Hardware Zelda via Flash Drives (USB / SD via USB)?

[UltraDolphinRevolution]

I have a technical question regarding Zelda BotW.

I've read Nintendo doesn't recommend playing games from a USB stick. Apparently they are not built for being constantly rewritten.

I've been using a USB stick for a year now, mostly for DLC data, saves, but also a few games smaller games (Star Fox Zero, Fast Neo) and didn't have problems yet. Luckily, you can just create back-ups (unlike the Wii where it was impossible to create back ups for online capable games except via homebrew).

My question: How about SD cards via USB adapter? The Wii U recognizes them as a USB device. Do they wear out quickly as well?

I'm asking because I would like to buy Zelda BotW digitally but I don't want to use an HDD. Even if I bought the disk version, I'd still use flash drives for the DLC part of the game.

 

[Captain_N]

yes they work. i have tried it with a 512mb sd card. You can make a 1:1 image of the card also for backups

 

[Lacius]

SD card speeds will almost certainly make loading times unbearable on BotW, so that's not really an option.

A USB thumb drive is small enough that it should work fine with the low amount of power the Wii U supplies. A larger SSD USB hard drive without an external power source will require a Y-cable to work.

 

[HaloEffect17]

SD card speeds will almost certainly make loading times unbearable on BotW, so that's not really an option.

A USB thumb drive is small enough that it should work fine with the low amount of power the Wii U supplies. A larger SSD USB hard drive without an external power source will require a Y-cable to work.

So, what about the people who used to install games on their redNAND which used the SD card?

 

[Deleted User]

So, what about the people who used to install games on their redNAND which used the SD card?

It will just make loading times way longer than it should be.
[Like from 1m to 15mins etc.]
It might also not load some world elements so basically you're forced to install it to USB or sysNAND.

 

[Lacius]

So, what about the people who used to install games on their redNAND which used the SD card?

SD loading times are garbage. Most games are still playable, but many games are not. If you're going to use redNAND, that's fine, but you should still play games from a USB drive while using redNAND.

It should also be noted that there's no real reason to use redNAND.

 

[HaloEffect17]

SD loading times are garbage. Most games are still playable, but many games are not. If you're going to use redNAND, that's fine, but you should still play games from a USB drive while using redNAND.

It should also be noted that there's no real reason to use redNAND.

Alright, so if I used a 32GB flash drive for the Wii U, the Wii U would format the USB to read from it. But what if I wanted to re-use this USB back in Windows? I read that the Wii U encrypts said USB so that it cannot be reformatted to work with anything else other than the console. Are there currently tools out there to decrypt?

 

[tbb043]

I read that the Wii U encrypts said USB so that it cannot be reformatted to work with anything else other than the console

I don't know who said that, but it's impossible. Anything can be reformatted, it's that they have a format nothing else will read so you can't use the drive elsewhere UNTIL you reformat it into something they can read.

 

[Lacius]

Alright, so if I used a 32GB flash drive for the Wii U, the Wii U would format the USB to read from it. But what if I wanted to re-use this USB back in Windows? I read that the Wii U encrypts said USB so that it cannot be reformatted to work with anything else other than the console. Are there currently tools out there to decrypt?

You can reformat the drive to no longer be tied to the Wii U, but you'll lose all your Wii U games.

 

[HaloEffect17]

I don't know who said that, but it's impossible. Anything can be reformatted, it's that they have a format nothing else will read so you can't use the drive elsewhere UNTIL you reformat it into something they can read.

You can reformat the drive to no longer be tied to the Wii U, but you'll lose all your Wii U games.

Ok, thanks. So, I assume then Windows will still recognise that a device has been inserted, but won't be able to read from the USB until you use something like Diskpart?

 

[UltraDolphinRevolution]

My experience with flash drives so far:
-A normal USB stick had longer loading times (e.g. between matches in Smash)
-A fast USB stick is just as fast as internal memory
-A SD card via USB also has longer loading times (though I don't know the speed of it, SD cards usually just show the theoretical maximum speed on the package - if at all)

-> Therefore I'm pretty optimistic about Breath of the Wild via my fast USB stick. I will use an SD card just for backup. But of course: if it doesn't work well I can't return the digital game (i.e. I risk spending twice as much on BotW).

So there is no one here who has played Xenoblade Chronicles X via flash drive?

 

[UltraDolphinRevolution]

-sorry-

 

[Graham182]

You'll have to go into disk management to reformat the usb stick, windows will not automatically recognize it and show to up in "my computer", but will show it in disk management.

 

[UltraDolphinRevolution]

I know. Nintendo specifically said on the Japanese website (there are translations) that the game will need a 3GB install on the Wii U and that USB sticks are excluded. Now I'm worried to even buy the game (physically or digitally). I don't have 3GB internal space left since the white Wii U only has 3GB usable internal space! And I won't get a hard drive just for one game.