Nintendo's WiFi service way too restrictive

[A Black Falcon]

Animal Crossing is the one that you can only connect to people if you give them your address. In Mario Kart there are ladders and stuff... but I don't think it has any form of ingame chat. And to add people to your "friends list" you need to enter in their long code number (that they are assigned by the game)... doesn't exactly seem like the most user-friendly interface... you're right that it seems like they started with the idea "we must insulate people from all the potential ills of online gaming (rude people, etc)" and took it too far by applying it to everyone in a somewhat annoying manner.

Oh yes, and to play at a non-official hotspot (that is, not one like the McDonald's ones that Nintendo has said will work), you might need a laptop with one of those Nintendo USB Router things to get it to work...

To make this easier, the Nintendo USB Routers are only going to be sold online.

Helpful, aren't they!