Ten people just got fired at Nintendo (new Wii info leaked)

[Praxis]

Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam is an online launch title, Friend Codes are still used, it's still all free, and Wii Music is its own game, not just an E3 tech demo.

http://www.nintendoplayers.com/article. ... icleID=397

Nintendo Web Designers Slip Lots of New Wii Information
At Nintendo HQ, ten people just got fired.
by Chris Hardin

July 18, 2006 - Earlier today, someone found some hidden pages on Nintendo.com, which quickly made rounds on the internet, only to be quickly taken down by Nintendo- but not before we could get our hands on some juicy new information.

The first thing confirmed by these new pages is that, as previously stated by Nintendo, online play will remain free. Additionally, it listed the first two confirmed online titles for the platform; Super Smash Bros Brawl (as stated at E3 '05), and Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam (this is new...). This means that Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam will be the first online title on the Nintendo Wii, as Super Smash Bros Brawl is not a launch title. The page does not say that these are the only online titles currently on the way; it's possible that other launch titles may be online as well.

To the disappointment of some fans, the site also stated that the Wii will continue to use the controversial Friend Code system.

The only page that was not taken down was the party games page, which lists a previously unannounced title- Wii Music. This appears to be based off the "Wii Music: Orchestra" demo at E3 '06; the reason I state it is a previously unannounced title is that, as far as anyone knew, Wii Music was nothing more than a tech demo to show off system potential.

We will quote the full text from the WiFi page below:

Be Connected

From your living room to the world, the built in Wi-Fi capabilities of Wii let you play games against friends and family around the world! If you have a wireless broadband connection, Wii is ready to connect right out of the box. And best of all, it's free to connect via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and take on all comers!

How It Works

The ability to play games online is built into the Wii. All you need is a broadband Internet connection and a wireless router. After you follow an intuitive setup process, you'll be ready to play online games in no time.

Free

Nintendo does not charge a free for people to play via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, Nintendo's online service. Just put a game into the system and connect. Soon you'll play against your friends around the world!

Fun

Join the Nintendo worldwide community! Play the coolest titles around with gamers from around the world via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Whether you're thrashing your friends in Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam or hammering the competition in Smash Bros. Dojo, Wii opens up a world of fun through online play!

Safe

Nintendo has your online safety in mind. Thanks to our unique Friend Code system, you can control whom you play with online. Playing online is a great way to connect and reconnect people you want to play games with!

Page screenshots:
http://aycu10.webshots.com/image/1769/1 ... 166_rs.jpg
http://aycu36.webshots.com/image/155/14 ... 821_rs.jpg
http://aycu33.webshots.com/image/2552/1 ... 394_rs.jpg

[une]

Why do so many people hate the friends code system? It seems alike a decent system to me.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

What is the "Friend Code" system? How does it work and why is it controversial to some?

[Praxis]

What is the "Friend Code" system? How does it work and why is it controversial to some?

The friend code system is what the DS currently uses. Now, Nintendo's Wii implementation on the DS works like this:

Instead of each user having an ID used for all games (a la XBox Live's gamertag), each user in EACH GAME is assigned a Friend Code and you have completely seperate friends lists for each game. If you want to add a friend, you have to get their friend code for each game and add them manually by typing in their codes in each game you own.

Some say that it's a good system because you might not want to have the same people on your Metroid Prime Hunters list as on your Animal Crossing list (where in Animal Crossing, your 'friend' might decide to rearrange your furniture, chop down all your trees and trample your flower beds if he's a jerk, while in Metroid you can just shoot him).

Most though just consider it a slight pain.

When you go to play online, you either choose to have it search for games with your friends, or randomly match you up with opponents- no server browsers.

Hopefully Nintendo will use a universal friend code instead of assigning one for each game, but I get the impression that it's the same system as the DS uses.

I won't complain as long as it remains free, but I'd rather have something more like XBox Live.

EDIT:
Read the comments under this article to see a bunch of posters debating over it.
http://dsrevolution.com/article.php?articleid=1310

[Spanky The Dolphin]

Most though just consider it a slight pain.

That's it? Are you serious; people bitching because it's slightly time-consuming to enter in codes for each individual game?

Fuck them, then. That's not a God damn controversy, that's just fans being bitchy because they're fucking lazy...

[Elaro]

What was that about the Virtual Console section of the Wii-bsite? (In the second screenshot.)

[Davis 51]

Not much we didn't already know.

The girl on the top-right of the second screenshot is hot.

That is all.

[Crown]

The girl on the top-right of the second screenshot is hot..

Shit yeah.


Also, these new controllers (which I first thought; 'stupid') are starting to grow on me. Although it's obvious that the 'stupid poses while playing a video game' category is gonna get new entries.