How to Download Free Wii Demo Games

Periodically, Nintendo offers free demo games for the Wii. The demo games are typically shorter, limited versions of the full WiiWare games available in the Wii Shop Channel. You can download these games to your Wii game console and play them for as long as you like. All you need is high speed Internet service, a home network, your Wii remote control and some free system memory or an SD memory card. The Nintendo Wii will recognize SD and SDHC cards up to 32 GB. If you have not updated your Wii Menu to version 4, it will only work with SD cards up to 2 GB. If you plan to download the Wii demo games to an SD memory card, power off your Wii and insert the card is in the SD slot before you start downloading. Check this list compatible of SD cards to make sure yours will work with the Nintendo Wii.

Turn on your Wii game console and start the Wii menu. Ensure that your Wii is connected to your high speed Internet connection, then select the "Wii Shop Channel" by pointing your remote at the channel and pressing the "A" button. Select "Start Shopping." Select "WiiWare." Then select "Search by Game Title." Type "demo" using the onscreen keyboard, then select "OK." Look in the search results list for Wii demo games that cost 0 Wii points to download. Select "Free 0 Wii Points." Then select either "Wii System Memory" or "SD Card." Select "OK." In the "Download Confirmation" screen, make sure you have enough open blocks to download, then select "Yes." When the download is complete, select "OK" again. Keep in mind that your Wii system memory is very limited, and will be used up quickly by downloading channels, demo games and other optional game content. An SD card, by comparison, can hold much more game and channel content for your Wii game console. Check back periodically for new free Wii demo games, which are typically added to the Wii Shop Channel on Mondays.

Look in the Wii Menu for games you've downloaded to the Wii system memory. Games stored on an SD card will not appear in the Wii Menu. To play your free demo games from the SD memory card, return to the Wii Menu and select "SD." The icon will appear blue if the SD memory card is in the slot, and gray if it's absent or not registering properly. Select a game from the menu with your Wii remote, then select "Start."

If you want to download the full versions of the free demo games for the Wii, you must buy Wii Points prior to the download. Go to the Wii Shop Channel and select "Add Wii Points." Select "Redeem Nintendo Points Card" if you already have a card. Otherwise select "Buy Wii Points with a Credit Card." Wii points are available in 1000, 2000, 3000 and 5000 point increments. Each 100 points is worth a dollar. For example, a game worth 300 Wii points costs $3.00. However, keep in mind that Wii games that you purchase and download on one Wii game console are difficult to transfer to another console. You must contact Nintendo to move your Wii Shop account to the new console, and then move your downloaded games. If Nintendo doesn't approve the transfer, you will lose all your downloaded games. So don't purchase downloadable Wii games to give as gifts, or buy them for yourself if you think your Wii game console is about to fail or if you're planning to replace it.

For more information, read How to Connect a Wii to the Internet and How to Stream Instant Netflix Movies with a Wii.

Sources:

"Is there really no way to transfer my VC and WiiWare games from my Wii to another?" Nintendo.com