Iwata: We're looking into the Flash Memory situation

by David Hinkle { May 1st 2008 at 2:15PM }

Yes, you read that title correctly. The dire situation regarding every Wii owner not having enough storage space is being considered by the Big N, so you can all bet we're happy campers. While Nintendo president Satoru Iwata doesn't come out and say that Nintendo is working on a hard drive for the console, or some other solution, he does say enough to get our hopes up for some sort of memory expansion (or support for external hard drives through USB).

"Statistically speaking, it is true that there are a small number of customers who feel that the flash memory is too small, while many others find that they have plenty of memory," says Iwata. "However, because this small number of people are none other than the most avid players, we know we have to review the best possible solution to eliminate their inconvenience." Interesting bit in that last line, if we may say so.

We all know that being able to re-download something just isn't a good enough solution because, well, it's a total pain. But, if Nintendo can come up with a solution to our storage space issues that doesn't provide us with a hard drive to buy or support for USB external drives, we'll be fine with it. We just need something to help us eliminate the chore of moving things around each and every week.

[Via IGN; Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Tags: hard-drive, iwata, satoru-iwata, storage

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

rimbaud @ May 1st 2008 2:28PM

I was pondering this sordid situation the other night and I was surprised that none of the ingenious hackers out in the world have not decided to add more flash memory into the Wii. It's just a chip right? why can't we replace or add onto it?

Seriously, get Johnny Lee on the case...

mian @ May 1st 2008 3:26PM

You'd expect a hacker based solution to be software-based, out the TP bag of tricks. Basically, all the Wii needs is a driver to enable your average USB drive to work and some other hackery to make the console "think" that that extra memory is part of the system flash. Alternatively, apply the same hackery to make the system think that SD cards are part of system memory.

AndrewNeo @ May 1st 2008 3:47PM

mian's on the wrong track. You, though, are on the right track, but unfortunately usually there's a setting or variable in the firmware that has the size of the flash memory chips. Replacing it (with an identical model but larger size) would probably only let you store up to 512mb anyway. And who knows what's actually on that chip, the system might not just 'format' a new one.

iofthestorm @ May 1st 2008 9:57PM

In related news, someone's made a preliminary USB mass storage driver for homebrew, or something like that.
http://wiibrew.org/index.php?title=Main_Page
Of course this doesn't help until they can either a)integrate it into the Wii Menu, which would require massive hackery and a chance of bricking, or b) Nintendo uses the guy's code and adds it to the Wii Menu themselves. Of course, they're probably working on this already.

adolson @ May 1st 2008 2:30PM

Makes me wonder why they bothered putting an SD card slot right in the machine since it's almost useless.

capt.strugglebunny @ May 1st 2008 4:53PM

Same here. I bought a SD card specifically for the Wii, because I thought games would use it for downloadable content, the ability to move saves (which works for most games, but the game I want it to work for, Guitar Hero, it doesn't), and etc. It pretty much just stuck in there and doing nothing now.

xeleion @ May 1st 2008 2:35PM

I think that Ninty should keep in mind that a "small number" of Wii owners is a hell of a lot of people. It's the hardcore crowd that's going to keep supporting them even when the Wii goes out of style, so why do they continuously give us crap?

Co @ May 1st 2008 7:39PM

Umm... did you read the article? Crap is what he is not giving.

xeleion @ May 1st 2008 7:57PM

Because they keep downplaying it like it's not a real issue. He's in no way committing to these words; "We're looking into it" could simply be equivalent to "Yes we know people are complaining." Not to mention that the fact that we have had to wait for something like this is ridiculous in itself.

SoshiKitai @ May 1st 2008 11:35PM

The "small numbers" are still large in an overall-look... but Ninten just wants to make sure the "large numbers" are heavily catered to before they take care of us.

Because if one thing's obvious: We, the "small number", are more forgiving for late products from them. While the "large casual numbers" are easily distracted and can easily forget.

In other words, they know we can wait for improvements... the main casual crowd however - not so much.

Mr Khan @ May 1st 2008 2:40PM

Tommorrow's headline: Iwata: "Friend codes, what the f*ck were we thinking?"

Seriously, though, it appears as though our voices were heard. If enough large media outlets all complained, they were bound to listen eventually, especially with WiiWare on the horizon

I could see a Wii USB Solid-State Memory expander, 4-5 GB and $30-$50 come Christmas

mian @ May 1st 2008 3:27PM

lo-friggin-l @ FCs. You aim high friend. I like that about you.

Perverted @ May 1st 2008 3:46PM

LMAO @ Tomorrow's headline: Iwata: "Friend codes, what the f*ck were we thinking?"

I don't use the space we have =/ Obviously if they released free game demos or something along those lines(i.e free) I'd need the storage but right now I only need the space for game saves........

TheOverlord#2 can has Mario Karts?(MK:2578-3517-9859) @ May 1st 2008 3:49PM

xD

Imagining Iwata say that is so funny. Or at least one of the TV translators...

TheOverlord#2 can has Mario Karts?(MK:2578-3517-9859) @ May 1st 2008 3:50PM

xD

Imagining Iwata say that is so funny. Or at least one of the TV translators...

Give him 3 stars!

TheOverlord#2 can has Mario Karts?(MK:2578-3517-9859) @ May 1st 2008 3:55PM

Saturday's headline: TheOverlord#2: "Double posting, what the f*ck was I thinking?"

Orion @ May 1st 2008 2:51PM

I think I speak Japanese... I think what he said translates into "if we don't offer more memory, people will be aggrivated and won't buy as many VC or Wii Ware games as they would have done otherwise."

yep... I think that sounds about right...;)

Bottom line, it will shorten Wii Ware sales... if they actually cared about catering to our needs as avid gamers, and not because of the fact they want as much money as possible, they would have done something sooner.

And yes, i know there are SD cards, but you can't play games directly off them.. and it takes a lot of time to put an n64 game on your system memory from your card.

FrankTheCrank @ May 1st 2008 3:02PM

Can't you just buy a super fat SDHC card and roll with that?

I think the SD HC cards go as high as 16GB now. With the 8GB cards going for about $50 right now.

The Wii does support large capacity SD cards, right?

Orion @ May 1st 2008 3:18PM

nope.. you wish. only up to 2 gigs.

still the problem, as i said above, is that putting the files on the card is just as bad as redownloading it as no game can be booted from the card itself.. you have to wait a looong time for it to be put on the wii's system memory, then after you save your game, save over the original on the card. it's kinda tedious.

mian @ May 1st 2008 3:32PM

I suspect one of the solutions they are considering is making SD stored games accessible to the system to run, so you won't have to play the SD shuffle anymore. It's not that much more work to enable SDHC on the system, and really give users tons of space. SDHC is not different from SD in terms of hardware, just software.

TheWarlock @ May 1st 2008 10:50PM

Probably the most clever avatar I will ever lay my eyes on... EVER.

Roto13 @ May 1st 2008 3:05PM

I totally called it.

The Wii simply doesn't have enough space and that's all there is to it. This is an undeniable fact.

snkngshps @ May 1st 2008 3:11PM

I think the entire internet called it.

mian @ May 1st 2008 3:34PM

There were about 100 gamers in the world who were caught off-guard by this complication. They all work at Nintendo.

1 down, 99 to go.

Jay @ May 1st 2008 3:07PM

They don't need to make their own. They just need to enable mass USB storage through a system update, and allow people to use whatever they care to.

benmully @ May 1st 2008 3:27PM

Just please hurry!!! WiiWare launches soon....

Webslinger @ May 1st 2008 3:30PM

YES!! there is a god!
dont forget to add more wii menu pages!

Tom @ May 1st 2008 3:34PM

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

Now about those Friend codes and no Voice chat....

mian @ May 1st 2008 5:00PM

While we're at it, how about actually advertising games like MP3C, and encouraging development on games that are actually games--not exclusively, but a little core loving would be nice.

Take some of that massive pile of dough you guys are building forts with and use it back/publish developers who might be willing to give Wii some exclusivity on serious AAA titles. It isn't as if there's not serious profit to be made that way. Nobody's asking for charity.

Jumbo @ May 1st 2008 3:39PM

I like friend codes. It makes it easier for my family.

And who cares about voicechat? I have no desire to hear 12 year olds yell racial slurs.

Oneiroi @ May 1st 2008 4:34PM

how in the world are friend codes easier in any situation?

TheOverlord#2 can has Mario Karts?(MK:2578-3517-9859) @ May 1st 2008 4:39PM

Um...instead of making Nintendo and the ESRB worry about people being jerks, why don't you just turn the voice chat off? It stops us people who want things badly that much from ever getting it.(No disrespect towards you or your family)

Jumbo @ May 1st 2008 4:45PM

I didn't realize you loved racial slurs so much.

Or were 12.

TheOverlord#2 can has Mario Karts?(MK:2578-3517-9859) @ May 1st 2008 6:20PM

I am 15, thank you very much!

I'm just saying I would love voice chat in games like Mario Kart where you can smack talk your friends. I just want voice-chat friend only. And if the FCs keep kids safe(there's no perverts asking kids for their friend code) then there wouldn't need to be alarm at voice chat.(I don't think people should get cocky and yell racial slurs either, that's a waste of air)

TheWarlock @ May 1st 2008 10:52PM

Jesus christ, I hate tweens and their stupid petty insults about some person's mother... It makes me wanna beat the shi* out of them in brawl, which is probably what I'll be doing if said situation comes up.

zrockstar @ May 1st 2008 3:45PM

That had me rolling on the floor, If only Iwata would come out and say it!

nice man...nice

Eternityx @ May 1st 2008 3:51PM

I think they are finally realizing that all the downloads we have (VC, Wii Ware, User Content) Is really weighing down our systems. And It is true that only the "Hardcore" gamers care but we are the only ones who buy your VC and Wii Ware.

In my opinion, I don't think anything will come out of it. To me I think it will just be something we look back 2 years from now and say. "Yea wish that happened."

Jesus frias @ May 1st 2008 4:47PM

i think they just found out it was time to release SD cards with high capacity memory just for the Wii... i'm willing to pay $100+ for anything to solve this BIG effin problem!! lol

TheWarlock @ May 1st 2008 10:53PM

AHA! I'll trade you my 130 gig SD stick for your charizard! No wait! I have to beat you first, then, if I win, THEN I get your charizard!

meist3r @ May 1st 2008 4:41PM

I think once we see the first half dozen really popular and good Wiiware games globally many more people will actually run into this problem. The mom and pop demographic that bought a Wii to play Tennis or bowling will never even notice. I for one will want to download FF Life as King and Lost Winds and many other good looking ones and these will surely be a pain in the ass to shuffle to and fro. FF is ~40MB afaik and only eight other games like that will clutter up my drive quicker than you can say "Mamma mia". Maybe Nintendo will release a new set of memory cards like for the gamecube which has some kind of console bound DRM. I can't see any harddiscs in the near future though. That's just too "multi-purpose" for the approach Nintendo has taken so far.

I'm still waiting for the USB keyboard support to surface.

rimbaud @ May 1st 2008 4:57PM

I thought it already had... like four firmware updates ago...

Yup, just type it into Google.

meist3r @ May 1st 2008 5:18PM

@rimbaud: Well, just adding it to the software is not really enough. I don't care about typing URls in the internet channel because I rarely use it and the message board is not exactly my most favorite application either. I'm talking about keyboard support like in text chat between MK Wii races or something like that. This I'm still waiting for. The MS guys even attached a freaking keyboard to their controller for in(between)-game communication. But I guess Nintendo's marketing thinks most of their customers can barely read at all or are still learning to.

Nate @ May 1st 2008 5:23PM

SDHC support would be as easy as a software update. SDHC cards now are available at up to 16 gigs, and you can expect 32 gig cards in the not too distant future. This should be more than enough for most people. I would even pay for Nintendo manufactured, or branded SD cards that would only work with the wii, if that is what it takes.

A USB flash or hard drive would also be acceptable to me, but encrypting that would likely be a nightmare.

iofthestorm @ May 1st 2008 10:00PM

I'm pretty sure SDHC is a hardware thing, not software.

Cyantre @ May 1st 2008 5:30PM

Even if they did do this, I wouldn't want it to translate into more channels to scroll through. Just give me a text list of the games I own and have it be organized by the system it was released for. The last thing I need is a hundred channels with little thumbnails of the title screen that animated back and forth between that and the system logo. In fact, just get rid of that all together, it's annoying.

meist3r @ May 1st 2008 6:20PM

I agree, right now I only own 5 VC games and can easily navigate between the two pages but I know there are some enthusiasts out there that will get most of the games for nostalgias sake (otherwise we wouldn't be having this discussion) and I'd hate to scroll through a third or even fourth page on the Wii dash. I'd much prefer a seperate VC channel like they've organized everything else. There you could do fullscreen preview, thumbnails, games list and much more.

TheOverlord#2 can has Mario Karts?(MK:2578-3517-9859) @ May 1st 2008 6:24PM

Just move the channels and order them by system. Hold B over a channel then press and hold A to move a channel.

Cyantre @ May 1st 2008 6:39PM

Moving channels around to organize them isn't an effective system at all. There should be a Virtual Console channel and here is how it should be set up.

Horizontal link bar listing the different systems to sort through.
On the left have a text list of all the games you have purchased, and when you hover over them the title screen appears as a larger thumbnail to the right of the text listing of games, and when you select the game it loads. Easy. Organized. =)