USB storage coming to Wii? Not so fast ...
by Kyle Orland 
{ Apr 6th 2007 at 12:14PM }
Many sites (including our buddies at Engadget and Wii Fanboy) have used this announcement to speculate that Nintendo might be planning to announce USB mass storage support for the Wii in the near future. GamingTarget went so far as to say that USB storage on the Wii "looks like it will finally become a reality." Nintendojo hedged its bets a little more, saying, "It's not quite an official announcement of expanded storage possibilities for Wii just yet, but Nintendo now has the potential for such a statement."
The only problem is, the Wii has always had this functionality, and Nintendo has always had the potential to make such a statement. Check out this copyright notice found on the inside of the Wii's System Setup Operations Manual (from November, 2006):
"This product contains PrFile(r)2 FAT file system, PRmail client library and PrUSB/Host USB host stack of eSol Co. Ltd."
That's right ... this days old press release is announcing a feature that was already in the Wii nearly six months ago. ESol isn't announcing a new business deal or a new feature for the Wii -- it's simply trumping up an existing relationship in light of the Wii's recent success.
We've contacted Nintendo for an official comment but, based on the evidence, we don't think there's reason to believe Nintendo has changed its current position that this is something they "could" explore in the future.
[Update: Fixed broken Nintendojo link.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
x876543 @ Apr 6th 2007 12:24PM
I just want to be able to run VC or game saves off this USB storage, if I have to swap still, then it's useless. It should just be an extension of the current storage that's on the Wii.
Jeff @ Apr 6th 2007 12:42PM
Why can't nintendo and microsoft learn from sony and open up their system to 3rd party storage devices.
JodyAnthony @ Apr 6th 2007 12:55PM
that is a damn good question, jeff.
Steve @ Apr 6th 2007 1:03PM
SD Cards are 3rd party, aren't they? I just got my Wii a week ago, so I may not be up on everything, but it seems to me like a 2 GB SD card would satisfy my VC and save needs. A card reader adapter for my computer would satisfy my backup needs. What else do I need?!
waLLy @ Apr 6th 2007 1:06PM
nintendojo link is broken
brian @ Apr 6th 2007 1:07PM
That doesn't a HDD won't come. right??
Jack of No Trades @ Apr 6th 2007 1:08PM
"Why can't nintendo and microsoft learn from sony and open up their system to 3rd party storage devices."
Nintendo is cheap. The Wii is meant for casual gaming. It doesn't need all the cool stuff 360/PS3 has.
brian @ Apr 6th 2007 1:08PM
Sorry i meant:
That doesn't mean a HDD won't come.
Liqwid @ Apr 6th 2007 1:30PM
512mb built into the Wii, for all I can see, is all one would need. And if you need anymore just get a SD card, I do believe you can get one up to 8GB or so. I haven't needed anything more than a 1GB SD card, for playing my own music during Excite Truck.
Ken @ Apr 6th 2007 1:42PM
@ Liqwid
So you CAN play your own music while playing Excite Truck? Sweet. I've yet to play it, because I completely suck at racing games... But I'll give it a rent.
NintendoFanbot @ Apr 6th 2007 1:43PM
"Why can't nintendo and microsoft learn from sony and open up their system to 3rd party storage devices."
Because the Wii isn't a PC, whereas the PS3 is being marketed as such.
But I really wouldn't mind my Wii using some of my PC's HD.
whosmav @ Apr 6th 2007 1:48PM
So Jack do you just go around talking trash in all the wii comments? You are wack
Jack of No Trades @ Apr 6th 2007 1:58PM
"So Jack do you just go around talking trash in all the wii comments? You are wack"
Why can't I say anything negative on Nintendo? Does it upset you to hear the truth? What a bunch of crybabbies.
I have a PS3 that has nothing for games. I had to pay $600 then turn around to pay another $40 for a HDMI cable because the games look like shit with component cables.
Nintendo sucks in its own way too so stop crying when someone points out its flaws.
PS3/360 fanboys argue thier points.
Wii fanboys wine like babbies then yell ban.
Now I know what think of people own a Wii. (kids,women P.S. Don't tell my Sarah I said that. )
NintendoFanbot @ Apr 6th 2007 2:04PM
"Why can't I say anything negative on Nintendo? Does it upset you to hear the truth?"
The first sentence is true and understandable. The last sentence is plain and utterly false.
Striderhayasa @ Apr 6th 2007 2:24PM
I hope this doesn't double post but...you can't run games from SD card. Only certain games can be SAVED to SD card but a disturbing number of my VC games won't save to SD card either. So for all of you that think you can just save your VC games to a spiffy USB HDD and run them...thing again...or wait for a happy pirate to assist you. Otherwise, you'll still have to swap out VC games from the HDD to internal memory if you want to play them.
For those that thing 1GB is more than enough...get with the times. Once you start downloading more N64 games and Neo Geo games not to mention original VC titles along with the MP3s for custom soundtracks/photos and whatnot, that one GB isn't all gravy like you think it is. Wii is going to need a HDD eventually and Nintendo knows it.
Finn @ Apr 6th 2007 2:25PM
Nintendo sucks in its own way too so stop crying when someone points out its flaws.
but you point out everything as a flaw, so what's the point of posting about it at all?
back on topic :( this makes me a little sad, but I'll still hope for the best. I personally think that a bigger flash drive would have come on the wii, for demos and things. I think demos are one of the best ways to get your game played, and I think Nintendo is missing out a lot by not having them. Along with all the other things a hardrive would bring. That's something I would have payed an extra 20-30 for. I mean, it's an online always system, and they could (and will) have all sorts of cool channels. But I think 512 MB Might limit them in the long run
Finn @ Apr 6th 2007 2:27PM
i meant should have
C. Grant @ Apr 6th 2007 3:03PM
Jack of No Trades: fair warning. Hold off on the constant Nintendo trolling or risk banning. We welcome you to share your point of view, but crapping in every single Nintendo-related thread is pushing it.
Jack of No Trades @ Apr 6th 2007 3:13PM
C. Grant
"but crapping in every single Nintendo-related thread is pushing it."
Can it be in every other Nintendo thread?
Also, intelligent trolling can lead to a very fun time on Joystiq.
Ken @ Apr 6th 2007 3:27PM
Jack
You know as much as we do... That half the stuff you post isn't intelligent.
Must I go through the past threads and past the random stuff you've put in there?
Jack of No Trades @ Apr 6th 2007 3:30PM
OK Ken I will come it down.
Jack of No Trades @ Apr 6th 2007 3:31PM
Time to move on to my next prey. The PS3. I hate that damn thing. Don't know why I own one.
Ken @ Apr 6th 2007 3:33PM
Lol I really don't care what you do Jack. :P
Just hate to see you get banned.
Jack of No Trades @ Apr 6th 2007 3:36PM
Thanks. Me too. I don't want to set up a new email account and change name again so i could post. I will tone it down on Nintendo.
Aex @ Apr 6th 2007 3:39PM
"Nintendo is cheap. The Wii is meant for casual gaming. It doesn't need all the cool stuff 360/PS3 has." - Jack of No Trades
I really don't see what is wrong with that statement... Nintendo is being cheap... The Wii IS meant for casual gaming... AND it doesn't need all the cool stuff 360/PS3 has...
I mean, usually Jack of No trades makes absolutely no sense, but don't rip on him when he actually makes an accurate statement. I can see you disagreeing on the wording of "cheap", but in essence it is right, perhaps if he had said "frugal"
AssemblyLineHuman @ Apr 6th 2007 3:45PM
As much as I am annoyed by Jack of No Trades's constant negative spin on anything Nintendo, I think Nintendo's hesitation to add mass storage to the Wii in some form warrants a little bit of trolling. We're at a point where the whole world is coming together through the Internet. Sites like YouTube and MySpace and games like LittleBigPlanet are providing creative new avenues of interaction, but they are reliant on content. Content requires space. If Nintendo does not provide more storage capacity for the Wii, they are going to miss out on something big this generation.
Mr Khan @ Apr 6th 2007 4:11PM
Wii DOES use 3rd party storage devices
my SanDisk SD card tells me this
And yes, for now the 512 MB is enough for cartridge based games (max N64 storage is 64 MB), but if they want to expand to include Saturn, Sega CD, and Dreamcast, as well as open up a Demo service, they would need to include the option
My guess is that the meaning of this is just future proofing. Nintendo may not have immediate plans, but for the future, they'll HAVE a USB Mass Storage library at their disposal
Rubang B @ Apr 6th 2007 4:43PM
Right now there's a sale at Best Buy for 2 GB SD cards for $30. Then if you walk into the video games section, the Wii SD card is $40 for 1 GB. Mwahahaha.
Steve @ Apr 6th 2007 4:46PM
External storage will be irrelevant until Nintendo allows the Wii to read and load VC games from sources outside its internal memory. You can't even run a VC game from the SD card.
I'm not too annoyed by this because the Wii is probably perfectly capable of doing so with an update and once enough people exceed that 512MB internal limit the system will probably see a firmware update to support it.
Rubang B @ Apr 6th 2007 4:46PM
There's only 4 N64 games, right? I'm pretty sure that right now you can fit all 72 VC games on the 512 MB that's already there. They won't need anything external until the 70 MB Sam and Max episodes drop and one crazy has to download every VC game AND every Sam and Max episode.
Rubang B @ Apr 6th 2007 4:50PM
There's only 4 N64 games, right? I'm pretty sure that right now you can fit all 72 VC games on the 512 MB that's already there. They won't need anything external until the 70 MB Sam and Max episodes drop and one crazy has to download every VC game AND every Sam and Max episode.
arrrgh @ Apr 6th 2007 5:19PM
Jack will be fiiiine he's just on edge whenever he has his fist up his ass...ok maybe he wont be fine
Luke @ Apr 6th 2007 6:09PM
I have a 2 GB SD card and all I'm asking from Nintendo is that they let me play VC games right from the SD card. It should be as simple as a Wii software update.
Burnt Meatloaf @ Apr 7th 2007 5:04AM
There's a million things Nintendo could do with a firmware update. Until announcements are made, the only fact we have now is that Nintendo licenced some technology from another company that's required for normal operation, and that's it.