Title: Curating the Wii Library: A Technical Analysis of WBFS ROM Archives and Verification Methodologies
The WBFS format was revolutionary because it scraps this dummy padding. When a Wii game is converted to WBFS, only the actual game partition data is retained. This can reduce file sizes by 50% or more without losing any game content. A "verified" WBFS file, therefore, is not a 1:1 sector-by-sector copy of the physical disc (which would be a 4.7 GB ISO), but a verified extraction of the game's functional data. wii wbfs rom archive verified
Space Efficiency: A game like Wii Sports might only contain a few hundred megabytes of actual data despite being on a 4.7GB disc; WBFS reduces the file size to just the essential data. Title: Curating the Wii Library: A Technical Analysis