Nintendo job posting hints at Wii USB devices
by Scott Jon Siegel 
{ Jun 12th 2008 at 5:00AM }
We already know that Rock Band on the Wii will utilize a USB hub for its peripherals, but the job posting suggests even more USB devices might be enroute. These could include USB keyboards for future online games, or possibly even an eventual external storage solution (though Nintendo's recent disparaging comments on the matter make this unlikely).
[Via Engadget]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Huh war what is it good for absolutely everythign @ Jun 12th 2008 5:18AM
"though Nintendo's recent disparaging comments on the matter make this unlikely" kind of like how Walt Mossbonk said we'd have the 3G iphone next month... then he said it was a lie and false... then it happened.
Toasty Toaster Man @ Jun 12th 2008 5:23AM
The Wii already supports usb keyboards.
BPM [MKWii: 2578 3585 8392] @ Jun 12th 2008 6:43AM
True, but they could be working on their own Wii-branded keyboard. If such a product was made, likely it would be fully functionable with the Wii Menu (i.e. being able to hit Enter to exit a text entry field), instead of being used for just text entry.
They could be testing the music game USB devices, too. Who knows.
Alex @ Jun 12th 2008 1:29PM
It's been a while since I used the keyboard, but I seem to recall being able to push CTRL and ENTER to leave the text input. I could be mistaken though...
BPM [MKWii: 2578 3585 8392] @ Jun 12th 2008 1:57PM
Never tried that... I'll check it out, thanks.
Hafk @ Jun 12th 2008 5:40AM
(though Nintendo's recent disparaging comments on the matter make this unlikely).
Because one little guy who is the Nintendo of Europe Marketing Director speaks for all of Nintendo as a whole.
Iwata said at the begining of May that they were looking into a storage solution for the Wii.
http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/2008/05/01/iwata-were-looking-into-the-flash-memory-situation/
Anybody who was looking into keeping their job wouldn't say such a statement about the consumer, and I wouldn't be suprised if actions were taken about his comment already.
Chase @ Jun 12th 2008 5:48AM
Bring on the WiiDD! Woo!
Nailio @ Jun 12th 2008 6:36AM
The WiiDD? Oh god, here comes to stupid pothead jokes.
Chase @ Jun 12th 2008 6:42AM
I didn't even think of that, Nailio, as I found the idea of another DD device hilarious in itself. That, and I'm "boring." ;P
Toasty Toaster Man @ Jun 12th 2008 7:02AM
I didn't think of it either. Nailio must have pot on the brain.
License to ill @ Jun 12th 2008 8:19AM
"I didn't think of it either. Nailio must have pot on the brain".
Says a guy named: Toasty toaster man...
Nailio @ Jun 12th 2008 3:43PM
I'm not one to even dabble in that crap. If others want to use it, I'm not going to stop them, but I'm staying far away from anything like it. But my brother smokes alot.
Ethan @ Jun 12th 2008 7:18AM
I think we all know by now - they take their bloody time.
Chase @ Jun 12th 2008 7:45AM
Pi pika pi!
Ethan @ Jun 12th 2008 10:40AM
meow.
ill trooper @ Jun 12th 2008 8:50AM
32X add-on? N64 DD?
mr nimblewick @ Jun 12th 2008 10:39AM
XBOX HD DVD Drive?
Jhongerkong @ Jun 12th 2008 1:24PM
SNES CD Driv...
Oh wait
BPM [MKWii: 2578 3585 8392] @ Jun 12th 2008 1:58PM
OMG FAMICOM DISK DRIVE!!!!
mocax @ Jun 12th 2008 8:52AM
I think they're making USB powered Warios that snicker at you whenever you lose a match in Smash Bros.
Greg2k @ Jun 12th 2008 10:36AM
It could be worse: Waluigi
BPM [MKWii: 2578 3585 8392] @ Jun 12th 2008 1:58PM
I approve of both ideas.
Wa-ha-ha!!
PojoMofo @ Jun 12th 2008 10:08AM
Can I Haz Wii HDD plz!!
GearSecond! (a.k.a AwesomeStuff) @ Jun 12th 2008 5:24PM
No.
sorensilk @ Jun 12th 2008 10:50AM
I vote for a USB hard drive, but then again, I'm a nerd...
FaFaLo @ Jun 12th 2008 11:03AM
I dont care about any usb crap, focus on the vc games they have sucked for the last few months!!!!!
Martez @ Jun 12th 2008 11:09AM
*shoves FaFaLo down some stairs*
Ignore him. We want a USB HDD.
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Jun 12th 2008 12:03PM
*beats FaFaLo within an inch of his life*
We need fucking space!
mr mobius @ Jun 12th 2008 12:18PM
*buries FaFaLo under a pile of PS3s sitting on shelves*
*No one will find him there for ages*
We need storage space before we can freely download more VC games.
CJLopez @ Jun 12th 2008 1:01PM
* Stucks FaFaLo into a first gen 360 and turns it on *
the more storage you have the more games you can download and the better quality and features games will have
Rob Accomando @ Jun 12th 2008 12:47PM
why do they need to look into a solution for more storage? Just activate the usb port to accept usb hdd and release a Wii branded USB 20GB hdd for $20. Non noobs can use a regular usb hdd. Is it fucking rocket science??
Mr Khan @ Jun 12th 2008 1:28PM
Piracy
That's what stopped them from doing that in the beginning. They've been fighting tooth and nail against storage solutions because if they let you run a VC game from the SD card, you'll just copy it on your PC and distribute it to the earth
My idea would be to distribute software keys that had to stay on the on-board memory, and would only be 1-2 blocks each, while the games themselves could go anywhere, but could only be run in correspondence with the console-bound key
BPM [MKWii: 2578 3585 8392] @ Jun 12th 2008 2:01PM
I really don't understand the piracy argument.
The Wii Shop Channel downloads are all packed with DRM that locks them to the Wii they were downloaded off (even freebies).
And you can already backup Channels onto an SD card.
Why can't they make it so that if you try to play a Channel off an SD card, it checks to see if the Wii Number matches the DRM on the SD Channel? Sounds pretty simple to me...
Burnt Meatloaf @ Jun 13th 2008 3:45AM
*BPM: "I really don't understand the piracy argument."
Neither do most corporate executives, which is why they keep endorsing copy protection and DRM in the first place. You know, just to be on the safe side.
Rob Accomando @ Jun 12th 2008 12:47PM
why do they need to look into a solution for more storage? Just activate the usb port to accept usb hdd and release a Wii branded USB 20GB hdd for $20. Non noobs can use a regular usb hdd. Is it fucking rocket science??
Microswirl (MKWii:1676- 4270-3674) @ Jun 12th 2008 4:45PM
Considering a 2GB Wii-branded SD card costs twice as much as a generic brand ($26 vs. $11), it's highly unlikely a Wii-branded 20GB drive (if ever such a device gets made) would cost anything less than $50.
Cesaria (MKW:2621-2994-1376) @ Jun 12th 2008 6:15PM
I would gladly pay $50 for a 20G HDD. Shit, I would probably pay more. I just want more space!
CJLopez @ Jun 12th 2008 12:52PM
It was nintendo of europe who said the thing of the geeks and otakus, who cares about nintendo europe???
Coke Boi @ Jun 12th 2008 1:26PM
This is kinda sad on Nintendo's part if they are just now hiring someone for this position, I would like to think they are in the final stages of external memory...but apparently not :-(
Burnt Meatloaf @ Jun 13th 2008 3:52AM
The thing is, USB hard drive controllers and network adapters are largely standardized hardware. There's little need for USB specialists to test these devices, since they can be built from common, off-the-shelf parts. The only thing they really have to do is make modifications to the OEM's drivers so only specific, licensed devices will work.
I think Nintendo has more up their sleeve than just a hard drive. In fact, given that hard drives are not price flexible components, I doubt that it will happen. If Nintendo was really serious about fixing the storage issues, they would just patch the system's firmware so you didn't have to swap content in and out of internal memory. If Nintendo doesn't trust their DRM technology enough with memory cards, I don't think they would trust it with hard drives, either.
Burnt Meatloaf @ Jun 13th 2008 3:46AM
So, Nintendo adds USB ports to their system and they don't have a large enough staff to make USB accessories? Maybe they did, and the staff quit because they were bored?
Looks like a fairly ordinary job posting to me.