Data Backup Digest

The Wii was a huge success for Nintendo and is one of the most popular home consoles of all time. The end of 2012 saw the release of the follow up, the Wii U. The Wii U is capable of playing games released for the Wii, so if you own both consoles then you’ll likely want to transfer your save game data over. Luckily, Nintendo have made this a fairly simple procedure. This guide will talk you through the process.
Before beginning, ensure that you have an internet connection on both systems (this is needed for the whole duration of the transfer) and an SD or SDHC card with at least 512MB storage. Note that if you are moving games and applications to your Wii U (instead of redownloading them) then you probably need a bigger capacity card.
To begin, first load the Wii Shop Channel on your Wii. Navigate to the Wii Channels category and download the Wii U System Transfer tool.
Next, do the same thing on your Wii U and insert your SD card. Launch the Wii U System Transfer tool and follow the instructions. You’ll be greeted to a nice animation starring Pikmin while it works. Once complete, remove the SD card, but keep the console on.
Then put the SD card into the Wii. Again, launch the Wii U System transfer tool and follow the instructions. Wait for the data transfer to finish and remove the SD card.
Finally, back to the Wii U. Put the SD card in and select Transfer when prompted. Follow the instructions and wait for the data to be put on the Wii U. The data will then be deleted from the SD card permanently and saved on the Wii U.
Throughout the process there will be a percentage at the bottom right of the screen. This will let you keep track of how much data has been transferred.
That’s all there is to it! Now all your Wii data should be stored on your Wii U. However, there are a few things to bear in mind. Firstly, this is a permanent procedure. Everything will be removed from your Wii and put on the Wii U. There’s no going back. Bear in mind that GameCube save data will not be transported over as the Wii U doesn’t support GameCube titles. The points on the Shop Channel are combined, but cannot exceed 10000 points. Finally, if your Wii and Wii U come from different regions then they will not be compatible. This only works if both consoles have been purchased in the same region.
Remember that you may need to redownload any of your applications or games. Simply transferring the save game data will not bring over the actual game data.
Hopefully this guide has helped you in transferring your data from your Wii to your Wii U. Nintendo have made the process quite user friendly. Be sure to follow the steps above and your data will be on your new console in no time.