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Wii U has already faced scrutiny over the pitiful amount of usable storage space found in an 8GB console. But how much storage space is still available after you factor in title updates for each piece of software?
We’ve rounded up every Wii U launch title we have to hand to find out how big Wii U software updates actually are, and how much space you’ll be left to contend with after you’ve updated each of your titles.
Take a look at our findings below:
- Assassin’s Creed 3 – 58 MB
- FIFA 13 – 39 MB
- Mass Effect 3: Special Edition – No day one update required
- New Super Mario Bros. U – 29 MB
- Nintendo Land – 302 MB
- Sports Connection – 89 MB
- Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper – No day one update required
- Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013 – 29 MB
- ZombiU – 18 MB
Unlike Xbox 360, which stores its title updates in the system cache, Wii U stores its title updates directly on the hard drive, meaning every update will eat into your total available storage space. It’s a little like the system Sony uses for PlayStation 3, with individual entries for each title update listed within the Wii U’s Data Management screen. You can delete these whenever necessary, but you won’t be able to play the game again until you’ve re-downloaded the update.
The results could come as a concern to 8GB owners, who, if they were to download updates for all of the titles listed above, would lose a whopping 564 MB of storage space.
Considering only 3GB is actually available to use in an 8GB Wii U, almost a fifth of available storage space would be taken by the above title updates alone.
There is a silver lining, however. Title updates can be downloaded in the background, allowing players to continue using the console while the update is being downloaded.
And remember – if the updates do start overcrowding your Wii U hard drive – you can easily expand your Wii U storage space by purchasing an external hard drive.
Nonetheless, storage space certainly appears to be an issue for Wii U. And once 32GB owners have downloaded a few retail games to their Wii U, even they might have to start thinking about external expansion, too.
Have you picked up any other Wii U launch games that require a day one title update? Let us know in the comments below, along with the size of the download, and we’ll add it to the list.
Source: Wii U
