Nintendo’s system update is arguably helpful for a tiny fraction of Nintendo’s audience, in other words, but not the backup/transfer feature Wii U owners have long deserved. Microsoft and Sony have supported save file duplication to external storage as well as cloud save-file backups for years. It’s a shame, because what I’d wager Wii U owners really want - or at least what I do - is a way to back up those Wii U save files, be it to the cloud or an external storage device. Who wants to own two otherwise identical Wii Us? And even then, you’re not backing anything up, you’re just moving it from one system to another. Although similar to Virtual Console games in some ways, these games are not like most Virtual Console games as they run on native hardware rather than by emulation, and are not branded as Virtual. But we’re probably talking about a handful of hardcore Nintendophiles. The download variants can also support any save files created on or transferred to the Wii U from any respective disc variant of the same title. That’s helpful if you own a vanilla Wii U, say, and want to transition to the annual custom-painted limited edition. From there, you’re in essence running an all-or-nothing clone operation: the source Wii U transfers “any users, Nintendo Network IDs, save data, and digital content” to the target Wii U, then wipes the source Wii U clean. Some games block this, a system transfer is the only way to transfer those saves.
For starters, you’ll need the source Wii U alive and kicking and running the same system software version as the destination Wii U. Accepted Answer If you can copy the save file to a SD card, you can move it individually from a Wii to a Wii U. Share Improve this answer answered at 13:12 ekolis 223 2 9 Add a comment You must log in to answer this question. Nintendo’s latest Wii U system update, out yesterday, goes some way toward rectifying this deficit, but the restrictions are pretty onerous. The save files are compatible if you play the original Wii VC game in Wii mode (an option on the Wii U menu for playing Wii games), but not with the upgraded native Wii U VC versions of the games. Making matters worse, Nintendo doesn’t offer cloud saves, so you could argue the Wii U is inferior to the original Nintendo Entertainment System (which in some cases allowed you to save straight to the cartridge) as well as most systems that’ve come after it. The only way I can see to backup saves on the Wii U is to copy the entire game folder to system memory or another drive and delete the game and update data on the copy, leaving only the save. If you brick your Wii U and your save files live on an external storage device, then you buy or receive a replacement Wii U, you’ve had no way of recovering those files. Wii U data can only exist in one place, so you either have it on the Wii U’s internal flash or an external USB storage device, but never in both places at once.