Reggie: Wii storage is a 'mainstream' problem
by David Hinkle 
{ Jul 24th 2008 at 3:44PM }
Reggie recently sat down for a little chat with Stephen Totilo from MTV Multiplayer to discuss what's on everyone's mind. No, not the company's showing at E3, but rather the storage issues of the console.He said that "from an Americas-centric perspective," the Wii's storage limitations are becoming a "mainstream" problem. Again, he reiterates that the company is working on a solution, but isn't ready to reveal any specifics yet.
Seriously, Nintendo, how long are you going to wait? Each week, more Virtual Console and WiiWare content releases and gamers can't download because they have no space!
[Thanks, il_duce620!]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Only3Penguins @ Jul 24th 2008 3:49PM
The headline says "shortage." I believe it should say "storage."
Sonic_13 @ Jul 24th 2008 6:16PM
Well I suppose both are problems... :P
Oneiroi @ Jul 24th 2008 3:56PM
Agreed.
More and more people will become increasingly picky about what they'll download/buy. Fix the problem = get more sales. What more motivation do they need?
samfish @ Jul 24th 2008 4:04PM
I ain't buyin' NOTHIN' from WiiWare (except Mega Man 9) until they come up with a storage solution.
Mr Khan @ Jul 24th 2008 5:59PM
Megaman 9 couldn't be bigger than 2 MB anyway, i think
Randy @ Jul 24th 2008 4:04PM
There's a "Shortage" or Storage on the Wii currently.
bukizzle715 @ Jul 24th 2008 4:05PM
It still sucks that it had to become a "mainstream" problem before it's addressed. Does that mean Nintendo will only listen when the casuals start to bitch? Maybe we should find a way to get the casuals to bitch about hardcore games for us too, so we can actually start getting a decent library again.
TWOO DEE @ Jul 24th 2008 4:11PM
my sentiments exactly (except for the whole decent library thing-i've got about 20 titles for the wii that i do not regret buying). but don't you remember, nintendo aren't abandoning their core audience!
Hamster @ Jul 24th 2008 5:26PM
This was my initial thought exactly. So when gamers were complaining about it they couldn't give a damn, but now the casuals are it's a "mainstream problem" that must be addressed immediately....
I'm also getting really annoyed with this notion that core games and core gamers aren't "mainstream" compared to casual games and casual gamers. I really don't think this is the case, I think we are mainstream. After all core games still outsell the vast majority of casual games and are able to sell on their own merits as well, rather than only being able to sell at vastly reduced prices or bundled with gimmicky peripherals.
Sonic_13 @ Jul 24th 2008 6:18PM
But it wasn't a mainstream problem when they first started working on a solution. Solutions don't come overnight and they first stated that they were working on something a while back.
Matthew McNutt @ Jul 24th 2008 4:17PM
Yeah, this is taking too long. My number one reason for buying the Wii was the virtual console. I love having classic games that won't wear out (like cartridges and discs), but I haven't bought one in months because I want to make sure I have room for the best ones. I'm not into swapping SD cards or redownloading. Too much hassle. Consequently, I have been downloading more games to my XBox 360.
Tann @ Jul 24th 2008 4:16PM
just release a frigging usb hard drive, or make someway of using any usb hard drive or anything as the main wii drive.
it't cant be THAT hard
holmes @ Jul 24th 2008 4:37PM
i'm completely filled on my wii hard drive, and it never reads an SD card correctly. i still haven't downloaded a single wii ware game because i simply can't fit it. i would've spent at least $50 on downloadable games if i had the room. nintendo loses again.
my fear is that they will come out with a hard drive, and it'll be like $100, thereby making the wii and all of its accessories and peripherals as expensive as an xbox or ps3. i bought a wii because it wasn't pricey. now i'm getting screwed on all the extras now. can't wait to lose more money for wii motion plus
Hami @ Jul 24th 2008 4:52PM
If there was one giant fault with Nintendo, it's that they don't embrace upcoming standards till it's too late, such as CD-roms, open online play and hard drives.
benmully @ Jul 24th 2008 4:56PM
just hurry up and bring it out already!!!
Rowdehaj @ Jul 24th 2008 5:05PM
OHH, REGINALD?
I DISAGREE!
*scoots off*
Bones3D @ Jul 24th 2008 6:31PM
My suggestion... abandon local storage of virtual console games.
The majority of virtual console titles are small enough that, on a decent network connection, would easily be downloadable on the fly from Nintendo's servers as needed. The only thing that needs to be stored locally is the save state for each title.
In addition, Nintendo could also change the virtual console business model to offer access to every game in their library to everyone for a moderate monthly fee (somewhere between 1,000 to 2,000 wii points). Of course, if the user prefers games be local, Nintendo could still allow users to download the games but it wouldn't necessarily be a requirement in order to play them.
WiiWare, on the other hand, will likely have to remain as it currently is, due to the overall size of the titles offered. However, if Nintendo lightens up on the encryption over the SD port, it wouldn't have to be painful to play these titles off an SD card.
benmully @ Jul 25th 2008 11:57AM
Ummm not everyone has decent connections! Read the posts, thats why their is so much pain about redownloading!
Patius @ Jul 24th 2008 9:08PM
They are fixing it because they realize they need it for many things.
First, more VC titles can fit on 20-80GB than on 400MB.
Second, massive storage allows for DLC.
Third, online experience can only be helped by increased storage.
Josh @ Jul 24th 2008 9:41PM
Each week, more Virtual Console and WiiWare content releases and gamers can't download because they have no space!
truer words were never spoken.
realistically though, n is likely trying to figure out how to expand the storage while keeping it proprietary. with usb and sd as the only real options, thats got to be tough, since either would be able to plug into a pc and be cracked by homebrewers.
i hope they go with plain jane usb hard drive support. i have a handful of drives laying about.
Nathew @ Jul 25th 2008 1:20AM
i don't have a real problem with deleting things--lots of virtual console channels on my wii go unused for long periods of time. really, the only issue i see for storage is DLC.
not that i would mind having the extra space... but if their solution was a new wii model with higher storage i probably wouldn't be quick to rush out and get it.
Spencer @ Jul 25th 2008 7:08AM
We've got no evidence that they're working on anything other then an improved SD Card interface and codebase. Upgrading it to allow for 4gig+ cards, and allowing them to be accessed from the root menu (for VC games) could be a more complicated process than we realize. Something about hardware development that I've learned since being inside the industry - "simple" and logical solutions are sometimes EXTREAMLY hard to do, especially if you're trying to do them elegantly.
However - games have NO excuse not to have DLC. we know for a FACT that games can read from the SD card slot with NO issues. It's not nintendo's fault thrid party developers aren't giving the wii the time and energy to make good, complete games on it.
CPFace @ Jul 25th 2008 9:04AM
"Each week, more Virtual Console and WiiWare content releases and gamers can't download because they have no interest in them!"
Fixed.
TomSkib @ Jul 25th 2008 9:21AM
Considering that Reggie has offered no details what so ever, the solution probably won't be released for another year, at the earliest.