Wii's Storage Limitation Rapidly Realized With WiiWare; Tips For Freeing Up Wii System Storage Space

It's the third week of Nintendo's WiiWare releases and my Wii's storage capacity for another WiiWare game has already been capped. In fact, there's only one WiiWare game I currently have: Lost Winds. There's a whole screen and a half of empty Wii Channel slots, but upon trying to purchase my second WiiWare game, I was told (via the Wii Shop) to free up more space.

There's currently no external storage solution for the Wii. My Wii system memory needs some slimming. Yours could too, most likely. Especially if you're digging the new WiiWare games and have already downloaded a few Virtual Console games.

So after some poking around in the Wii Data Management menu, here's some tips for making room on your Wii for WiiWare and Virtual Console games until Nintendo (hopefully) offers another data storage solution.

[Darkiewonder]

No it was realized day 1 when the system came out. Nintendo isn't taking the Wii serious enough. As long as the casual audience haven't asked where's the space then Nintendo won't bother. It's when Nintendo sees a downward spiral in sales that's when Nintendo steps in to make sure to offer their consumers something. Look at the DS. PSP is taking #1 spot in several places. what do nintendo do? release another color. What happens? That's a 300+K sale right there.

Anyways, I wonder how online games [lol] will work without a hard drive to save big data. [Animal Crossing]

[Jdoki]

Your Animal Crossing point is a good one. With the GameCube version they shipped it with a separate memory card.

I would assume they may be able to do the same with the Wii version - probably ship it with it's own branded SD card.

[pwnsause]

My Prediction for the nintendo E3 conference:
-They will Announce a External HDD for the wii
-they will announce starfox for the wii
-they will announce the next iteration of wii sports

[madness]

a $250 console at launch in 2006 can only get u so far

[poopsack]

this is when I realized that

http://n4g.com/NewsCom-9410...

[Jdoki]

Hold on a sec!

The Wii provides 512Mb of 'free' storage. Nintendo could quite easily have provided NONE and forced us all to buy memory cards.

The ONLY thing Nintendo need to do here is allow us to run games directly from SD cards. Problem solved. 1GB+ SD cards can be picked up for next to nothing!

The failure here isn't the limited storage space it's the half hearted file handling - and even then, to be honest, it's hardly a chore copying games from SD to internal memory.

[jtucker78]

"The Wii provides 512Mb of 'free' storage. Nintendo could quite easily have provided NONE and forced us all to buy memory cards."

512MB is pretty generous of Nintendo.
I don't understand how they manage to make such healthy profits from every console sold when they, so generously, provide all that technology to their customers.

[poopsack]

dude I hope your being sarcastic here because if you compare the wii to PS3/360 your getting ripped off with the wii

[SaiyanFury]

"The Wii provides 512Mb of 'free' storage".

Are you serious? In this day and age of cheap and high capacity flash memory, you praise Nintendo for the minuscule amount of memory they offer? They could easily offer 2GB or more of flash memory for very little cost and most core Wii fans who enjoy the Virtual Console would be much happier. But no, you cannot run downloaded VC games from an external SD card, you need to load them into the Wii before playing them. Meaning you have to delete your present Wii content from it's minuscule internal flash card, before playing anything else. This is another case of Wii fanboyism, read: Nintendo can do no wrong. The Wii is a great console, but it's memory design is poorly realized.

[jtucker78]

Seriously?

512MB... ...and saying it is "generous".

Do I even need a sarcasm tag for that? How can that not be a joke?
Even the most rabid Nintendo fanboy can't claim 512MB is generous.
They can claim lots of things about their console, but "generous" storage capacity is not one of them.

EDIT: Wow. I got 3 disagrees for my flippant comment. Obviously some people think that 512MB is ACTUALLY generous.
Or like KnaveX their sarcasm detector is broken.

[M_Prime]

you do realize that only SONY provides more space from the get go. technically the 360ARCADE and CORE provides 0MB internal space. so 512MB is a hell lot more then 0. The only one that gives a lot more is SONY with the base being 20GB was it? and having the ability to swap out HDs is awsome.

The wii needs an external storage solution, may it be the SD card or an actual HD but don't say the 360 has more.. sure there are some models that have more but as a CORE system they have less... I think thats what he was getting at when he said it was generous, though 512 is really a joke, my Computer has like 4x that in RAM.. and thats not memory i'm actually using to store anything.. its just where the current programs reside.. so yeah we need at least 5-10GB with VC games.. and WIIWARE

[Enigma_2099]

... went through a phase where we saved game data on these things called memory cards, now the very idea of the Wii using something similar is unacceptable.

I just don't understand it. So the Wii doesn't have that much internal memory... but it has a storage medium... one that can provide you with plenty of space, but to you spoiled little s**** that's just not enough.

[jtucker78]

Enigma_2099 - "We've recently... not in ancient times... RECENTLY...
... went through a phase where we saved game data on these things called memory cards, now the very idea of the Wii using something similar is unacceptable."

Fair point Enigma. Why advance technology? We used to use memory cards why not keep using them? We used to play games in low def why not keep everything in low def? Why don't we keep Dolby Pro Logic instead of Dolby Digital? We don't need physics or dynamic lighting either.

Do you work for Nintendo?

[poopsack]

well yeah maybe my detector needs checking but

1) there HAVE been fanboys that protect the Wii's inferior space as "a way to make it more 'casual' and cheap" when thats a load of bull.

2)I didnt give u a disagree so stop harassing me

3)I did say you were being sarcastic right? Or I asked u. My comment was towards everyone stating my opinion that the Wii's price tag is too much.

But yeah Jtucker I agree Nintendo kinda said lets stop advancing and lets use things that already exist and mash em up into a console with the biggest rate of shovelware and lets make monies off of it. Anyone want a wii?

[Jdoki]

@ SaiyanFury

I'm certainly no Nintendo fanboy. Quite a few of my posts on N4G have been to air my disappointment with the Wii.

But providing only 512Mb isn't something I will gripe about. Sure they could of provided 2GB, 4GB or 8GB - but sooner or later someone would have filled it and started complaining that Nintendo should have given them more!

For anyone who has worked in a large company you will often find that one dept doesn't know what the heck the others are doing. So it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if the hardware devs thought 512MB was enough; while the software guys were dreaming up WiiWare. That may sound crazy but I've seen crazier things than that in business!

I still don't see 512MB being an issue. What I see (as I said before) is that not allowing us to run games from SD cards is a much bigger issue.

[Enigma_2099]

@jtucker78

"Fair point Enigma. Why advance technology? We used to use memory cards why not keep using them? We used to play games in low def why not keep everything in low def? Why don't we keep Dolby Pro Logic instead of Dolby Digital? We don't need physics or dynamic lighting either.

Do you work for Nintendo?"

When these advancements become less expensive to consumers, then your point will have been made, and etched in stone. But the Wii was originally intended to be an affordable console, or do you not remember this? Miyamoto wanted the console to retail at $99, but the price of the innards prevented this. No physics engines or dynamic lighting? Last I checked, all a game had to do was be GOOD enough to play....

You find a way to make all the HD screens, prehiperals and stuff affordable, and you'll have an argument. But until then, you have none.

And if they ever want to hire me, if the pay's right... would YOU turn it down?

@KnaveX: Will you stop blaming Nintendo for the shovelware? And it's hardly their fault that game developers aren't smart enough to at least make good games that take advantage of the system itself. You act like it's not capable of ANYTHING.

[sumfood4u]

Rather than dilly dallying over down load erase download erase, & some Virtual & Wii games like SSBB=128 SPaces can't be transferred to my 2GB SD! So in all Honesty I'd rather Deal with cheap SD 2GB card so I can Atleast have 1 2GB card strictly for Virtual Games another 2GB card for WiiWare & Wii Games. That's what I was doing for PS2 especally space all thoes dot hack & especally EveryQuest online games took up! Forced U to buy another Memory Card 1 for RPG, other for Miscellaneous!

Wii just messed up with it's 1/2 A$$ Picky Memory! Suxs not all Wii games can be Transfered to the 2GBSD card that includes SSBB=128 spaces, so that permantly on my Wii & internet just as important! So tell me how both thoes games =200mb out of Wii 512mb how is this generous?

[KrisXX]

is what it seems like. Japanese games don't seem to care about it. Or the good online play we WESTERNERS want. They usually laugh at the games we enjoy anyway. And the "casual" crowd are usually dumb for things like this, sorry to say, but they have no idea the Wii has limited space, so of course they don't cry for it like we do.

I had Wii and few months after launch, then got a 360 Elite about 6 months ago. I love both, but finally seeing XBL, all the arcade offerings, etc...really made me disappointed that the Wii still had no HDD and very weak online gaming, friend codes etc.

[Product]

why are you all comparing systems in the first place...look at the price point..the wii is 250........the other are hundreds more(at start) would you honestly think for a second wii in that price range would compete with ps3 or 360?If the wii cost 400 dollars then you would have an argument.

bottom line wii cost 250 and they are making a profit.....sony is selling thiers for 400 and barely making a profit.tell me where your logic would be if wii had as much space as a ps3?

wiiware doesnt even matter to me im a old gamer(and i mean older not the 15 year olds over here who say they are gamers)sony and microsoft dont have games that are as much fun as wii....they have games that are way way more deep in story and graphics but i come from a generation where graphics dont matter and i would rather play contra 3 over a new grand theft auto.(cause all i want to do in gta4 is steal cars and run people over ,does that game have a story??)