GameStop has announced that they are offering a $10 incentive for Wii trade-ins that are tied to a Wii U pre-order, which pushes the total trade-in credit up to $60. A tempting offer, except that if you take them up on it you will not be able to transfer your Wii digital content to the new console.
A Nintendo representative issued a statement to GimmeGimmeGames, confirming that the company will not allow Wii U owners to simply re-download already purchased Wii content on their new system. The only way the transfer can take place is if they transfer the data directly from the Wii.
“I can confirm that you will be able to transfer your content from your Wii to the new Wii U. Wii U owners can wirelessly transfer content such as Miis, and WiiWare and Virtual Console games to their Wii U systems. Both systems will need to be connected to the Internet and the Wii U will need an SD card to facilitate the transfer. The process is very similar to transferring content from Nintendo DS to Nintendo 3DS or from Nintendo 3DS to Nintendo 3DS XL; which has been received positively by consumers.”
Given Nintendo’s lackluster efforts with online on the Wii, this news is not at all surprising. The only silver lining here is that they are not making you buy a special “transfer cable” for the Wii U.
Source: GoNintendo
