...and if you don't buy a lot of digital, then you don't need to buy an external hard drive.  Why should everyone that purchases a Wii U have to pay for a hard drive when only a small percent of the owners will use it?  MS in the past has typically charged $100 extra for their hard drive models over the non hard drive models.  Even now, they have a 4GB Flash and a 250/320GB hard drive model.  The hard drive models cost $100 more.  You can pick up a 1TB external for about $60.  So, again, where's the problem other than people just love to hate on Nintendo?

I just bought Super Metroid from the eShop for 30 cents and it downloaded extremely quickly. Not the best example considering it's such an old game (and such a small file compared to newer games).

That being said, everything does seem a lot faster than it was on launch week!

Kinda off topic: Are digital games still tied to the console? that's one thing Nintendo NEEDS to change. I made the "risk" with Fire Emblem: Awakening because my fanboy inside me demanded it (I regret nothing!), but if my 3DS breaks this will be a huge problem because I don't live in the U.S and getting Nintendo support will be kinda difficult to get. 

I'm going to wait for Nintendo to change this before getting a Wii U, and I recommend you do the same.

I'll try deleting The Cave (I forget the size) and redownloading sometime soon and give you a speed check.

Sort of. Technically the licenses are tied to your account, but the account is tied to your console.

However, it's not like Wii where the account data is based mostly/entirely on your console, so it's technically possible to enable an account on a new system, even if Nintendo hasn't given consumers control over that process.

Yup.

Yup.

Thanks guys, if what you're saying is true my Wii U should download as fast as my PC, so all the complains about slow speeds must be either hate or a broken console, so when my Wii U arrives I'll be another one in the U nation!

Part of me thinks there's something about third-parties' approach that isn't quite optimal and that may be causing some of the freezing/slowdown issues people report.

For example, the only games that have frozen on my Wii U are third-party. And the only one that's frozen in the last 4 months is Assassin's Creed...which I've also had freeze on my 360. So...

Or get a PS3 with a built in Laptop Hard Drive... LOL yeah that is a positive that you have to buy an external... LOL Nintendo fanboys...Wow!

But if my 3DS breaks that means I lose my account, I have to make a new one, which means I can't re download the game on another system. The problem is that I can't contact Nintendo easily from my country....