Nintendo online: A No Fun Zone
Nintendo has a strategy. It’s called Blue Ocean and it’s meant to expand the realm of video games beyond its traditional enthusiasts and into a broader market spanning all interests and age groups. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s working.
Numbers don’t lie. According to sales-tracking site VGChartz, the Nintendo DS handheld has sold nearly 70 million units in just over 3 years. The Wii is leading all current generation consoles with more than 23 million in homes. Non-traditional video game experiences, such as Brain Age, Nintendogs, Wario Ware and many others are starting to rival popular hard-core series such as Halo.
So considering all of the things that they are doing right, it’s amazing that they seem to have no clue when it comes to online gaming.
Nintendo has always been behind the curve when it comes to new technology. They clung to the limited and expensive cartridge format long after the rest of the industry had adopted CDs. They’ve also lagged significantly in terms of horsepower and high-definition graphics capabilities. But they’ve always been at the forefront of gaming enhancements such as analog control, rumble feedback and most recently, touch and motion control. Which makes their reluctance to fully embrace online all the more strange.
Officially, Nintendo describes the Wii’s online service like this:
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection puts you in touch with players everywhere – from across the room to across the world. You can use Friend Codes to ensure you only play with people you know. Or you can compete anonymously any time you like – with millions of players online, you’ll always find someone ready to play!
The minimalist strategy has worked at times. Mario Kart DS and Pokemon Diamond & Pearl both supported quick and effortless online modes. But no one expected a handheld like the DS to do anything more than enable some quick match-ups. The utter failure of the Wii’s online environment is another thing entirely.
By now, gamers have come to expect - and rightfully so - a vibrant social experience from their living room consoles. They want to know what others are doing online with their games and they want to be able to show off their own achievements as well. Microsoft has set the bar high for this kind of experience even with their early efforts on the Xbox, but Nintendo has ignored this completely.
The WiFi Connection features none of the competitive aspects that make online gaming so great. No consolidated leader boards, no online chatting, no gamerscore, no achievements. Oh, and lest I forget, no downloadable content, at least until very recently.
The Square Enix title Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As a King became the first to offer additional content via an in-game store. But other developers, such as MTV Games with the upcoming Rock Band for Wii, have decided not to even bother. Why should a developer put the resources into a robust online experience when the console maker itself all but actively discourages the practice?
Most, but not all, of the problems stem from the founding principle of Nintendo’s online system, the Friend Code. Friend Codes are numbers that are unique to each Wii console. They must be manually exchanged between two people who already know each other from outside the WiFi Connection service. There is no method for meeting people online and exchanging codes there. You are either a friend with someone, or you are completely anonymous.
It’s easy to see how Nintendo chose this path. It is the simplest and safest way, in their minds, to preserve the kid-friendly reputation they have always had. But at the same time, there are thousands of older gamers that have grown up on past consoles and are longing to bring the unique Nintendo experiences into a truly open online world.
I don’t mind saying that I am one of them.
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Comments
I agree that online play itself on Wii is total crap, but their VC system is decent and some of the other channels are good too.
Soupdog50 How does Nintendo’s system compare to the Playstation 3 Network, I’ve been hearing alot of complaints about it…
Interesting Article
I’m not going to defend the online service,
but from their point of view Nintendo is still working out how to do online systems, they have been doing it for all of 1 Year.
Xbox got it right because they made it their main focus. For Nintendo ‘online’ is at best their third point of focus, behind innovating controls and expanding the audience.
Little comfort to thousands around the world ‘Please waiting’ while their Wii dares them to turn it off in frustration.