Game-specific friend codes confirmed; and there was much rejoicing. Yay.

botticus

botticus

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Update:
A Nintendo CS rep confirms that game-specific friend codes will be used. So that about wraps up the last unknown.

http://gonintendo.com/?p=14962

I can confirm that the Friend Code system in the Wi-Fi Connection (WFC) service for Wii will be the same as it was for the Nintendo DS, meaning game-specific Friend Codes and a separate Friend Roster are used in each game where players can play with identified friends. As with Nintendo DS, the system was created to ensure the gaming environment is kept fun for everyone.

We have heard from various others like you letting us know how they felt regarding Nintendo’s implementation of Friend Codes in the Wi-Fi Connection service for Wii. I want you to know that we appreciate your passion and concern. Let me assure you that your concerns have been heard and will be forwarded along. As always, keep an eye on our website (www.nintendo.com) for the latest developments in Wi-Fi gaming as they are made available.
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While this is annoying, save the total freak outs for the day when separate friend CODES are confirmed for each game. At this point, the info only states that lists, scores, etc, are not propogated across all games, kind of a mish-mash of a good Live component and a bad PSN component - one common framework, separate identities for each game. Since games (a la Elebits) have access to your address book, it's entirely possible that you may have to add people from that list to your game's friend list. Probably not, but that's what I'm assuming for now.

Apparently this is a reliable informant's conversation with a GameSpy rep.

Falafelkid: I would like to know if I am right in assuming that the features mentioned (friend rosters, advanced matchmaking capabilities and comprehensive rankings data) suggest a single, unified online platform for each console, rather than one which is dependent on individual games (as is the case with the DS).

GameSpy: GameSpy’s technology does allow for features that could span multiple games. With the Nintendo Wii, however, the multiplayer features are title-specific.

Falafelkid: But is that the case for all Wii online titles across the board?

GameSpy: Yes, that is the case for Wii titles.

Falafelkid: Just one last question to make absolutely sure I have got this right, please. If I have a friend roster in one game, that roster will not be available to me in any other game. I have to build up an entirely new list for each title, right?

GameSpy: The answer to your question is yes, for the Wii friend lists are game specific.
Click to expand...
http://gonintendo.com/?p=14563

There's little Nintendo can do to really piss me off regarding online capabilities, since I honestly don't care that much, but if even the very simple ideas they tossed around pre-launch ("Hey, you just got an automatic message from your friend who just put Battalion Wars in their system for the first time - do you want to add them to your BW friend list?") don't come to fruition ("Oh wait, here's a new friend code for them, better send them your new BW-specific friend code so you can play together!"), that's just sad.
 
I don't know why Nintendo is so adamant about fucking up the online aspect of things again. There are two perfectly good systems out there why can't they just take the best of both worlds and combine them.
 
[quote name='magiic']I don't know why Nintendo is so adamant about fucking up the online aspect of things again. There are two perfectly good systems out there why can't they just take the best of both worlds and combine them.[/quote]It's kinda the blessing and a curse that Nintendo is. They rarely do what everyone else does, which sometimes gives you something awesome and different (the DS) and sometimes gives you something shitty and different (DS online framework).
 
Insert "Whatever it takes to stop 'SpecialGuy29' from his devious rubbers-and-six-pack-toting intentions" joke. I'm beyond tired of Nintendo and online. I just don't care anymore. Actually...I'm not sure I ever did.

You coulda been someone online, Mario, but instead you became a bum.
 
I see their point with friend codes, but the same thing can be accomplished just by having it so that there isn't a way for somebody to communicate with anyone that hasn't exchanged Wii codes with them. It doesn't have to be game specific since I'd think that trusting somebody to exchange codes wouldn't be game specific.

"I think it's ok for you to play mario kart with timmy, but not battalion wars, or you just might be a child molestor" doesn't really make sense.
 
Like I said, this isn't really anything relating to friend codes specifically. That's just the next logical step that we will now await. As far as I know, this is how the Sony model is working, at least to this point. People you play in Resistance aren't automatically set up as your friends in Motorstorm, for example. (Definitely possible I'm wrong there, though, that was just my impression.)

When does that Pachinko game release in Japan? Since there's no DS connectivity like Pokemon, that will probably be the first "normal" Wi-Fi game to look at. May 24, to answer my own question.
 
It wouldn't anger me as much if all of this BS was simply bad design or something, but the fact that it is some bullshit farse about protecting kids drives me nuts. Do you really need a parental lock AND a convoluted code system?

It just doesn't make any damn sense.
 
As much as it is annoying, Nintendo has a bit more of a reason to do things this way with Wii (rather than DS) because if the Wii is truly a family console shared by all then you might have different age groups all sharing the machine. There is probably a way to segregate the Friend Codes by title rating, but it's easier for them to emulate the tested (albeit annoying) DS system.
 
Hello, I am moron. Can someone fill me in on game-specific friend lists saving kids from child-molesters? This is really news to me. (I'm serious, I don't play DS online much, and I am quite unaware of child-molesters with a DS, no matter how much FOX claims otherwise).
 
I completely recant a statement I made a couple months ago to the effect that I'm sure Nintendo can do a better job of on-line play than MS, and for free.

While I still think there is potential for Nintendo to do so, it's become painfully clear that, like RAMSTORIA said, they have their head up their ass on this one. You're losin' me, Nintendo... you're losin' me.
 
Online gaming will likely never be a staple of my gaming experiences, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't still baffle me why Nintendo can't get their crap together here.
 
[quote name='MarioColbert']Hello, I am moron. Can someone fill me in on game-specific friend lists saving kids from child-molesters? This is really news to me. (I'm serious, I don't play DS online much, and I am quite unaware of child-molesters with a DS, no matter how much FOX claims otherwise).[/quote]

Child molesters is a bit extreme, like the sensational stories that appear on news casts. There could be a real issue, though, if an 8-year-old is thrown into a "chat" during an online match with a GameFAQs style teen who cusses up a storm. I'm not saying I completely agree with the concerns (and there are likely other ways to prevent this via parental controls), but I am saying that our CAG group of gamers needs to understand that the online experience is not entirely about what is best for them.
 
Unfortunate, but I think we all knew this was coming. I don't like how Nintendo is trying to protect children by restricting online features, that's what parental controls are for.

I feel this will severely limit online rpgs... T_T
 
What's the point of friends codes for playing games online after you've already exchanged Wii codes? There was nothing like that for Elebits' online, which retains the use of the Wii friends list, so why can't that be replicated? Why does Nintendo have to make such an asinine decision to complicate the most simple of things (playing friends online)?
 
[quote name='FriskyTanuki']What's the point of friends codes for playing games online after you've already exchanged Wii codes? There was nothing like that for Elebits' online, which retains the use of the Wii friends list, so why can't that be replicated? Why does Nintendo have to make such an asinine decision to complicate the most simple of things (playing friends online)?[/QUOTE]

To me that makes sense. If you are listed as someone's friend, then you should be automatically set up to play them online.

I could care less about playing against complete strangers, but I would like to automatically be set up to play against my friends.

RD
 
I don't know why everyone's taking Falafelkid's blog at face value. I know that Go Nintendo's RawMeatCowboy claims he's reputable, but history proves otherwise. Falafelkid claimed that there was one more big secret that Nintendo had up its sleeve before launch -- and that was wrong. He claimed that a Star Wars light sabre game was imminent, and that didn't happen, either. Let's just hold off on lighting the torches just yet. We're taking faulty word as writ.

I'm not holding out hope -- the use of individual friend codes does seem likely, but I'm going to wait until the first wifi game that doesn't involve the DS (which is the reason that Pokemon has individual codes) is released before I curse Nintendo.
 
Don't just post on a message board and complain, email Nintendo about how you want console friend codes only for online play. It will only take a minute and maybe if enough people email them it could make a difference.

Someone posted a great sample email on Digg:

Hi,

I've seen comments circulating online about Nintendo implementing a friend code system for online play. I wanted to express my feelings that I think a per-game friend code system is illogical. There is no better precedent to follow for online play than Microsoft's Xbox Live. Please considering looking in to a system-based friends list rather than a list individual to the game.

Thank you for your time
 
[quote name='Kaijufan']Don't just post on a message board and complain, email Nintendo about how you want console friend codes only for online play. It will only take a minute and maybe if enough people email them it could make a difference.[/QUOTE]

It won't make any difference at all. Nintendo knows roughly what the gaming community is thinking. They know about the rippin' success of XBL and the loathing of friend codes. Does it stop them? No. Nintendo does what Nintendo wants to do until it gets so severe that it measurably impacts their bottom line.

It might be that they've seen the crazy amount of bandwidth that MS burns and the costs incurred and are a little skittish about diving in, especially since they're hemmed in with the "on-line will be free" promise.
 
There's absolutely no reason for this part of online to be like this. It doesn't save them any money. It just buys into the sensationalism that kiddy fucks will get molested verbally online. Which the CORE MARKET THAT BUYS NINTENDO PRODUCTS AND VIDEO GAMES IN GENERAL DO NOT CARE ABOUT.
 
I agree with zyblorg that we are all jumping the gun with this. The article never mentioned friend codes at all, it mentions that there will not be a unified friends list across all games. That is completely different from friend codes, which we all agree are asinine. Here is the quote again:

Falafelkid: Just one last question to make absolutely sure I have got this right, please. If I have a friend roster in one game, that roster will not be available to me in any other game. I have to build up an entirely new list for each title, right?

GameSpy: The answer to your question is yes, for the Wii friend lists are game specific.

So the friends lists are game specific, but that doesn't mean there are friend codes. As Botticus pointed out, the Playstation Network currently works the exact same way. You have a separate friends list for each game, yet there are no friend codes.

As long as you can easily add friends via your Wii address book for each game, then this system, while disappointing, is still a step up from the DS-style system.

EDIT: I'm not saying that Nintendo won't be dumb enough to implement friend codes, I'm just saying that this article doesn't mention anything about them. If the kid would have just straight-up asked about friend codes, it would all be much clearer (assuming he is credible).
 
[quote name='zyblorg']I don't know why everyone's taking Falafelkid's blog at face value. I know that Go Nintendo's RawMeatCowboy claims he's reputable, but history proves otherwise. Falafelkid claimed that there was one more big secret that Nintendo had up its sleeve before launch -- and that was wrong. He claimed that a Star Wars light sabre game was imminent, and that didn't happen, either. Let's just hold off on lighting the torches just yet. We're taking faulty word as writ.

I'm not holding out hope -- the use of individual friend codes does seem likely, but I'm going to wait until the first wifi game that doesn't involve the DS (which is the reason that Pokemon has individual codes) is released before I curse Nintendo.[/quote]

Words of Wisdom.
 
A Nintendo CS rep confirms that game-specific friend codes will in fact be used. So that about wraps up the last unknown.

http://gonintendo.com/?p=14962

I can confirm that the Friend Code system in the Wi-Fi Connection (WFC) service for Wii will be the same as it was for the Nintendo DS, meaning game-specific Friend Codes and a separate Friend Roster are used in each game where players can play with identified friends. As with Nintendo DS, the system was created to ensure the gaming environment is kept fun for everyone.

We have heard from various others like you letting us know how they felt regarding Nintendo’s implementation of Friend Codes in the Wi-Fi Connection service for Wii. I want you to know that we appreciate your passion and concern. Let me assure you that your concerns have been heard and will be forwarded along. As always, keep an eye on our website (www.nintendo.com) for the latest developments in Wi-Fi gaming as they are made available.
Click to expand...
I guess it's a good thing there likely won't be too many worthwhile online games. I think the more annoying part is that I wasted a ridiculous amount of time adding people to my address book solely to trade Miis, apparently. Whoopee. On the optimistic side, I will still hold out hope that I can use said address book to populate my game-specific rosters, however unlikely.
 
This is the stupidest fucking thing.

How does this keep the gaming environment fun?

The guy I played Super Smash Bros Brawl with might turn into a rapist when he plays Pokemon?

This is a dumbshit move.
 
The only thing that will redeem this is being able to play people randomly, i.e. friend codes aren't essential to any kind of online play, just online play between people you know.

Then again... wait... Nintendo would rather you play against any random folk rather than someone you've put in your Wii Address Book and most likely know? 'Tards.

If you can fault Nintendo on one major issue, it would be their stance on online play.
 
I could deal with a list based on my Address Book.

I could maybe even deal with a game-specific list based on my Address Book.

But this is just retarded. I'll suffer through it, but it is still very retarded.

Z-Saber brings up a startling point of clarity - you don't want us to play with molesters, but you still want random play? What's up with that?
 
That's it, I have to say it. fuck you Nintendo! fuck you!

I really hope that somewhere, somehow an internet rapist flys through your computer screen and violates all of you for being stupid enough to believe such a thing was possible in the first place.
 
I have a question.

With the DS, game-specific friend codes make (a marginal amount of) sense, because the games are still on carts, meaning that the data is saved directly to the game itself.

Clearly this is not the case with the Wii, being that the games are optical. Of course, the answer is that the 512 megs of internal memory will be used.

That's the goddamn problem - let's say I want to add Z-Saber to Smash Bros. Well I've already got him in my address book, and now he's in Smash Bros. Maybe Mario Party 9 has online, so I add him there.

In a few months I've got his goddamn FC and Address Book taking up TONS of data, instead of the first time I added him.

We've already got people hitting the limit with virtual games alone, and there's a good chance we'll fill them up within the next months. And adding a 2 gig card isn't even that great of an answer, because I'm still going to fill it up. Which means an external source is useless no matter HOW big it is.

Why in the fuck are people this goddamn stupid in the this industry?

I mean, doesn't this make the internal memory essentially useless? Nintendo might as well have just given me an SD card slot and axed the flash memory, cutting 20 bucks off the price. I would have been much happier with that, given that I bought a fucking SD card...
 
[quote name='sixersballernum3']
The guy I played Super Smash Bros Brawl with might turn into a rapist when he plays Pokemon?
[/QUOTE]

I know I sure do.

*Pikachu*
 
Am I the only one here who does not care if there is or isn't friend codes. The real complaint I have about the online service is how fucking it long it takes to find a fucking random group of people to play a fucking game. Serioulsy to find a game of mario kart it literally takes me 1-2 minutes without selecting chara or the like and I get really cheesed when I have to wait that long to play a game with randomized people. I could care less about friend codes but just reduce the time it takes for me to find a fucking game and I will have no problems.
 
[quote name='Sir_Fragalot']Am I the only one here who does not care if there is or isn't friend codes. The real complaint I have about the online service is how fucking it long it takes to find a fucking random group of people to play a fucking game. Serioulsy to find a game of mario kart it literally takes me 1-2 minutes without selecting chara or the like and I get really cheesed when I have to wait that long to play a game with randomized people. I could care less about friend codes but just reduce the time it takes for me to find a fucking game and I will have no problems.[/QUOTE]

The problem here is that what you are describing could most likely be fixed if FCs were not used.
 
I would say that most people enjoy gaming online with their friends, and thus don't want to deal with the hassle everytime a new game comes out.
 
[quote name='Strell']The problem here is that what you are describing could most likely be fixed if FCs were not used.[/quote]fuck Friend Codes then, seriously I like playing online games where here is *insert rooms here*, let me choose a room and a game. Well not ok let me wait until Nintendo matches me up with someone. When mario soccer comes out I am going to spend hours owning newbs and well I want fast connections, rofl. Maybe they might be able to do something here, lol. fuck you Nintendo, and your damn friend codes.
 
[quote name='Strell']I have a question.

With the DS, game-specific friend codes make (a marginal amount of) sense, because the games are still on carts, meaning that the data is saved directly to the game itself.

Clearly this is not the case with the Wii, being that the games are optical. Of course, the answer is that the 512 megs of internal memory will be used.

That's the goddamn problem - let's say I want to add Z-Saber to Smash Bros. Well I've already got him in my address book, and now he's in Smash Bros. Maybe Mario Party 9 has online, so I add him there.

In a few months I've got his goddamn FC and Address Book taking up TONS of data, instead of the first time I added him.

We've already got people hitting the limit with virtual games alone, and there's a good chance we'll fill them up within the next months. And adding a 2 gig card isn't even that great of an answer, because I'm still going to fill it up. Which means an external source is useless no matter HOW big it is.

Why in the fuck are people this goddamn stupid in the this industry?

I mean, doesn't this make the internal memory essentially useless? Nintendo might as well have just given me an SD card slot and axed the flash memory, cutting 20 bucks off the price. I would have been much happier with that, given that I bought a fucking SD card...[/QUOTE]

That is a very good point. How exactly does Nintendo plan on having us deal with 50 game lists each with 100 friends or more? Not to mention the fact that our wrists are going to be hurting from all the code input.

The more I think about all of this stupidity, the more I believe that friend codes are just an excuse by Nintendo to not implement a working online system. IF they make it too troublesome for us to play online then they won't have to make expensive online functionality like Live.
 
If this is true, then this will be one of the biggest flaws in the Wii. I was very close to waiting to get a 360 instead of the Wii for the online functionality alone. But after much research i decided that Nintendo has made a fantastic system. Im happy with my purchase but this online function is terrible.
I sent a letter expressing my hatred towards this type of online play, in hopes of changing Nintendo's mind about it.

Hopefully this is just some more bullshit from this douche, and Nintendo execs actually give us a multiplayer worth having.

Even if they do use this god awful system, im sure im still gonna use it. lol.
 
I think Nintendo is just trying to test us. See how much crap we will put up with before we just quit all together.
 
[quote name='magiic']I think Nintendo is just trying to test us. See how much crap we will put up with before we just quit all together.[/QUOTE]

Sadly, it really seems that way. It's like they absolutely refuse to be anything other than 3rd place *again*, even after this one was practically handed to 'em on a silver platter.

I *know* we'll get some incredibly fun games down the road, and I *know* I'll get my money's worth out of the Wii over the course of its lifespan, but the inifinite possibility promised for the Wii is looking more and more like a GameCube-sized reality.
 
Alas, if only this person had been interviewing Perrin Kaplan, the Bizarro World PR rep. Then we could rest easy, knowing that whatever she said was the mirror opposite of the truth.

I know Nintendo's most worried about kids being molested by adults, but quite honestly, as an adult who has seen what happens on XBL, I'm more afraid of being molested by kids:

"WHATTHEfuck YOU RETARDED OLD PIECE OF SHIT!? I'LL FRAG YOUR QUEER ASS BACK TO IRAQ, MOTHERfuckER!!! SHIT!!! I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE ON MY TEAM. SUCK MY DICK, BITCH!!!"

And so on...
 
I still understand Nintendo's though process regarding friend codes. They are paranoid of the BS that occurs on XBL and that they might get tagged as somehow condoing this behavior.

However, it makes no sense to have a different code for each game, the Wii has already show the ability to interact with an outside API (the Mii channel in multiple games), there is no reason to not have the roster directly interact with the existing address book via an API.

I respect that the Wii is trying to do something different an encourage family/party gaming and that it is suceeding. However, what does seperate friend codes bring to the table? Its certainly not a new novel way of interacting with your games, I highly doubt anyone will find this intuitive or easy to deal with.
 
It wourked for the DS so why not the Wii?!

Oh yeah, the DS online is a joke, Nintendo online is a joke.

Checks off another thing Nintendo fucked up.
 
This is asinine, plain and simple. I can deal with just playing with friends, since that's all I do anyway. I can deal with long strings of numbers instead of tags. I can deal with the half-assed Sony system of doing things. But this seems a step beyond that, where they're ACTIVELY trying to make online play as difficult as possible. I think Nintendo has made very few fuck ups this gen, but this is absolutely on the list, if true.
 
So wait, does this mean that Nintendo is FOR you making friends, or AGAINST it? Because with the way things seem to be going, it seems like they want you to have friends to play the Wii with, just not anybody new.
 
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