There is currently a debate as to whether the Nintendo Wii would be able to hold demos or not. I am hear to tell you, Yes it can, but let me explain my reasoning. Lately most people seem to believe demos are at least a gigabyte in size, that’s over twice the storage space on the Wii, but an average Non-HD demo is much, much, lower than that. May I remind you the Halo demo for the PC is only 131 MB or about a fourth of the Wii’s Storage space. Yes, this is still a rather large amount of space but it contains two large levels, online multiplayer, and good graphics.
If you were to say have only one small level to demonstrate the gameplay, the size of the demo would be reduced to under 100 MB. Now 100 MB is still fairly large but most people who haven’t splurged on Virtual Console games have at the least that much space left if not more. So yes, it is currently possible to store demos or at least a demo in the Wii’s internal memory but what about the future.
Nintendo is slowly realizing they will have to make some sort of external storage solution that will allow people to run games, demos, and other media. Why are they finally realizing this? Well the total amount of VC games currently available now totals over 600 MB and Nintendo is working with Developers on Wii Ware.
Wii Ware, for those who do not know, are basic programs and games that smaller companies can make and sell via the Shop Channel. Okay, now think to yourself how much space does a basic PC game take … a small / simple PC game usually takes about 15-30 MBs. If Nintendo wants Wii Ware to be a success they need a way to give Wii owners space to put these indie games.
How exactly could Nintendo cheaply expand the Wii’s memory capacity? Well I see two fairly easy ways of accomplishing this. Nintendo could allow games and Wii Ware programs to run from SD cards (I can hear fanboys groan already) or they can allow external USB hard drive use. Both these solutions would require firmware updates as well as a small cost to the consumer but they both get the same goal accomplished.
Now how feasible are these firmware updates, well if Nintendo knows what they are doing this update will happen, we just don’t know when. My guess is we will see this firmware update right before the first demos or Wii Ware programs are released. It is because of Wii Ware that I am almost certain Nintendo will have to extend storage space. As for seeing demos anytime soon it is again Nintendo’s choice, let’s just hope they make the right choice before this console generation ends unlike online gameplay on the Gamecube.
