Nintendo’s Wii Storage Issues

Nintendo’s WiiWare channel is reported to be doing well (says Nintendo) and their Virtual Console games continue to invoke nostalgic downloads. Now, as Networked based gaming slowly starts to crawl on the console Nintendo has begun to realize they’re going to hit some storage issues.

The 512MB of internal flash memory is a bit lacking, especially considering you can purchase a 2GB flash drive for under USD $50.00 in todays market. While Sony and Microsoft work to increment their disk capacities in 20GB intervals Nintendo’s still trying to figure out how to solve their internal storage issues.

Although we initially heard that geeks would be the ones to hit the storage limitations Nintendo’s North American President and COO is readily admitting the pending issue, “we have a consumer base who loves virtual console. We have a userbase who really is enjoying WiiWare content. So for us really our challenge really is how do we satisfy all these consumers who are loving all of the product we make available on a download basis?”

The challenge in being a Japanese based company is understanding how American users consume your product. We’re much more likely to download content and spend money on products we’ve purchased 20 years ago. This is why we’ve got an American based Nintendo HQ to understand the ways of American thinking and trending.

While Nintendo Europe’s Europe’s Laurent Fischer sees only “geeks and otaku” utilizing the minimal disk capcity we here in the States can consume this space overnight. Imagine if we had downloadable content for Rock Band or Guitar Hero to pull down and play!?

As this becomes, as Reggie put it, a “mainstream problem” Nintendo is going to find their harder core demographic moving to other consoles that do it right and allow for expandability. There is a reason, after all, the other consoles cost a bit more to buy.

(Thanks, IGN)

0 thoughts on “Nintendo’s Wii Storage Issues”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Post

As Seen On TV – Casual Game Label (Wii and DS)As Seen On TV – Casual Game Label (Wii and DS)

A 3D version of Deal or No deal sound desirable to you? Perhaps you’re a game show fan and just can’t get enough Howie, if so, you’re in luck. Koch Media announced their new casual games label As Seen On TV which will bring popular TV brands to the console.

At first we were thinking “a games division based on infomercials?” No, their intention is to bring familiar casual game experiences into the home. Many families sit down and share their experiences of TV viewing together when it comes to watching game shows, Koch Media plans to make this a bit more interactive and competititve.

When can we expect the games to hit the market? “We are delighted to be launching the As Seen On TV range during the key Christmas retail period,” said Craig McNicol, Managing Director at Koch Media.

(Thanks, CasualGamerChick)

Read on for full press release…

(more…)

Episode 286: Free Indie GamesEpisode 286: Free Indie Games

This week, Gaming Podcast is giving away free indie games: Dungeon Defenders and the Zeboyd 2-Pack including Cthulhu Saves the World and Breath of Death VIII. The Gaming Flashback includes the original Splinter Cell from 2002.

There’s also plenty of news items including:

  • Blizzard facing class action lawsuit over Battle.net security
  • Former Square boss calls merger “a complete failure” between Square and Enix
  • Nintendo details Wii U network ID system
  • Molyneux skeptical about tablet/TV gaming
  • Halo 4 makes $220M in first day, Forward Unto Reach garners 46M viewers
  • Analyst: Grand Theft Auto V will sell 25M units

No Question of the Week – just let us know if you’d like to win either Dungeon Defenders or Cthulhu Saves the World/Breath Of Death VIII.

In addition, this is the final week of Kickstarter funding. Help the TD Gaming Podcast with its Kickstarter fundraising.

MGS4 Quickly Falls of Top Titles, NCAA Football 09 Takes LeadMGS4 Quickly Falls of Top Titles, NCAA Football 09 Takes Lead

The month, June 2008, Metal Gear Solid 4 takes number one on the NDP figures with 774,600 individual units (over 1-million if you include bundles), in July… they didn’t even make the top ten figure. What the heck?

NCAA Football 09 for the Xbox 360 took number one with 397,600 games sold, nothing close to MGS4’s figures form last month but still took the first position. Wii Fit took number two position, up from its fourth position in June showing lasting appeal or the ability for gamers to purchase the rare to find game set.

Wii Play still sits in the top ten titles along with Mario Kart and Rock Band (for the Wii). As a matter of fact, four out of the top ten titles are Wii games. One for DS (Guitar Hero: On Tour), two for Xbox 360 and two for PlayStation 3.

How is it possible for Wii Play and Wii Fit to hold top positions for so long while a game like MGS4 dies off so rapidly? More than likely this is the impact from having such great console sales that even a low attach rate (games to consoles) is significant enough when millions upon millions of consoles have been sold.

If the PlayStation 3 had more units in the hands of gamers, would their top tier titles like MGS4 hold top spot for more months? Presumably yes, another negative impact from being third in the race it seems.

(Thanks, 1up)