Topic: Wii Save Exchange

[Nick DiMola]

Hey guys, I was talking in one of the other threads about creating a website dealing with the exchange of Wii saves. Since you will have the ability to easily transfer saves to your computer I figured it would make sense to create a site that organized a bunch of peoples saves so that anyone could easily access a save file. It could even be used so that a member could archive their own save files without using their own HDD space. Is this something you guys would be interested in? And another question for the guys who run PGC, do advertisements subsidize the cost of keeping PGC up and running? I wouldn't mind doing a fun project like this, but I also can't really afford to have a website costing me a small fortune on the side.

[IceCold]

Would these and VC games be encrypted by Nintendo in any way?

[Bill Aurion]

Saves have already been confirmed to be tradable, but VC games will NOT for obvious reasons...

[AnyoneEB]

Mr. Jack: Sounds like a good idea. I am not sure I would use it, but I admit it would be useful to, say, be able to quickly download a save for SSBB with all the characters/levels unlocked when at a friend's house.

Just a tip: don't advertise about domain names that you don't own. Someone is liable to snatch them up before you get around to buying them.

[JonLeung]

It would have to be a site truly dedicated to saves and whatnot, and worth visiting on its own, otherwise people would probably just get them off of GameFAQs.com.

I mean, my site (VGMaps.com)'s content could easily be a part of GameFAQs.com (yes, for some games I have seen stitched-together screenshot maps there) so it took a really long start before it became big enough to be noticed by anyone.  (But still, half a million hits in four and a half years?  GameFAQs.com gets multiple times that a day so I still can't compete directly.)  Having a handful of saves isn't going to cut it, but you have to start somewhere, so you'll have to stick it out until you have hundreds and maybe thousands if you want the site to be worth your time and for it to be worth other people's time to visit.

Sure, it can just be a hobby, but if the Wii becomes as popular as everyone hopes, you might not be the only one already contemplating this, and GameFAQs.com will be likely to get a bunch of those saves.

[Nick DiMola]

Good advice Jon, definitely something worth keeping in mind. I imagine getting something like this off the ground will be tough. Back around the time the Cube came out I started up an SSBM site and was pulling around 500 unique visitors daily, but the bandwidth got waaaay too expensive and to my dismay I had to pull it down. A site like this with many uploads/downloads I'm sure the costs will be enormous not to mention, just like you said, a site like GameFAQs could easily bury me. Plus I'm sure, at least on these boards, we will find a way to share saves amongst one another. For now, I'm going to think about it some more and wait for some more feedback to see what other people think.

[couchmonkey]

This sounds like a great idea.  No lie - I probably wouldn't use it - but it sounds like something that many others would.

[BigJim]

It's a good idea. Moreover, you might consider a CMS with a community-based slant where forums and files can integrate well together, since it basically is about community. Enabling them to come and ask if anyone has specific saves is good.  Just a "file download" focus would be a bit dry since they would come, look, and leave.

[Canti]

Like this? Wii Save Games

[WuTangTurtle]

ouch ppl have already beath u to the punch.  Well u could always win through quality, and community.

I'm sure sites like these will get used a lot.  Just imagine a game that allows user created content.  Daigasso! Jam with the Band, Soul Calibur III, WWE games, and Animal Crossing come to mind.

I'd like to see someone make Reggie in a WWE game!  I'd download that in a second.  It would be a neat sunstitution for a Live Marketplace.

[Mario]

It's going to be lame to see people downloading high scores and then claiming them as their own.

[bustin98]

I've been thinking about creating a site that holds a database of friend codes, or whatever type of code Wii uses. Keeping track of location is another thing I'd like to track.

I don't know about you guys, but once you're out of school, finding people who also play games in my area is about impossible. And I'm not going to hang out at Gamestop or EB. "Hey, you like the Wii? So do I, let's get together and play." How creepy is that?

I'm still thinking about the details. I want to avoid some of the traps that other 'social networking' sites fall into. Even if the location tracking isn't included, I'll still do a friend code db.

[Kronok]

I'm the owner of wiisave.com. It wasn't supposed to be seen yet, but if anyone has any feedback on it so far, I'm very curious to hear it.