Nintendo Wii - Hard Drive On The Way?

[Wiinter]

So you are pissed because they did not name the representative they talked to. So what, they got some info and had someone from Nintendo turn it down saying it was a rumor.

What IGN said was speculation based on files sizes, nothing more nothing less.

The only rumor present, passed on by you, is that someone from Nintendo supposedly commented on it. Even in that rumor, there's no denial, there's no "turn down". What are you doing here? You're spreading rumors in the name of quashing admitted speculation?

You're not in all the threads out there where hear-say is cited as fact with no reference, but here, with a clear reference and link, with no claim that something is coming, simply that there is a need for it, suddenly you're rushing in with... nothing, pretending to have a legit source that disproves an assertion that hasn't even been made. This is one of those rare occasions when I would make use of negative feedback were it available.

Using the "excuse" of Neo Geo VC games as the driving force behind the external hard drive is extremely weak. First the majority of Wii owners are not the same people who owned a Neo Geo console.

How is that relevant? You think the only people who will buy them are people who have already owned them in the past? You could probably say the same thing about a number of other VC consoles. I never owned a SNES or N64, but I have every intention of picking up games from both systems.

 

[AZ_Wii_Tard]

What IGN said was speculation based on files sizes, nothing more nothing less.

The only rumor present, passed on by you, is that someone from Nintendo supposedly commented on it. Even in that rumor, there's no denial, there's no "turn down". What are you doing here? You're spreading rumors in the name of quashing admitted speculation?

You're not in all the threads out there where hear-say is cited as fact with no reference, but here, with a clear reference and link, with no claim that something is coming, simply that there is a need for it, suddenly you're rushing in with... nothing, pretending to have a legit source that disproves an assertion that hasn't even been made. This is one of those rare occasions when I would make use of negative feedback were it available.

Dude all I did was find a news story that shot down the rumor of Nintendo possibly adding a HD. In fact I found two sites that reported on the same Rumor. I did not spread a single rumor what are you talking about? Get over it. I just posted a link that gave some info on the subject. I don't know what you are trying to accomplish here but I think you have gotten a little off topic.


And another thing, every single post you have made in this thread has been to argue with some and stir things up? What's your problem?

 

[ciper]

What IGN said was speculation based on files sizes, nothing more nothing less.

How is that relevant? You think the only people who will buy them are people who have already owned them in the past? You could probably say the same thing about a number of other VC consoles. I never owned a SNES or N64, but I have every intention of picking up games from both systems.

Its a weak point on my part but I still think its relevant. You may not have owned a Super Nes but I am sure you know what Super Mario World is and most likely have even played it on someone elses console. Not many people have even seen a Neo Geo home console.

I dont doubt that a hard drive add on could be on its way. My only argument is that Neo Geo games have anything to do with it.

Another point I'd like to make is that Neo Geo VC requires you to have the internet, and if Neo Geo VC is the driving force behind the HD then it essentially means the HD is for people who connect the Wii to the net. Though not authoritative in any way I know many people who have never and have no plans to connect their Wii to the internet.

2gb SD cards are cheap. Even using the LARGEST Neo Geo roms as an example you could fit over 20. Most likely you could fit more like 35+

The person who has a Wii who which is connected to the internet that also wants Neo Geo games and would spend extra money on a peripheral seems like an extremely niche market is what Im trying to say.

I still think an HD is on the way.
BTW did you know that someone already wrote an application to play DVDs on the Wii? Too bad most of the members on this board will never see it because it requires a mod chip to run the code

 

[Wiinter]

You may not have owned a Super Nes but I am sure you know what Super Mario World is and most likely have even played it on someone elses console. Not many people have even seen a Neo Geo home console.

That's true. There will be e-press as the games are released, videos that give people a look at the games and advertise them, and given the limited selection of Wii titles, that coule drive NG sales, but yeah, their exposure is going to start out as less than some of the others. I take your point on that.

2gb SD cards are cheap. Even using the LARGEST Neo Geo roms as an example you could fit over 20. Most likely you could fit more like 35+

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you can't play those games from the SD card. So in some cases, you could only have one NG game on your console, and the time comes to play another, you'd have to delete it, then copy another 100megish file over before you could play it. To me, the SD card is virtually useless (I haven't bothered getting one) except as a backup. I don't have kids, so I'm not really worried about my save games disappearing.

Another point I'd like to make is that Neo Geo VC requires you to have the internet, and if Neo Geo VC is the driving force behind the HD then it essentially means the HD is for people who connect the Wii to the net.

I think that's absolutely true. Game saves are small enough, short of online content (games, game expansion, a la maps and levels, and channels), I can't think of any reason for a HD. Even if Nintendo increases its viability as a media player, something they shied away from before, they would want content to come from online providers (Amazon/movielink), not from people locally putting files on it.

Though not authoritative in any way I know many people who have never and have no plans to connect their Wii to the internet.

Nintendo 'brags' about 40% of Wii consoles having been online, so yeah, most Wii users aren't. But that still leaves a market of millions of potential buyers. One big game that used (without requiring) the drive for large expansions could make it a popular item. One large channel, a la PS3's Home could drive the need for HD space as well.

Personally, I think they had drive expansion plans from the beginning (what better use for USB?). They were probably wise not to include gigs on the system, since as you noted, millions of users haven't been online ever with their console. This way they keep their console price point low, but still offer the option to hardcore users. They also divide the purchase up, so you get a Wii one year, 12 months later, blow a few extra dollars on drive space. Makes it more palatable for cheap users with short attention spans.

Really, all you are saying is the NG space needs are a weak argument for the HD (and you argue for your point well). But it is the very first time there's been an argument at all. N64 roms are what, 8 megs? In 7 or 8 months, they've only released 4 of them, so to date, there's been no threat of running out of space. But with NG roms, you could literally run out of space (without doing a mad SD juggling act) on your second game purchase. It's not the sheer number of consoles that could run up against that problem (as you said, it's the fraction of Wii users that are online that know what NG is) that makes it a decent argument for drive expansion, it's that Nintendo is entertaining selling large media at all. That's new, and to me, it's a compelling reason for hope. Nintendo isn't playing the same all-in-one media game the other consoles are, and there's been no confirmation that they see the need for additional storage or that they will push storage to its limits. Till now.

BTW did you know that someone already wrote an application to play DVDs on the Wii? Too bad most of the members on this board will never see it because it requires a mod chip to run the code

There was a vaporware modchip that promised to enable DVD playback some months ago--their website claimed they were ironing out production issues, but I suspect it was bogus from the start. While there's no technical reason it can't be done, I've yet to hear credible reports that it has been done. Do you have confirmation of a setup that functions?

 

[ciper]

I repped your post.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you can't play those games from the SD card.

Currently that is true. However you can copy a VC game to the SD card, delete it from the system then copy it back from the card and it still works. Seems logical to me that nintendo could update the system to allow channels to be stored on the SD card directly and have it function as a true "memory upgrade"

I think that's absolutely true. Game saves are small enough, short of online content (games, game expansion, a la maps and levels, and channels), I can't think of any reason for a HD. Even if Nintendo increases its viability as a media player, something they shied away from before, they would want content to come from online providers (Amazon/movielink), not from people locally putting files on it.

I agree. I think the HD will be used so that games can download their own expanded content. Imagine, a game could effectively be released unfinished and patches and additional levels downloaded directly in game (automatically?) and saved to the HD.

Nintendo 'brags' about 40% of Wii consoles having been online, so yeah, most Wii users aren't. But that still leaves a market of millions of potential buyers. One big game that used (without requiring) the drive for large expansions could make it a popular item. One large channel, a la PS3's Home could drive the need for HD space as well.

Possibly. The PS2 HD "failed" because all they had was one game to support it. The Wii benefits from being online ready from the get go without the need of extra hardware like the PS2

Personally, I think they had drive expansion plans from the beginning (what better use for USB?). They were probably wise not to include gigs on the system, since as you noted, millions of users haven't been online ever with their console. This way they keep their console price point low, but still offer the option to hardcore users. They also divide the purchase up, so you get a Wii one year, 12 months later, blow a few extra dollars on drive space. Makes it more palatable for cheap users with short attention spans.

I agree 90% . Some say the USB is for keyboards and such but why force the person to plug into the console instead of the bottom of the Wiimote? We have already seen odd devices for the Wiimote. Look up the Densha De Go videos on youtube for a great example.

There was a vaporware modchip that promised to enable DVD playback some months ago--their website claimed they were ironing out production issues, but I suspect it was bogus from the start. While there's no technical reason it can't be done, I've yet to hear credible reports that it has been done. Do you have confirmation of a setup that functions?

That modchip has since been proven fake The DVD play software I have seen is compiled under gamecube linux. I have not personally ran the code but I trust that it is true considering the other applications that have been released for GC linux. Someone is even porting QUAKE!
edit: One of the original posts reported on news sites http://psx-scene.com/forums/wiikey/56884-dvd-playback-chipped-wii-coming-soon.html