How much space do I need to play Lego Dimensions from a disc on Wii U?

Question

We have an 8GB Nintendo Wii U. My youngest will be getting a physical copy of Lego Dimensions for his birthday.

I'm afraid I won't have enough room left on the Wii U for additional game content that needs to be downloaded.

I've found an answer about how much is needed for all content updates:

In order to get the best experience while playing LEGO® Dimensions and ensure you will be able to access all content associated with the toys you purchase beyond the Starter Pack, over time you will be required to install various updates to your game console.

For a full installation of all updates, you will need approximately 10 - 12 GB of free space on your console’s hard drive or external memory (if supported by your console).

What is the minimum space needed to be able to play a physical copy of Lego Dimensions, and how much space is needed typically?

Is the game playable without these updates?

Answer 1

Checking on my own Wii U, Lego Dimensions required 6082 MB of update data before I could play. The update automatically began downloading when I launched the game and I was unable to skip downloading it.

Disconnecting my Wii U from the internet didn't get around the update requirement either:

An update is required to start this software. Updates can be downloaded by connecting the Wii U console to the Internet.

As 112madgamer mentioned, you can use external storage if your console does not have enough space for the update.

Answer 2

The game can be played without the updates but they are there to improve the game.

You do have the option of external storage though information about using external storage can be found on Nintendo's support page here