Nintendo of America CEO Reggie Fils-AimeThe upcoming "Wii 2" (codenamed "Project Cafe") won't have a hard disk drive to hold game saves and other content.

Instead, it will have 8GB of onboard flash memory, which is less than many smartphones have today. 8GB is more than 15 times as much memory as the current Wii contains.

You have to wonder what Nintendo is thinking with a move like this, for a few reasons:

1. Competitors Xbox 360 and PS3 are currently touting hundreds of gigabytes in their systems. Is Nintendo still trying to compete with them in the home entertainment department? The Wii 2 would still be able to offer Netflix streaming, though.

2. All signs are pointing towards a shift to downloadable games in forthcoming Xbox and Playstation consoles. 8 GB doesn't seem like enough to hold a bunch of games (retro games Nintendo is selling, maybe), so is Nintendo planning something else? Kotaku heard that the Wii 2 will use 25GB game discs, which are huge compared to today's standards.

3. The Wii 2 is supposed to have expandability via SD card storage, but we'd hope Nintendo wouldn't ask you to buy more storage off the bat if you want tons of games. This is part of the reason Nintendo is probably not planning on letting you download whole games to the system. You'd think they'd at least give you the option to download games like current consoles do.

We'll hear more about Nintendo's future plans at E3 in June, but for now, check out our list of All The Wii 2 Rumors We Know So Far

(Via Kotaku)