CrunchGear

SD cards are cheap now, you get can 2GB for under 20$ - so I think that actually is a very good solution if its offered (not sure if it is nor not on the Wii). Yet another reason to wait for a product refresh a reckon.

Jon

lets start with “a normal number of games”

half of the vc games as well as all the channels, (and no doubt a hefty amount of save files) is not normal. the average wii owner has downloaded, I would say, between 5 and 10 titles, not 52!

though I would aggree that an emulator with each game is nedless, but lets not make people think that everyone is running out of space. I would consider myself a “hardcore” gamer and I have about 15 vc games and only 2 of my pages are being used, not even full.

this is because thre is a fair bit of space. I store games I dont usually play on SD cards and when ive beaten or am good and bored with a game I delete it, and then redownload it free of charge at a later date.

dont get me wrong, being able to play vc games off an SD card would be great, dedicated emulators and channels for each system on the vc would also be a good idea, but sd cards are hardly “expensive or impractical.”

I really think that people need to get off the whole “nintendo will screw everything up” kick. its getting tired .. that being said, im not saying they are perfect … I just think people enjoy complaining about something that is succesful

with 2G SD cards being only $19.99 this is not really a big deal. Tiger carries 2G SD cards that cost around $19.99 or a few dollars less than that. It is practical I mean you can take your games with you to play on other systems.

The drives in PS3s aren’t being used, maybe Nintendo can buy them cheap. Sony might turn a profit this month.

But you can’t run Wii Channels AKA Virtual Console games off the card. You have to delete some on the memory and copy them back from the card if you want to play the game.

If they changed this in an update I would be a happy camper.

Honestly the N-64 games take up a lot of space.

to jake:

I understand that, and Its true it would be useful. but really, do you need to have all of your downloads on there at all times? as convinient as it would be, its hardly required, and it hardly constitutes a storage problem. a storage problem would be, you have so many game saves that the wii is full, but thats not it.

it would be delightful to have everything on there at all times, but at wiis modest price, Im not expecting gigs of storage.

and as for that update, we can only hope, but a few minutes to transfer a few games isnt really a pain is it?

The entire concept behind the Wii Virtual Console is based on instant access to classic games. It is all about convenience. That is the reason why it’s worth the money to pay ten bucks for an emulator of an N-64 game rather than track down a physical cartridge on eBay. That is the selling point.

I would like to see the Virtual Console store full of hundred of games including PC Engine and Super Famicom games that never had a chance in the US. But they are going to need to address the storage issue in order for that to be a reality.

I have higher expectations for Nintendo and I don’t think that a software solution for this is too much to ask for. There is a glass ceiling about how many VC games you can fit on the Wii under the current software. I am not asking for an external hard drive just slightly better software to take advantage of the SD slot.

“It is practical I mean you can take your games with you to play on other systems.”

Actually no, you can’t. Wii VC games are DRMed to only work on the Wii console that you bought them on.

I read recently that Nintendo keeps tabs on what you download. They do this so that if you run out of space on your Wii, you can delete VC games; then if you want them back, you can redownload them FOR FREE from the Wii Shop.

Proof that Nintendo has done well in forecasting any possible problem with the Shop Channel.

Who the hell buys 52 games? To be honest, most of the VC games out so far are crap. I can’t believe anybody has bought that many. Besides that, SD cards are not expensive. I got a 2 GB at Bestbuy for 9.99 on sale. That’s hardly pricey.

“Actually no, you can’t. Wii VC games are DRMed to only work on the Wii console that you bought them on.”

actually, yes, you can, but the game can only be played if it was previously downloaded on that console in the first place. its kind of backwards, but you can at least get your info right.

listen, you do have virtual instand access. you can download them whenever, you dont even have to keep games stored on sd cards since you can just download them, again for free.

you are right, there is a glass ceiling, that one can walk around by redownloading games. I do aggree, that by years end, I would like to have some kind of alternative option to deal with my games, but even then it wont be the end of the world, and I would by no means need it, though I may want it.

the software would be nice, and provided the data transfer rate on the SD card slot is high enough, they will implement it eventually.. when its worth it to make an update that at least a large chunk of their users will find advantageous. 52 games is not what the aveage wii owner downloads.. its very atypical, hence, not worth the time right now.

and alternative storage methods are in the works, mass storage software was licenced recently, so flash drives, hard drives are at least on their way. like I keep saying, this is hardly an imminent issue

Calvin I know that but there is no good reason why they can’t enable you to run Channels off the SD card or save directly to the SD card.\

“actually, yes, you can, but the game can only be played if it was previously downloaded on that console in the first place. its kind of backwards, but you can at least get your info right.”

Ok your right I can take my card over to my pals place and stick it in his Wii. However since they are encrypted to only run on my Wii they still are not going to work. If my friend has the same game what is the point of me being able to bring it over? I can show him the card and the card will fit but the software will not run.

Since the Wii software takes up several channels it is less than 52.

On the Xbox 360 you can run software on a card. Imagine if you could not run a program off a disk or CD in a PC and you had to transfer it to the hard drive in order for it to run even if it’s a simple game or a small program.

jake, yes, I said that it was backwards, I know it doesnt make sense, I simply wanted the facts the be straight here.

regardless, whether it be 52, or 45 its still way more than the average user.

and I think these problems should be fixed, and they need to be especially with downloadable content, and possibly original games, or another console being added to the VC.

I just think people are making WAY more out of this than they should be. a couple people who want everything under the sun stored on their wii isnt necessitating them to do anything at this time.

should the time come and they do nothing believe me ill be right beside you joining in the complaint.

k jake it only takes like 10 minutes to all this so stop complaining and go play with your wii

now i think jake here brings up very good points, and they should not be so easily waved away. the simple truth is the wii is a product. being sold to a consumer. who could just as easily take his business elsewhere and enjoy playing an xbox 360 or a ps3. therefor it is in a company’s best interest to listen to customer complaints and work off of them - to tell someone that it is not a big deal, and that they shouldn’t complain is just ridic. consumers have every right to demand improvements - if not you aren’t showing that “you love the system more” or that “you’re the better market” - you’re just showing your own low expectations and your own willingness to accept lower quality.
I have an xbox360, and am slowly debating buying a wii. but the only reason i would do it would be if there was an influx of older role playing games onto the vc, and if they fix this issue right here. i have 40 games downloaded onto my 360s harddrive - each one is roughly 50mb.. that is several gigs worth right there. no way in hell would i bother if i had to be popping in sd cards or redownloading games - those are stupid wastes of time and in this comparison i think nintendo dropped the ball. it is not wise to offer downloads if you don’t offer space *for* the downloads.
i’d already have a wii if this was fixed, and i know there are more like me out there. they need to address it.

eRick makes a great point, when I buy a product I expect it to be able to grow with me.

My hopes for the Wii community is that there would be more Channels and more VC games in the future. But with the limit of storage space that will drastically slow the availability of future content on the channels and VC games. Also everyone seams focused on just the VC games. When the channels have a real opportunity to expand what they provide and could really use up storage to make it more efficient. There is no reason to be limited in this way SD or USB could both be used.
I am sure Nintendo is working on this and it will come but if the community of Wii owners do not show support for it why would they provide it.

One more note
Also in terms of efficiency; server/internet performance from WiiConnect is impacted by unnecessary downloads there is a limit to the size of the internet pipes being used for all these download. When you are the only one the impact is small but multiply it across the hundreds of thousands of potential Wii consumers that are downloading games over and over again because of space it becomes an issue. And you will see this at prime times for large populated areas in slow download response no matter what GB wideband access you have.