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Surprise! Nintendo of Japan sneaked out another Nintendo Direct presentation, with more miscellaneous information about the Wii U explained by president Satoru Iwata.
The video details parental controls, but more importantly, it has details on the USB storage, backwards compatibility, and Nintendo Network Premium deal (called the Deluxe Digital Promotion in the US). USB hard drives up to 2 terabytes will function with the Wii U, though they must be formatted specifically for the system. Powered hard drives (plugged into the wall) or using a Y cable (plugged into two USB ports) will work with the system. You'll want to use an external drive, because with system software, etc., the onboard memory of the 8GB Wii U is actually 7.45GB, and the 32GB Wii U holds 29.8GB of usable space. At 5:53, you can see the available space explained with vases full of colored pebbles.
As for Virtual Console, Nintendo still has Wii games, VC, and WiiWare content running only on the TV, not on the GamePad. Nintendo has plans for a "Wii U Virtual Console" compatible with the GamePad, but there were no details given, so it is unknown if it involves the same games, or same purchases, from the Wii Virtual Console.
Finally, the big news with the Premium deal is that earned points for eShop purchases will be usable not just in the Wii U and 3DS eShops, but on DSi and Wii as well.
