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+--- Thread: Wii online soon (/showthread.php?tid=4210)
Wii online soon - lazyfatbum - 4th February 2007
I was just looking at the release lists for Wii, all the games rumored or stated to have online modes are listed as either TBA or first quarter 2007. Nothing concrete, so that tells me that the network is about to go live with a myriad of games at once.
Expect Pokemon to be the first of them all, with MKWii, BWii, the ass load of Konami games about to hit and most likely, a fps from someone. I'm thinking either Retro's MP3 or something from the team that made Geist who's been hard at work for a while now. If it's MP3 it better be more substantial than the Echoes multiplayer. I'm sure Nintendo would suck on just about anything for a FPS IP with multiplayer that's regarded as the next gen Goldeneye/PD. But even the next gen PD and Goldeneye didnt live up to that hype.
The fat topper to the whole equasion will be Brawl. It could be in the middle of the releases or it could be the end of the year blow out - the Christmas must have (just like Melee), which is probably more likely.
So all in all, i'm thinking early March for Nintendo to go hot and fire up the servers. I think alot of the wait has to do with Nintendo's first party LAN adapter getting on store shelves. Again March should be magic time there too.
Wii online soon - A Black Falcon - 4th February 2007
Pokemon just uses the DS online service, I'm pretty sure. I have no idea what the first true online Wii game is...
... oh right, it's Elebits. Of course, that's just for trading stuff, not actual online play. We'll see what the first one of THOSE is, but as I'm sure you all know, my expectations are... extremely, extremely low... to say the least...
Wii online soon - Dark Jaguar - 4th February 2007
Yay! The day is saved!
Wii online soon - EdenMaster - 4th February 2007
All reports I've heard have Brawl slated for a Q3 release. Frankly, that's all I need :D
Wii online soon - A Black Falcon - 4th February 2007
I put the chances of Brawl actually being online at... oh, I don't know... 50%, maybe, at best?
Wii online soon - EdenMaster - 4th February 2007
*burns ABF at the stake*
It's been confirmed. CONFIRMED. Don't try and <i>TAKE THIS AWAY FROM ME.</i>
*sobs*
Wii online soon - lazyfatbum - 4th February 2007
ABF is just scared that a console game might have more people playing online than any PC game.
Tell me i'm wrong.
Wii online soon - A Black Falcon - 4th February 2007
Oh, numbers-wise they'd do fine; it's features that matters, and it's features where Nintendo seems determined to not include the ones that they most need in order to make an online service decent.
Maybe they will, but I'm skeptical to say the least... X360 online is how you do console online. Nintendo? Friends codes you must trade outside of the game and no chat feature (much less chatrooms/game rooms) won't cut it. That's probably what they are going to do, though, of course... (well, maybe some limited form of chat, but how? Release a headset? I just can't see it... and a keyboard controlled with the wiimote would be horrible.)
Wii online soon - Dark Jaguar - 4th February 2007
Well Nintendo's been pretty insistant that online will be included in the new game. They are actually making online games now, so I don't have much reason to doubt that'll be the case.
ABF is perfectly in the right to worry about the quality of the online mode though. I'm not talking lag, I'm talking about how backwards this IP address (what it resembles) method of getting friends is all about. At least it has random match making... Still, much better features have become standard in online games these days.
Wii online soon - EdenMaster - 4th February 2007
No one says that the manner in which they handled games like MKDS will be the de facto standard for Nintendo online. The DS was Nintendo's first real step into online gaming (Famicom hardly counts), and they are guaging gamers response to it. Honestly, I don't see a problem with the friend code system. If you want to play against your friends you can, or play against strangers. What more do you need? To add people to your friends list? I haven't met a single racer on MKDS online that I'd have any interest in racing again.
It's a one-night-stand for gamers.
That's all I need :D.
Wii online soon - A Black Falcon - 5th February 2007
Quote:No one says that the manner in which they handled games like MKDS will be the de facto standard for Nintendo online. The DS was Nintendo's first real step into online gaming (Famicom hardly counts), and they are guaging gamers response to it.
If this were true, Nintendo would be talking about how they want to improve their online system. They haven't. Quite the opposite, they regularly go out there and defend the idiocy of forced friend codes... they must know that they're not telling the truth about those things being a competent system, but NCL makes the rules, and they're paranoid about people contacting children online or average Japanese people not wanting to play because they don't like online gaming (where the other person can insult them or whatever) or something so...
Quote: Honestly, I don't see a problem with the friend code system. If you want to play against your friends you can, or play against strangers. What more do you need? To add people to your friends list? I haven't met a single racer on MKDS online that I'd have any interest in racing again.
.
..
...
I'm trying hard to think of how I can respond to this without insults, but really, it's hard. "What more do you need"? "What more do you need"??? Ah, how about ALMOST EVERYTHING! Online gaming is so great, and Nintendo's service is so utterly incompetent, that to hear someone actually defending it is pretty depressing. Really, the only reasons with any plausibility to defend it are either because you are an utterly hopeless fan who is denying reality or because you've never played a real online game... well, either that or you're one of those people who hates online gaming, but in that case why would you care how the service is one way or the other? In the PC world such people would just ignore online gaming and stick to single player stuff, only annoyed for things like whole genres seeming to go online-only or something (like most PC RPGs for instance)...
Of course going from game to game there are always issues -- like in an MMORPG (or non-MM online RPG like Guild Wars) you'll be much more successful in a group of people you know than in a random group -- but how do you meet such groups? Yeah, almost always in the game itsself. Online gaming without the ability to contact the people you are playing with or against is pretty much pointless; why not just spend your time improving the AI instead? It's functionally the same...
Wii online soon - Dark Jaguar - 5th February 2007
ABF has a point. The players in MK you race against couldn't pass a turing test.
Wii online soon - Great Rumbler - 5th February 2007
Hey, ABF, give us your friend code so we can play some Mario Kart together.
Wii online soon - EdenMaster - 5th February 2007
I play online, lots of Counter Strike.
Really, I want to know what else Nintendo needs. Voice chat? Server rooms to join? Adding Friends? Honestly, tell me. Don't just say "everything".
Wii online soon - A Black Falcon - 5th February 2007
Quote:Voice chat? Server rooms to join? Adding Friends? Honestly, tell me. Don't just say "everything".
All of those things and more:
-Servers -- general ones as well as user-creatable ones for private areas (like battle.net)
-chat with said people online
-random game option to play with anyone (like they have), but with chat enabled (optional, and hook it into the parental controls to deal with worries about children)
-ability to create custom games, either locked or unlocked, like WC3 or similar games (custom games for just friends/people you invite (who have the password, or just friends, or whatever they want to do) or open custom games for special rules play with powers for the game creator (see: WC3 Custom mode)
-ability to add people you meet online to your friends list
-guild/clan support built in
-chat options -- voice chat, or onscreen keyboard chat for appropriate games; keyboard accessory option would be nice too, though it's very doubtful that they would go that route (text chat is much easier to follow and keep track of in larger groups than voice chat would be, particularly for chatrooms and the such)
-show what friends are doing (darn you Guild Wars, why isn't there a /whereis command? It would be so nice to have!) (hidden mode available if you want to pretend to be offline so people can't see you're online)
-stat tracking -- having it on websites as well as ingame would be great -- re. Battle.net's player records they keep, etc (Guild Wars top guilds ladder online, etc)
And more stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting.
Wii online soon - Dark Jaguar - 5th February 2007
Cross-game data across all Nintendo's games, so you can send invites to people while they are playing Mario Kart to play Tetris.
Wii online soon - A Black Falcon - 5th February 2007
Yeah, that too, like XBLA or instant messenging software on PC... I knew I forgot something. :)
Wii online soon - EdenMaster - 5th February 2007
Nintendo's served you up a nice burger and you're complaining because it isn't filet mignon. Some of those things would be nice but most seem extraneous and even unnecessary.
As I said, this was Nintendo's first real step into the online gaming maret, and I'm sure they're gauging responses and will include changes. You must also rememebr though, that before all else, Nintendo is a family company. They want, if at all possible, to maintain that through online play. Even Nintendo's message boards strictly prohibit the sharing of Friend Codes so as to avoid such problems.
Yes, it could be better. Stop bitching and enjoy it for what it is, instead of what it isn't. Sheesh.
Wii online soon - A Black Falcon - 5th February 2007
I wanted to think that, back when the DS online was new. But now that the Wii is out and we haven't heard one word of Nintendo sayin that anything will change in Wii online, and with the Wii out with no online games around? It's obvious that Nintendo still doesn't care about online gaming, and has no intention of trying to make a good online gaming network. And I'm saying that that's just not acceptable.
Wii online soon - EdenMaster - 5th February 2007
Sure it is. It's just unacceptable to you and those like you. Someone who places an inordinate amount of importance on online play. It's fun, yes, but you know there is also a market that does not have that much interest in online play as well. I'll be happy for what I get, lord knows I won't be complaining for more.
Wii online soon - A Black Falcon - 5th February 2007
Erm... what the heck? None of those things are true. Single-player games are great, and I play them a lot. I don't want multiplayer games to replace single-player ones, never have, and don't think I ever will, so accusing me of that is absolutely and totally wrong. Games which are single-player shouldn't have multiplayer modes forced into them.
Expecting games which are multiplayer to have good multiplayer modes is a completely different issue and does not affect the single-player argument. The issue is multiplayer games, and there, it is not "putting inordinate importance" into the issue to expect something maybe equal to what I got on PC eight or nine years ago. Really, quite the opposite, that should be a given... the issue should be "what MORE than that can they give us?" not "why doesn't this match PC online games from 1997?"... (random-matchmaking mode excluded, those games usually didn't have that)
Acting like this is okay is ridiculous. Why should anyone bother playing an online mode where you can't contact the other people? What is the point? THERE ISN'T ONE! The idea that that is in any way a defensible policy is ridiculous. It is NOT putting "an inordinate amount of importance" onto online gaming to expect a bare minimum feature list (not all the things I listed above; stuff like guild/clan support, Custom modes beyond just hosting for friends, keybaord chat, online stat tracking (as opposed to just ingame), and commands like /whereis or stuff are optional, if greatly appreciated). It is simply wanting to have an online gaming mode that is actually online.
What Nintendo has now is like those little built-in Windows games Microsoft has (built in to ME anyway) for online Go, Hearts, etc -- you can't chat, just choose from some options on a menu for predefined chat selections. It's crippled and gets boring really quickly...
Wii online soon - Dark Jaguar - 5th February 2007
EM, it's just that we want decent online play.
What's wrong with being critical of what we get? We're paying for it after all.
Wii online soon - A Black Falcon - 5th February 2007
Exactly. It is not unreasonable to want something we can get elsewhere (PC) and want from our favorite console company too...
Wii online soon - Great Rumbler - 5th February 2007
Quote:We're paying for it after all.
Except online is free. :p
Hey, EM, get on MSN and we'll got down with some Mario Kart!!
Wii online soon - A Black Falcon - 5th February 2007
Quote:Except online is free.
You still pay for the game itsself... :)
Wii online soon - Dark Jaguar - 5th February 2007
And where do you think Nintendo gets the money to provide online support? US!
Wii online soon - lazyfatbum - 5th February 2007
I dont understand why this is difficult.
XBox 360 has more features online, not only do you pay for the game but a monthly fee as well.
Wii lets you go online for free, and will soon let you play online for free. You buy the game, and the rest is taken care of, it has some limited features because of the free network, but the most limiting be the ideal that it's setup around the idea of protecting children while online.
The features you want, such as stats, will obviously be in play on a per game basis, or if you sign up to a Nintendo site (which you can do since Gamecube). Chat rooms and email is already in play between DS and Wii and Wii isn't even officially online yet. If you want every possible feature available to you, you pay a monthly fee for it. Nintendo's is free, so you roll with it and accept its limitations. It's comparable to paying for a limo ride or taking the bus. It's as simple as that.
The friendcodes have nothing to do with it being free or working around costs, its in place because merely weeks after DS was released there were stories in the paper and on the news of sexual predators using the DS wireless connectivity to talk to minors. That is a feature that works brilliantly to keep random people from being able to talk to your children, only letting friends they personally know be able to communicate with them. In time the features will vary and will be streamlined - including the ability to enter chatrooms and voice chat similar to PC. But all in due time to make it legally viable for Nintendo, so they cant be sued from an angry parent.
ABF (and DJ) your arguments are completely bogus. You're not taking everything in to consideration and like EM said, you were given features and abilities for free but only complain about what you dont have. If you want more, pay for it. If MKDS is so absolutely horrible to play online then talk about how you would improve it or just stop playing it. Talk about how you'd like to see Wii play online with a RPG or FPS. Sitting there and saying its flawed and unworthy accomplishes absolutly nothing. I have no issue at all with you giving your opinions, but it gets annoying when the opinions are very limited in scope and have no ability to branch out or generate conversation.
Nintendo has people who glide through message boards and see what people are talking about, what interests them etc and compiles it for Nintendo. Who's post are they going to read? ABF's 'Friendcodes are stupid they should change that' or someone else's post that offers alternatives and actual ideas?
Yunno we're not talking about a T or M rated MMO that's entirely based on online play where you pay for the game and a monthly sign on fee where you're told prior to sign on to beware of certain people or 'buyer beware' - that only works when adults are playing. We're talking about Nintendo games where online play is an option in the multiplayer modes, games rated E where kids are going to be subjected to the same retards on XBL. If I were a parent and I heard my son's DS call him a faggot piece of shit cocksucker while he's playing Pokemon i'd probably be pretty outraged - Nintendo's finding a method so that doesn't happen.
And to be honest, if I fire up Animal Crossiing and have to deal with XBL retards the whole time or people who troll looking for ways to be annoying or people randomly screaming in to their mics, I probably wont be playing it for very long. I'm glad Nintendo's taking the initiative with actually building an online experience and not just throwing people to the wolves and letting them figure out how to deal with the madness. This isn't a system for people who play online, it's for people who never did before, never used a video game system before - give them XBL and they wont be playing for long.
In the same way Nintendo got my dad to play Wii Sports, they want him to enjoy online gaming as well. It wont ever be XBL and you may not think it now, but that's a good thing.
Wii online soon - A Black Falcon - 5th February 2007
Quote:ABF (and DJ) your arguments are completely bogus. You're not taking everything in to consideration
There is nothing else to take into consideration, though. The excuses Nintendo (or EM/you) come up with are not very good ones, and the state of Wii online doesn't look any brighter... DS online is incompetent, and Wii online looks likely to follow it.
Quote:XBox 360 has more features online, not only do you pay for the game but a monthly fee as well.
It's a yearly fee really, but close enough... PC games show that you can do those things without fees though. You make less money that way, but if your game sells well enough that doesn't matter...
Quote:The features you want, such as stats, will obviously be in play on a per game basis, or if you sign up to a Nintendo site (which you can do since Gamecube). Chat rooms and email is already in play between DS and Wii and Wii isn't even officially online yet.
I doubt Nintendo will do stats. As you say that is something that would be on a game-by-game basis, but it would actually require effort...
As for chatrooms, I mean open game rooms where you discuss the game/look at the games that are open (in a custom mode where you create and name the room, not just random lookup)... the best format for this varies from genre to genre.
Quote:. If you want every possible feature available to you, you pay a monthly fee for it.
All the things I listed are present in either Starcraft, Diablo II, Warcraft II BNE, Warcraft III, or Guild Wars, and many are in games like Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, NetStorm (a 1997 game!), Age of Empires 2, etc, etc, none of which are games with monthly fees.
Quote:The friendcodes have nothing to do with it being free or working around costs, its in place because merely weeks after DS was released there were stories in the paper and on the news of sexual predators using the DS wireless connectivity to talk to minors. That is a feature that works brilliantly to keep random people from being able to talk to your children, only letting friends they personally know be able to communicate with them. In time the features will vary and will be streamlined - including the ability to enter chatrooms and voice chat similar to PC. But all in due time to make it legally viable for Nintendo, so they cant be sued from an angry parent.
This is an excuse NOA used. NCL makes the rules, however, and their reasoning is centered behind a belief that the Japanese people would not like to go online and be insulted or whatever and would prefer a more pleasant online experience, which means no chat. Protection of children is also part of it, but not the largest part... if that truly was the largest part, they'd let adults have chat, while blocking it for kids through things like parental controls and age checking. The fact that that is not how things are says a lot.
Quote:Talk about how you'd like to see Wii play online with a RPG or FPS. Sitting there and saying its flawed and unworthy accomplishes absolutly nothing.
I did, by giving a long list of features from games I have played that Wii online should have.
Wii online soon - A Black Falcon - 5th February 2007
Quote:# Sadly Tanaka-san does not believe the Wii hardware would be able to cope with Final Fantasy XI, which was sad to hear since the game has already appeared on the far inferior PlayStation 2. When pressed on this matter, it was revealed that the problem lies more with Nintendo’s current online stance – not wanting people to interact online without the aid of Friends Codes. However, the key point to mention is that Square Enix is currently in talks with Nintendo about resolving this point of contention!
http://www.cubed3.com/news/6729
The rest of the interview is worth reading too, though not related to this subject.
Wii online soon - Dark Jaguar - 6th February 2007
lazy, what arguments? I'm just saying I want more features. I don't care about the difficulties it presents to them. That's their burden.
As ABF pointed out, Blizzard's online games all provide those features for free. Much better online system. Have you even PLAYED Starcraft or Warcraft before? Do it! Do it now!
Wii online soon - lazyfatbum - 6th February 2007
hey DISCUSSION! :D
A Black Falcon Wrote:PC games show that you can do those things without fees though. You make less money that way, but if your game sells well enough that doesn't matter...
All the things I listed are present in either Starcraft, Diablo II, Warcraft II BNE, Warcraft III, or Guild Wars, and many are in games like Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, NetStorm (a 1997 game!), Age of Empires 2, etc, etc, none of which are games with monthly fees.
I completely agree, but we're talking about a platform that doesn't have any integration for the things that PC's do, or readily available tools to make them. It has to be built from the ground up for Wii. PC games can slap on a patch from pre-fab tools with little effort and dont have to worry about making up cost. For Nintendo, someone has to sit and make it, fully integrate it, R&D, the whole nine, and then make up for the cost of it when its released. A one time fee of say 1000 wii points to download a instant messaging service for Wii would do the trick. But there's no existing tool set for developers to dip in to in order to build one. ergo, MS made a subscription service with fully integrated IM and voice chat with tools for devs to build their online functionality.
Quote:As for chatrooms, I mean open game rooms where you discuss the game/look at the games that are open (in a custom mode where you create and name the room, not just random lookup)... the best format for this varies from genre to genre.
Who would you say is best?
Quote:...their reasoning is centered behind a belief that the Japanese people would not like to go online and be insulted or whatever and would prefer a more pleasant online experience, which means no chat.
I've never heard that before, but it makes perfect sense for something the Japanese would want.
Quote:Protection of children is also part of it, but not the largest part... if that truly was the largest part, they'd let adults have chat, while blocking it for kids through things like parental controls and age checking. The fact that that is not how things are says a lot.
My line of thinking is that we'll eventually get there. To have the option of it if you want it or meet age requirement. Nintendo just needs to figure out how its going to be implemented.
Wii online soon - A Black Falcon - 7th February 2007
Quote:I completely agree, but we're talking about a platform that doesn't have any integration for the things that PC's do, or readily available tools to make them. It has to be built from the ground up for Wii. PC games can slap on a patch from pre-fab tools with little effort and dont have to worry about making up cost. For Nintendo, someone has to sit and make it, fully integrate it, R&D, the whole nine, and then make up for the cost of it when its released. A one time fee of say 1000 wii points to download a instant messaging service for Wii would do the trick. But there's no existing tool set for developers to dip in to in order to build one. ergo, MS made a subscription service with fully integrated IM and voice chat with tools for devs to build their online functionality.
Wait a minuite... so you're saying that consoles doing the same things PCs are doing have higher costs? That doesn't make much sense... MS is charging for Live Gold because they want money, not because they really have to.
Sure, they would need to make the tools, but the same was true for any PC game's online infrastructure, or AIM, or whatever... they make money by selling copies of the games that use the online interface; for stuff like messenging, it should just be free, but I guess a one-time charge could work too (like the web browser)... anyway, those are all solvable problems. Nintendo just doesn't want to solve them.
Quote:Who would you say is best?
The basic online gaming system involves some form of lobby system where the players chat before entering games and playing. These include both open chatrooms and user-creatable ones, for clans/guilds to use or for people to use with friends.
For game options, random-play is the default one, with various settings so you can configure what kind of game to play -- your player selection (race in an RTS, vehicle for a racing game, whatever), preferred maps, etc.
Second, custom modes where players can create games people can join; these can be locked so only friends can see them (it would show what friends are doing somewhere so you'd know a friend is interested in playing a game -- just "random friendslist play" isn't good enough, having control over who joins would be nice too, even if usually it wouldn't matter unless you have a bunch of people on the list), or they could be open so that you can get a game with specific settings and the game creator can choose who gets to play (WCIII Custom mode, any game in any online game from before Random modes were implemented, etc). The more user-customization features (map editor, etc) the game has, the more important Custom mode style stuff is, but even without much of that it still has uses...
Now, that's just a basic layout; you can do things differently too -- see stuff like DOA3/DOAXBV on X360 which have a graphical lobby where a group of players can watch the ones currently playing, like in an arcade, or NetStorm, with its graphical interface for the "lobby" instead of just a screen full of text menus and buttons and stuff...
Of course, this isn't getting into online-only games or MMOs, but if those come to Wii they will follow the same rules they do anywhere, as the quote up there from Square shows -- they won't bring MMOs to Wii as long as Nintendo refuses to let them have control over the system. Of course, I'd imagine that HDD stuff is also a barrier for such games, as FFXI installs itsself on PC, PS2, and X360 so I can't quite see how it'd work on the Wii where all you have is 512MB and those SD cards that are small in size, so there are more problems than just that, but still...
Quote:I've never heard that before, but it makes perfect sense for something the Japanese would want.
NCL people said that at some point when explaining the DS online system...
Quote:My line of thinking is that we'll eventually get there. To have the option of it if you want it or meet age requirement. Nintendo just needs to figure out how its going to be implemented.
Hopefully, but I'm not holding my breath.
Wii online soon - Dark Jaguar - 7th February 2007
ABF pretty much summed it up. Nintendo could try something unique, if his "the same way as everyone else" thing rubs you the wrong way, but it would have to accomplish the same goals.
Wii online soon - A Black Falcon - 7th February 2007
Quote:ABF pretty much summed it up. Nintendo could try something unique, if his "the same way as everyone else" thing rubs you the wrong way, but it would have to accomplish the same goals.
Having a graphical interface with avatars instead of just Battle.net style menus would be cool, I think...
Wii online soon - Dark Jaguar - 7th February 2007
Yeah, that would be neat. That's just icing on the cake though.
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Wii online soon - A Black Falcon - 8th February 2007
Funny... weird, but funny. :)
Quote:Yeah, that would be neat. That's just icing on the cake though.
True, they have to take the first step first. Still, it'd be nice... some games do have avatars instead of just names on a list -- MMOs of course, but also non-MMO online games like Guild Wars, as well as NetStorm's unique interface. Phantasy Star Online too.
... how about a Wiimote Keyboard like those GC controller ones? That'd be practical! :D
Wii online soon - Dark Jaguar - 8th February 2007
No need really, because the Wii actually has USB ports, as well as blue tooth. The support for existing mice and keyboards is already there.
Wii online soon - lazyfatbum - 8th February 2007
So far there's no keyboard or mice that work on it (not mine anyway) as far as i've heard.
I really think that Nintendo patent for the voice to to text thing will replace the need for keyboards on Wii. Unless it's just going to be used in a particular game. The patent certainly made it look like it was being used for chat though, and if you think about it a light, bluetooth earclip would be be something even grandpa could use. That grandpa that never learned to type, because he grew up being taught that typing is a woman's skill.
Quote:Wait a minuite... so you're saying that consoles doing the same things PCs are doing have higher costs?
Yup.. Blizzard can take pre-existing windows based freeware for IM or chatrooms and quickly throw something together in a small team, even a one person outfit and build on it over time and releases. Nintendo (or whoever ends up building the tools) has to start with square one and it has to be silky smooth. You wouldn't want krappy programing slowing down your online match just because you tried to type something, you want it fully integrated and fast. What happens when you take pre-existing program and try to throw it on another platform? MSN IM for Mac, which eats about 30% of cpu. For an IM program :D
It'll take time, it'll take money. Months of R&D and a major update to the wii operating system. If you want something that runs off software and is available for that particular game it came packaged with, well, that just seems like a waste. Why would the dev spend that time and money to offer chat and lobbies on a platform with free online play and no sign on fee? Again, they cant just throw pre-existing freeware on it and patch any bugs it may have later.
Wii online soon - Dark Jaguar - 8th February 2007
Except Blizzard didn't do that. They've had this system going since 1997 or so.
I'll add that Nintendo would have to add the support for USB keyboards and such, but it would be a snap to do so.
Wii online soon - EdenMaster - 11th February 2007
From Nintendo World Report:
Quote:Brawl will be compatible with the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, but the number of supported players is still a mystery. <i><b>Two player games are definite</b></i>, but the creators have expressed concerns with making a four player mode work online given the type of game Smash Brothers is.
:shakeit:
Wii online soon - A Black Falcon - 11th February 2007
Quote:Except Blizzard didn't do that. They've had this system going since 1997 or so.
December 1996, actually -- Diablo I. And yes, they didn't just use some pre-existing system, they made it themselves; Battle.net was a major accomplishment, really, and a hugely successful one. They made back the costs (development and servers) by the great sales of their games. (And one reason why Guild Wars' online network works so well is that a few of the key people behind the development of Battle.net left early in the development of WoW because they disagreed with the direction the game was going in, instead founding Arena.net and making GW...)
Quote:It'll take time, it'll take money. Months of R&D and a major update to the wii operating system. If you want something that runs off software and is available for that particular game it came packaged with, well, that just seems like a waste. Why would the dev spend that time and money to offer chat and lobbies on a platform with free online play and no sign on fee? Again, they cant just throw pre-existing freeware on it and patch any bugs it may have later.
Time and money? No more than the browser did, and they made that. No, that's a really, really bad excuse, and no reasonable person should believe it. The answer, as I have said, lies elsewhere. It has nothing to do with costs or ability.
Quote:I'll add that Nintendo would have to add the support for USB keyboards and such, but it would be a snap to do so.
That would require an admission that contact with others is actually a good idea though, and NCL is resistant to that... (as far as I know the only DS game with communication (friends only) is Metroid Prime Hunters, which was made by American NST...)
What I would use as a headline for a post on this article: "NWR beats a dead horse to death again by saying that Nintendo's online service is in bad shape"
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/editorialArt.cfm?artid=12892
Quote:From Nintendo World Report:
Good news.