Topic: Nintendo online argument

[NWR_pap64]

NOTE: I think this might have been discussed in some other threads. Mods, if you consider this to be unnecessary, you can lock it.

Seems like people are already calling Nintendo's online stance on the Wii a disaster. Why? It seems third parties don't know what is going on with Nintendo and online gaming. They want to implement online elements in their games, but for some reason Nintendo isn't helping them out.

Square has already mentioned that they are in heavy talks with Nintendo about working around their strict online policy. And a Majesco rep seems too annoyed by the issue because everyone is asking about Cooking Mama Wii being online and they can't really answer it.

As expected, there's a whole debacle over at Go Nintendo in the comments section of this article.

Now its time to put the NWR spin on it! Do you think that Wii online could be even worse than GC online or are the fans being bitches about it?

In my opinion, I agree that Nintendo NEEDS to be less strict about online games. Its true that they want the safest online experience possible, but they really shouldn't sacrifice accessibility for the sake of safety. But I think fans are expecting too much from Nintendo. The system was just released and already has some basic online components running. The biggest online gaming service, XBOX Live, took nearly a year for it to establish itself, and MS is more than willing to take MS online. If it took them a year, then what makes you think that Nintendo will have things set up by the end of spring?

I said it once and I'll say it again, online games will appear in late summer or early fall. Fans need to chill a bit.

[Infernal Monkey]

My opinion is as follows;

Go Nintendo needs to be added to the word filter.

[Deguello]

I am going to be watching this thread very closely.

In the past Online-topic threads usually turn into a huge pile of bitch.  I hate re-runs.

[Mario]

Cooking Mama... Online... Does Not Compute....

[GoldenPhoenix]

Haha the Gonintendo comments are funny, everyone is getting all ticked off and calling each other names (I especially like the comment about someone being a Business student in a university). I'll admit if this is true I think Nintendo needs to shape up, but I am willing to give them so slack until at least Summer before I really pounce on them.

[Crimm]

I think Nintendo needs to do something about friend codes.  I think some games need to be allowed to exist without them.  Maybe just make it games that get a certain ESRB rating. I mean if they're worried about protecting children don't do it in games that kids should be protected from playing to begin with.

[denjet78]

I never saw online as a big thing anyway. It's just a little extra that only a handful of people are ever really going to use. Of course if I were to see a real killer-app for online that tune would change but as of right now, I can get the exact same experience as online gaming just by having the morons that live near me in my living room. I don't think I'm really ready to deal with stupidity on a global scale.

And the comparisons to Live are very much justified. MS had been developing the system for AGES and it still took forever to get the XBox online. Hell, is the PS3 online network even up yet?

[TrueNerd]

I'd be pretty content if all the Wii ever allowed me to do online was to download classic games I missed out on. I don't really need some 11 year old yelling racial slurs at me while playing Smash Bros.

But then again, I'm someone who very much prefers the single player aspect of games as opposed to multiplayer ones, so maybe I'm not the right person to ask.  

[darknight06]

The Wii is going online with games, otherwise why even partner up with Gamespy to begin with or put their handheld games online.  As far as I know Mario Strikers Charged and BWII will be online and you better believe there will be more to follow.  Now if I don't see any tangible results or even news on progress by the end of July then I get a bit more concerned but for the time being I am not that concerned.

[Mario]

Everyone thought online Nintendo games would be the most amazing hugest thing to ever happen, now it's out on DS and nobody ever talks about it.

Pokemon is online, and that's all I really wanted.

[Pittbboi]

I'm going to wait until GDC before I truly pass judgment, but I will say that Nintendo's half-hearted attempt at online is saddening because its seeming more and more like they don't really see online as deserving of being a focus.  

[darknight06]

I can imagine a lot of the issue is the same problem many other online games have in other forms.  If you don't play the games religiously, you die online and there's nothing you can do about it.  Sure you could say GET BETTER, but when the majority of the players play like they're life is on the line in mom's basement with no job the fun gets awfully hard to find. Out of all the online games I own Clubhouse is the only one you're gonna get a decent casual game out of.  Metroid, yeah right.  Good luck finding a game without a 4 or 5 star whether you have it on match my rank or not.  (apparently it compares win/loss not star ranking)  Mario Kart, we all know what happened there.  Now there are those games that do work well online, but chances are it's because it was made from it's conception to be a multiplayer online title.  This is the big reason why while I would like to see titles online, I'm also being a bit cautious about it as well.  Do we really need another Trace Samus situation again?

[Adrock]

Nintendo's online structure doesn't necessarily need to be as deep as Xbox Live. It just needs to be better than it is now. I don't think anyone likes friend codes. Even if I only used my Wii address book and could play with everyone on there, it'd be a step up. At least I'm not inputting a different code for each game.

[wandering]

Quote
And the comparisons to Live are very much justified. MS had been developing the system for AGES and it still took forever to get the XBox online.

MS was online a year after they first started making consoles. Nintendo's been making consoles for twenty years.

Quote
I think Nintendo needs to do something about friend codes. I think some games need to be allowed to exist without them. Maybe just make it games that get a certain ESRB rating. I mean if they're worried about protecting children don't do it in games that kids should be protected from playing to begin with.

What parents should do is irrelevant. All that matters is what they actually do.

[ShyGuy]

Here is what I would like to see:
Play against anyone, even add them to your friends list. Give the option to show the status of the people on your list. (Invisible, Playing Game X, browsing the weather, etc.) but unless you have exchanged friend codes, they can't send pms or chat in game. If they have custom avatars or icons, they are blocked out as well. Heavy filter on their usernames too.

[Crimm]

Quote
Originally posted by: wandering

Quote
I think Nintendo needs to do something about friend codes. I think some games need to be allowed to exist without them. Maybe just make it games that get a certain ESRB rating. I mean if they're worried about protecting children don't do it in games that kids should be protected from playing to begin with.

What parents should do is irrelevant. All that matters is what they actually do.

I recognize that, however they could argue that because parents clearly don't do a good job policing their kids' games that they should revert to the "no blood on Nintendo consoles."  I think there is a point where the game's content should be such that it allows developers more leeway on their online options.

If the game is rated M then I don't see why it should be handicapped by the friend code system.

[Plugabugz]

Online functionality should be tied into the parental control system.  Games with a 12+ rating on the disc may have 16+ rating with it's online content and so should be blocked if the systems allows for only 12+. Being beyond the need for parent control myself, i only say this as it it will be inevitable who buy a wii for their kids.

I reckon the friend codes for each Wii merely acts as a foundation to the online implementation, where some games can build upon it (pokemon, for example, given it's primary target audience).  

[GoldenPhoenix]

I think this thread is too tame, the Gonintendo one got so MUCH more rowdy and insulting. So instead let me say this. YOU ALL SUCK AND I'M RIGHT

[Nephilim]

I hate when people say "online play sucks"
Its like people who say "I own 10 DVD players, glad wii doesnt have that feature"

[Hocotate]

Online has never been a top priority for me, though a select few titles would be great online! Pokemon and SSB come to mind, and since both will be online I rekon I don't got nothing to worry about.

[denjet78]

Quote
Originally posted by: wandering

Quote
And the comparisons to Live are very much justified. MS had been developing the system for AGES and it still took forever to get the XBox online.

MS was online a year after they first started making consoles. Nintendo's been making consoles for twenty years.

MS has been HEAVILY involved with the internet since it first began. Why in the world did it take them a year after launch to get a closed network up and running on a video game console? It doesn't matter how long they've been making consoles for, they're internet knowledge blows Nintendo out of the water every time and yet it still took them a year to get their network up and running. Again, comparisons are more than fair.

[BlkPaladin]

In the same vein you can say that Nintendo has been kicking around the idea since the NES and you can see it in their channel setup. (The NES uses were for things like looking up stock quotes etc.)

What Nintendo does is provides developers with a service, if they want to use they can. But that doesn't stop them from using their own networks. Unlike Live, Nintendo's service is "open" meaning if they have the stucture they can use their own service instead of Nintendo's. A good example is Disney they have their own servers which they are using for their upcoming Disney Game that has a lobby and multiplayer elements from the lobby and no mention of friend codes. The Maple Story may use a simular thing they will use their own servers to present their game by passing Nintendo's.

[Ceric]

Quote
Originally posted by: TrueNerd
I'd be pretty content if all the Wii ever allowed me to do online was to download classic games I missed out on. I don't really need some 11 year old yelling racial slurs at me while playing Smash Bros.

But then again, I'm someone who very much prefers the single player aspect of games as opposed to multiplayer ones, so maybe I'm not the right person to ask.

Ditto.  Though there are a few games I like online because it just makes to much sense. (Pokemon MMORPG I'm looking at you.)

[Adrock]

Quote
DeadlyD wrote:
I hate when people say "online play sucks"
Its like people who say "I own 10 DVD players, glad wii doesnt have that feature"

Congratulations, you make sense (not sarcasm).

Online isn't necessary, but if done right, it can only make a game better.

[JonLeung]

Quote
Originally posted by: denjet78
MS has been HEAVILY involved with the internet since it first began. Why in the world did it take them a year after launch to get a closed network up and running on a video game console? It doesn't matter how long they've been making consoles for, they're internet knowledge blows Nintendo out of the water every time and yet it still took them a year to get their network up and running. Again, comparisons are more than fair.

Probably a moot point but the Internet was around for a few decades before most people got a hold of it in the nineties.  And Bill Gates supposedly didn't think the Internet was useful at all until Mozilla's first browser, or something like that.

I thought the DS online adoption rate was bragged to be so much faster than the Xbox's.  When it first got online I thought I heard that a sizeable fraction of people who had Mario Kart DS took it online within the first week or two.

A Mario Kart game for the Wii, or Super Smash Bros. Brawl, will certainly push online.  No question there, but I guess that's not the issue...