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Pros and cons of transferring WiiWare, VC, and game saves to the Wii U. [roundtable]
 
Has this been discussed much yet? I feel like it's pretty important, mostly for one reason: Disappearing Gamecube controller support.

Like, for instance, N64 games on the VC. Will the new Pro controller be supported? Even so, what are the odds of scrounging together four Classic Controllers for multiplayer fun? Hopefully, you can pick and choose what to move, like on the 3DS, because I'd definitely rather leave that stuff on the Wii. Super Nintendo VC stuff doesn't seem like as much of a problem. The VC releases max out at 2 players, right? And the GCN pad was kind of a shitty substitute in a lot of cases, anyway.

As far as game saves, copying them to the Wii U shouldn't erase them from the Wii, right? Even the NON-transferable stuff like Mario Kart and Brawl? Losing Gamecube controller support in those games would definitely hurt, as well.

I can't think of too many downsides to transferring WiiWare, offhand. I'm sure there are a few games that support the GCN pad, though.

So what are you guys going to do with your Wiis, post-Wii U? I might finally mod mine and maybe ditch the Gamecube that I kept around to play import games. I mean, what the hell, right? If those saves really aren't able to be duped on two consoles, then maybe I'll mod the Wii before the U comes out to back them up, if it doesn't fuck up the transferal process.

God damn, 'transfer' is a tricky verb to conjugate, spelling-wise.

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09/17/12, 20:12    Edited: 09/17/12, 20:34
 
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Yea, playing Mario Kart 64 with the classic controller is going to be far from ideal. But I gave my Wii with all my stuff on it to my nieces so I'll probably take everything that's mine off it and leave the stuff that I got specifically for my niece like Mario Tennis and Mario Party 2.
09/17/12, 20:18   
As I see it:

Pros (assuming Nintendo allows you to have WiiU functionality at some point):
-The potential to introduce restore points to Wii VC games. They could just mimic the 3DS VC so that they look exactly the same (with the VC menu on the Gamepad)
-The potential to play games on the Gamepad at some point.
-Friends in the MiiVerse can see what game you're playing (which I don't think is possible if you play a VC game in "Wii Mode")
-You could potentially back out of games and look at your friends list or the web browser.
-You can have all of your games on the same system.
-You could still get all of your notifications from friends while playing a VC game.

Cons:
-You can't use the Gamecube controller.
-You'd be transferring your games to your WiiU, so if you want them on Wii, it won't be possible without transferring one game over at a time (I guess you'd have to just put all of the games you want to transfer on an SD card). Some minor 'fridge rearranging' may need to happen.


I don't think I can get rid of my Wii after WiiU. My Gamecube makes funny noises, and I don't trust it for playing Gamecube games on.


Edit: Of course, if Nintendo doesn't do some sort of VC upgrade on the old games, all of those "Pros" are basically moot, aside from the convenience of having all of your games on one system.
09/17/12, 20:27   
Edited: 09/17/12, 20:29
Another pro is that down the line, if we can transfer these games to the Wii 3, there's a chance you'll have to do it directly from the Wii U. I really hope Nintendo will eschew having to physically transfer things by then, but you never know.

I really am hoping that I've bought these games for life and that they will be on my current Nintendo console henceforth until my death. I do wonder if that's misplaced hope though. If Nintendo does update VC games to allow Gamepad play and perhaps add restore points, etc. there's a good chance they'll make us buy them again. And if they do that, there's a good chance they won't let you transfer Wii VC games to the next console at all, in order to incentivize upgrading.
09/17/12, 20:44   
Edited: 09/17/12, 20:44
To be honest, I *never* used the GameCube controller on the Wii for anything but a GameCube game. Sorry, it was my least favorite Nintendo controller ever.

I personally won't have any issue with transferring data over to the WiiU. I'm hoping we won't need to rebuy VC games at any point of our existence, much like Jargon said.

If they do end up releasing Gamecube games on the VC, hopefully they would alter the controls to fit either the Wablet or the Pro Controller. I mean, they would have to, right?

As for what to do with my Wii.... I never thought about what I'd do with it. I might bronze it and display it on my desk or something. Maybe we can all pool our collection of Wiis together to build a castle made of Wii Bricks? That would be fun. I will say that it will be nice to not have to listen to the chainsaw noise mine makes when playing a disc.
09/17/12, 21:22   
@Jargon Ideally I just wish my VC games were all tied to my account, and rather than transfer them to WiiU, they could just say "Okay, we have a record of all of your purchases. Just download this channel on your Wii to remove your license on your Wii, and we will wirelessly transfer your games and game saves from Wii to WiiU."

The wireless transfer makes perfect sense too. You could just have the Wii on the TV with the WiiU on the gamepad.

I remember when I got my new 360, I had no problems redownloading all of my games. My saves didn't transfer, which was super annoying, but that was unfortunately before they let me store my save files in the cloud. I just hope that Nintendo makes it as easy as possible to transfer my games over...and hopefully bring some new functionality to the emulators.

Not to be a downer, but this is part of the reason (outside lack of funds) that I don't feel bad about skipping WiiU at launch. Hopefully when I get one, all of these issues will be sorted out.
09/17/12, 21:28   
People need to get over Nintendo's worst controller.
09/17/12, 22:06   
Do you guys really enjoy playing N64 games with the Classic Controller? I think it blows, personally (although not as much as playing SNES games on the WaveBird). I pick which controller to use based on what VC system I'm playing. Personally I find that the GC controller is best for N64 games, Classic Controller is best for SNES games, Wiimote is best for NES games, etc.

I hadn't even thought about the prospect of not having a GC controller for VC games. The more I consider it, the more I think that if VC games are completely unchanged on Wii U (i.e., you can't use the GamePad) I might not transfer them over.
09/17/12, 22:19   
carlosrox said:
People need to get over Nintendo's worst controller.

That's odd, I don't think anyone's brought up the Virtual Boy in this thread...
09/17/12, 22:29   
lol I knew someone would say something to that effect.

Hyperbole on my part, but I think GC controller is way overrated. Sure it felt comfortable and certain buttons were great, but the colors, layout, and a few cardinal sins ruined it.

Terrible Dpad. Terrible cstick. Terrible z button and lack of another z button. Y and X were confusing as shit. Shoulder buttons felt good but felt better than they performed. They were way too soft feeling.

GC is as bad as VB and NES controllers. Though the NES was only bad cuz the uncomfortable hard square edges. VB was a complete mess though. Let's say GC is second worst.



And people really didn't like the N64 controller? What was wrong with it? Loved it. Was perfect. IMO that and the SNES controllers were my fav Nintendo controllers.
09/17/12, 23:24   
Oh man, the Virtual Boy controller is so comfy! It's like a La-Z-Boy for controllers. Too bad it only works with the Virtual Boy though, ha ha.

Gamecube's controller was great too, aside from that stupid Z-button. I know a lot of people complained about the d-pad's size, but I never had an issue with it. Probably from my years of playing portable systems...?

The N64 controller was janky. That analog stick eroded away with each rotation, and what was up with those C-buttons? Not to mention you couldn't even hold the controller in a way where you could easily access all the buttons the controller had. It was just... weird. Kind of a mess, really.

Didn't stop me from playing tons of hours of N64, though. Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA FTW!
09/17/12, 23:39   
@TheOldManFromZelda

I don't think I ever used a GC controller with the exception of playing an actual GC game either. I think Nikki used it on Smash Bros. once or twice. I always used the Classic when a controller was called for.
09/18/12, 02:24   
You heathens... The GCN controller is SO comfortable! It's like butter! Plastic butter!

And I absolutely love the way your thumb naturally rests on the main button. Screw symmetrical diamond layouts. I didn't like 'em during the SNES days, and I don't like 'em now!
09/18/12, 02:38   
Edited: 09/18/12, 02:38
PRO: Not having to rebuy/do anything!!

CON: Irrelevant! See: PRO!

~~~

Since the announcement of the Wii U people have been like "Nintendo better f---in' let me transfer my sh-t, yo!! dawg!! for realz!" and now they confirm we can and we're gonna start looking the gift horse in the mouth? Lame.

I know, I know, this conversation has been very reasonable and it's perfectly fine to look at anything from all possible angles. I just think, given the paraphrase above, and the fact that things like this happen all the time with Nintendo, it's just, well ... I wish they didn't so much.
09/19/12, 19:24   
@NinSage

Actually you do have to do something to transfer the games. Your pro is more true for not transferring than it is for transferring.
09/19/12, 19:58   
I have to wonder -

If someone wants their old Wii VC games to have parity to the 3DS VC upon transferring to WiiU (Restore Points, accessing the Friends List/MiiVerse, etc) - is that a case of gamer entitlement, or can you not blame that person because it sounds like something that should obviously be implemented?

I don't want to sound like one of these guys who's like "OMG WHY CAN'T THEY CHANGE THE ENDING TO MASS EFFECT 3", but I dunno... Part of me feels like if I transfer my VC games to a new system, I expect them to work like VC games do on the new system so that everything works the same.

I also kind of assumed that there would basically just be a button that lets me play any of my content on the Gamepad. That is a big feature for me. I was hoping to be able to play my VC stuff and a select number of Wii games on the Gamepad, but it looks like that feature will only be for new games.

In that sense, the only real plus to transferring my stuff over is the convenience of having all my games on the same console. Of course, that's cool enough in itself, but I'd be over the moon if they let us have some additional functionality with legacy Wii content.
09/19/12, 21:21   
Edited: 09/19/12, 21:25
Can we pick and choose what gets transferred? I assumed it would just dump everything. I've been e-mailing Harmonix and Nintendo to see if anyone can tell me if DLC Rock Band songs will move. Harmonix said they don't know, and no response from Nintendo yet.

I might just keep the Wii stuff on the Wii. Not sure yet. But I am indeed very glad to have the option!
09/19/12, 21:30   
@PogueSquadron

I think expecting restore points and stuff was a bit too optimistic. I definitely didn't expect any features on the Gamepad while playing Wii VC games on the TV screen. I did, however, expect to be able to play Virtual Console games on the Gamepad because my understanding was that anything on the TV screen could just be streamed to the tablet. That is, they wouldn't need to reprogram the games themselves in anyway, it would be akin to plugging your laptop into the HDMI of a TV. It seems that my understanding was incorrect, and given what I know now, I think it's a little more forgivable.

The long and short is, you probably shouldn't expect what you buy to do anything more than it does at the moment you buy it. I think it's also fair to take for granted that you should be able to move digital games to any platform that supports them. That's why the fact that you can't put your NES VC games on the 3DS is objectionable to me. But asking for additional features to be added after you've bought a game is not something you should really expect if you don't want to be disappointed.
09/19/12, 21:31   
@VickiL
With 3DS transfers, you can pick and choose.

@NinSage
I actually started the thread so that we could prepare our strategies. Like, would it be feasible to give away/sell the Wii or would you want to keep it around, which stuff should you transfer, etc. We should think about this stuff before it comes out!

Annnnd I just remembered that Active Life: Explorer uses the Gamecube port. Now I can't sell my Wii!
09/19/12, 21:48   
@Anand Awesome! I was wondering what would happen if I moved my RB save file, but no RB songs. I don't think I'm going to sell my Wii, but if I can transfer everything, I may give it to a friend or relative who never had one.
09/20/12, 01:18   
@Jargon

I mean re-do things in games you've already played. In other words, being able to bring the game saves over.

@Anand

Ah, I get it. Can you see how, from the wording, I thought you were discussing the pros and cons of merely having the transfer functionality at all.
09/20/12, 03:14   
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