posted by core2kid:
You could just hack the Wii and use DVDs and SDHC cards can't you?

There is a homebrew DVD player out there, but not sure about SDHC...

Also forgot to support the previous comment by saying "Yes, N64 roms are smaller in size than the Wii downloads. However, I think the extra "room" is for good stuff, like DRM." LOL

Comment by: core2kid (Jul 26, 2008 02:01)

Quote:
Originally posted by core2kid:
You could just hack the Wii and use DVDs and SDHC cards can't you?
There is a homebrew DVD player out there, but not sure about SDHC...

Also forgot to support the previous comment by saying "Yes, N64 roms are smaller in size than the Wii downloads. However, I think the extra "room" is for good stuff, like DRM." LOL

I was actually talking about using DVDs as data storage.

Comment by: nintenut (Jul 26, 2008 03:14)

Not for anything but Homebrew apps...

Comment by: blueroad (Jul 26, 2008 15:20)

hmm... less than 2 months for my bday nd still im nowher near deciding which console im gonna buy :(

Comment by: core2kid (Jul 26, 2008 15:42)

Well:

The Wii is the most fun (from what I've heard) and the most innovative. If you like those types of games and like getting up and playing, its for you. Backwards compatibility is basically perfect with all the legacy slots. Not to mention, hackable with no consequences.

The 360 is the best for online currently and has the most games. Its mainly focused towards shooters though. It does have a high failure rate, but the system is covered under a 3 year warranty for that. It is hackable but with the consequence of getting your system banned from XBL. Backwards compatibility requires a hard drive and is pretty limited. If you like shooters and don't mind a fee for online, the 360 is for you.

The PS3 is the most powerful system with the most multimedia options. It has built in Blu-Ray and the biggest hard drive of any system. The online is free and it has built in wireless unlike the 360, where it is a $100 addon. The system is focused more on platformers and originals. Currently not hackable. Plays nicely with the PSP and has very good backwards compatibility. If you like playing older games and like platformers, the PS3 is for you. Not to mention that the 80GB MGS Bundle is one of the best deals currently.

I hope this helps.

BTW, I like the 360 and PS3. I'm not really a Wii person. I currently want to own a PS3 and 360 but got the PS3 first because more of the games I wanted to play are on that system. I like platformers/adventure games. I am also a multimedia person.

Comment by: core2kid (Jul 26, 2008 15:45)

Originally posted by glassd:
Is there a way to connect external storage to it? I dont know anything about them. My family uses the PS3 and PS2 but my little girl wants a Wii.

Just thought of this:
WIIDRIVE, Nintendo Storage!

Comment by: DXR88 (Jul 26, 2008 19:40)

Quote:
WIIDRIVE, Nintendo Storage!

Oh, thats copy right infringement, might hurt my sales of Wedrive

Comment by: core2kid (Jul 26, 2008 21:57)

Quote:
Quote:
WIIDRIVE, Nintendo Storage!
Oh, thats copy right infringement, might hurt my sales of Wedrive

Oh, I'm sorry. lol.

Comment by: forumLife (Jul 26, 2008 23:36)

to upgrade from the memory you would have to take it to a shop.(wont be cheap) unless you a real wiz with the "wii"
;)

before posting threads read the guides.
http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/

before posting read the general forum rules.
http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2487

post for real questions(not to get your rank up)

Comment by: hendrix04 (Jul 27, 2008 16:36)

Originally posted by forumLife:
to upgrade from the memory you would have to take it to a shop.(wont be cheap) unless you a real wiz with the "wii"
;)

haha, do you really think they would do an upgrade that would require EVERY wii owner to take their wii to a shop? That would be suicide. My guess is that they will release an addon hard drive that connects via USB.

Comment by: Mr-Movies (Jul 30, 2008 13:17)

Quote:
Originally posted by forumLife:
to upgrade from the memory you would have to take it to a shop.(wont be cheap) unless you a real wiz with the "wii"
;)
haha, do you really think they would do an upgrade that would require EVERY wii owner to take their wii to a shop? That would be suicide. My guess is that they will release an addon hard drive that connects via USB.

The USB doesn't recognize HDD's otherwise that would be the way to go and for the most part their USB interface is worthless.

They could modify their interface and make it compatible for removable devices but I think they are scared of piracy problems and homebrew issues. They would also have to modify the existing boxes which would be a nightmare but who know maybe they will bite the bullet.

People have complained about storage since day one but just like MS with Vista they knew better great management decision as usual these days.