loadedstatement on 08 November 2007
Nintendo's Wii Little Space Problem
The following editorial is a part of AMN's "Your Turn" guest editorials series. This editorial does not express the opinion of AMN or its staff.
Several weeks ago, after reading the incredible reviews for the N64 import, Sin and Punishment, I made a virtual trip to the Nintendo Virtual Console store to download Treasure's masterpiece for myself, but I received an unexpected surprise after clicking the "Download" button—not enough Wii memory available for the purchase.
I knew that this day would come eventually, but I always counted on a solution arriving before my need for space became an issue. The SD slot was a bust because it required swapping out files through the system menu rather than direct access from the channels, and the external hard drive solution that was hinted at early and often is now clearly going to be a no-show.
Nintendo's stance on the memory problem is that users are smart enough to manage their files, with Nintendo using the refrigerator analogy of throwing out old food in your fridge to make space for new food. It's a pretty good analogy, except that when I'm at the checkout register of the grocery store, the clerk doesn't refuse to sell me a watermelon until I first go home and clean out the head of lettuce I left sitting in the vegetable crisper for the past two weeks.
And while I'm smart enough to go to the Wii's system menu to delete games in order to make room for new purchases, it's a hassle and it goes completely against Nintendo's Blue Ocean philosophy of making the Wii simple and easy enough for even your grandma to use. Wasn't that why it made a controller with a minimum buttons? Fiddling around in system memory is going to be just as intimidating to my mom as a 30-button Xbox 360 or PS3 controller would be. And it's also likely that mom might not be able to distinguish between the folder of game saves and the games files themselves because the layout is very similar. Also, you might be able to re-download that Sonic game, but restoring that Level 8 game save means starting over from scratch.
Sure, mom and grandma aren't currently the main audience using the Virtual Console, but it's a good bet that many of the upcoming original Wii Ware titles will be tapping into the casual gamer market, and it's also safe to assume that these game files will be much larger than the classic console games—probably even bigger than Sin and Punishment. My space problem this month becomes everyone's problem next spring.
I get why Nintendo is hesitant to bring out an external storage solution. Extra peripherals don't have the best track record in longevity and support (just ask PS2 owners who got stuck with the Final Fantasy Online drive). I also understand why it closed off the SD slot from being accessed directly to prevent piracy. So how does it solve this huge upcoming storage dilemma?
The solution is for Nintendo to take their fridge analogy seriously—to take it to the next level and make it intuitive. The Wii system should be updated to work behind the scenes, so it can clean your fridge out for you—to be your very own personal refrigerator maid. When that new download of Majora's Mask maxes out your memory, the Wii knows to toss the Donkey Kong Country game you haven't played in months. DKC will still show up in your channels, but the next time you click to play, you'll just need to wait a few moments for it to automatically re-download—no return trip to the VC store necessary—and Tecmo Super Bowl gets shuffled off the system memory to return some other day.
If Nintendo tweaks their system ever so slightly, it will be able to make the Virtual Console and Wii Ware channels work seamlessly, for both the hardcore gamer and the casual one—no external memory needed.
November 07, 2007
by: Cameron Brown
Several weeks ago, after reading the incredible reviews for the N64 import, Sin and Punishment, I made a virtual trip to the Nintendo Virtual Console store to download Treasure's masterpiece for myself, but I received an unexpected surprise after clicking the "Download" button—not enough Wii memory available for the purchase.
I knew that this day would come eventually, but I always counted on a solution arriving before my need for space became an issue. The SD slot was a bust because it required swapping out files through the system menu rather than direct access from the channels, and the external hard drive solution that was hinted at early and often is now clearly going to be a no-show.
| " The solution is for Nintendo to take their fridge analogy seriously -- to take it to the next level and make it intuitive." |
And while I'm smart enough to go to the Wii's system menu to delete games in order to make room for new purchases, it's a hassle and it goes completely against Nintendo's Blue Ocean philosophy of making the Wii simple and easy enough for even your grandma to use. Wasn't that why it made a controller with a minimum buttons? Fiddling around in system memory is going to be just as intimidating to my mom as a 30-button Xbox 360 or PS3 controller would be. And it's also likely that mom might not be able to distinguish between the folder of game saves and the games files themselves because the layout is very similar. Also, you might be able to re-download that Sonic game, but restoring that Level 8 game save means starting over from scratch.
Sure, mom and grandma aren't currently the main audience using the Virtual Console, but it's a good bet that many of the upcoming original Wii Ware titles will be tapping into the casual gamer market, and it's also safe to assume that these game files will be much larger than the classic console games—probably even bigger than Sin and Punishment. My space problem this month becomes everyone's problem next spring.
I get why Nintendo is hesitant to bring out an external storage solution. Extra peripherals don't have the best track record in longevity and support (just ask PS2 owners who got stuck with the Final Fantasy Online drive). I also understand why it closed off the SD slot from being accessed directly to prevent piracy. So how does it solve this huge upcoming storage dilemma?
The solution is for Nintendo to take their fridge analogy seriously—to take it to the next level and make it intuitive. The Wii system should be updated to work behind the scenes, so it can clean your fridge out for you—to be your very own personal refrigerator maid. When that new download of Majora's Mask maxes out your memory, the Wii knows to toss the Donkey Kong Country game you haven't played in months. DKC will still show up in your channels, but the next time you click to play, you'll just need to wait a few moments for it to automatically re-download—no return trip to the VC store necessary—and Tecmo Super Bowl gets shuffled off the system memory to return some other day.
If Nintendo tweaks their system ever so slightly, it will be able to make the Virtual Console and Wii Ware channels work seamlessly, for both the hardcore gamer and the casual one—no external memory needed.
Brian ZuckerGeneral PR Manager, VGChartzbzucker@vgchartz.com
