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DS

Brand New Nintendo Wi-fi Details

by Steven Rodriguez - August 19, 2005, 3:17 pm EDT
Total comments: 20 Source: Puissance-Nintendo

An interview with Nintendo Europe reveals some intersting things about how the DS will go online.

Correction: Jim Merrick did specify that buddies could be added online as well, but didn't go into as many specifics.


At the German Games Confrence, French website Puissance-Nintendo tracked down Nintendo of Europe's man in charge of marketing, Jim Merrick. Merrick was asked about how exactly the DS Wi-fi connection system would work, and the answers he gave in return offered many new details. Normally, the site would be all in French, but figuring the information extracted in the interview was of some importance, they were nice enough to offer a version translated into English.

One of the first points touched on in the interview was about how the match-making and buddy list system would work for the DS. Merrick re-confirmed that it would completely free (unless third parties wanted to charge for their own services, such as for MMORPGs). As for playing with others online, you can choose to play only with your friends, someone of any skill level, or select to be matched up with people of a similar skill level to your own. The interface will vary depending on the game, so it matches up with the game's presentation instead of just using a GameSpy template.

The process of adding people to a DS buddy list was also explained. One specific way Merrick said that a buddy could be added is to simply go to someone they know with a DS, and add them locally. The system uses a complex way of generating a special password or key to grant buddy access. However, a player would never see the confusing stuff. In terms of how simple it would be add someone else, Merrick explained, "it's really like sharing your phone number with somebody."

Another point touched on in the interview is how DS network servers would handle registration. Upon connecting for the first time, the network server assigns a unique ID number to an individual DS. After that, players will be free to choose any username they would like for each individual game, including duplicate names of other people already on a particular game's server. Said Merrick, "we know people want to be called Mario when playing Mario Kart, or Tom Nook when playing Animal Crossing. And what the developers have asked for is the ability to have names in context of the game. So you might be Mario while racing a Mario Kart game, and Tom while playing Animal Crossing, so you don't have to pick one name for all games."

This point also brought up a web interface. The unique DS ID can be connected to an account on nintendo.com (or nintendo-europe.com for the Europe folk). From the Nintendo website, you'll be able to manage a buddy list, high scores ranking and other information from a computer. No other information about this particular service was mentioned in the interview, disappointingly.

If you want to read the whole Jim Merrick interview with Puissance-Nintendo, which also briefly talks about Mario Kart DS and Animal Crossing DS, click here.

Talkback

Ian SaneAugust 19, 2005

"The only specific way Merrick said that a buddy could be added is to simply go to someone they know with a DS, and add them locally."

Well that's pretty damn useless. I hope that's a Kaplin-style "doesn't really know what they're talking about" quote. What's the point of online if I'm limited to just people I can physically meet? Logically I don't want play with a bunch of strangers but the guys on this forum aren't strangers and I've never met any of them face-to-face before. I have online friends I chat with that I've never met in person or I have but they live far away and I rarely get to see them. My cousin and I live in the same province and the same time zone yet if we each bought a DS one of us would have to make a special five hour trip in order to set things up to play online. That's just not a practical solution.

Karl Castaneda #2August 19, 2005

"JM: We don't know exactly, we haven't finished the game yet. The essence is, first of all, that you can choose to play only with your friends, and friends we define as people you know in the real world. So there's a couple of different ways you can build up your buddy-list. One of the first ways is to personally interact it : I have my DS, you have yours, and we sort of exchange our contact information and add each other to our buddy list through the LAN. So when I go online, I know who you are and how to reach you. Nothing to worry about like screen name or things like that. Then if you have a friend with whom you can't meet personally but want to add to your buddy-list, there's of course a way to do that online."

He's implying that there are other ways to go about it. What's listed in the PGC article is just one of the plans that Nintendo has set up.

ShyGuyAugust 19, 2005

I would think there would be some way to manually enter in a user, or at least send a code via email or something?

Perhaps somewhat like sharing animal crossing items across the internet.

And if you think about it, not having an all encompassing framework allows the oppurtunity for the online user community to step up and become involved.

PaleMike Gamin, Contributing EditorAugust 19, 2005

Yeah, jesus Ian. Read the article before your b!tch alarm goes off.

Anyway, all of this is AWESOME news. I especially like the logging in to nintendo.com to "manage a buddy list, high scores ranking and other information."

Ian SaneAugust 19, 2005

"Read the article before your b!tch alarm goes off."

I was just going by what the PGC article said. In the news article it says "At the moment, buddies can only be added offline". What am I supposed to interpret that as?

If there's more ways that's fantastic. I was just going by how it was worded on PGC's front page.

FamicomAugust 19, 2005

These connections sound positively awesome. I have high hopes the Rev setup will be just as good.

SheckyAugust 19, 2005

Sounds like they've adopted one of the more recent buddy list type things. So even if your buddy changes his or her screen name, he or she will still be listed in your buddy list. They could use different SN for different games, etc, etc...

Really it's the best way to do it.

Switchblade CrossAugust 19, 2005

Keep in mind, Nintendo WiFi Connection is the service used for the Revolution as well. If we take the statements and assume they are also applicable to the Rev, then we have gotten our answer as to how all this will work. One of the biggest questions was wether the service would be more akin to the Xbox Live, or something sparce like PS2's situation. It appears we're looking at something along the lines of a Live type service...

ssj4_androidAugust 19, 2005

I'd rather have something like a live service. Where you have one name in all games, and you can add people to your friends list by their name. Hopefully, there can be a universal name as well as game nicknames, and you can choose which to display.
And I don't like him mentioning WEP. It NEEDS WAP. He mentioned playing at work (silly itself) which would probably need WAP, so hopefully they realize that.

Also, from the article:

Quote

Then if you have a friend with whom you can't meet personally but want to add to your buddy-list, there's of course a way to do that online.

steveyAugust 19, 2005

do you need to enter a wep key for wifi gaming? all the wifi spot that go in my house are wep key lock(evil infidel ass holes), the only un lock non wep key is outside and near a big bee/hornet nest.

ShyGuyAugust 19, 2005

I'm wondering how much of this functionality is already built into the DS and how much of it is going to be a download patch.


Off the subject, I would pay money to see Stevey take on a nest of hornets with his DS...

BloodworthDaniel Bloodworth, Staff AlumnusAugust 19, 2005

Thanks for the catch Karl. I've updated the article.

trip1eXAugust 19, 2005

Well I'm glad they will be keeping track of the individual DS ids. I hope that means no smurfs despite the fact you can change names. Matchmaking doesn't work with smurfs. I don't want to enter matchmaking only to find myself matched up with 12 yr old Timmy, who plays Mario Kart 24/7 and is an expert at the frickin' game, but is matched up with me cause he makes up new nicks daily so he can wipe out newbs like myself who don't every waking minute to Mario Kart.

Anyone that has played online games with matchmaking knows this is important. Otherwise matchmaking turns into a joke.

KDR_11kAugust 19, 2005

tripleX: Most people do that by losing lots of games whenever they are ranked up. As long as kickvote is functional you can keep him out, tho. Or just ignore him, say you won when you came in second to him and stuff like that face-icon-small-tongue.gif.

WindyManSteven Rodriguez, Staff AlumnusAugust 20, 2005

Oops, my bad on missing the add-friends-online quote. Please don't fire me.

BlackNMild2k1August 20, 2005

You see that empty box on your desk? Thats what I wnat you desk to look like after you fill that box with all the stuff on your desk.. devil.gif

just kidding, it was a minor mistake

But the cost in fixing your error(s) shall be taking directly from your next paycheck

PlugabugzAugust 20, 2005

Quote

Originally posted by: WindyMan
Oops, my bad on missing the add-friends-online quote. Please don't fire me.



FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION! face-icon-small-tongue.gif

KDR_11kAugust 20, 2005

Johnny: Mr. Rodriguez? You have failed me.
Windy: Sorry, M'lord, I won't fail you again...
Johnny: You are right, Mr. Rodriguez, you have failed me for the last time! *presses button, feeds Windy to his sharks with lasers on their heads*

trip1eXAugust 20, 2005

Quote

Originally posted by: KDR_11k
tripleX: Most people do that by losing lots of games whenever they are ranked up. As long as kickvote is functional you can keep him out, tho. Or just ignore him, say you won when you came in second to him and stuff like that face-icon-small-tongue.gif.


Ah I'm not sure we're on the same page. face-icon-small-smile.gif

I'm talking about turning on say Mario Kart and wanting to play online against someone of my own skill level with their matchmaking service. When I do this I hope Nintendo does a good job of ensuring that folks I play against are of the skill level the system says they are. If I'm new at a game or don't have the time to play 24/7 and I want a fairly competitive match then I don't want to be matched up against experts that are making up new nicks (smurfs) just to crush the folks with less time on their hands to play vids. Now the system won't be perfect but closing some easy loopholes like the ability to have multiple nicknames per game with one DS would help.

Ignoring someone in matchmaking doesn't make sense in this context.

Kicking them doesn't make sense either in this context.

If folks want to lose 10 games in a row just to lower their rank that's fine by me. That's a bit of work to do that and enough to keep most folks from doing it repeatedly.

ssj4_androidAugust 20, 2005

I have never heard of "smurfs" in matchmaking before. Of course, the biggest experience I've had with matchmaking is Halo 2. People cheating is a HUUUGE problem, and I hope Nintendo takes steps to make the system as unhackable as they can. I have experienced people on my team suiciding so they can rank down to face easier opponents, which really pissed me off.

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