Nintendo updates list of hard drives compatible with Wii U

A few months ago, Nintendo posted a list of hard drives that have been confirmed to work with the Wii U. At the time, there were only 4 on the list. Now, the Big N has added a few more products that have been "subjected to basic peformance tests," bringing the total to 10. Here is the full list, straight from the official Nintendo website:

We have found that the following external storage devices work with the Wii U system; these device(s) have been subjected to basic performance tests:

Buffalo

    1 TB: HD-LB1.0TU3-US

    2 TB: HD-LB2.0TU3-US

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

Seagate

    Backup Plus Desktop Drive

    1TB : STCA1000100 (US)

    2TB : STCA2000100 (US)

    http://www.seagate.com/external-hard-drives/desktop-hard-drives/backup-plus-desk/

    Expansion Desktop

    1TB : STBV1000100 (US)

    2TB : STBV2000100 (US)

    http://www.seagate.com/external-hard-drives/desktop-hard-drives/expansion-hard-drive/

Toshiba

    1 TB: HDWC110XK3J1

    2 TB: HDWC120XK3J1

    http://us.toshiba.com/computers/storage/desktop/canvio-desk

Western Digital (WD)

    My Book™

    1TB : WDBACW0010HBK

    2TB : WDBACW0020HBK

    http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=870

I would like to emphasize that 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 state that they "will expand this list as more devices are confirmed to work with Wii U." In addition, 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

Seagate Backup Plus 1 TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive STCA1000100

Seagate Backup Plus 2 TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive STCA2000100

Seagate Expansion 1 TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive STBV1000100

Seagate Expansion 2 TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive STBV2000100

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

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

WD My Book 1TB External Hard Drive Storage USB 3.0 File Backup and Storage

WD My Book 2TB External Hard Drive Storage USB 3.0 File Backup and Storage


Nintendo notes that many of these products can also be found at these other online retailers:

- bestbuy.com
- frys.com
- sears.com
- walmart.com

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