Wii HDD

[SavannahLion]

I'll risk asking this.

Looking to get a HDD for the Wii, about what size should I be targeting?

[hypernova]

Small as possible.  Today, 320 is typically the smallest ones I've seen.

Western Digital Passports are some of the best and most compatible ones.

Though, with the ability to multipurpose your HDDs now (not having to format to WBFS anymore), you can use it for other things as well.

[Howard_Casto]

I'll risk asking this.

Looking to get a HDD for the Wii, about what size should I be targeting?

I've got a 500 gig wd.  I have a fairly large wii collection and I've yet to fill it up. That is a GOOD thing.  You want it to be big enough to where you don't really have to worry about filling it up.  Afterall, if you are constantly shuffling images on and off the thing then what is the point?

The newer first-party games can be up to 9 gigs, but the average file size is around 2-3 gigs with some games going as low as a few hundred megs. 

If you want to be conservative, simply take the size of the drive, in gigs, and divide by 4.7 (the full size on a single-layer dvd). 

So on my 500 gig drive I can fit roughly 106 games assuming they were all huge.  More realistically I can probably fit around 150-200 games on there, maybe more.  I'll never buy that many wii games... I'll never even "aquire" that many wii games.  But with a drive that huge, several years from now I can have the entire library of good wii games all on one drive. 

[ark_ader]

I'll risk asking this.

Looking to get a HDD for the Wii, about what size should I be targeting?

I've got a 500 gig wd.  I have a fairly large wii collection and I've yet to fill it up. That is a GOOD thing.  You want it to be big enough to where you don't really have to worry about filling it up.  Afterall, if you are constantly shuffling images on and off the thing then what is the point?

The newer first-party games can be up to 9 gigs, but the average file size is around 2-3 gigs with some games going as low as a few hundred megs. 

If you want to be conservative, simply take the size of the drive, in gigs, and divide by 4.7 (the full size on a single-layer dvd). 

So on my 500 gig drive I can fit roughly 106 games assuming they were all huge.  More realistically I can probably fit around 150-200 games on there, maybe more.  I'll never buy that many wii games... I'll never even "aquire" that many wii games.  But with a drive that huge, several years from now I can have the entire library of good wii games all on one drive. 

I just bought a wii for my mother.  I realized that it cannot play DVDs due to Nintendoh way of cost cutting.  I know it is possible for it to play DVDs via a hack, but is it worth hacking just for this function or should I just go and buy a cheap DVD player to add to the collection of crap behind the TV.  My old dear is over 80 and is picking up the wii controller and accessing netflix fine.  I just don't want to confuse the issue with a simple DVD player option.

Also do you know of any good games for the older generation to play without breaking a hip?  I got Scrabble and that Brain Game, but I'm thinking that NCIS is looking a bit too complicated.

Thanks!

[Dervacumen]

Mine is 1 TB and it's WAY too big for it's intended purpose.  It's dedicated and only leaves the vicinity of my Wii when I add or remove programs and thus need to hook it up to my computer.  Long ago I thought I would future proof myself and get a big HDD, and it was only $65.  If I needed to get one today I'd stick with 500GB.  That's plenty big, even for modest collector types.  For comparison a random selection of 200 games ~ 350GB.  This is why I think the 320GB choice is just flirting with a capacity issue.  The 350GB number does not include artwork or miscellaneous files or WiiWare.  Only compressed game disk files.  If you have four people with very different taste in games it's not unreasonable that you could reach the 200 game point over time.

[hypernova]

320 GB only flirts with capacity issues if you plan on loading nearly every single game you THINK you could ever want on the thing.  However, let's face it.  What's one of the problems with the Wii?  Quality games.  Simply put, I really think if you manage to reach 320 GB, you've placed a lot of needless crap on there.  And do you really think you'll be playing all of them?  I've only got about 2-3 dozen on mine, and have even removed about half a dozen or so because I've not played them yet, and probably won't ever again.

Also take into consideration the software lineup for the Wii is effectively done.  WiiU is coming this summer.  Zelda was the last big hurrah.

[Howard_Casto]

320 GB only flirts with capacity issues if you plan on loading nearly every single game you THINK you could ever want on the thing.  However, let's face it.  What's one of the problems with the Wii EVERY SYSTEM?  Quality games. 

There, I fixed it. 

No joke, I agree with you, but don't single it out like it's a wii-exclusive problem.   The 360/ps3 are littered with crapware as well.  I think I've actually got more Wii games than I do the 360.

I wouldn't go lower than 500 gb, though.  Like Dervacumen says, it isn't just the games, it's the art,  any emulators you want to run, their roms, ect....  I think the wiiware/vc collection is edging towards 50 gigs at the moment.

[Dervacumen]

If I had a 320GB drive I would have an issue.  I probably have 200 PC games collected, some a decade old.  I don't keep them all on my hard drive because they take up considerably more space, or else I would.  When I feel like playing Safecracker, Far Cry, or my wife wants to play Wheel of Fortune, I would prefer not to have to install it again.  With a large Wii drive I can avoid that, and I find I often play Wii shovel-ware for 15 minute stints when I'm just killing time.  I'll use my Wii for a decade unless it stops working, and I'm half way there now.  I don't foresee a reason to buy a new console any time in the next few years.

[SavannahLion]

I think the wiiware/vc collection is edging towards 50 gigs at the moment.

That's an appealing prospect but I don't see how I can go through the hassle, and expense, of downloading so many wiiware games and manually transferring each and every damn game to the HDD when I do. It was a PITA when I did it for a dozen files when I had to send in the Wii for repairs back when.

[Howard_Casto]

I think the wiiware/vc collection is edging towards 50 gigs at the moment.

That's an appealing prospect but I don't see how I can go through the hassle, and expense, of downloading so many wiiware games and manually transferring each and every damn game to the HDD when I do. It was a PITA when I did it for a dozen files when I had to send in the Wii for repairs back when.

HUH?

NAND emulation man.... get the entire wiiware collection via a torrent, plug the hdd into your computer, use one of those NAND manager programs to auto-install everything.... come back in an hour and your are good to go.  Now there are a few games that don't work well via emulated nand but it couldn't be more than 20 or so. 

[shmokes]

If you're buying a new drive get the absolute smallest thing you can find. Conservatively I'd say Wii games average 2.5 GB apiece. That'll put close to 100 games on a 250 GB drive. Since the reality is that there are not even 50 decent games available for the system, having a larger hard drive than that is silly. The same goes for VC/Wiiware. There's no reason to have the whole collection. Most of it isn't worth having. But even if you want it all you will have room for everything on a 250 GB drive unless you are a completionist w/r/t the disc-based releases.

[Dervacumen]

If you're buying a new drive get the absolute smallest thing you can find. Conservatively I'd say Wii games average 2.5 GB apiece. That'll put close to 100 games on a 250 GB drive. Since the reality is that there are not even 50 decent games available for the system, having a larger hard drive than that is silly. The same goes for VC/Wiiware. There's no reason to have the whole collection. Most of it isn't worth having. But even if you want it all you will have room for everything on a 250 GB drive unless you are a completionist w/r/t the disc-based releases.

The numbers I used are from my current system, and I'm only talking about game disk images.  Anyway even though you probably consider Leela, Champion Jockey, and The Mystery of Whiterock Castle not one of the 50 decent games for this system, you'd be incorrect in thinking they are not on the top of my family playlist.  And believe it or not the new Zelda game is at the bottom.  I don't know what the OP's taste in games is, nor do I know how many people of various ages, skill levels and interests will use the wii in question.  I do know your assertion that there are only 50 games or so worth of having on the system is an ignorant statement.  I gave what I hoped were unbiased facts.  I'm sure the OP can evaluate my statistic and determine the appropriate drive size.  BTW, my 205 games average 1.74GB each.

[shmokes]

My goodness. No offense intended. Still, you're wrong. The majority of those 200 games aren't good. Also you don't play them.

[Howard_Casto]

My goodness. No offense intended. Still, you're wrong. The majority of those 200 games aren't good. Also you don't play them.

Nope you are wrong.   We are talking storage size which isn't subjective, but you are making it so.   

They aren't good to you.  But many people like them.  Just to point out how wrong you are my VERY small list of wii games along with some wiiware, emulators, ect takes up 20-30% of my 500 gb drive.  The majority of the titles on my wii are first party titles... you know the ones that virtually everybody will want?

So on a 250 gb drive it would be 40-60% full.  Since my list is quite conservative I could easily see a person having storage issues on such a puny drive.


Now for me personally, my games collection probably does max out at around 50 games, BUT if you are a casual games fan the wii is a goldmine for games.  There are tons!  Also keep in mind that if you have children, sometimes kids like crappy games.  I thought winter games for the NES was the bomb back in the day, for example....  so much so that I traded excite bike for it.  It's astounding how a 8 year olds mind works.

I'm not saying get the biggest drive you can find either... that's silly, but 500gb is a good sweetspot.  I got mine for 60 bucks enclosure included.  At the time they had 300gb drives for around the same price, maybe slighty cheaper, but want kind of idiot would pay more in terms of MB per dollar?

[shmokes]

Honestly, even though you are ostensibly disagreeing with me, I think what you just said only lends weight to my position. You're saying that you can have like 50 retail games plus "wiiware, emulaters, etc." and it would only use up 40-60% of a 250 GB drive. The Wii is over. What exactly is coming down the pike that one would use to fill up the remaining 60-40%? Obviously if a 320 or 500 GB drive can be had just as cheap as a 250, you get the larger drive. But if not, 250 GB is all anyone needs for the Wii unless they are just "collecting".

In my case, I have every retail game that I can even conceive of a possibility of ever wanting to play (most I'll never play). Plus I have a ton of garbage like Dora and Cinderella and Sesame Street games for my daughter. Then I have all the Wiiware that seems interesting. And I still have quite a good chunk of free space--say 40% of my 250 GB drive.

[Dervacumen]

To each their own.
I find playing kiddie games with my kid is more valuable than the $50 I would save getting a smaller drive.
Here's a novel idea.  Plan on re-purposing your Wii drive for future MAME machine.  I mean, I would never think of loading that with games I don't play on a regular basis.

[05SRT4]

I have a small 320 gig drive and when I first started I slammed it with everything. Later down the road I started deleting most the games I never play (which were allot). I wouldn't go to big, having a smaller one that's just usb powered is nice and easy.

[g_block247]

I have a 500 gb WD, have 92 games and it's right at 250-260gb used. Have no idea how to do the WiiWare/VC stuff from the hard drive, so I just installed them to the Wii and moved them over to a 4 GB SD card, didn't really need the whole collection. just sucks that each SD card is limited to 240 "channels", but oh well.

[hypernova]

So to sum up:

If you're a dreamer and/or completionist, or plan on multipurposing the drive now or later, go big.

If you're a realist and don't actually plan on playing more than four or five dozen games, and it'll probably die before being repurposed, go small.

Hint: most of us adults will never find the time to play hundreds of games.

[shmokes]

Hint: most of us adults will never find the time to play hundreds of games.

Most of which suck. Badly.