To check, I logged into the Wii Shop Channel from the Wii U. Had the license transfer actually failed yet again?

Wasn't this the whole reason I went through this ridiculous repair and transfer process? I tried copying the game file to the Wii U system memory. An error message appeared, telling me I couldn't play the game on the current Wii system. With the licenses transferred, I inserted my backup SD card into the Wii U and tried playing a game of (easily one of my favorite WiiWare games). The whole back-and-forth procedure took about 10 minutes, much of which was spent watching an entertaining, Pikmin-themed animation play out on-screen. The tool operated much more smoothly and quickly now that it was transferring only one small file, representing the license data for my Wii purchases. Recovering my downloadable games meant diving back into the convoluted transfer tool Nintendo uses to make sure my games are only playable on one system, period. The system came back with a new serial number, too, making me wonder why they didn't just give me an entirely new console when it was clear the memory was shot (then again, maybe they did). On the plus side, Nintendo also replaced the disc drive and cleaned the exterior of the system, so my six-year-old Wii is now practically factory fresh. Frankly, I'm more relieved that my 100 percent completion files on games like Super Mario Galaxy and Punch-Out! were safe.

I'll have to play through those games again if I want to re-unlock the characters and courses I had already earned.

Most of my important save files were backed up to an SD card, but I did lose the uncopiable save files for games like Super Smash Bros. Of course, the ordeal wouldn't be complete without a few final hassles for good measure.įirst, the bad news: the memory problem afflicting my launch-era Wii meant Nintendo had to replace the main circuit board for the system, including all the save data and personal settings that were contained on the Wii's internal system memory. Well, the repaired system came back this weekend, and I was finally able to transfer most of my saved and purchased content over to the Wii U. Last month, when a combination of overly stringent DRM and aging hardware trapped $400+ of my purchased downloadable games on my old Wii, I promised I would give an update on the results of Nintendo's $65 repair program.

Download wii channels onto sd card