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Nintendo 3DS gets new friend code system, finds beauty in unification
Ever try to do multiplayer on a DS game? We're really sorry to hear that. It's a mess of lengthy friend codes that does more to discourage online play than enable it. That's going away with the 3DS. At Nintendo's 3DS press event in New York the company announced a new system where there's only a single code, assigned per-console and registered only once. You'll have a single group of friends and, when they pop online in a new game, you'll see them there. No need for multiple lists and, we hope, less of a need for Tylenol.
Today's seriously 32-player Wii FPS: Medal of Honor Heroes 2
Medal of Honor Heroes 2 for the Wii sounds like a rehash of a long-running franchise. But 32-player online battles will make this shooter unique. Will internet connectivity become a key component for a great Wii FPS? The game ships November 13, marking an overdue trend of Wii games finally getting online.Judging from the trailer, Medal of Honor Heroes 2 looks good (albeit not HD-good). See for yourself after the break.
Madden 08 Wii online without friend codes
The next installment of Electronic Arts' Madden 08 will feature online multiplayer but will not be using Nintendo's friend code system, according to associate producer Damian Zerr in an interview with IGN. "Madden Wii doesn't support the Wii friends system during online play," he said. "This is something we're still working on with Nintendo. For now our online play uses your EA Nation Persona to search and manage your EA Messenger account." IGN does not press further as to why EA made this decision, leaving us to only speculate the reasons why. Perhaps EA is as distraught with the system as many Joystiq readers have conveyed. No voice chat will be available during online play, relying instead on EA Messenger for communication (details on how were also not given), but alongside DS connectivity was not ruled out for Madden 09. [Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]
Poll results: Do friend codes ever keep you from playing online?
A week ago, we asked you how you really felt about Nintendo's friend code system on the DS, and it turns out there's a real difference in opinion out there. It's particularly interesting to note that nearly a third of our readers who voted definitely spend more time gaming online on other platforms. Maybe these are the kind of numbers Nintendo should be looking at when they evaluate the company's online future, instead of these numbers. Thanks to everyone who took part!
Mario Strikers producer says Friend Code is tied to Mii, not game-specific
In a revelation that could only be compared to a certain young man finding out an evil Sith lord is his father, producer Justin Dowsedell for Next Level Games has confirmed that Friend Codes will not be game-specific. Rather, your code will be connected to your Mii, allowing you to keep the same code from game to game as you play in Nintendo's online catalog of games."Each Mii created generates a Mii code that never changes. This code will thus be used for all other online games in the future," comments Dowsedell. And with each Wii console holding up to 100 Miis, there are one trillion possible 12-digit friend codes, leaving plenty of possible Friend Code combinations up for grabs.[Via Joystiq]
Guitar Hero 3 to feature online multiplayer
Red Octane boss Kai Huang has confirmed that the third iteration of Guitar Hero will finally feature what lonely rockers everywhere have been hoping for: Online multiplayer. Huang reportedly made the comment during a Pro-G interview that hasn't yet appeared, so more details are non-existent at the moment. But that probably won't stop the rampant speculation about exactly how GH would work online.For our part, we're interested to see how a game that necessitates split-second timing will translate to the occasionally laggy world of online play. Sure, the "online mode" could just be you and a friend playing the same song and then comparing scores, but that hardly seems like fun. Another question: Won't our fingers cramp up entering our 12-note friend code on the Wii version? We kid, of course, we don't know that there will be specific GH friend codes. But we can dream.
Square Enix blames Wii friend codes for lack of FFXI [update 1]
Friend codes. Nintendo's self-imposed restriction on online gaming has been a burden to many who want to play with their friends without having to share a different 12-digit friend code for every game. When the Wii was revealed to have a console-specific friend code, we thought Nintendo had somewhat listened to the community's grumblings. When Pokemon Battle Revolution, the first online Wii title, launched in Japan with friend codes, we realized the folly of our optimism.Square Enix's Senior Vice President Hiromichi Tanaka empathizes, highlighting the friend code system as the primary reason they haven't brought an online game like Final Fantasy XI onto the console. In an interview with Cubed's Adam Riley, Tanaka reveals that the RPG powerhouse is now in negotiations with Nintendo about "resolving this point of contention." A publisher of Square Enix's magnitude does not necessarily guarantee Nintendo will listen, but perhaps Nintendo will ease off or at least allow exceptions for some titles.Then again, Final Fantasy XI on the Wii would surely be profitable even if gamers were required to enter over 300,000 12-digit codes to fully experience the world. That's how much, we suspect, Wii owners our clamoring for Nintendo to join the rest its brethren in this generation.[Update 1: As White Rose Duelist and others have pointed out, Pokemon Battle Revolution's extra friend code might be an exception and not a rule, and Elebits is a cited example where one can exchange in-game pictures with Wii friends. However, as we do not have any other details from impending online games, and Nintendo has not readily clarified, we're just not sure.]
DS Daily: friend codes
We figured we'd jump right in to the big subjects here with DS Daily, so we're gonna point out the elephant in the room: friend codes. We love Nintendo like ice cream and all, but even we rabid fans can admit that the whole friend code system may not exactly be the best execution of online play ever. Complaints we've heard include the chaos inherent in trying to get a big group of friends together at once, host and server issues, and just the general pain of keeping up with the codes in the first place. We had to compare our pristine selves to Microsoft, but as these things go, gamer tags are certainly easier to manage. Nintendo's overly complicated online system has definitely affected our Game Nights at times.What's your take? Do you see benefits in friend codes, or obstacles? What changes would you like to see made?
Wii 'acquaintances' made easy with Google Maps
MapWii.com is a Wii-inspired application of Google Maps that makes locating and making potential Wii friends manageable. Even better, MapWii has been designed for Wii's Opera browser. To join, you'll have to give up your friend code, nickname, city, country, and zip (all additional information is optional).The database is limited in its current state, both in number of registrants and scope. You may find yourself with a Wii full of friends, but it's impossible to know which ones will stick without much trial and error. In this case, real-world location isn't as important as play-style or genre preference. A few more fields of required data and MapWii could go a long way toward hastening the 'matchmaking' process.See also: Web sites step up to connect Wii owners
First online Wii game uses game-specific friend code
Despite all our grousing about Nintendo's overprotective, hard-to-use friend code system for the Wii, we assumed that the system-specific codes would at least mean the end of the DS' system of maintaining a distinct list of game-specific codes for each online game. Well, you know what happens when you assume... IGN's recent review of the Japanese version of Pokemon Battle Revolution reveals that the game uses "a unique 12-digit friend code, different from your Wii system number," to identify you to potential online opponents. As if that wasn't bad enough, the game has "no actual lobby where you can see how many players are currently doing battle under the various rules of play," meaning it's hard to find new people to play against.It's not yet clear whether this system will carry over to other countries or other online-enabled Wii games, but it seems unlikely to us that Nintendo would premiere the Wii's online gameplay with a setup it didn't plan on continuing in other games. Then again, that's just us assuming again...
More support for the Wii single friend code system
Based on a report by UK Channel 4's tele-text service, Gamecentral, the single friend code system that works differently than the DS per-game code and has been speculated to be the way Nintendo is going on the Wii is getting some support. Gamecentral is backing up these claims, citing that players can look forward to having one individual friend code and not be forced to remember codes or look them up on a per-game basis.
Wii to feature a single friend code?
The DS has suffered much criticism for the antiquity of its "Friend Code" system, whereby players may only become online "friends" through the manual sharing and entering of a random, twelve-digit code. Even worse is the fact that each DS game and system combination generates a different friend code, so one needs to reshare and reenter a new code for every Wi-Fi enabled game. Archaic? Yes. Overly protective of small children? You betcha. Well, word on the street (and an unconfirmed word!) is that Wii will also be utilizing a Friend Code system. While this is not surprising, it seems as though Nintendo took a bit of a hint and reduced the Friend Code to being system dependent only. It's unclear whether a different code might be generated for different user profiles on an individual Wii, but at least we can memorize the digits as we would a personal phone-number. "Check it, man, I got her digits." "Sweet, you can play her tomorrow on Brawl."[via Joystiq]
