At the GDC2009, Satoru Iwata gave a keynote speech, and talked about the new Wii system update.  This new update allows players to download from the Wii Shop Channel directly to an SD card – and play the games right off the card.

I found information about the new update on the Wii system memory Wikipedia page – it’s version 4.0:

• Update includes SD Card Menu to “move” files and channels between the Wii console and SD card
• You can download and play Virtual Console or WiiWare games directly to the SD card from the Wii Shop Channel
• Wii Shop Channel supports classic arcade games
• Ability to save and access Wii Channels from the SD card
• SDHC card (up to 32 GB) support for System Menu, Wii Speak Channel, Shop Channel, and Photo Channel. Other features may not support SDHC cards.
• Deletes every version of the Twilight Hack (including 0.1beta2)
• Patches IOS16, which was the last official IOS with the signing bug
• Fixed the bug that was used in the Homebrew Channel installer (so all existing IOS-versions were updated)
• Added IOS38, IOS53, IOS55, IOS60, and IOS61

Right now, version 4.0 supports SD memory cards of up to 32GB!  Have you updated lately?

Now, a side note: It is my understanding that you can use any SD card in the Wii.  You do not need to buy a special Wii-branded SD card.  That is all.  Go nuts.

4 GB SD Cards on Amazon – I saw 4GB SD cards for $4.50!

Thanks, Kotaku!