-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Can I copy game save data to another Wii U?
- Thread starter entremet
- Start date
Maneauleau
Member
Sorry it's not possible. It's the biggest flaw of the Wii U. You can't transfer or backup your saves. If your console dies you lose all your saves. Anti piracy protection 
entremet
Member
Sorry it's not possible. It's the biggest flaw of the Wii U. You can't transfer or backup your saves. If your console dies you lose all your saves. Anti piracy protection
Oh man that sucks.
Even the 3DS allows backups at least.
Sorry it's not possible. It's the biggest flaw of the Wii U. You can't transfer or backup your saves. If your console dies you lose all your saves. Anti piracy protection
Even on an SD card?
Wait what? Before I sold my deluxr Wii U, I copied everything from the console onto an external drive and then started using it with my basic and all my save data is there. Since when is copying save files not possible?
Edit: OK misread apparently. Transferring per se, it's not possible. "Copying and pasting" is. Or just copying and using it from the source.
Edit: OK misread apparently. Transferring per se, it's not possible. "Copying and pasting" is. Or just copying and using it from the source.
Maneauleau
Member
Tell me about it.
Everybody is cursing against the account system but for me that's not the biggest problem. Losing your games is not ok but at least you can repurchase them. But you can't repurchase the time you spent playing them. The fact that we can't back up our saves is definitely more problematic. I wish Nintendo would at least introduce a cloud-saving feature. Even if it's behind a paywall. I am desperate at this point
entremet
Member
I'm so used to cloud saves already as well.
Wii U didn't make use of SD cards beyond the Wii>>Wii U info transfer (the Pikmins one) until Smash Wii U where you can save photos.
Other than that, SD slot is useless.
Sorry it's not possible. It's the biggest flaw of the Wii U. You can't transfer or backup your saves. If your console dies you lose all your saves. Anti piracy protection
You can back up and transfer saves...
OP you cant transfer your save game to his system like old school memory cards. Its stuck on your system until you transfer everything to a new Wii U, at which point it is lost from the old Wii U.
You can also back up saves via HD drives, these saves however will only work with your NNID profile so you cant transfer them that way either afaik (Never tried myself).
Feel free to correct me if im wrong.
Maneauleau
Member
maybe if he brings is Wii U and transfer everything to yours because you are allowed to transfer from one Wii U to another but I am not sure that would even work because probably it would wipe out your Wii U.
entremet
Member
Yeah. That won't work . I have a lot of digital content lol.
That's a cut and paste mechanic. I'm looking for a copy and paste mechanic but just for one game and save data.
Would it be possible for Nintendo to fix this shit through a firmware update? It's the worst thing about the system, in my opinion. Not being able to backup your saved data is horrid and it's something that's always resting in the back of my head whenever I put a lot of time/effort into some of my Wii U games. People really should make more noise about this and tweet/ask Nintendo if they'd ever reconsider (if it's not too late and fixable through patches).
Maneauleau
Member
Saves are linked only with one Wii U device and not only with NNID. You can transfer to another Wii U but that doesn't change the problem if your Wii U dies before or after that you are still doomed. The hard drive is also linked to that unique Wii U and won't work with another Wii U unless the transfer to another Wii U has been done while that former Wii U was still working.
"After the Wii U to Wii U system transfer has been completed, simply connect your USB Storage Device to the target Wii U console. All save data, game data, and update data on the USB Storage Device will be available."
http://en-americas-support.nintendo...i-u-to-wii-u-system-transfer-faq-and-overview
PotionBleue
Member
The SD card slot has been used for ages on Wii U mode with the Animal Crossing Plaza.
Maneauleau
Member
I am pretty sure that can be fixed by a firmware update but as I said the big reason holding this up is fear of piracy.
But still this not a good enough reason not to find a solution to that problem. I wished we had journos which would frequently "harass" Nintendo with these kind of issues.
I am getting old and my skills are not what they used to be. I don't want to redo all the last levels in SM3DW if my Wii U dies lol. When I see the amount of time I pour in all these games I really don't want to see all that vanish because of a power surge or whatever the reason is
I am pretty sure that can be fixed by a firmware update but as I said the big reason holding this up is fear of piracy.
But still this not a good enough reason not to find a solution to that problem. I wished we had journos which would frequently "harass" Nintendo with these kind of issues.
I am getting old and my skills are not what they used to be. I don't want to redo all the last levels in SM3DW if my Wii U dies lol. When I see the amount of time I pour in all these games I really don't want to see all that vanish because of a power surge or whatever the reason is
Yeah, I hear you. I can't imagine having to redo shit like Pure Plats in Bayonetta 2 & Wonderful 101 or Shiny Gold Medals in Tropical Freeze because of some stupid hardware policy-lock. We should really make this a vocal suggestion to Nintendo at some point. It's really dumb.
An useless app for everyone but Animal Crossing die hards which (incidentally) is ending this month--
I play games on my systems and my family's systems when I'm visiting home.
Gamecube generation, I just carried my game and memory card around. It was only slightly less convenient than modern-day cloud saving.
Wii generation, I had to save my data onto an SD card, then save my brother's data onto another SD card, delete his data from the Wii, then download my SD data onto the Wii, then save my data back to the SD, then download my brother's data back to the Wii.
This generation, I actually have to carry my whole damn Wii U system around. This is like some kind of joke. Why does Nintendo hate me? Each generation is worse than the last. Get a goddamn account system that works across systems!!
Gamecube generation, I just carried my game and memory card around. It was only slightly less convenient than modern-day cloud saving.
Wii generation, I had to save my data onto an SD card, then save my brother's data onto another SD card, delete his data from the Wii, then download my SD data onto the Wii, then save my data back to the SD, then download my brother's data back to the Wii.
This generation, I actually have to carry my whole damn Wii U system around. This is like some kind of joke. Why does Nintendo hate me? Each generation is worse than the last. Get a goddamn account system that works across systems!!
Maneauleau
Member
oh yes good examples
. I am not really sure how to let them hear us in a significant way? Nintendo surveys lol?
entremet
Member
That or cloud saving. It's so seamless on MS consoles for me.
I kinda miss memory cards honestly. I also loved how PS2 and GC game cases had slots for them.
In case anyone's wondering why Nintendo would be afraid of opening up save transfers for piracy reasons - many exploits for the Wii relied on modified save files downloaded from the internet and activated in game. Twilight Princess, Smash Bros, and Lego Batman are three that were vulnerable. Oh, and Cubic Ninja on 3DS.
I don't think it's the right decision. The Wii U has a much more robust update model than the Wii. And if they did cloud transfers of save games, they could scan for exploits before allowing them to be redownloaded.
edit - if they did cloud transfers, they could verify that it was only uploaded by a Wii U and not modified on a PC.
I don't think it's the right decision. The Wii U has a much more robust update model than the Wii. And if they did cloud transfers of save games, they could scan for exploits before allowing them to be redownloaded.
edit - if they did cloud transfers, they could verify that it was only uploaded by a Wii U and not modified on a PC.
Crimsonclaw111
Member
Nintendo fucking the simplest things as usual. Makes me mad because I got to World 5 of DKC TF on my friend's system and had to start over because of their bullshit.
M1ch04c4n0
Banned
To me is a minor issue but it amuses me how some people can get so worked out from something as asinine as this.
The system don't allow data copy, period. Take it or leave it. Would be good to have? Obviously. Is enough to rage? Not to me.
Or maybe complain in Miiverse, it seems like that works.
The system don't allow data copy, period. Take it or leave it. Would be good to have? Obviously. Is enough to rage? Not to me.
Or maybe complain in Miiverse, it seems like that works.
I agree that this is a far bigger issue than Nintendo's account system. Honestly, most people are in the dark about the account system, but I've found it fine; when I had to sell my Wii U and later got a new one, re-activating my Nintendo Network ID and getting all of my digital purchases back was no problem. What I did not expect, however, was that the Wii U and Wii save data I backed up on external storage would not work with my new Wii U. And that really sucks.
EDIT:
I think a forum of gamers expressing annoyance at the fact that you could lose 100s of hours of saved game data is pretty reasonable, considering how easily preventable the issue is.
EDIT:
I think a forum of gamers expressing annoyance at the fact that you could lose 100s of hours of saved game data is pretty reasonable, considering how easily preventable the issue is.
DownGrader
Member
Theoretically speaking, yes - after all, Wii U and 3DS transfer tools and 3DS semi-backup feature was added via updates.
SpecialAgentZ
Member
I would like to be able to copy my save data to a SD card or thumbdrive and store it or use it on my friend's console.
Being able to backup save data is important to me.
I miss the old Memory Card/VMU/Control Pak days...
Being able to backup save data is important to me.
I miss the old Memory Card/VMU/Control Pak days...
Of course they could.
They could for example allow transferring saved games from one Wii U to another Wii U via Nintendo servers.
In case they open up NNIDs to be able to login on multiple Wii Us, that would make sense. Currently you can't login on another Wii U without transferring the whole NNID, so there is no reason to transfer saved game data.
I hope that they will at least open up the possibility to backup saved games by sending them to Nintendo servers.
I doubt they will allow transfer via SD card or such again, because well that's how the Wii got hacked. I mean that's how it was possible to easily hack Wiis. Hackers were simply able to create a broken saved game and release that to the public.
They don't want that their current console gets hacked as badly as the Wii. I understand that. I like that there are no hackers playing Mario Kart 8.
Someone from Nintendo support told me that in case my Wii U got broken, I would have to send in my harddrive, so that they could transfer those saved games/make the harddrive readable on the replacement Wii U.
That wouldn't help you at all, because your NNID is only allowed to login on your own Wii U atm. You are not able to login on your friend's console (atm).
You can already save your saved games on an external harddrive. BUT this harddrive is locked to your own Wii U. It's not possible to read it anywhere else.
njean777
Member
The ps4,Xbox one, Xbox 360, and PS3 all have the ability to back up saves. Sure there are the occasional hackers you run into, but still Nintendo has enough money to create a cloud service of some sort in order to back up saves. Even if you have to pay 15-20$ a year, they should have that option for cloud saving.
Well, for example I can't backup copy-protected PS3 saved games at all (*) (and there are quite a lot nowadays, even single player games restrict that) except via the PS+ service, that I would have to pay for. Every single month. And I can't download those saves immediately. I would have to wait 24 hours to be able to do so, despite me paying for that "service". Which simply rules out going to a friend and continue playing those games.
On Wii U I can backup every saved game separately without paying for that. I'm just not able to restore them on another Wii U. However Nintendo would transfer the saved games for me in case my Wii U needs to get repaired.
Both of those options are not perfect by any means.
(*) except for that horrible horrible horrible PS3 system backup "feature" that takes 3 days or so and backups literally everything. And is slow as a snail. Which means even that feature rules out going to a friend. And of course this backup is locked to the console.
This wouldn't solve the other problems and I'm surely not paying for getting the ability to save my saved games.
I see, thanks for the correction. Well then that totally sucks if your Wii U dies, they should totally incorporate a cloud save system. Ive yet to need to use it on my PS4 but just knowing my saves are backed up elsewhere is very comforting.
Sorry for the thread necro, but the title was exactly what I was going to say. Has this changed or improved at all in the past two years? I'm going to visit my aunt for Thanksgiving and she bought a Wii U for the kids, and we are trying to decide what games to bring.
We are bringing Splatoon, but will we have to make new NNIDs as well?
We are bringing Splatoon, but will we have to make new NNIDs as well?