Slate Declares the Wii Online 'A Smashing Failure'

[VidyaVince]

On the heels of Leigh Alexander musing about the potential for 'a Wii for grownups', Jack Patrick Rodgers takes on the Wii's online functionality (or lack thereof, in his estimation). It's clunky, he says, and while he wouldn't expect Xbox Live-esque service from a service that is trying to keep itself 'easy and free,' it really showed its unsophistication while playing SSBB online:

It's legitimate to ask whether the Wii needs an online service as rich and powerful as Xbox Live .... Much of the Wii's charm comes in watching your friends and family make fools out of themselves by swinging the remote like a baseball bat; that sort of amusement would be lost online. But it's important to note that many of the Wii's games (including Brawl) don't require physical exercise and are similar to the games on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. And while Nintendo could be forgiven for designing a more streamlined network than Live in order to appeal to casual gamers, the one they've given Wii owners makes it difficult to do even the most basic things, like interact with your friends.

Being the solitary type when I'm gaming, I've never made much of any online features except in a few rare cases, but it would be nice if Nintendo would think of maybe, just maybe, doing some tweaking with online functionality so it's more ... functional.

Kotaku Post

Actual Article

Listen up, Nintendo.

 

[Douten]

I hope that they hear us out with all these complaints w
More than likely change isn't going to happen this gen, perhaps next system they'll drop the FC's. Still what they could improve now is the "with anyone" mode in games, like We Love Golf is going to have. I hope it's good (in We Love Golf) and not so limited like in SSBB just because we're playing with random people.

 

[Squall7]

Personally, I'm fine with Nintendo's online.

Friendcodes aren't too much hassle if you actually want to play with somebody in particular. No Voice chat is fine with me, because I don't like hearing swearing from some whiny pre-pubescent nor some elitist idiot spouting off about how he "pwned" me or whatever. I swear a lot of the time, especially when playing against something difficult, and I wouldn't want to be the person that ends up teaching 8 year olds new swear words, nor give a bad impression of myself to parents or the like. At least with text messages, Nintendo themselves can filter out certain words and sentences.

As for lack of hard-drive and downloadable content; I remember when a game was published and that was that. Now it's rushed out and has to include patches and downloadable data that they charge extra for. If i've bought a game, I should be able to play that game complete, rather than having tagged on extra costs.

If people want a "Live" standard service, there's Xbox Live. For anyone that wants to actually enjoy online in a safe enivorment and play against people that you want to play against, rather than some random person that you met online/from another person, then Nintendo's online is fine (apart from the lag issues and whatnot, but then that's being worked on, and it can be true with any online service).

 

[Dorkfish]

Since I can't play games online at the moment, I don't really care about how bad it is. As long as I can download Virtual Console games, I am fine.

 

[Pegasus]

Did they survey Japan about the online idea and not us? :wtf: If that's the case then wow...just wow. I agree with this article. Nintendo left out basic things like actually being able to interact with the Nintendo community. They're going a little overboard with the whole safety thing, don't ya think? The only online game I have is Mario Strikers Charged and it just feels like I'm playing against a smarter computer. I would love a more interactive online experience, Nintendo!

 

[linuxghost]

I have to say, I can see both sides of the argument.

After playing Halo 3 countless times on my brother's 360, I can see why some people find voice chat unnecessary. The number of douchebags spouting obscenities and threats outnumbered the number of people actually wanting some sort of intelligent conversation about 10:1.

Still, you'll always have friends online that you WILL have intelligent conversation with.

And yes, friend codes are an abysmally stupid idea. I don't even understand what the point of them is, to be honest. And do they really need to be so long?

Regardless, playing a game online with a bunch of people whose identities solely consist of numbers, and whose mode of communication consists solely of preset, packaged messages just isn't fun, Nintendo. Give us more.

 

[Minto]

Nintendos online FAILS

 

[Napalmbrain]

Personally, I'm fine with Nintendo's online.

Friendcodes aren't too much hassle if you actually want to play with somebody in particular. No Voice chat is fine with me, because I don't like hearing swearing from some whiny pre-pubescent nor some elitist idiot spouting off about how he "pwned" me or whatever. I swear a lot of the time, especially when playing against something difficult, and I wouldn't want to be the person that ends up teaching 8 year olds new swear words, nor give a bad impression of myself to parents or the like. At least with text messages, Nintendo themselves can filter out certain words and sentences.

As for lack of hard-drive and downloadable content; I remember when a game was published and that was that. Now it's rushed out and has to include patches and downloadable data that they charge extra for. If i've bought a game, I should be able to play that game complete, rather than having tagged on extra costs.

If people want a "Live" standard service, there's Xbox Live. For anyone that wants to actually enjoy online in a safe enivorment and play against people that you want to play against, rather than some random person that you met online/from another person, then Nintendo's online is fine (apart from the lag issues and whatnot, but then that's being worked on, and it can be true with any online service).

Did you know Xbox Live has a "family zone" where you can play online without being mentally scarred by a few 'naughty' words? Rather than being paranoid about the whole online thing Nintendo could have learned from Microsoft and allowed the user to decide for themselves how 'safe' they want to be online.

Have you actually used Xbox Live? I can assure you, it's quite possible to play against people you want to play against on it. And friend codes really are a hassle, especially when you have a different code for every bloody game (why not keep it unified?).

Oh yes, and I think the Wii would have been better off with a hard drive. 512 MB is just too small for building up a collection of VC games and Wiiware. You'll get no argument from me on the lack of microtransactions for the Wii though, they're a plague on the video games industry.

 

[Band geek]

I don't own Xbox 360 or PS3, so I don't know (nor do I care) about their respective online experiences. Nintendo should ditch the FCs and add voice chat abilities with some games (NCAA Football 09, mainly). The Wii's online has its issues, but I'm satisfied enough with it. If Nintendo were to do an overhaul and beef up the online feature, but then decide to charge fees for it, I'm among those who wouldn't subscribe. I'd take what we have now for free over something slightly better that isn't free. The Wii's online feature isn't that bad.

 

[Napalmbrain]

I don't own Xbox 360 or PS3, so I don't know (nor do I care) about their respective online experiences. Nintendo should ditch the FCs and add voice chat abilities with some games (NCAA Football 09, mainly). The Wii's online has its issues, but I'm satisfied enough with it. If Nintendo were to do an overhaul and beef up the online feature, but then decide to charge fees for it, I'm among those who wouldn't subscribe. I'd take what we have now for free over something slightly better that isn't free. The Wii's online feature isn't that bad.

You should be aware they are going to start charging online fees for some future games, yet they haven't announced any major changes to the system.

 

[Band geek]

Ah, I hadn't heard. Thanks for the heads up. Guess I won't be playing those games online. :lol:

If they're going to charge, though, they should at least bring along some improvements.

 

[T3kNi9e]

Some people seem to either not grasp the concept of easily MUTING someone or being such a stupid fanboy they choose to ignore it all together just do they basically have their own "In Wii's Defense"

 

[261311]

Why is the online of the Wii being compared to XBL? They're not in the same league or the same thing. The only thing they may share is that they hold internet connections and allow for online play. Service, everything. It's all different.

 

[Dorkfish]

Nintendos online FAILS

No it doesn't. It PHAILS

 

[Global War]

Some people seem to either not grasp the concept of easily MUTING someone or being such a stupid fanboy they choose to ignore it all together just do they basically have their own "In Wii's Defense"

Exactly. MUTE the annoying person. Hopefully with pay to play there is going to be less lag and headsets. Btw T3kNi9e nice sig, loved that movie, though the end was a bit dissappointing