Oh hey, the Wii U will have the ability to plug an external HDD to it. That was confirmed by Hardware engineers a good few months ago.

It isn't about sympathizing with anyone, there are no complaints here. It's about criticising an approach to an e-commerce solution.

You can either take Spurge's approach and give Ninty a chance, or say that it's unacceptable in this day and age. Or you can say that that isn't what we're getting anyways, so there is no issue to talk about.

But this thread simply isn't about being sympathetic about anyone.

Then I will take that back.

I couldn't care less.

I understand why some people aren't upset about the external HDD thing, but it's not personal preference that matters here, it's the market. Why would a developer choose to release their content on a downloadable platform where the storage is an optional extra? You'll fill up that 8-16gb with only a handful of retail downloads,  after that there's another price wall between the customer and the content. 

Of course I have no idea at this point what sort of crowd will buy the Wii U, but if ta large number of owners are there for the casual or Nintendo titles with a few third party ones on the side, I'm betting the adoption rate for extra storage will be poor. The only way I see it taking off is if a Nintendo first party title requires you to get past that pay wall (ala SS with Motion Plus), but I don't expect that to happen soon - for the same reason a developer wouldn't release their game on the service in the first place. 

Storage woes:

1) It will have some internal storage. Should easily be enough to download a few large games and tons of smaller items.

2) It will have SD card slots for quick and easy storage if that's better suited for the user.

3) It will have the ability to connect to a USB harddrive which will allow power users to do literally anything they want.

I don't see how anyone could think Wii U's storage will be an issue. 360 has always had a no or 4GB option and that sku has always sold VERY well. If Wii U's internal storage utilizes the 32GB memory that has become so prevalent on phones and tablets, it is more than enough for a stock beginning.

Then for those who will want to focus on digital distribution, they can choose to purchase what best fits their needs. I know I will likely pick up an inexpensive 1TB USB drive.

If the market does move to a more digital distribution, you'll want to have this flexibility as you'll likely have a wide variation on consumer needs and uses. While 10GB might be perfect for some, 10TB might be needed by others.

I haven't even used 1/4 of the 250GB on my PS3, however I have purchased mostly retail games. Next gen, I may purchase mostly digital copies.

The assumption is that if you're going to choose the digital retail games, you are going to invest in an external HDD. They are pretty cheap on the internet I believe (and can be used for just about anything, even disconnected from the WiiU).

Developers wouldn't have to worry about digitizing their software, it will likely be part of the SDK or distribution package.

As for casual owners, Nintendo is going after the core this gen, they've made it clear. And even if they went for casual, we know alot of people are computer litterate now a days. Storing music an pictures on an EHD has never been an issue afaict.

Because it doesn't cost them any more money to do so. They'll likely pay the same fees for disc or Nintendo digital release versions. But on digital it'll be based on actual sales whereas discs are based on shipped orders. Its the same reason EA created Origin. Its the same reason any PC game at this point is pretty much available via Steam. Digital distribution is FAR cheaper with a FAR lower risk for a publisher/dev.

External HDD is the superior option when coupled with a decent amount of built-in memory.

Well that is certainly an assumption. And I did read Nintendo's intent on aiming for the 'core', but well, they've said that before. I'd like to see it happen, but I'm not convinced as of yet that the adoption rate will be sufficient to make it a healthy service. I could see Nintendo making a proprietary external drive with a nice glossy finish and Nintendo logo on the front, that could help. We'll have to see. 

So its pretty much the same as how the 3DS handles downloads...i cant say i have a problem with that. Its not as convenient as background downloading but its really not a big deal

Actually, the context of his speech at the time was in reference to the time it takes to download a Wii U game versus the time it takes to download a 3DS games.

He wasn't talking about background downloads or a multitasking OS but simply the length of time it takes to download a game on Wii U because they are bigger than games on 3DS.

Why must you scrutinize every facet of his talks to a degree that you miss the forest looking at the trees?