Yesterday, Nintendo had another Nintendo direct livestream to talk more about the Wii U’s features. But not before Satoru Iwata could have his own unboxing video. After that, we got more details on the Wii U’s online infrastructure.
First, let’s all let out a collective sigh of relief as Friend Codes are gone. With the Wii U, you’ll have a unique Nintendo Network ID and up to 12 people can be registered through a single Wii U. The only thing we’re uncertain is if the other 11 people can have friend lists and purchase content. But at least the worst part of remembering long strings of numbers are gone for good.
Any registered user on the account can play the content but only the sole user account ID of the system can purchase said content but we’ll see if there’s any changes in the future. Iwata also said they’ll be working alongside other developers for their own networks so services such as EA’s Origin could work on the system.
Secondly, while we don’t know what will be used, other devices will be able to check your Nintendo Network ID. This could mean smartphones, PCs and other devices. Nintendo hasn’t said for sure what those will be as of yet.
The bad news: you’ll have to download a day 1 patch to incorporate all these features. At least we won’t have to wait three to five months for an actual e-Shop am I right?
Other features have been detailed such as the WaraWara Plaza as the place to socialize with other Mii’s, learn about new games, talk to friends and such. Check out the video below:
Other things were also noted such as the transfer process between Wii U and Wii that will require an SD card to transfer all save data and Virtual Console games over to the new system. Hopefully it’s not as long as the DS to 3DS transfer.
So do you feel any better about Nintendo’s online? Let us know in the comments below.