Nintendo and Online Gaming. What's The Deal?

So, what is the crack with Nintendo's attitude to online gaming? It's bizarre that in this day and age they refuse to get with the times. Iwata waffled on about not wanting to copy competitors the other week. So does this mean just because the Xbox and Playstation have good online features that Nintendo will decide to go against the trends and just not update their online infrastructure?

When Wii U was announced I was happy that I would finally get to play on a Nintendo console with a decent online setup. Finally I would be able to have party chat with the guys on here. Sadly this wasn't the case. I figured I could at least send messages to people and have them respond. Nope. You can send a message but you have no indication if you receive a message unless you are looking at the Gamepad. Even then the blue light could just mean another person has come online. These issues still haven't been rectified. Hell even the Vita, a handheld machine, has such capabilities.

Wii Sports Clubs arrived this week, with many of us getting excited with the announcement. Once again Nintendo have ballsed up this release by not adding a, what many would say, standard feature of being able to play with your friends and host private matches.

Just what are Nintendo thinking? More importantly, why hasn't anyone in the gaming industry asked Nintendo why they are taking such measures to hold back online gaming in their own games?

I'd say their recent reaction to the letterbox issue shows a company that is extremely scared about their liability as an online gaming provider. They would rather make a player jump through hoops or have a serverly hampered online experience than have the possibility of something coming back to them.

For example on both Sony and Microsoft's online services. It would arguably be easier to obtain a user username, add them as a friend and then starting starting sending explicit messages etc....via those services, or grooming could take place (not sure if this happened on Letterbox or the actual forums that people swapped friend codes on). Unfortunately there are very few ways to stop this happening outside of law enforcement getting involved before it's occurred, which you do hear happens from time to time. (this is part of a larger problem) Sadly Letterbox closing down just means they will move on to another method of carrying out this practice. I worry because surely this will hold back Miiverse on 3DS? Sure they can curate that but they may still have the same concern.

I feel they do get questioned on it. I remember numerous post E3 press conference interviews with Reggie where questions will be asked, will this game feature online play and we get the same tired answer of "we are concentrating on the core local mulitplayer options...."

They are so far behind the times it's depressing.....XBL, PSN and Steam all miles ahead in terms of providing social and digital platforms.

Back in the day I thought that the mario kart online was pretty good (lack of direct messaging notwithstanding) in terms of gameplay modes. Wii Sports Club seems to even lack basic features and so has gone backwards. I don't understand why the mario kart features are not the benchmark for all online Nintendo games at the very least.

Perhaps @Tphi could ask in the next EG interview?

Perhaps @Tphi could ask in the next EG interview?

That's a good point! Make it happen, Tom!

I feel they do get questioned on it. I remember numerous post E3 press conference interviews with Reggie where questions will be asked, will this game feature online play and we get the same tired answer of "we are concentrating on the core local mulitplayer options...."

I can't remember any time where the press actually asked them about their OS and why it doesn't feature such things as voice chat and a good messaging system.

I've been playing CoD Ghosts on the Wii U and it's nice to see a notification pop up on screen when someone has come online. It's not just people who are playing CoD but anyone who signs in on their Wii U. This kind of stuff should have been implemented at an OS level rather than letting 3rd parties sort it out themselves.

Basically Nintendo is run by a living fossil.

Isn't Reggie doing an interview with GT today? I can't remember who the host is but apparently there's no love lost between the pair and he holds no punches when asking Reggie the tough questions. Hopefully this question will be asked and no doubt Reggie will bü11$h!t his way through the answer with his usual PR spin.

Geoff Keighley that's the guy.

Edit: I think it's next Friday.

http://nintendoeverything.com/gt-tvs-nintendo-donkey-kong-episode-scheduled-for-november-15/

Might not get to ask these questions.

I've said this once before, but a 'Miiverse Messenger' type thing constantly needs to be on the gamepad. Like a small icon in one corner, say you're online @Hero\-of\-Time and I want to say hi, or fancy a game of whatever, an instant messaging service should be the minimum I think.

But why they continue to balk at full online play, or getting it right at least like in Wii sports Club, baffles me!

Baffling isn't it? What makes it more so is that the tools are there, both the 3DS and Wii U are more than capable of offering decent online features. Features that should be an integral part of both systems, but for some inexplicable reason, Nintendo continue to treat online as a complete afterthought, with features/options being all over the shop throughout various titles.

Sometimes they get it right, with recent examples being Pokémon X/Y and Animal Crossing New Leaf. But more often than not they get it very wrong indeed, as seen with the recent Wii Sports Club.

If they'd just implement a decent instant messaging/chat service as part of the OS, then so many of the online issues would be gone, but they don't. It's beyond confusing.

In some ways, their online is amazing. The system with Pokémon X & Y is second to none.

In others, it seems so clunky and backwards. It's tricky

I think even with Pokemon they didn't get it right...you can't just send quick messages to people easily. You can't really trade with random people that pass by since you can't message/game chat them.

I think the GTS as well could use so much work. You can't see who is looking for a Pokemon you might be willing to give up, and the trades are sometimes already gone but still appear. I don't like how you can only offer up one Pokemon at a time too. And it doesn't alert you if your Pokemon gets traded!

There's no integrated friend list with your system so when I'm looking at the safari list it's really quite confusing.

Isn't Reggie doing an interview with GT today? I can't remember who the host is but apparently there's no love lost between the pair and he holds no punches when asking Reggie the tough questions. Hopefully this question will be asked and no doubt Reggie will bü11$h!t his way through the answer with his usual PR spin.

 

Geoff Keighley that's the guy.

Sometimes they get it right, with recent examples being Pokémon X/Y and Animal Crossing New Leaf. But more often than not they get it very wrong indeed, as seen with the recent Wii Sports Club.

Yeah, the Pokemon stuff was great. You could see who was online and battle/chat/trade and the click of a button. Then you look at Wii Sports Club and it's just like...WHAT!?

That's a good point! Make it happen, Tom!

 

 

 

I can't remember any time where the press actually asked them about their OS and why it doesn't feature such things as voice chat and a good messaging system.

 

I've been playing CoD Ghosts on the Wii U and it's nice to see a notification pop up on screen when someone has come online. It's not just people who are playing CoD but anyone who signs in on their Wii U. This kind of stuff should have been implemented at an OS level rather than letting 3rd parties sort it out themselves.

Isn't Reggie doing an interview with GT today? I can't remember who the host is but apparently there's no love lost between the pair and he holds no punches when asking Reggie the tough questions. Hopefully this question will be asked and no doubt Reggie will bü11$h!t his way through the answer with his usual PR spin.

 

Geoff Keighley that's the guy.

 

Edit: I think it's next Friday.

 

http://nintendoeverything.com/gt-tvs-nintendo-donkey-kong-episode-scheduled-for-november-15/

 

Might not get to ask these questions.

Yeah Geoff Keighley was who I was referring to when I mentioned the post E3 interviews. I do feel like they push him answers but they do also seem to have a slightly more jovial friendship as they do a yearly challenge on Nintendo's newest games. I get what H-o-T is saying though perhaps more "hard hitting" questions than just will this have online play.

Pokémon X & Y and Animal Crossing on the 3DS are a step in the right direction, but they really need to integrate online communication at the OS level. Miiverse seems cool (can't say first hand as I don't have a Wii U yet) but it doesn't compare to instant messaging and being able to invite people into a game from outside the game.

http://www.gametrailers.com/full-episodes/m9z7zo/gt-tv-xbox-one---nintendo-fall-preview

I know thanks, I found it.

The thing is Nintendo has some great franchises that could benefit from a good online setup. Mario Kart, Smash Bros, ExciteTruck/Bike, F-Zero, even an e-Shop Wii U version of online 4 Swords would be amazing. Why something like a Wii U version of Advance Wars, complete with online play, hasn't been announced is beyond me. I mean the Gamepad + Online = awesome for that franchise.

Pokémon X & Y and Animal Crossing on the 3DS are a step in the right direction, but they really need to integrate online communication at the OS level. Miiverse seems cool (can't say first hand as I don't have a Wii U yet) but it doesn't compare to instant messaging and being able to invite people into a game from outside the game.

Aye. AC New Leaf was fun and comparative to other Nintendo games had 'good' online. But realistically, there was a heck of a lot wrong with the online.

If you wanted to go to a friend's town then you couldn't just message him - you had to have visited him previously to then select him as a best friend, allowing you to then send him messages. That was really wrong in my opinion, since if you had friends in your system friend list then I don't see why you shouldn't automatically be able to message them. Other things like it taking a really long time to save when online, as well as advancing through dialogue to get online going, and some people flat out terminating your game when they joined (losing progress in the process) made me dislike it somewhat. I still enjoyed playing with people, just the system wasn't very good.

Aye. AC New Leaf was fun and comparative to other Nintendo games had 'good' online. But realistically, there was a heck of a lot wrong with the online.

 

If you wanted to go to a friend's town then you couldn't just message him - you had to have visited him previously to then select him as a best friend, allowing you to then send him messages. That was really wrong in my opinion, since if you had friends in your system friend list then I don't see why you shouldn't automatically be able to message them. Other things like it taking a really long time to save when online, as well as advancing through dialogue to get online going, and some people flat out terminating your game when they joined (losing progress in the process) made me dislike it somewhat. I still enjoyed playing with people, just the system wasn't very good.

Yes this is the perfect example of what I referred to earlier as jumping through hoops it could be painful at times.

Its extremely annoying that Nintendo do not fully embrace online. Their approach is not consistent. You have 3DS games such as Pokemon and Animal Crossing that approach online play in a positive manner then you get a Wii U game such as Wii Sports that creates an impression Nintendo just couldn't be arsed.

It seems to me that Nintendo chooses not to embrace online play so that they can be seen as "different" from their competitors. Unfortunately being different does not necessarily create a postive experience for their fans.

Shouldn't we be complaining at Namco for Wii Sports Club's friends matchmaking? They did make the game after all... (And it's not like their other online games are lacking in features...)

In fact, almost all of Nintendo's own internally developed games with online multiplayer (Mario Kart DS/Wii/7, Animal Crossing Wild World/Let's go to the City/New Leaf, Metroid Prime Hunters, Planet Puzzle League, Advance Wars Days of Ruin, Dragon Quest Wars) have had fairly robust online features; relative to what the system could offer at the time.

Nintendo just don't make a lot of online games themselves, for various reasons (be it issues of game-breaking lag in stuff like Mario, or it's a single player only game, or the multiplayer game they're making just isn't well suited for online play - like Mario Party).

Shouldn't we be complaining at Namco for Wii Sports Club's friends matchmaking? They did make the game after all... (And it's not like their other online games are lacking in features...)

In fact, almost all of Nintendo's own internally developed games with online multiplayer (Mario Kart DS/Wii/7, Animal Crossing Wild World/Let's go to the City/New Leaf, Metroid Prime Hunters, Planet Puzzle League, Advance Wars Days of Ruin, Dragon Quest Wars) have had fairly robust online features; relative to what the system could offer at the time.

 

Nintendo just don't make a lot of online games themselves, for various reasons (be it issues of game-breaking lag in stuff like Mario, or it's a single player only game, or the multiplayer game they're making just isn't well suited for online play - like Mario Party).

Surley they did so under Nintendo's direction? Yes I get your argument for Mario Party but not general Mario games I've had many a game of LBP play without a jot of lag...(granted the floaty jump means that element of the game isn't quite as twitch but still the point remains) I'm pretty sure New Super Mario Bros could be just as much fun online, hell online Mario Kart without voice chat is only an approximation of the fun to be had playing local so why can't we have the same with Mario's premier platformer experiences?

In some ways, their online is amazing. The system with Pokémon X & Y is second to none.

I mostly agree with this, but there is nothing more fucking annoying than when a random person wants to trade and there's not even a basic, controlled message input similar to the phrase system in Generation III. The PSS is also pretty lacking some basic settings, you're basically faced with an 'all or nothing' option when it comes to dealing with strangers.

Because of how long it takes to quit the trading window when it's clear no ones really understanding who wants what, I never accept trade proposition from random people and I'd fucking love to have an option that says "No online passerby's allowed to send trade requests".

Could be a lot worse though looking at the state of other Nintendo titles.

Surley they did so under Nintendo's direction? Yes I get your argument for Mario Party but not general Mario games I've had many a game of LBP play without a jot of lag...(granted the floaty jump means that element of the game isn't quite as twitch but still the point remains) I'm pretty sure New Super Mario Bros could be just as much fun online, hell online Mario Kart without voice chat is only an approximation of the fun to be had playing local so why can't we have the same with Mario's premier platformer experiences?

In Mario though, lag like that is a total game breaker though due to the precise nature of the game (likewise, nobody complained when Rayman Origins and Legends lacked online play, because lag + twitchy platformer with frame reliant timing = A bad time)

But yeah, the lack of a global voice chat solution is total BS. They should've made it an OS feature from the get go (hell it's not even like their own games haven't implemented voice chat either, so they clearly see the value of it!). Mind you though, considering that the system has (or at least had at launch) 1GB of RAM set aside for OS functions, they could easily add cross game voice chat in if they wanted to...

But yeah, for Wii Sports Club in particular, I reckon that they were originally designing it with some future upcoming Miiverse features (in particular: the boot-to-game-from-post feature that is due in an future Miiverse/system update), but it wasn't ready in time for launch. But either way, the point is that Namco designed the game's online system, not Nintendo; so that game's particular online setup shouldn't really reflect the entire system's online experience (which in other games is absolutely fine - 3rd party games perform just like they do on other consoles), or Nintendo's own stance on online play in their own games.

Shouldn't we be complaining at Namco for Wii Sports Club's friends matchmaking? They did make the game after all... (And it's not like their other online games are lacking in features...)

 

In fact, almost all of Nintendo's own internally developed games with online multiplayer (Mario Kart DS/Wii/7, Animal Crossing Wild World/Let's go to the City/New Leaf, Metroid Prime Hunters, Planet Puzzle League, Advance Wars Days of Ruin, Dragon Quest Wars) have had fairly robust online features; relative to what the system could offer at the time.

Things like voice chat and messaging are Nintendos responsibility to put in at an OS level. A lot of issues could be resolved if they would let players actually communicate with each other.

Most of the games you posted have zero ways to talk to the other players online. What's the point in playing real people over the net if you can't communicate with them? You may as well be playing bots.

Things like voice chat and messaging are Nintendos responsibility to put in at an OS level. A lot of issues could be resolved if they would let players actually communicate with each other.

 

Most of the games you posted have zero ways to talk to the other players online. What's the point in playing real people over the net if you can't communicate with them? You may as well be playing bots.

I absolutely agree. It's ridiculous that there's no OS level voice chat function! Developers shouldn't have to code their own voice chat solution (while I'm at it, the Xbone is gonna suffer from the same problem too; totally ridiculous when the 360 already had a fantastic party chat system!)