Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime acknowledged, "from an Americas-centric perspective," that the Wii's storage capacity is becoming a "mainstream" problem as the regional consumer base embraces
WiiWare and the
Virtual Console. He tells
MTV there is an "urgency" to finding a storage solution, and even states that Nintendo is working on a solution, albeit one that
isn't ready to be announced yet.
Meanwhile, we can't help but notice that USB external hard drives with plenty of space are
pretty cheap, but would that solution be too simple? We wouldn't to want make things easy ... that's just too complicated.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Jakka (Not sure why he got banned?) @ Jul 24th 2008 11:47AM
Hope they won't stick to the Microsoft HDD Marketing Techniques.
Mr Khan @ Jul 24th 2008 12:02PM
It's already been stated (by Laurent "geeks and otaku" Fischer), that any solution they come up with wouldn't involve releasing hardware on their part
My guess, thus, is the long-awaited opening of the SD slot
Dan @ Jul 24th 2008 12:13PM
Someone on the Wii engineering team needs to tell everyone else at Ninty that they actually included an SD slot in the console... they seem to have forgotten.
Fernando Rocker @ Jul 24th 2008 12:20PM
Dan
SD cards are not the solution. The transfer speed is very slow. They better use the USB ports to allow USB flash memory. The Wii uses USB version 2.0, and is a lot faster than SD cards.
samfish @ Jul 24th 2008 12:28PM
If you install the Homebrew Channel, though, you can run games run off the SD card apparently without much of a problem, Fernando.
Mr Khan @ Jul 24th 2008 12:32PM
Aye, it's already been shown that the painfully slow speeds currently experienced on Wii with regards to SD cards are due to the painstaking encryption that is put into every VC title transferred
John Z @ Jul 24th 2008 12:42PM
Then the Wii's file copying stack is broken and needs to be fixed. Nintendo has had experience encrypting their code for ten years-- wasn't Ocarina of Time encrypted on the N64 cart, to protect against people dumping the image?-- so unless they're using some high-level NSA-grade chicken-waving naked voodoo, they're doing it wrong.
I'm trying to keep a positive outlook on everything but this "will they or won't they" flip-flop BS coming out of this issue is really starting to grate on me.
Blue Ion @ Jul 24th 2008 12:43PM
Heh, USB you say?
Those are USB 2.0 Full speed ports with a whooping 1,5 Mb/sec for transfer rate.
Ironically, what you mean are (ironically) the High Speed ones, but I'm not sure if you can update the port speed with a simple firmware.
Samfish, you brought the homebrew channel topic here, and if I you check the mediaplayers (with USB support) you'll see they're as slow as the sd card.
Perhaps a better library might speed things a little, but not much more.
Blue Ion @ Jul 24th 2008 12:56PM
Just to clear things out, a simple 10x SD card is as fast as a Full Speed USB with higher ratings becoming the norm and cheap as well.
Besides, an "Ironically" is out of place (preferably the first one).
BananaBoat @ Jul 24th 2008 1:24PM
I'm pretty sure the ability to run Wiiware and VC (definitely VC) titles off of the SD card exists. I've seen videos of both in action, though there is no way to be sure if the Wiiware titles were actually installed off the SD card, or were running from the SD card (and yes, I'm pretty outraged that people are pirating the extremely cheap, extremely good wiiware games like Lost Winds). Either way, I've played plenty of homebrew games on my Wii with absolutely no problems, so the speed probably does exist to allow Wiiware titles to be played from it. SD cards are definitely not the answer however, nor is allowing USB flash memory (that's just silly). An internal HDD, or SSD, would solve the situation. It's sad that Nintendo didn't have the foresight to fix a problem that had already been solved by the PS2 and original Xbox (though in the PS2's case, through an HDD adaptor)
Speaking of which...my 360's HDD is full again...I wonder if there is a way to backup demos to an external HDD...
mr mobius @ Jul 24th 2008 11:49AM
Kudos on the paradox Joystiq.
Anyway, it's about time he acknowledged this. He gets paid to be aware of the needs of the gaming public? No bonuses for you this year Reggie.
Shmil @ Jul 24th 2008 11:50AM
Whatever solution they give to the storage problem, I won't buy it.
Duke @ Jul 24th 2008 11:52AM
'Yeah, we could go ahead and make USB dives work for storage, but me and the guys were talking at the cafe this morning and we all agree, that just won't make Nintendo any richer. So no, we need some fresh, expensive, ideas.' - Reggie
xFenixKnightx @ Jul 24th 2008 12:01PM
Hmm, I DONT like where your heads at Reggie.
FOXHOUND @ Jul 24th 2008 12:05PM
I wager that if they do come out with some sort of USB solution, it'll be proprietary ONLY to the Wii(or related Nintendo products)... thus keeping the money flowing.
I would be totally against the above if it acts as a solution that's no more of an improvement than buying SD cards. If the USB storage option included extra Wii Channel pages(I've filled up mine already with content, no joke); perhaps that might work.
4MyFriends @ Jul 24th 2008 2:04PM
"Hey, I think I'm clever and original by talking out of my ass by stating the reason why Nintendo hasn't came out with this solution without any proof. Oh look, I also get rated up for it!"
- for you.
Duke @ Jul 24th 2008 2:23PM
4MyFriends you can go f*ck yourself. We are having fun here, but you had to make it a personal attack. Jackass.
Duke @ Jul 24th 2008 2:27PM
Oh, just looked at one page of your post history, which is mostly you crying when anyone says anything slightly negative about Nintendo. You're a joke.
Wii Fanboy Weekly: July 10 - July 23 {Joystiq}
Jul 24th 2008 12:01AM
...and what a week it's been.
Reggie: GTA welcome on Wii, but only if it's not a port {Joystiq}
Jul 23rd 2008 8:33PM
Oh for fuck sakes people, if they had gotten you direct ports of the 3 last gen GTAs with waggle/IR, you guys would bitch regardless because they are just ports. If you are going to constantly complain about Nintendo, at least do it for proper reasons without making yourselves look like hypocrites.
Kingdom Hearts DS ad points to 2008 release in Japan {Joystiq}
Jul 23rd 2008 8:30PM
In before "NINTENDO IS KILLING DA INDUSTRY"
Wii third-parties nonplussed by surprise MotionPlus reveal {Joystiq}
Jul 23rd 2008 8:30PM
Oh look, another Nintendo hate blog entry, and the community continues their bandwagon hatred towards Nintendo. How fucking original!
Reggie: GTA welcome on Wii, but only if it's not a port {Joystiq}
Jul 23rd 2008 8:27PM
How exactly did they "piss off" 3rd party developers, when in fact they have been pissing off Nintendo all gen with shit that are on par with free flash based software?
Also, Sony wasn't exactly Prince charming themselves...
Iwata 'sorry' for Nintendo E3 briefing; Wii supplies may still be tight this holiday {Joystiq}
Jul 23rd 2008 1:49PM
And all this ranting could have been done constructively without being so annoying. So people on all sides of the fence aren't acting properly, so what?
WorMzy @ Jul 24th 2008 11:53AM
I can't even begin to speculate as to how many people would cry foul at that "cheap" solution. Some Americans even complain about the price of games!
I personally think that they'll be looking into Flash memory solutions as opposed to moving parts solutions. Either that or they'll be looking into using Gamecube memory cards.
Mr Khan @ Jul 24th 2008 12:00PM
The outer limit of 3rd party (read: not Nintendo approved) GameCube Memory Cards was 64 MB, or one full-sized N64 game. So that's not a good solution
WorMzy @ Jul 24th 2008 12:09PM
Ah. Then maybe they'll look into improving the way that Wii uses SD cards. With upto 2GB of space per card, they should be able to utilise that for storage.
WorMzy @ Jul 24th 2008 12:09PM
Ah. Then maybe they'll look into improving the way that Wii uses SD cards. With upto 2GB of space per card, they should be able to utilise that for storage.
WorMzy @ Jul 24th 2008 12:15PM
Dammit!
Vol @ Jul 24th 2008 11:55AM
For some reason, I suspect that the people who really care about storage and have the need for it are already on the PS3 or 360.
Brittany @ Jul 24th 2008 12:03PM
And I suspect that you are very, very wrong.
WorMzy @ Jul 24th 2008 12:11PM
You are wrong.
Vol @ Jul 24th 2008 12:24PM
Maybe I am wrong, but I haven't had a need for more storage on mine.
As a disclaimer though: I do spend more time on the 360/PS3.
BananaBoat @ Jul 24th 2008 2:24PM
I've bought two Wiiware games, and zero VC games. I've come nowhere near the limits of the internal Wii memory.
On the flip side, I continuously fill my 360's HDD with content, and have to delete things to make rooms for new things.
Why do I need more storage on one, and am fine with the other? The Wii has very little original content outside of Wiiware, which is very limited right now. The problem isn't really how full the internal storage is at the moment, it's how full it will be when Wiiware really takes off.
required @ Jul 24th 2008 12:00PM
"we're in the calm before the storm that sinks our ship" - N
CTC XBL-supapaypamawio PSN-ctclaw @ Jul 24th 2008 12:00PM
Why can't they just enable external usb hard drives and release their own hard drive at the same time? The core gamer will be happy because they will be smart enough to use their own hard drive, and Nintendo will be happy because the casual gamer will think that they need the offical Nintendo brand hard drive to work, just like they did with SD cards.
Mr Khan @ Jul 24th 2008 12:04PM
Wii doesn't need a harddrive, and i don't know why anyone would really need 20 GB for a console designed around about 280 MB of usable space (512 minus the space needed for the firmware)
They may open the USB port, but i could only see it being used for Flash Drives, personally
CTC XBL-supapaypamawio PSN-ctclaw @ Jul 24th 2008 12:09PM
If they opened it up to flash drives that would just be stupid to not open it up to hard drives as well.
iofthestorm @ Jul 24th 2008 2:22PM
I'm almost certain they'll just open up the USB port to all mass storage devices, since I'm pretty sure they all work the same way, and it's already working in homebrew.
StickFlick @ Jul 24th 2008 12:01PM
The idea of external HD's is great and I have a theory about why this isnt happening yet.
Simply put:
Nintendo doesn't want you to use other people's external hard drives.
They want you to use THEIR external hard drives.
Gotta keep that money printing press going somehow eh?
Roto13 @ Jul 24th 2008 12:07PM
They said the solution wouldn't involve any hardware from them.
Mr Khan @ Jul 24th 2008 12:10PM
I've reminded them of this below
StickFlick @ Jul 24th 2008 12:14PM
@Roto13:
They also said they would have content that appealed to core audiences at E3 this year.
And that didn't happen either. Zing!
I would not be surprised and laugh when or if they do release a hardware solution. I am not going to believe anything Nintendo says regardless of when they say it until it actually happens.
CTC XBL-supapaypamawio PSN-ctclaw @ Jul 24th 2008 12:18PM
I was just about to post the same thing StickFlick. How can you guys be so quick to trust Nintendo again after E3? I now have no expectations for my Wii, that way I won't be let down anymore.
bm @ Jul 24th 2008 1:02PM
They didn't lie, you bunch of tards, they just -thought- they had enough with Animal Crossing and GTA DS, but they were wrong.
When they say "there will be no hardware involved" that leaves no such room for interpretation. It is what it is.
CTC XBL-supapaypamawio PSN-ctclaw @ Jul 24th 2008 1:28PM
@bm
Dude, even Fernando admited they let down. Actually for that matter even Nintendo admited they let down the core audience, so I don't know where you're coming up with your ideas.
samfish @ Jul 24th 2008 1:38PM
I dont consider Animal Crossing to count as Nintendo "maximizing all their core franchises", BM.
I *REALLY* wish someone would ask Reggie about that in particular.
BPM [MSN: BPMdotEXE @ hotmail.com] @ Jul 24th 2008 4:18PM
"They also said they would have content that appealed to core audiences at E3 this year."
Actually, no they didn't.
The EXACT quote (which GamePro took out of context in their article title) was they would introduce new "core" titles AROUND the time of E3.
Not AT E3.
And, what's happened so far around the time of E3? Wario Land: Shake It, Kirby Super Star Ultra, Captain Rainbow (JP only so far), Rhythm Heaven, and an off-hand confirmation of a new Pikmin.
Noone's gonna deny that their E3 presser was a disappointment (FUN FACT: It blew chunks), but they never promised "core" games at E3 (I suppose you could count GTA DS... But is GTA "casual" due to its VERY wide appeal?).
http://wii.kombo.com/article.php?artid=12358
(I've sent this story in to Joystiq a week ago... but I guess they don't want to post it, heh)
Sarge @ Jul 24th 2008 5:54PM
Well... yeah. They want to make money. Last time I checked, that's what companies do. And if they fleece the consumer too many times, the consumer will hit back and they lose substantial money in the process.
That being said... they could have used proprietary technology on the SD card slot, right? And they could have used custom hookups that weren't USB, but they didn't. So apparently they're not trying to completely fleece us. It's more of a phased fleecing.
Nonetheless, I too was disappointed in the showing at E3. But you know? I really don't care. They've delivered some great stuff, and if it weren't for half the third parties shoveling out crap and the other half completely ignoring the Wii as a viable gaming device, all would be well, and we wouldn't be complaining about Nintendo's lineup at all.
Best case scenario: Developers wise up and treat the Wii as a console version of the DS.
Worst case scenario: Developers create a self-fulfilling prophecy by calling the Wii a "fad", and not developing for it, then when the dearth of games catches up, they say, "See, it was a fad!". It's absurd.
knowthyself @ Jul 24th 2008 12:05PM
They don't want the solution to be univeral. Its going to be so unique to Nintendo you'll have to buy their own over priced solution that will end up being shitty anyway.
Fernando Rocker @ Jul 24th 2008 12:14PM
Again... they said that they are not going to release any kind of hardware.
The only two solutions I see: Use external USB HDD or USB Flash memories. Or allow to read the games directly from the SD cards, instead of copy the games from SD to Wii.
The best would be USB 2.0 flash memory... very cheap (4GB for less than $25) and faster than SD cards.
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/12/nintendo-job-posting-hints-at-wii-usb-devices/
BPM [MSN: BPMdotEXE @ hotmail.com] @ Jul 24th 2008 4:19PM
Fernando, I'm starting to think that USB device job posting was about WiiSpeak, since the speaker plugs into USB...
Churchy @ Jul 24th 2008 12:05PM
So now that it's perceived as a "mainstream" problem they decide it's worth fixing...
*sigh*
Duke @ Jul 24th 2008 12:08PM
I corrected this for ya:
So now that it's perceived as a "mainstream" problem they decide it's worth finding a way to make more money off of...
Churchy @ Jul 24th 2008 12:10PM
Don't squander the little faith I have left in Ninty :(
I WANT TO LOVE YOU NINTENDO STOP MAKING IT SO HARD!!!
samfish @ Jul 24th 2008 12:38PM
What they should do (since some of you think a company trying to make money is "greed"), is allow external hard drives to be attached, but also release their OWN storage solution that comes with a game that won't be on Wii Ware or the VC, like, say, NSMB 2 + the SNES's SMB Lost Levels or something.
I know I'd buy Nintendo's solution as opposed to using a 3rd party's solution.
...but that won't happen, since it's too much of a smart idea.