[-GONZO-]

Well this certainly doesn't sound too clever.
You can download WiiU games to USB storage, but to play them you have to transfer the file back to the WiiU onboard storage as your unable to load direct from the USB device
So if you have a Basic WiiU then you have no chance of downloading WiiU games unless they're a lot less than 8GB.

Unfortunately, external devices are apparently — according to the source article — for storage purposes only and games cannot be played straight from the drive —

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/201...vices_detailed

[grimtales1]

What's the point then?

[chrisy]

That article has been updated since -GONZO- posted it.

Originally Posted by nlife

UPDATE: We've since been contacted by Official Nintendo Magazine - the source of this particular piece of news - to clarify a few points. According to ONM, a post on the Japanese Wii U website was "misinterpreted" and it has NOT been confirmed by Nintendo that software cannot be played directly from storage media. ONM have contacted Nintendo for an update, and we'll keep you informed as soon as we hear the outcome. In the meantime, the original story is below.

[-GONZO-]

I certainly do hope that it does turn out to be false as that's one feature I didn't like with the Wii when they added loading VC from SD card which you had to have enough spare internal memory(equivelant to the file size) to load then up.

[Jamesollier18]

hope they create a nintendo USB HDD to then be able to play games off a larger drive or the console is doomed as a failer, to not have a larger storage option and hassle free gaming to
constantly copy games to the system to just play is not in this day an age people will just get the xbox or ps3 as they are over five years old now and have no problem on that front and this system is NEW

[Callous]

Originally Posted by Jamesollier18

hope they create a nintendo USB HDD to then be able to play games off a larger drive or the console is doomed as a failer, to not have a larger storage option and hassle free gaming to
constantly copy games to the system to just play is not in this day an age people will just get the xbox or ps3 as they are over five years old now and have no problem on that front and this system is NEW

Not really. Few people download full retail games (largely due to their cost and the fact they can't be resold). The 32GB on the premium console will be enough for most people in regards to eshop titles.

Having said that..

...it must be possible to play games directly from the USB HDD. Nintendo may do some silly things..but I don't believe for a second they'd advertise the ability to download full games to USB....but release a machine that is unable to play them.

[BinaryDad]

Here's a little mental exercise for everybody.

If you download a game that is say, ~20GB in size and you have to upload it to internal flash before playing; how do you play that title on the basic configuration with only 8GB of flash memory? Or does anybody seriously think that Nintendo is going to make it so that you pay for something, which you then cannot play?

[Jamesollier18]

Originally Posted by Callous

Not really. Few people download full retail games (largely due to their cost and the fact they can't be resold). The 32GB on the premium console will be enough for most people in regards to eshop titles.

Having said that..

...it must be possible to play games directly from the USB HDD. Nintendo may do some silly things..but I don't believe for a second they'd advertise the ability to download full games to USB....but release a machine that is unable to play them.

you expect the amounts nintendo have put in the wii U on a music mp3 player not a gaming console

[Jamesollier18]

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/n...-detailed.html

well we can have an external powered HDD up to 2TB I hope we can run games from that that over USB as article not clear, but it is clear that it cannot happen with flash USB pens

[Serebii]

Originally Posted by Jamesollier18

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/n...-detailed.html

well we can have an external powered HDD up to 2TB I hope we can run games from that that over USB as article not clear, but it is clear that it cannot happen with flash USB pens

You can, Nintendo have been making it quite clear. In the recent Nintendo Direct,they demonstrated how the games you have on the storage device appear right with the ones downloaded directly onto the console's flash memory.

Relax everyone, games CAN be played off of External HDDs connected to the Wii U

[Bandos]

Originally Posted by BinaryDad

Here's a little mental exercise for everybody.

If you download a game that is say, ~20GB in size and you have to upload it to internal flash before playing; how do you play that title on the basic configuration with only 8GB of flash memory? Or does anybody seriously think that Nintendo is going to make it so that you pay for something, which you then cannot play?

The system takes up 60% of the storage space on the 8GB console. That means you can't even download a game like Nintendo Land. So you'll need a USB hard drive if you want to download games.

This graphic shows you where all the memory has gone
http://www.wii-consoles.co.uk/articl...mory-usage.asp . It's not an issue for the 32GB console.

I think they're saying USB hard drives will be work just like the internal storage memory. Although USB pen drives are not recommended.

[-GONZO-]

You can run WiiU games from an SD card, just as long as you use a USB SD Adapter which is pretty good news as I won't have to go and buy a hard drive so soon.
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/201...off_an_sd_card

[Callous]

Originally Posted by Bandos

The system takes up 60% of the storage space on the 8GB console. That means you can't even download a game like Nintendo Land. So you'll need a USB hard drive if you want to download games.

This graphic shows you where all the memory has gone
http://www.wii-consoles.co.uk/articl...mory-usage.asp . It's not an issue for the 32GB console.

I think they're saying USB hard drives will be work just like the internal storage memory. Although USB pen drives are not recommended.

. You'll certainly want a USB hard drive if you intend on downloading retail titles....but most eshop games are far smaller-

■Chasing Aurora - 103 MB
■Little Inferno - 82 MB
■Nano Assault Neo - 81 MB
■Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition - 525 MB


Trine 2 is more of a problem as it's a couple GB.

Amazing that Nano Assault Neo is only 81MB considering it has some of the best visuals on the Wii U.