14th December 2007, 12:44 PM
http://kotaku.com/gaming/nintendo/ninten...334064.php
I never really expected straight emulated ROMs to get new features, so I don't have much to say about the "lack" of online play in the "virtual consoles". That'll have to wait until Nintendo sees fit to make new and improved versions of their old games as "Wii Ware" downloads.
The addition of voice chat to the system is a step in the right direction. I will add one note. If privacy and online safety is "jorb one" at Nintendo, adding voice chat of all things more or less negates EVERY SINGLE EFFORT THEY HAVE MADE to do exactly that. So, I'm saying they should take the hint and STOP DOING all that. :D As I've said before, it's simply a matter of putting parental controls into the online features of the system, right into the OS, which all games just need to tie into in order to be properly protected. Now I'm realistic. I know most parents have no idea how to set up those controls. I just don't care. This is a token gesture anyway, might as well not get in the way of most gamers in the attempt.
Anyway, this is a good move but I do have to wonder how they are implementing it. If it's like the DS, as I fear, it'll mean "a couple of games will have coded in support for voice chat", instead of the vastly superior "the OS itself will have coded in support for voice chat" which would mean EVERY game would hve support and it's just a matter of how they implement it. Mind you, to do that, they need to do the whole schtick of a persistant online profile from game to game, shared friends list, invites from the OS, ability to check up that info by using the "home" menu, that whole thing.
In other news, Sony intends to add in full "home" menu support for their online network on the PS3, meaning they'll have pretty much feature parity with XBox Live, only free. That'll pretty much cut Nintendo out completely.
And oh yes, just a reminder. Nintendo hasn't innovated anything NEW for online features either, like at all. They don't do anything unique when it comes to online networks. They just are outdated.
I never really expected straight emulated ROMs to get new features, so I don't have much to say about the "lack" of online play in the "virtual consoles". That'll have to wait until Nintendo sees fit to make new and improved versions of their old games as "Wii Ware" downloads.
The addition of voice chat to the system is a step in the right direction. I will add one note. If privacy and online safety is "jorb one" at Nintendo, adding voice chat of all things more or less negates EVERY SINGLE EFFORT THEY HAVE MADE to do exactly that. So, I'm saying they should take the hint and STOP DOING all that. :D As I've said before, it's simply a matter of putting parental controls into the online features of the system, right into the OS, which all games just need to tie into in order to be properly protected. Now I'm realistic. I know most parents have no idea how to set up those controls. I just don't care. This is a token gesture anyway, might as well not get in the way of most gamers in the attempt.
Anyway, this is a good move but I do have to wonder how they are implementing it. If it's like the DS, as I fear, it'll mean "a couple of games will have coded in support for voice chat", instead of the vastly superior "the OS itself will have coded in support for voice chat" which would mean EVERY game would hve support and it's just a matter of how they implement it. Mind you, to do that, they need to do the whole schtick of a persistant online profile from game to game, shared friends list, invites from the OS, ability to check up that info by using the "home" menu, that whole thing.
In other news, Sony intends to add in full "home" menu support for their online network on the PS3, meaning they'll have pretty much feature parity with XBox Live, only free. That'll pretty much cut Nintendo out completely.
And oh yes, just a reminder. Nintendo hasn't innovated anything NEW for online features either, like at all. They don't do anything unique when it comes to online networks. They just are outdated.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)