Nintendo posts list of hard drives tested to work with Wii U

Update: Nintendo has updated the list of hard drives. Click here for article.

Original Story
Nintendo has tested a few hard drives with the Wii U and posted a short list of ones that have been confirmed to work with the system. Here is the info straight from Nintendo's website:


Buffalo DriveStation Axis
1 TB: HD-LB1.0TU3-US  
2 TB: HD-LB2.0TU3-US

http://www.buffalotech.com/products/desktop-hard-drives/drivestation/drivestation-axis-2


Toshiba Canvio Desk
1 TB: HDWC110XK3J1
2 TB: HDWC120XK3J1
http://us.toshiba.com/computers/storage/desktop/canvio-desk


Many of these devices can be found at these online retailers:
- amazon.com
- bestbuy.com
- frys.com
- sears.com
- walmart.com

These are not the only hard drives that will work with the Wii U. They are simply a few that Nintendo  themselves have tested, and they have posted quite a few disclaimers:

We will expand this list as more devices are confirmed to work with Wii U.

"To optimize performance and ensure a consistent experience, all USB storage devices must be formatted and configured for use with the Wii U console. Once a device has been configured for use with a Wii U console, it cannot be used with another Wii U console, PC, or MAC unless it is reformatted. Please be sure to back up any content before formatting the hard drive for Wii U as this content cannot be recovered."

Please note that we do not guarantee the performance of the devices.

Specifications of these devices are subject to change, and there is a possibility that these devices may not function properly with the Wii U system due to a specification change.

Please contact the manufacturer of the USB hard disc drive if there are technical issues or problems with your USB hard disc drive.


Source: Nintendo



Amazon.com has listings for these hard drives on their website. You can check them out via the following links:

BUFFALO DriveStation Axis 1 TB USB 3.0 Desktop Hard Drive - HD-LB1.0TU3

BUFFALO DriveStation Axis 2 TB USB 3.0 Desktop Hard Drive - HD-LB2.0TU3

Toshiba 1TB Canvio Desk Desktop External Hard Drive (Black/Black) (HDWC110XK3J1)

Toshiba 2TB Canvio Desk Desktop External Hard Drive (Black/Black) (HDWC120XK3J1)

Should you decide to purchase a storage device not on the list, here are a few things you need to keep in mind.

For a USB drive to work with the Wii U, it needs to:

1. be powered by an external power adaptor (a power outlet)
    OR
2. use a Y-cable to draw power from two USB ports on the Wii U

Warning about USB flash drives

Nintendo warns users that while the Wii U can detect USB thumb drives and flash storage, they are not recommended due to the fact that flash storage has a maximum number of reads/writes, which leads to data loss over time.

Storage Capacity

The Wii U will only read up to 2TB of storage even if an external hard drive has more space.

Source: Nintendo Direct

Update: Nintendo has updated the list of hard drives. Click here for article.