Nintendo Debuts New Pre-load Service With Super Smash Bros. Wii U

[Brittany Vincent]

Nintendo Debuts New Pre-load Service With Super Smash Bros. Wii U

Nintendo continues to catch up with its competition at a startling pace by beginning to allow pre-loads of pre-ordered games with Super Smash Bros Wii U.

Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata announced theability for players to pre-load games on the Wii U, starting with the release of Super Smash Bros. Wii U at Nintendo's latest investor's meeting.

Although Sony, Microsoft and Valve have had a similar system available for their systems for some time, this welcome addition to the functionality of the Wii U is another sign of Nintendo's commitment to focus on bringing their software up to par with Sony and Microsoft's current gen machines.

Iwata stated that the pre-download system, in addition to working with credit or debit card eShop purchases, will utilize download cards available in stores that will allow players to activate their pre-order by entering a code into the eShop, allowing those who want to use cash a alternative.

The pre-downloads will be available on the Wii U on November 21 with the release of Super Smash Bros Wii U and will start for the Nintendo 3DS in 2015.

Source: VG247 [http://www.vg247.com/2014/10/30/super-smash-bros-pre-download-wii-u/]

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[Hairless Mammoth]

Hey, look at that. Nintendo is slowly learning how the internet works. It's really good this finally happened since it took almost 30 minutes to download A Link Between Worlds late at night, when Steam can send me full PC games in little over that time. Just imagine on a launch day how slow it would be.

Now, if only their eshop codes were sold digitally at sites such as Amazon. Sony and Microsoft already do it at an even exchange rate. I used that method since I've already got an account set up and really don't trust any of the game services' security [footnote]I don't trust Amazon's security that much, but at least their customer support is good, considering that's their main source of bread and butter.[/footnote] with my credit card info.

 

[Lightknight]

How large is the game file anyways? WiiU downloads have always struck me as perplexing when the HDD is so small.

The article picture is kinda funny. Mario punching Bowser hard in the nuts.

 

[Towowo]

This is because any USB external HDD works on it, anyone who wants to download digitally on the Wii U probably has one anyway.

 

[Svarr]

Poor Bowser. D:

 

[smithy_2045]

I would've thought you'd want to test the functionality out on a smaller title first rather than the game that you're banking on being a console seller, but as long as it works.

 

[JediMB]

As much as I love Nintendo, I have to say...

Welcome to 2004, you guys! Only ten years behind Steam!

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

But the Wii U only has 8 GB of internal storage space... 32 GB if you bought the "Deluxe Set"... how is the console anywhere near ready to handle downloads?

 

[OldNewNewOld]

But the Wii U only has 8 GB of internal storage space... 32 GB if you bought the "Deluxe Set"... how is the console anywhere near ready to handle downloads?

As Towowo explained, you can use any external hard drive.
Nintendo explained that they put a small HDD in the WiiU to lower the cost for the consumer. Those who don't want to buy digital won't be paying extra for a bigger hard drive that they won't be using and those who want more space can buy a bigger hard drive than those that Nintendo could offer for cheaper.

 

[CaitSeith]

How large is the game file anyways? WiiU downloads have always struck me as perplexing when the HDD is so small.

The article picture is kinda funny. Mario punching Bowser hard in the nuts.

Bayonetta 2 takes up 17GB. However the Wii U supports external HDD of up to 2TB. I wonder if there is someone out there who has ever filled that much space with Wii U games.

 

[Lightknight]

How large is the game file anyways? WiiU downloads have always struck me as perplexing when the HDD is so small.

The article picture is kinda funny. Mario punching Bowser hard in the nuts.

Bayonetta 2 takes up 17GB. However the Wii U supports external HDD of up to 2TB. I wonder if there is someone out there who has ever filled that much space with Wii U games.

Is there any kind of read/write requirements that a crappy external HDD would impact?

 

[Atmos Duality]

As much as I love Nintendo, I have to say...

Welcome to 2004, you guys! Only ten years behind Steam!

I wouldn't quite go that far back. Steam was a horrible service in 2004.

 

[CaitSeith]

How large is the game file anyways? WiiU downloads have always struck me as perplexing when the HDD is so small.

The article picture is kinda funny. Mario punching Bowser hard in the nuts.

Bayonetta 2 takes up 17GB. However the Wii U supports external HDD of up to 2TB. I wonder if there is someone out there who has ever filled that much space with Wii U games.

Is there any kind of read/write requirements that a crappy external HDD would impact?

As far as I know, the cable. If the HDD doesn't have it's own power source (and it gets it from the USB cable itself instead), it'll probably need a Y-shaped USB cable or else it will disconnect.

 

[Lightknight]

How large is the game file anyways? WiiU downloads have always struck me as perplexing when the HDD is so small.

The article picture is kinda funny. Mario punching Bowser hard in the nuts.

Bayonetta 2 takes up 17GB. However the Wii U supports external HDD of up to 2TB. I wonder if there is someone out there who has ever filled that much space with Wii U games.

Is there any kind of read/write requirements that a crappy external HDD would impact?

As far as I know, the cable. If the HDD doesn't have it's own power source (and it gets it from the USB cable itself instead), it'll probably need a Y-shaped USB cable or else it will disconnect.

That's great. When I first heard of the Wii U's ridiculously small HDD space I immediately realized it would be a problem. It's nice to know that with a little more cash (guess it's around $100 for 2 TB nowadays?) and a slight amount of technical know-how we can now avoid the problem.

 

[JediMB]

As much as I love Nintendo, I have to say...

Welcome to 2004, you guys! Only ten years behind Steam!

I wouldn't quite go that far back. Steam was a horrible service in 2004.

It wasn't the best, sure. I remember activating HL2 took hilariously long. But it DID have preloading.