WTF? Is Nintendo nuts?

[Ty]

How could they possibly restrict it to people you've met in real life?

they could make it so that a key is exchanged when your within a certian area of each other ?

That's a ton of keys to keep track.

For instance, let's say you have Key A, LB has Key B, and I have Key C.

You know LB and he knows you.

You track B and he tracks A. I know LB so I track B and he tracks C.

Sum:

You track B
LB tracks A & C
I track B

Now imagine once that player base goes to 1 million. 10 Million? The combinations will kill you (or the server). At least I think it's a ton to track. /shrug.

 

[Evil_Cloud]

What if you live in Australia and your friend 'next door' lives 500 miles from you? It seems really useless, and not like something Nintendo is going to do.

 

[gurgi]

I wonder if it's just something simple like how MSN asks you when somebody wants you on thier friends list.

Not sure how it will pan out though, or how strict it will be. What if you are playing an unpopular fps and can't find a game to play on. Or what happens if somebody you know is in a deathmatch game, but they are in there with somebody you don't know? Maybe games will be based on invites instead of game lists? This has interesting social implications to say the least.

I'm not sure I understand what Iwata was saying.

 

[Evil_Cloud]

I'm not sure I understand what Iwata was saying.

Maybe the translator or the writer of the article didn't understand what Iwata was talking about.

 

[gurgi]

I'm not sure I understand what Iwata was saying.

Maybe the translator or the writer of the article didn't understand what Iwata was talking about.

I think that is a possibility.


I'm starting to like the invite idea, whether this is what he meant or not. Imagine a game of counterstrike without assclowns! Seriously, if everything was community/invite driven, you can wave goodbye to griefers! =)

 

[Farid]

What if you live in Australia and your friend 'next door' lives 500 miles from you?

Is that from an episode of the Simpsons?

That would be really funny if it is, since I just saw the South Park episode "The Simpson already did it"...

 

[Ooh-videogames]

Well I know I enjoy playing against my cousins more than strangers over Xbox Live, but I think the point is exactly what was mentioned earlier, its more than likely parental guidance setup. Nintendo wants to ensure that, they can't be sued over some 10 year old getting a ear full of vulgar language and solicitation by pedophiles.

 

[yipchunyu]

it's a must feature for Nintendo's product. they need to protect the children e.g in animal forest. it's not ok for people to access to other one's village and do some destructive things.

 

[GwymWeepa]

Crikey, how typical to aim straight for the (probably inaccurate) negative with regards to Nintendo, and completely ignore all the very positive stuff being said in that article. I feel like starting a new thread with this, but oh well.

The stance Square Enix takes on the new networking plan in relation to Revolution is the most intriguing. "What increased our interest further," states Wada regarding the networking plan, "is that the next step is already being prepared for Revolution." Nintendo's networking plan is, according to Wada, "not just a portable, not just a console -- it's exactly what we wanted in that it's the birth of a completely new platform."

Wada finishes off on the note of support from Square Enix: "From here on, we'll have to challenge ourselves with content in response to what Nintendo offers. We would like to give strong support."

But I guess starting a thread with something like "SquareEnix says Revolution online is 'exactly what we wanted'" would just be too positive for Nintendo! I would have thought that such lip service couldn't get a lot better - a key third party getting enthusiastic about Nintendo's next-gen online platform, of all things. Who'd have thunk it?

Square seemed pretty excited about working for the gamecube too, and we got FF: Crystal Chronicles...and that's about it.

 

[cthellis42]

I entirely doubt they would apply it to games (excepting perhaps certain ones that would use the features they want to put an "adult lock" on, like pic/video use or whatnot. Perhaps even mic/audio-listening in regular games, but not the multiplaying itself.), but I can certainly see a move like this happening and be good. Consoles bring certain "evil Internet happenings" down to an even younger audience, and if you think parents are worried BEFORE...? They'd breathe easier knowing their 8-year-old would only be able to use "personal connectivity features" (not just "play Smash Brothers online") with their friends in the neighborhood and at school rather than just anyone. Nintendo has GOT to know their image would be exploited by pedophiles and the like, and that would be really bad for the image they've maintained.

I don't think "name locking" would in any way do it properly, though, unless you resrict ALL forms of communication otherwise--they could just use one of those forms to pass along the name anyway and bypass it instantly. And locking ALL forms of communication would be a bit too restricting... I think they might be able to handle physical sharing of encrypted key-codes, though, and make it seamless and invisible to the user, but much harder to be shared online. They could cover the "danger zones" they're looking to protect kids from, but not crimp online unduly.

In the meanwhile, just so long as this is an option that adults can disable, I have no issue with it. It's like starting a computer with your firewalls up, which in this day and age makes a lot of sense.

 

[Titanio]

Square seemed pretty excited about working for the gamecube too, and we got FF: Crystal Chronicles...and that's about it.

The only pre-release comment we got from Square on GC was that it was "exciting" see the injection of competition into the industry (this was just after the Dolphin announcement). That's not in the same league as "it's exactly what we wanted", "we'll have to respond to what Nintendo offers", "we'd like to offer strong support" etc. He actually seems to be in the loop re. Rev (something I doubt was the case with Dolphin at the time), and he seems to be liking it..

I think we'll see more support than just 1 game again with Rev

 

[Evil_Cloud]

What if you live in Australia and your friend 'next door' lives 500 miles from you?

Is that from an episode of the Simpsons?

That would be really funny if it is, since I just saw the South Park episode "The Simpson already did it"...

Well, it wasn't from an episode of the Simpsons, but I do recall something like 'flushing the toilet in Australiä' in The Simpsons...

It's just an example that friend keys wouldn't work at all, wouldn't Nintendo have put a similar system into Nintendo DS for wireless play too then? Who knows what strangers lurk at airports and stuff... ;p

Btw, I went to Australia last month, and it does flush the other way in fact.

BUT, wouldn't it be a great selling point for younger children (more specifically parents) to be able to offer a safe online enviroment, when desirable? This could greatly benefit Nintendo's reputation. (since Xbox Live is 'officially' 18+, Nintendo could offer online gameplay for all ages, with certain restrictions when parents were to want this).