Topic: WiiConnect24

[Switchblade Cross]

Since Nintendo's Press Confrence this past tuesday, I have been racking my brian...

Iwata spoke only shortly about one of the new features of Wii, WiiConnect24.  What is the signifigance of this feature?  Why would you need your system constantly connected when you could just get whatever you need when you first power on the system?

Well, firstly, and regarding my previous sentence, whats the point?  Yeah, Iwata mentioned the Animal Crossing senario, in where other players could visit your town, even when you are not on and playing.  At first I thought "Huh?"  My heavy PC/IT background always had me assuming that things like this would invole saving this info on some Nintendo Server and have you simply download it when you power up.  Considering recent developents though, it sounds as if Nintendo's online multiplayer plan is simply a match maker, in where Nintendo's system finds other players for you, and then you directly connect with them.

In this situation, most all of the processing regarding the game is done partly on each player's side, with little to none from Nintendo.  So, rather than, say, having Nintendo run some Animal Crossing server that would allow for the "visit my town even when I'm not there" feature, with WiiConnect24, every single Wii system acts in unison as mini-servers for their own data, interacting and with the other nodes on the network.

This set up is ingenious!  Depending on the future size, and number of users of Nintnendo WiFi Connection, Nintendo has the potential to save LOADS of money in network costs and server matinence!  Rather than spenting millions in bandwidth bills for the distribution of Virtual Console games, each Wii could contribute a bit of its processing power and bandwith during its "off" hours, in a Bittorrent-like situation.  Potentially, Nintendo could have the largest cluser-computing network on the planet.

But enough of my yapping and technobabble.  What gaming significant aplications are there?  Well, just before WiiConnect24 was brought up, Iwata was talking about how load times are getting out of hand, and how the non-gamers will not enjoy having to wait for the system to start up before they can play.  Now, I play World Of Warcaft.  One of the things I hate most is having to sit back and wait for updates and patches to be installed when they are released before I can play.  WiiConnect24 will allow that to happen when you are not playing.  Turn on the system, and it is ready to go with the latest information.  A similar situation works with Opera Browser, built into Wii, updates and so on.

One thing I think would be really cool would be if you could download your Virtual Console games to your DS and take them on the go using the DS Download Play and similar to how you could put the Animal Crossing NES games on your GBA.  With WiiConnect24 I could, hypothetically, boot up my DS, go to Download Play, see Wii Virtual Console, select that, and then be able to browse the games I have stored on Wii, all without ever touching, or turning on the console.

Another idea I had, using the Wii Remote built in Mic/Speaker, is something almost like a telephone functionality I call Riing.  I magine sitting at home, on your computer, or doing something other than playing a videogame.  Your friend is bored and wants to play some Super Smash Brothers: Brawl.  So, he brings up his friends list, looks you up and selects the Riing option.  Then, just like a telephone, your Wii Remote makes a distinct ring or beeping sound.  Perhaps even customizable with NES tunes?  You pick up your remote, hit the A button, and then, just like a telephone you and your buddy are talking.  If you not there to answer, then next time you turn on the console, you will see a prompt with your missed Riings.


I'm at work right now, and pretty bored, so thanks for sitting here reading my long post.  I hope to see what other ideas any of you may have.  I think this feature could have some good uses with some creative minds behind it...  

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Keanu:  "Wii."

[RickPowers]

Quote
Originally posted by: Switchblade Cross
In this situation, most all of the processing regarding the game is done partly on each player's side, with little to none from Nintendo.  So, rather than, say, having Nintendo run some Animal Crossing server that would allow for the "visit my town even when I'm not there" feature, with WiiConnect24, every single Wii system acts in unison as mini-servers for their own data, interacting and with the other nodes on the network.

This set up is ingenious!  Depending on the future size, and number of users of Nintnendo WiFi Connection, Nintendo has the potential to save LOADS of money in network costs and server matinence!  Rather than spenting millions in bandwidth bills for the distribution of Virtual Console games, each Wii could contribute a bit of its processing power and bandwith during its "off" hours, in a Bittorrent-like situation.  Potentially, Nintendo could have the largest cluser-computing network on the planet.

But enough of my yapping and technobabble.  What other aplications are there?  Well, just before WiiConnect24 was brought up, Iwata was talking about how load times are getting out of hand, and how the non-gamers will not enjoy having to wait for the system to start up before they can play.  Now, I play World Of Warcaft.  One of the things I hate most is having to sit back and wait for updates and patches to be installed when then are released before I can play.  WiiConnect24 will allow that to happen when you are not playing.  Turn on the system, and it is ready to go with the latest information.  A similar situation works with Opera Browser, built into Wii, updates and so on.

One thing I think would be really cool would be if you could download your Virtual Console games to your DS and take them on the go using the DS Download Play and similar to how you could put the Animal Crossing NES games on your GBA.  With WiiConnect24 I could, hypothetically, boot up my DS, go to Download Play, see Wii Virtual Console, select that, and then be able to browse the games I have stored on Wii, all without ever touching, or turning on the console.

I'm at work right now, and pretty bored, so thanks for sitting here reading my long post.  I hope to see what other ideas any of you may have.  I think this feature could have some good uses with some creative minds behind it...

Let's take your idea a little further.  What if Nintendo used this huge network of always-on Wii consoles as a P2P environment to speed patches and updates along to everyone?  Why strain Nintendo's bandwidth?

[IceCold]

You have some great ideas, and I'm anxious to see what NIntendo does with this..

[Khushrenada]

Man, those are some great ideas. The Riing idea has been mentioned before but your ideas on a network are really good. They fit so well into Nintendo's strategy of saving money, no load times and ease of play. You have me convinced.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

You're exactly right.  It's destined for FLOP.

Nintendo can't even make decent, non-bloated websites.  Screenshots are smaller than they should be, and the videos are garbage given their filesize/quality ratios.  It's a recipe for disaster.

[The Omen]

I love the whole bittorent angle you bring up.  It would be a stroke of genius , and really put this service on another level.

[pudu]

Great ideas...but I doubt Nintendo will do quarter of them.

[Requiem]

Pudu....I sincerely doubt that (they'll definitely do most of them). Do you know why? Nintendo has been working on this infrastructure ever since the original Nintendo. They were going to establish the first P2P network, but then the internet came along and everything was suddenly dropped.

Now, Nintendo has a chance to do it again, but this time, make it a hell of alot simpler and free of charge.

I think the only one that's a little wishful is the Riing idea. However, I could definitely see Nintendo implementing it, especially after that announcement that each Wiimote can identify a certian person (much like a cellphone).

[Ceric]

Bittorrent stylet game downloads.  It makes a lot of sense for Nintendo.  Not all games will use the console to it's full efficiency at all times, especially some VC games.  Nintendo could use this time to upload really quickly a game to someone local who just bought it.  

But the Administrator in me doesn't like the security hole.  I don't like people updating things without my express ok.  Just a lot of bad experiences from stuff like that.  I boss, the one the stupid people quote was from, once told me you can never have a to Paranoid administrator.

Yes this has potential.
Yes this could be cool.

But tell me where is the storage really going to come? If Nintendo really wants to be extensive about this then the Wii has mor memory in it then Nintendo is telling us about.  I wouldn't be to surpised if that was true.  A secret developer only cache I've always said would make sense.  I just don't want to have to update my Wii's flash because it's full of patches and junk like with Windows.

[Switchblade Cross]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ceric
But tell me where is the storage really going to come? If Nintendo really wants to be extensive about this then the Wii has mor memory in it then Nintendo is telling us about.  I wouldn't be to surpised if that was true.  A secret developer only cache I've always said would make sense.  I just don't want to have to update my Wii's flash because it's full of patches and junk like with Windows.

Reserved memory!  Ah, you bring up a point that has come to my mind before.  Perhaps there is actually 1GB of flash RAM in Wii, with 512MB reserved for developer usem with updates and stream-loading, with the remaining 512MB free to the user.  Perhaps sombody else could correct me if I am mistaken (or back me if I am correct), but I belive sombody at Nintendo confirmed, or atleast alluded to the ability to use external Hard Disks via the USB2.0 ports on Wii.  If you do not have an external hard drive, perhaps Wii's setting options would allow you to turn off "Auto-Update" allowing you to conserve the presious little 512MB you get by default.  In this situation, it is possible that Nintendo may even release an offically lisenced WiiHDD.  Unfortunalty, this would segment Nintendo's userbase to "With Hard Drive" and  "without", much as Microsoft has with the multipule SKU Xbox360.

I mean, why would Nintendo bother to include USB ports if they did not plan on utilizing them in some fashion?

On a side note, I wonder what USB accessories Nintendo may release for Wii.  Perhaps a WiiCamera?  

[Edfishy]

Wii mouse and keyboard to play Starcraft on your virtual console.

[Smash_Brother]

I don't see how this is a true benefit to gamers, though.

So my Wii will download updates while I'm away. Fair enough. I'm not so impatient that I cannot wait for WoW to DL its patches (it generally takes only a few minutes).

The friend idea is neat, with using the speaker on the Wiimote to contact me, but we have cellphones and AIM to contact people at any given time so a friend calling me to say, "Want to play something?" isn't all that difficult. Plus, I might spend most of my time far enough away from the Wii that I wouldn't hear someone on the speaker anyway.

The Animal Crossing idea is nice and all, but I've done that by leaving my DS on and hosting anyway so it's nothing new.

All in all, I've yet to see anything to convince me that this is a feature worth being excited about. Bittorrent downloads save Nintendo money, but what does it do for me other than possibly slightly faster downloads?

[Edfishy]

Quote
I don't see how this is a true benefit to gamers, though.

It's not going to benifit gamers too much, but it will severely aid the non-gamers, who haven't a clue on how you're supposed to "patch" something.

All I really want are random events to occur in games that are otherwise the same everytime you boot it up.

[NWR_pap64]

Quote
Originally posted by: Smash_Brother
The friend idea is neat, with using the speaker on the Wiimote to contact me, but we have cellphones and AIM to contact people at any given time so a friend calling me to say, "Want to play something?" isn't all that difficult. Plus, I might spend most of my time far enough away from the Wii that I wouldn't hear someone on the speaker anyway.

How about using the Wii speaker in mid play, a la DS with Metroid Prime Hunters?

...Speaking of which, did they even confirm that the Wii speaker also doubled as a Microphone?

You also forget SB that Nintendo has always been a firm believer of starting a game ASAP. True, you may have the patience to download the patches on WoW, but that doesn't mean that EVERYONE on planet Earth are or have the time to wait for a patch to finish downloading. From what I read this will update patches without having to power the console on and sit through the entire process.

This is merely a small convenience. You can get all of your games updated and ready to go without having to jump through hoops to do it.

EDIT: Let me prove this idea further to you...

Imagine you have a big gathering at your place and everyone is eager to play SSB Brawl. But some of them only have time to play one game and leave. You turn on your Wii (...) and load the game up, it tells you that Nintendo has released a new patch that fixes some bugs in the game, balance some of the characters out and adds some extra tracks and graphics. The estimated download time is 20 minutes. Your guests are getting antsy because they want to play it NOW. The download is done but the guests don't have the time to play it.

This isn't what Nintendo wants. Nintendo has made it VERY clear that they hate the idea of people having to wait in order to play a game. If Nintendo or any other developer wants to release a patch or upgrade for any Wii games, what they do is that instead of waiting for you to connect the Wii and download it, they send it to you while you are not playing it. That way when you fire up the game all patches, upgrades and extras are already there and don't have to worry about it.

This is from what I was able to understand about this, though and I may be wrong, but this is what Nintendo seems to be aiming at. It may not seem really big but it certainly may make games far more accesible.

EDIT 2: Oh and about your AC claim, SB, you have to remember that in order to leave your village open...
1. I must inform you that I want to play in your village in advance
2. You must get the game, turn on your DS and load the game
3. Go to Copper and open the gates
4. Leave it on all night long connected to the battery charger so that connection isn't lost

From what I was able to understand about this, what this does is that I can enter your village WITHOUT having to contact you and you do the process. You just add me as a friend, open the gates then turn the game off and I connect to you and visit it without bugging you.

This is what I understand, however, as I am still a bit clueless about it.

[Shecky]

I don't have that much faith in the network engineers at Nintendo... sorry just don't.  I'd love to see them prove me wrong though, we'll see.

[The Omen]

Quote
The friend idea is neat, with using the speaker on the Wiimote to contact me, but we have cellphones and AIM to contact people at any given time so a friend calling me to say, "Want to play something?" isn't all that difficult. Plus, I might spend most of my time far enough away from the Wii that I wouldn't hear someone on the speaker anyway.

I agree, but honestly, there have been times I text message someone instead of calling.  I could see this being a nice, lazy and yes, convenient way of communicating.  It takes the thinking out of it and just does it.  Isn't that what we all want?  And you bring up AIM, which could bring up the exact same argument-why aim someone when you can just call them? Because, it's like, always on.  INSTANT messenger.  That's the appeal.  This proposed usage of the Wii24 is the same type of concept.

[NWR_pap64]

Quote
Originally posted by: The Omen

Quote
The friend idea is neat, with using the speaker on the Wiimote to contact me, but we have cellphones and AIM to contact people at any given time so a friend calling me to say, "Want to play something?" isn't all that difficult. Plus, I might spend most of my time far enough away from the Wii that I wouldn't hear someone on the speaker anyway.

I agree, but honestly, there have been times I text message someone instead of calling.  I could see this being a nice, lazy and yes, convenient way of communicating.  It takes the thinking out of it and just does it.  Isn't that what we all want?  And you bring up AIM, which could bring up the exact same argument-why aim someone when you can just call them? Because, it's like, always on.  INSTANT messenger.  That's the appeal.  This proposed usage of the Wii24 is the same type of concept.

Yeah. Also, people aren't always on AIM and they don't always have their celphones on. Any communication alternatives are always a plus.

Plus, you can mix the Wiispeaker with AIM.

SB, imagine that I want to play you on a Wii game. I AIM you saying I want a match, and if you can we agree on it. We agree that to confirm that we are on our consoles and ready to play we tell each other over the controller "I'm ready, are you?".

It's small conveniences like this that are very helpful. I don't know if this is what Nintendo wants since they barely talked about it at the conference...

[wandering]

Lots of good ideas here, espcially the riing and the Wii2Wii networking ideas.

But I think it's clear Nintendo wants to use WiiConnect24 for far more nefarious purposes. Console always on and connected to the internet, even when you turn it off. Speakers built into every wiimote. Nintendo obviosly intends to use the Wii to spy on all of us all and, eventually, take over the world.

[UncleBob]

Quote
Originally posted by: Reggie
Wii are the Nintendo. Wii will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.

[Smash_Brother]

I agree that it's convenient and that it will help non-gamers, but my issue is that I don't see this as a reason to buy the Wii...not yet, anyway.

I'm the type who wants real voice chat, too. Like a headset with mic. I can't be pausing mid-game to speak into the Wiimote.

It's a timesaver, sure, but I don't see why it was a "secret" which was withheld until E3 unless Nintendo has some very special plans for it.

[Stimutacs Addict]

wouldnt you have to have the game in drive in order to download patches etc.?

also, I imagine the USB ports will be used for charging tired Wii-motes. And these are all great ideas. I am really fond of WiiConnect24 and think it holds lots of promise,

now, someone from nintendo needs to answer this: will there be wireless local play? If so, expect Wii to run rampant through dormatories across America (and RUIN freshmen's GPAs

edit: @ SmashBrother ->

WiiConnect24 is not supposed to make you want to buy the console. That's the controller's purpose. WC24 is there to help developers balance titles, fix control issues (Red Steel may suck at launch but they can always fine tune it), and add flavor to games (imagine Ninty treating us to a new Smash character for christmas!).  

Simply put, WC24 is there to make life easier; it is not the revolution but it will be damned convenient

there will be downsides: developers might use WC24 as an excuse to release a shoddy game (instead of pushing back the dev. cycle)... but if their game is not running optimally and they plan on saving face by promising patches and updates, well, im sure there will be enough hate email circulating to make some impact

[The Omen]

Quote
Nintendo obviosly intends to use the Wii to spy on all of us all and, eventually, take over the world.

I have no problem with that.

[SixthAngel]

I agree with Omen.  If Nintendo takes over the world things can only improve.

I like the idea of the bittorrent style downloads but what stops some douchebag from modding his Wii and spreading a virus through the service disguised as an update?  Modders will come just like xbox live and I see a potential problem.

[jasonditz]

Checksums would probably make it really hard to pass off a virus on a bittorrent update from Nintendo

I hope they don't go that route, honestly... it saves them money, but I can see being a bit annoyed when I'm trying to work and my Wii is leeching bandwidth.