November 17th, 2012

“External storage devices used with Wii U should not exceed 2TB,” says Nintendo

37 Comments
Nintendo Wii U Console Hardware System Side

I mentioned in a recent video that storage devices wouldn’t work with the Wii U if they had more than a 2TB capacity. Some people thought differently, but here’s the full quote from the official FAQ:

External storage devices used with Wii U should not exceed 2TB. External storage devices that exceed 2TB are currently not recognized by Wii U, but we are working to solve this issue via a December system update. Following the December system update the Wii U will be able to recognize a storage device that is over 2TB, but 2TB will still be the maximum amount of storage capacity. Any extra capacity in the storage device beyond the 2TB will not be accessible via the Wii U.

That should be enough storage space for the vast majority of people though.

  • http://twitter.com/Darkweres Dark Weres

    Even 1TB would be plenty, unless you’re planning on buying the entire library, every single game, on digital

    • http://www.facebook.com/martin.kearney.104 Martin Kearney

      I don’t think anyone would try that. By the way, does it cost more memory to buy the game digitaly or on an acual disc.

    • Hybrilynx

      demos for almost every game. well, if nintendo gets that. plus downloading disks to make the game load a bit faster, if nintendo supports that too. not only that, if i had a hard drive, i would keep backups of everything. including archives of my website. and even more, i would have every soundtrack of all the games i like. all that and other things people would use it for, like maybe a lifetime of every photo they ever took, will add up. with or without any data from nintendo.

    • Ice Climbers

      The Wii U reformats the hard drive specifically for the console, so that hard drive can only be used on your Wii U.

    • Hybrilynx

      wow that is so pathetic. im definitely just sticking with sd cards then. they work for everything even my printer.

    • http://twitter.com/Jdub08874679 Jdub

      the xbox does it too, kind of. dont know about ps3 though

  • ScionVyse

    This does not surprise me, as larger hard drives often require additional drivers that the Wii U is probably not compatible with. That being said, how many people would honestly try to buy a 3+tb hard drive for a console? If yo need 3+tb of external storage, you probably need it for things far more important than game data.

    • TheLordOfDarkness

      Also keep in mind that the Xbox 360 released with only a 4gb and a 20gb version (my numbers may be slightly off) and later they end up having a 250gb version. I think, much like how they release different coloured handhelds/Wiis, they will release a big (150gb+) Wii U for a considerably higher price.

  • MrSRArter

    My computer is one Terra-byte

    • MMLgamer

      My computer is two Megabytes.

    • TheUltimateKoopa

      Impossible. Unless you use Windows 1.0 beta. As soon as you first start up Windows, at least 1-2 GB is usually taken up by system files and stuff.

    • Hitechman

      My “draggable” is Amstrad. My father bought it few years back. It works with fast intel CPU and it has 9″ LCD panel.

  • Iyxxl

    I can’t think of ANYTHING(at the moment)that uses 2 Terabytes… >_> (I must just be stupid…)

    • LOL

      A computer uses 2 TBs.

  • Kaizar

    It cost $100 & up for 2 TB External Storage (USB Connection) anyways as of November 2012.

    And it’s way more then enough for the Wii U by itself, but you would need to buy another one for lesbian porn by itself, LOL.

    GO TEAM VENTURE!

    • http://www.fanfiction.net/u/3204673/ GameManiac

      Kaizar, Y U NO MAKE DISQUS ACCOUNT?!?!

    • Kaizar

      I did by accident, but until I get the images actually uploaded, I’ll just continue to temporarily stick with my guest account for putting comments up for now.

      Plus I’m still stretched-out between a bunch of 3DS games, currently it’s:

      Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D

      Spy Hunter 3D (to finish fully upgrading the weapons and also when I get a StreetPass tag)

      New Super Mario Bros. 2

      Shinobi (final boss battle & StreetPass challenges unlock by tags and maybe also some Play Coins spent after am done taking care Mii Plaza)

      Super Mario 3D Land (to unlock Golden Tower level)

      Mario Kart 7 (to get Gold Body Frame & Gold Steering Wheel)

      Mahjong Cub3D

      Paper Mario: Sticker Star

      Dillon’s Rolling Western

      Kingdom Hearts 3D (replay in normal mode to unlock secret ending with only 7 trophies)

      Heroes of Ruin

      Denpa Men: They Came by Waves

      Pokedex 3D Pro

      Cave Story 3D

      PilotWings Resort (free flight mode)

      Super Street Fighter 4 3D (I just have to play story mode as the female characters once each, now)

      And I haven’t even played my Lego Batman 2 3D edition, yet.

      MINT BERRY CRUNCH!

  • WonderJ13

    Can you have a 2 TB external hard drive full of game, and another 2 TB external hard drive full of games.

    • http://www.facebook.com/AJ.Fowl Andrew Chambers

      I don’t see any reason why not. It just doesn’t have the right drivers for anything bigger then that on one USB slot. Um, what would you need 4 tb of space for on a console?

  • TheUltimateKoopa

    Shoot. I have a 3 TB EHD :(

    Also my PC is… to be really technical, about 1.36 TB (although it’s advertised at 1.5 TB).

    • http://www.fanfiction.net/u/3204673/ GameManiac

      I have a 16GB flash drive that is, in actuality, 14.3GB.
      If I recall, it’s because of vital programs that allow the external memory to be read in the first place.

    • TheShmow

      No, it’s because an actual GB contains 1000 MB, but operating systems usually display the as being 1024 MB. Same for everything else.

      One Giga is one thousand Mega. Exactly one thousand. The 1024 ones aren’t Giga Bytes, but Giga Binary Bytes (Gibibytes, GiB).

      Operating systems use the binary versions, but don’t call them that. HD/Flash Drive manufacturers usually use the proper prefixes (the ones meaning 1000 of the next smaller ones). Their 16 GB have 16 GB, but operating systems show them as 14.something GB, which is actually 14.x GiB.

      I wouldn’t use the 3TB EHD. The drive used for the Wii U has to be formatted to a proprietary format, meaning you can’t use it for anything else. Since you need a dedicated HD just for the Wii U, it makes sense to use a smaller one.

    • http://www.fanfiction.net/u/3204673/ GameManiac

      …Fascinating…

  • meil

    Pro-tip: Partitions.

  • http://www.fanfiction.net/u/3204673/ GameManiac

    2TB? I haven’t even surpassed 2GB on my N3DS’s SD Card, not even by half!

  • http://twitter.com/miiworldtoo miiworld2

    Fair enough. Because 8GB on the Wii U basic set is ridiculously small.

  • http://nottoolikely.co.uk Wizzer10

    So, in theory, that’s enough for about 50 retail games on download. Can’t be bad. I think we’ll live…

    • Kaizar

      No PS3/360 game never goes beyond 10 GB.

      Realistically Nintendo games have very short source code for their data, which is why Mario Kart 7 only takes up 1 GB, instead 5 GB or so.

      Unless they port a game, I wouldn’t count on it using that much data at all.

      WE THE BEST! FOREVER!

    • Symbol de Au

      Tekken Tag Tournament=16 GB he didn’t say Nintendo games he said retail games.

    • Ziomek

      Of course it goes. Castlevania LoS for Xbox 360 is on 2 Dual-Layer DVDs (Two 7.29 iso’s = 14.6GB)

    • Cokimoto

      Metal Gear Solid Filled A Blu-Ray Disc!

  • blackabe111

    Who need 2 TB anyway?
    50 gb is enough.

  • Schuki

    Who the hell actually needs 2TB at all?

  • NoYouCalmDown

    Errr…question. TB is more than GB? Or vice versa? ._.

    • Najee

      It takes 1000 GBs to make 1 tb

    • NoYouCalmDown

      Mother of God….you serious?? e.o

  • Super Nintendo Boy

    I had to move my games off my hard drive and save them to my console the game freezes to much when you play zombi u and try to save the game on the external drive you get a error msg pops up like 105-9305 something like that saying to eject your cd and turn off the console and plug out the power cable out the wall socket bla bla bla but you can’t reset or turn off the console you have to plug the cable out with the console still on BS to much headache Nintendo has to release some type of fix I could listen a few problems that ppl are having and I get a very few my self but not a big issue where I gotta return the system to the store but its a problem that could probably hurt your console in the long run I’m guessing