Nintendo Actually Says Something Smart: Storage Solution, Zelda, Router, More Coming!

I, like many others here, woke up this morning to the news that Nintendo had announced an official Wii/DS Router/Bridge, a plug and play device for easy access to the Wii's online services. "Awesome," I (guess)/thought, "along with Nintendo's teaming up with Comcast, they're really starting to promote their online services and taking them more seriously, even if they still are extremely lacking." One of the collective responses on the net, however, is why a router before a storage solution?

Well, give the day a couple more hours, and Nintendo actually takes this to heart. In the latest issue of Latin America's Nintendo magazine, Nintendo has announced that a storage solution is coming, and that it's BETTER than a hard drive.

Nintendo Working On 'Better' Wii Storage Solution than HDD
Also: New Zelda reconfirmed to be in the works, and Animal Crossing is so not casual.
By Kris Pigna, 09/08/2008
Week after week, Nintendo releases new WiiWare and Virtual Console games, and the storage capacity in Wiis the world over continues to shrink. So how do they intend to solve this issue for Virtual Console gluttons? Not with a hard drive, apparently, as Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime says the company is working on a solution that's even better.

Fils-Aime, along with Shigeru Miyamoto, were recently interviewed by Club Nintendo, the official Nintendo magazine for Latin America. But thanks to a translation by GoNintendo (via Kotaku), we know some of the important bits that the two of them had to say. When asked about the lack of storage space on the Wii, Miyamoto apparently said that an announcement should be expected soon, as Nintendo is currently working on a solution. Fils-Aime added that it won't be a hard drive, as what they're working on will be a "better solution."

What could possibly be a better solution than a simple hard drive? Your guesses are as good as ours, but the obvious (and probably easiest) possibility might simply be to allow users to plug in any external hard drive they want through the Wii's USB ports.

A few more interesting tidbits from the interview: When asked about incorporating the Wii MotionPlus remote add-on in a future Zelda game, Miyamoto didn't comment specifically about the use of the add-on, but did reconfirm that new Zelda and Pikmin titles are currently in development. Miyamoto also said not to expect any more Wii peripherals, as Nintendo feels they've released enough already.

Fils-Aime, meanwhile, said he doesn't consider Animal Crossing: City Folk to be a casual game, and that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the DS is being made as a game for the hardcore audience. And when asked about another DS redesign, Fils-Aime said they only consider console redesigns when sales go down, not when they continue to stay up.

So at this pace, what, that means in like another 10 years?

What's better than a hard drive? Beats me. USB Flash? Either way, I'm betting it's something that has some sort of special feature, like expanded connectivity with the DS (for downloadable games,) or maybe it comes with games pre-loaded on it. Wii "Sports" (etc.) anyone?

Also confirmed are a few other fantastic facts. First of all, there was a reconfirmation from Miyamoto that a Zelda and Pikmin are indeed in development, (W00T!!) which is great, even if they are two or whatever it may be years away. And finally, which might be the smartest thing of all, Nintendo has stated that they are DONE making new peripherals for the Wii, that they feel there are already too many. Thank goodness. I'm running out of room to put various pieces of white plastic.

All in all, these are all awesome pieces of news. My faith in Nintendo has finally been redeemed, to a reasonable extent. :p

Knowing Nintendo, their storage solution is going to be something utterly bizarre but atleast it's coming : B.

Maybe they are going to have a conference in october/november after all : D

This is good news, I often get infuriated by the Wii's lack of storage, and it's nice to see that they're doing something about it.

I think I've said this before, but this reconfirms my belief that Nintendo was saving their big guns until they were ready. Hopefully the storage solution comes out sometime around Christmas or early 2009.

Thank god they finally listened to everyone screaming about the lack of storage. The rest of the news doesn't phase me too much since I lost interest in Pikmin a long time ago and there's always going to be another Zelda. :P

New Zelda?! Woohoo!

And that storage thing sounds really cool too. I hope Ninty makes another Fire Emblem as well!

Originally Posted by Ranil

New Zelda?! Woohoo!

And that storage thing sounds really cool too. I hope Ninty makes another Fire Emblem as well!

They are already making a remake of the first Fire Emblem with wifi, let them give some of their other frachises a chance, like Star Fox or Kirby.

The storage could either be freedom to use whatever you can that'll fit into the USB ports, or online storage that you can access anytime.

I wonder if Ninty will implement its holographic storage device thing - other than that, the new router looks to be a step above their old lighter sized one (which worked okay before my Wii died.)

Originally Posted by Lord Golbez

They are already making a remake of the first Fire Emblem with wifi, let them give some of their other frachises a chance, like Star Fox or Kirby.

Yeah, a REMAKE. Not a new game. I want a new game too. Fire Emblem is just starting to get more popular than it used to be because of Radiant Dawn. This severely underrated series needs more help than anything.

I will agree that Star Fox and Kirby deserve chances too, but still.

Originally Posted by Ranil

Yeah, a REMAKE. Not a new game. I want a new game too. Fire Emblem is just starting to get more popular than it used to be because of Radiant Dawn. This severely underrated series needs more help than anything.

I will agree that Star Fox and Kirby deserve chances too, but still.

Well, unless you downloaded the first FE game then you haven't played that one. A remake of a game you haven't played is just as good as a new game, isn't it?

True, but I'm not the only person who plays FE. I was thinking since there are three years between PoR and RD, that's plenty of time to set up another game in between. This will not only make Ike fans happy (because he will obviously make another appearance), but if it revolves around a big conflict in Tellius due to the aftermath left behind by King Ashnard, say, bitter cold war in Daein due to no more leader, it has the potential to be an excellent game. Fire Emblem: Ashes of War perhaps? ;D

Perhaps this storage solution will save my wii... thank goodness.
And, as I should be, I'm excited about the new Zelda.

Fantastic! That's a chunk of good news if I ever did see one. I'm willing to bet that the Wii will allow access to USB devices for storage, because, simply put, that would be the easiest, cheapest, and most convenient way to do it.

I actually didn't know about the router, though. I'll probably be getting an actual router, but that is good news in that they are taking online more seriously (it seems).

I'm also happy about no more peripherals. It's hard to keep up with all of them. More functionality is good, but not when we have to buy every little add-on for it.

Originally posted by Ranil
True, but I'm not the only person who plays FE. I was thinking since there are three years between PoR and RD, that's plenty of time to set up another game in between. This will not only make Ike fans happy (because he will obviously make another appearance), but if it revolves around a big conflict in Tellius due to the aftermath left behind by King Ashnard, say, bitter cold war in Daein due to no more leader, it has the potential to be an excellent game. Fire Emblem: Ashes of War perhaps? ;D

Radiant Dawn is pretty frickin' close to that premise.

I'm anxious to see what Nintendo is going to come out with that's going to be "Better than a hard drive". I'm not sure if I'm anxious to say "This sucks" or "WHY THE HELL DIDN'T GATES THINK OF THIS?"


Also, I would rather see a new Star Fox or Kirby come out for Wii. Nintendo already had a Zelda game for this console.

I'm actually at a stand still. i've got 73 blocks left on my Wii for downloading, and too stubborn to delete any games. i'm on my 4th page of channels, and need storgae ... BADLY!!!!

once MM9 comes out on wiiware, i'll have to break down and delete something for that game.

Originally Posted by Sailboat

I'm anxious to see what Nintendo is going to come out with that's going to be "Better than a hard drive". I'm not sure if I'm anxious to say "This sucks" or "WHY THE HELL DIDN'T GATES THINK OF THIS?"


Also, I would rather see a new Star Fox or Kirby come out for Wii. Nintendo already had a Zelda game for this console.

TP is a Gamecube game that was ported to Wii. Doesn't count as a true Wii Zelda.

No more peripherals?

Yay!

So are we supposed to expect more hardcore games now? SweeT.

Originally Posted by Verxis

No more peripherals?

Yay!

So are we supposed to expect more hardcore games now? SweeT.

It doesn't miraculously change the focus.