SD Cards One of Many Storage Options for Nintendo's Wii

[fitbabits]

Reader Zechs01 recently found the following interesting tidbit of information concerning storage medium for Nintendo's Wii.

Speaking with Game Informer magazine, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime clarified the purpose of the Wii's front flap, as well as hinted to the console's ability to utilize other storage mediums aside from SD cards.

Game Informer: What is the little door on the front of the unit?

Fils-Aime: That is where an SD card goes. That's storable media. And on top, are the attachments for the GameCube controllers.

Game Informer: So will SD cards be the primary storage medium?

Fils-Aime: It will be one of the memory mediums, and it's the only one that we've announced.

In March 2005, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata noted that because of the Wii's two USB ports, "practically any storage method can be used". Although Nintendo has made no official announcements regarding plans to sell or support USB mass storage devices for Wii, Fils-Aime's corraborating statements increase the likelihood Wii owners will be presented with storage options in addition to SD cards.
Thanks to The Wire (http://www.thewiire.com) for the above quote (http://www.thewiire.com/news/354/1/SD_Cards_Not_Only_Storage_Medium).

It's nice to finally have some options when it comes to storage on consoles and not be stuck with a company's proprietery solution. One more feather in Nintendo's cap.

[Mozgus]

It's nice to finally have some options when it comes to storage on consoles and not be stuck with a company's proprietery solution. One more feather in Nintendo's cap.
Exactly! This is fantastic news! You can find SD cards everywhere, and they can have amazing storage space. Does anyone know if we will be allowed to transfer our officially downloaded ROMs to the SD cards, for safe keeping?

[Serapth]

The option of USB storage is a sweet feature.

Except for USB storage though, who gives a damn. Frankly SD is the best of the best when it comes to the various memory cards out there. CompactFlash is just too damned big, slow and old. Sony Memory Stick and especially Memory Stick DUO are just way to frickin expensive. MiniSD is overkill, too pricey ( 20% premium ) for being smaller then SD, when in this case size doesnt matter. Besides, you can get an adapter anyways. When it comes down to it, I wish every device released would support only SD, so that it would become even more standard than it is now. Right now, my laptop, my tv, my phone and my camera can all support the same SD card without requiring a format. All the camera, tv, computer and gaming companies should get together and declare all other formats as obsolete and focus purely on SD and miniSD, the world would be a happier place.

[Serapth]

Exactly! This is fantastic news! You can find SD cards everywhere, and they can have amazing storage space. Does anyone know if we will be allowed to transfer our officially downloaded ROMs to the SD cards, for safe keeping?


I imagine that would be the case, I seem to recall an interview after the virtual console was announced where they said you could store in the internal 512meg flash memory or to SD card. That said, I bet they encrypt the ROMs and sign it with a device key unique to each Wii so that people cant start trading them on the net. Frankly if they dont piracy will just kill the virtual consoles profits.

Then again, chances are an intrepid hacker will have the security mechanism cracked within the week its released.

[Mozgus]

Then again, chances are an intrepid hacker will have the security mechanism cracked within the week its released.
I'd bet a dollar on that. But if the games really are $5 or less, I doubt I'll be pirating them. Mario 64 for $5 in high resolution? That's a steal. As long as the emulation is perfect.

[pseudopseudo]

Then again, chances are an intrepid hacker will have the security mechanism cracked within the week its released.
Because of that fact, I can see Nintendo making the Wii so that ROM's can't be transferred...

...or maybe not. Because then what if you sell your Wii? (God forbid.) This'll shape up as a real interesting topic, I think.

[chilifries]

Here's how I'm seeing the big three's view on making a successful next-gen console:

Nintendo: Make it easy for consumers to get into gaming.
Microsoft: Make it easy for gamers to game together online.
Sony: We're sony dammit, buy our @#$%!

[zokrath]

Certainly there will be some form of protection on any backed-up roms, but I doubt that Nintendo will put any draconian measures on them. Roms are already so prevelant and easy to aquire on the internet, that this does not seem like an easier vector for aquiring the raw Rom image.

Furthermore, what Roms a Wii is allowd to play will likely be monitored and controlled via the online connection, similar to Steam, although hopefully not quite as intrusively.

Associating the Roms with the account that downloaded them might be better however, allowing you to bring your Roms to a friend's house, sign on to the online service with your account, and temporarily play those Roms on your friend's Wii...

[Evil Avnovice]

Sounds like good news to me. :) As an early adopter of the PSP, I've always noticed that there were other formats that offered more, or as much storage capacity, as the Memory Stick Pro Duo, but at a far more affordable price.

[zyzyx]

Have Nintendo definitely said that the SD will not use a proprietary connector then?

Remember that the xbox controller ports are USB, doesn't mean you can use anything with them.

It would be in their interests really, make their money on the downloads where it's 100% profit to them.

[BenkeiHami]

CompactFlash is just too damned big, slow and old.

CF is bigger of course but the fastest ones are about twice the speed of the fastest SD cards.

[Siraris]

I was at Fry's Electronics today, my first time there, and they had 4 1 gig SD cards (A Family Pack) for $100 bucks. I did a triple take. If anyone lives near a Fry's and wants to stock up for the Wii, this is your chance!

[Deathbane27]

Sweet, my MP3 player uses a 1 GB SD card, plus has a USB connection and works as a plug-n-play external drive, so I'm all set. :)

[Odyzen]

I'm set. I have two external USB drives plus a HDD lying around that I can swap if iI need room... about 200 gigs. And two 1 gig SD card for those quick small stuff. :D

Besides copying roms someone bought from the Virtual Console, I wonder will it be possible to somehow upload raw roms found on the net so that we can play through the !!M. The Wii isn't even out and we're all consider what illegal or potentially illegal things we could do. AHHHH What's wrong with us... um me... maybe us, this is Evil Avatar. :rolleyes:

[Vandabo]

I'm all for USB connectivity. Finally get that Universal part down.

Devices need to be distinguished by their quality and usefulness, not by some lame proprietary plug that limits their compatibility. If companies make a good product, people will buy it and use it. I use my 360 controller for lots of PC games, and I don't even own a 360. This is the way it should be.

[Dr Quincy]

Isn't the 360 the only console not supporting SD? I know the PS3 supports just about every card under the sun.

[Samurai Joe]

I thought you could use any memory card reader with the 360, and the unit would see it as a mass storage device? I could be wrong, I've never tried it, but I figure it would be possible since you can use a Sony Memory Stick Duo card.

[boratika]

Just a thought, Nintendo have alluded to being able to tie a profile to a controller. Maybe you'll be able to take games to your friends place if you take your control. Like a big shiny white key.

[Deathbane27]

Isn't the 360 the only console not supporting SD? I know the PS3 supports just about every card under the sun.

http://tinypic.com/8whxf6.jpg

[TrackZero]

Awesome, this is some kickass news. It's about time the format for storage just got opened (at least on the memory card side).

[51|RandoM]

This is just another sign that Nintendo intends to make most of its profit on the games, while keeping the hardware investment for the consumer modest.

The bean counters at MS and Sony must be having fits, lol.

[PIPBoy3000]

Who needs a proprietary HD add-on when you've got USB? Just plug in whatever size drive or memory card you want and you've got lots of space for save games and such.

[donkeydrop]

Exactly! This is fantastic news! You can find SD cards everywhere, and they can have amazing storage space. Does anyone know if we will be allowed to transfer our officially downloaded ROMs to the SD cards, for safe keeping?
Actually maybe not so good. SD standards have varied a lot over time and incompatability problems are common. Also if they are using SD and not SDHC the capacity will be limited to 2 GB. Most likely the real reason they want to use this format is because SD contains the ability to apply a DRM scheme, not because it's the best format. This would also suggest that the likelihood that they will allow a USB hard drive to store downloaded games is nil.

[donkeydrop]

The option of USB storage is a sweet feature.

Except for USB storage though, who gives a damn. Frankly SD is the best of the best when it comes to the various memory cards out there. CompactFlash is just too damned big, slow and old. Sony Memory Stick and especially Memory Stick DUO are just way to frickin expensive. MiniSD is overkill, too pricey ( 20% premium ) for being smaller then SD, when in this case size doesnt matter. Besides, you can get an adapter anyways. When it comes down to it, I wish every device released would support only SD, so that it would become even more standard than it is now. Right now, my laptop, my tv, my phone and my camera can all support the same SD card without requiring a format. All the camera, tv, computer and gaming companies should get together and declare all other formats as obsolete and focus purely on SD and miniSD, the world would be a happier place.


CF is too big?? :rolleyes: It's smaller than the memory cards currently in the Gamecube by far. I find SD is too small; why do I want a card the size of a fingernail unless it is in a portable device? It's too easy to lose.

[codswallop]

CompactFlash is just too damned big, slow and old.
Wrong, wrong and wrong.

The size of CompactFlash cards are perfectly fine. Faster cards are always being released, and they are more than fast enough to handle what the Wii needs. I'm pretty sure CompactFlash cards are faster than SD Cards/MemorySticks.

If they were slow, why would Canon and Nikon etc. use them for their top-of-the-range dSLR cameras?

[jacktion]

How can his opinion be wrong? If he thinks they are too big then that is what he thinks. That's like saying,
"I think Dirk Nowitzki is too tall." and then you run up and go
"Wrong!!1"

But that's neither here nor there.

This will be great. SD cards are becoming the de facto standard for storage. The are used in phones because they are little, and in cameras for the same reason. I have never seen any compatibility problems in my day and now I will be able to use one storage medium for my; camera, phone, mp3 player, gba movie player, Wii, and my robotic toilet. Sweet!

[Kamalot]

This is just another sign that Nintendo intends to make most of its profit on the games, while keeping the hardware investment for the consumer modest.

The bean counters at MS and Sony must be having fits, lol.
Heh, I was thinking the same thing. Instead of trying to make money off of Wii-only memory cards, they intend on focusing on games. Maybe that $30 I save on a memory card I'll spend on a Zapper lightgun shell. :D

[Kamalot]

Isn't the 360 the only console not supporting SD? I know the PS3 supports just about every card under the sun.So, you aren't counting the 'gimped' $499 PS3 as a real console this time?

[benig]

I notice that a lot of people on here are referring to the Virtual Console games as ROMs. They are not ROMs. They are, from what I can tell, retrofitted to run on the Wii through a combination of emulation and reconfiguration to be playable with the Wii Classic Controller. Look at the pics of the Super Mario 64 Wii version.

[Achilles]

I notice that a lot of people on here are referring to the Virtual Console games as ROMs. They are not ROMs. They are, from what I can tell, retrofitted to run on the Wii through a combination of emulation and reconfiguration to be playable with the Wii Classic Controller. Look at the pics of the Super Mario 64 Wii version.Do you have a link for those pics Benig? I'd be curious to see if they're doing some anti-aliasing on there, or upscaling it or something.

[Deathbane27]

I notice that a lot of people on here are referring to the Virtual Console games as ROMs. They are not ROMs. They are, from what I can tell, retrofitted to run on the Wii through a combination of emulation and reconfiguration to be playable with the Wii Classic Controller. Look at the pics of the Super Mario 64 Wii version.

How, exactly, does that make then not ROMs? Unless we're going to be editing them on the Wii or something...

[destoo]

They might be embedded or encrypted roms.

Something like: ( Rom + extra code + emulator ) all encrypted into one file, with the encryption key linked to your family account, user account, or even to your individual Wii (would suck) or Wiimote (would be better)

I doubt the Wii will play roms in a /ROMZ/ folder on a SD card.

Eventually (2 days? one week? 5 years?) someone will break them and you'll start seeing Virtual Console emulators on PCs, and then user made homebrew Virtual Console games.

Nintendo has two options: Online authorization or local encryption.
Yes, they might take both options.

[Dr Quincy]

So, you aren't counting the 'gimped' $499 PS3 as a real console this time?

The non-premium version isn't available in the UK so it isn't really an issue for me.

[Goronmon]

The non-premium version isn't available in the UK so it isn't really an issue for me.You're a "Hear no evil, see no evil" kinda guy, huh? Thats great, we need more people like that in the world.

[Kamalot]

You're a "Hear no evil, see no evil" kinda guy, huh? Thats great, we need more people like that in the world.We've got a LOT of people like that in America. They tend to breed quickly too. :(