Posts tagged Wifi at Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Posts with tag wifi

First Mario Kart competition opens, disappoints

Posted May 1st 2008 10:30AM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: News, Nintendo Wi-Fi, Channels

Those of you who booted up the Wii this morning and checked out the Mario Kart Channel may have noticed that the first competition has finally been opened for entry! The process is simple: complete three laps of Mario Circuit as quickly as possible, upload your time to Nintendo's big list 'o times, wait until the deadline (May 9th or May 10th, depending on your timezone), and get ready to bask in internet glory. Hurray, right?

Wrong.

When we think of Mario Kart time trials, we think of gradually shaving milliseconds off of our best times, of taking every corner as finely as possible, of finding the best way to utilize our three mushrooms, of locating the perfect racing line, and of keeping our noses just ahead of the time trial ghosts. Yet this first Mario Kart Wii competition totally misses the point.

For instance, it's not a time trial at all, but a fully fledged race, complete with eleven opponents and all the usual items. In other words, you can take every corner as flawlessly as possible, only to get blue-shelled on the final straight. Which doesn't strike us as a terribly fair contest. We guess this is meant to level the playing field for newer players, but shouldn't more skillful players be justly rewarded?

Anyway, if you do want to try your hand at being robbed of a deserved victory, this blogger's best time so far is a quite appalling 2:03.325.

Dojo update: Friends List

Posted Dec 3rd 2007 2:15PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: News, Screens

We've known about Brawl's online mode for a while now, but today's dojo update takes a closer look at the nuts and bolts of how it all works when playing with friends (you may recall that you can play with non-friends, but their name won't be visible). And boy, does it look simple.

The first thing you'll need to do, as you'd expect, is swap Friend Codes. Yes, they're a royal pain in everybody's backside, but let's face facts: due to Nintendo's "safety first" approach, they're here to stay. Once Friend Codes have been entered into your Wii, they stay there forever, allowing you to view the status of your Brawl buddies. From there, if you fancy some fisticuffs, it's simply a matter of somebody hosting the game, and the rest of your pals piling in. Piece of cake, eh?

Gallery: SSBB gallery three

Gallery: SSBB gallery two

Wii Warm Up: Concerns of corruption

Posted Sep 22nd 2007 10:30AM by David Hinkle
Filed under: Wii Warm Up

No, not that kind of corruption, but rather the corruption of data. See, we're pretty big Virtual Console junkies around here. As such, we're constantly moving games from our Wii's built-in memory to our SD card, but recently we started noticing our SD card had a lot of corrupted data on it. Trying to copy the data over to our Wii doesn't work and we're left with the chore of downloading all of these corrupted games again.

What bugs us, though, is that the possibility of other games being corrupted is so high on the charts that re-downloading these games seems like a futile effort. So, what are we supposed to do? Wait until we feel like playing them and then decide to download them, right then and there? Sadly, yes ...

Any of you run into this problem? Has the data been corrupted on the Wii itself?

Dojo update: Super Smash Bros. Brawl online multiplayer confirmed

Posted Sep 18th 2007 11:15AM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: Wii Warm Up

Nintendo fans have been gnashing their teeth and chewing their nails over this one for months, but now we can all relax and release that long-held breath: Super Smash Bros. Brawl is going to take the fight online. And we're not talking about lesser online features, either, but head-to-head matches with your friends or with anyone in the world. The dojo promises other online features as well, but this is the big deal and thus was revealed first.

Of course, because this is Nintendo, there are some inherent protections within the non-friends play. When you choose to play with "anyone," you will not see your opponent's name, and there will be no records kept of your victories (or your painful losses). But at least you can play, so we're not going to complain. This latest update also cautions that online play across continents may be slower than a match with someone relatively close by. In the end, most of the focus seems to be on friends-only play, but that was to be expected, and we're frankly excited that the "play with anyone" feature was added at all.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Wii Warm Up: Did you pick up Mario Strikers Charged?

Posted Aug 1st 2007 9:00AM by David Hinkle
Filed under: Wii Warm Up

Being the only release this week, Mario Strikers Charged is undoubtedly a game that has emerged on your radar, bleeping and blooping in the most loud of ways. We were wondering, though, how many of you picked the game up, or intend to? Does the gameplay look fun to you, or are you simply looking for something to play online that isn't Pokemon?

Wii Warm Up: A question of multiplayer

Posted Jul 4th 2007 10:00AM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: Wii Warm Up

We like online gaming as much as the next set of obsessive gamers; in fact, we even brave the friend code system on the DS every week, like clockwork, just to throwdown via the WiFi network. But just because we like it -- and sometimes prefer it -- does that mean that every game with available multiplayer needs to have online multiplayer? For that matter, does every game even need a multiplayer mode? Obviously, we're thinking here about the recent confirmation that Metroid Prime 3 will have no online multiplayer, but it applies to a lot of things. Let's take Wii Sports, for example. Tons of fun! Could in fact be online! But does it need to be? The philosophy behind Wii Sports seems to be that playing with others -- in person -- is fun. Isn't the philosophy behind the Metroid series pretty centered on the themes of loneliness and isolation, as well as exploration? With games like Saint's Row and Halo on the Xbox, online multiplayer makes perfect sense. Whether we want it or not aside ... is it really right for Metroid?

We'll definitely come on board and say that we hope that the Wii boasts many online games by the time its cycle ends. We particularly hope for at least one or two great FPS games with online multiplayer, but perhaps that's a dream. Still, is it worth hoping for online multiplayer when it runs counter to the central idea behind a franchise or game ... and worse yet, should we be hoping for multiplayer from a team who has yet to show us that they can even manage decent local multiplayer, much less online?

Sure, online modes add replayability, and that's always nice. But if that's all we need in a game, should Nintendo start tacking online multiplayer onto Zelda games, for instance?

No Metroid Prime 3 Wi-Fi for you

Posted Jul 3rd 2007 1:00PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News, Interviews, Nintendo Wi-Fi

Sure, we wouldn't take the Soup Nazi's claim that Samus' latest jaunt will not include Wi-Fi multiplayer as truth, but when Michael Kelbeugh, the main man over at Retro Studios, says so, then we kind of take it as fact. And, that's exactly what he said in an interview with GamePro recently, dashing hopes here at Wii Fanboy Estates that the small delay the game has received was so that online multiplayer could be tweaked.

So, why no online multiplayer in a game that is begging for it? Mikey K. (it's alright, we're BFF) says it's so the single-player campaign can be the best it can be, stating "It's something we talked about early on, but we only have so many resources. We opted to devote those resources to making a better single-player experience." We're sure the single-player portion of the game will rock our socks right off our feet, neatly fold them and place them in our top dresser drawer, but we don't think it'll be so good we'll be thanking Retro for not including online multiplayer.

[Via Joystiq]

Conjecture Countdown: 15 days to go

Posted Jun 26th 2007 10:45AM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: Rumors, Features

Even with a diminished E3, there's no controlling the wave of rumors that hit the Internet every year before the show. Why fight it? From now until E3 hits, we'll be posting one piece of wild speculation every day. Some may be patently ridiculous, and others just might turn out to be true. Even some of the ridiculous ones might turn out to be true! Rest assured, everything will be totally made-up and unfounded. Except, of course, when we speak about all the ass Reggie is going to kick. That part? Totally true.

Rumor: Your favorite games will not have online support -- especially if it would make sense to include it.

Nintendo updates site with Wii Wi-Fi goodness

Posted Jun 25th 2007 4:05PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News, Nintendo Wi-Fi

With the release of Pokemon Battle Revolution this week, which you all know launches Nintendo's Wi-Fi service for the Wii, Nintendo's official site for all things Nintendo Wi-Fi Connect related has updated and ... there isn't that much there right now. We're sure a lot of it is just placeholder images and whatnot, but you'll definitely want to bookmark the site for future updates as more games utilizing the service are released.

[Thanks, Ali!]

Save your website from Wiitis

Posted Jun 7th 2007 4:50PM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: Nintendo Wi-Fi, Tech stuff

If you have a website, you may have wondered just what you might need to do to make it Wii-friendly. Luckily, there's a great guide on Opera for the Wii available at the Opera Development Community that goes into all the ins and outs of just what the Wii's browser can do, and plenty of tips to make browsing from the sofa a little easier. The in-depth guide even looks at the smallest of details, such as what is and isn't available in the onscreen keyboard, and what kind of addresses and forms are workable on the console. For anyone looking to make the web a little more Wii-friendly, this is the place to go.

Wii Warm Up: Friend code rumor fest

Posted May 31st 2007 9:00AM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: Nintendo Wi-Fi, Wii Warm Up

What's the deal with friend codes on the Wii? In the last week or so, we've seen a flurry of rumors and responses-to-rumors, and we don't even know if the system for Mario Strikers Charged will set the standard for the rest of the Wii's WiFi future. Are friend codes Mii specific? Some say yes, but there's also word that the good news about Mii-based codes may be untrue and the result of a mistranslation. We've talked at length about WiFi and the future of Wii online before, but in light of all these recent developments, we can't resist asking what you think.

Super Mario Strikers only lets you play against those in your region?

Posted May 25th 2007 4:30PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News, Nintendo Wi-Fi

Joystiq has a scan of the European manual for Mario Strikers: Charged, sent in by reader Joshua Marketis, that documents what could potentially become quite the pain in the backside for those of you trying to take the game online when it releases. According to the scan "you will be able to play only with people within Europe" unless you have the friend code of said opponent outside of your region, citing that the reason behind this choice is due to concerns over lag.

When is Nintendo going to get a clue about online gameplay? This kind of thing isn't going to cut it and surely doesn't necessarily even improve the chances that a gamer will not receive lag. We can't be the only ones thinking this, right?

Fire Emblem to venture online?

Posted Apr 16th 2007 5:46PM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: News, Nintendo Wi-Fi

Don't get too excited, though -- they're talking about games that will follow Goddess of Dawn, which is already out in Japan. Still, from the way several of the franchise's producers talked about online content, it seems that fans of the series have a lot to look forward to in the next installment, like downloadable maps and possible online multiplayer. Now if only we knew when we might be able to expect that next game. For that matter, it would be nice to know when we might see a localization of Goddess of Dawn.

Apparently, they hoped to add some online functionality to Goddess of Dawn, but there just wasn't time. Nintendo's Hitoshi Yamagami also said something that may answer some of our questions about a lot of the earliest Wii titles; according to him, it was pretty late in the game before developers even knew what would be included with the Wii, controller-wise. While it makes us wonder if maybe things were a little rushed -- after all, we've heard versions of that before -- it also gives us hope for all the possibilities that will open up as developers become more and more comfortable with the Wii.

Reuters late to the party, asks about Wii online

Posted Apr 6th 2007 12:55PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News

Reuters has tossed their hat into the online argument arena, citing concerns many of us share in regards to the Wii and online gameplay. Mainly, the concern of when are we going to get to play our Wii online? And, in attempting to tackle the subject, they instead fall face first into the mud. What we found interesting about the piece was a little factoid that the article's author Kemp Powers tossed in.

He says that "more than 50 percent of Wii consoles in the United States are connected online." Of course, that means near 50 percent (as in just over) of these consoles are connected online, but can that be correct? That's a pretty big chunk of Wii owners out there and, frankly, it makes us that much more angry that Nintendo has yet to get us online and playing each other. It's really kind of embarrassing, if you think about it. But then again, that's not Nintendo's main focus, and we knew that going in.

Still stings though, doesn't it?

More deets on Super Mario Strikers: Charged

Posted Apr 5th 2007 5:25PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News, Nintendo Wi-Fi

Eurogamer recently got some more explainin' out of a Nintendo UK spokesperson, ~~beating out of them~~ politely asking for some more detail on the latest news that Mario Strikers: Charged would feature online play. And, the online play, it seems will be fun, for the most part. Two players, on the same console, will apparently be able to take on another pair on another console through Wi-Fi Connect, as the UK spokesperson explained to Eurogamer. This made us very excited, of course.

The bad news, though, is that the game will support game-specific Friend Codes, adding more credibility to a future online experience on the Wii that is as cumbersome and difficult as that of the DS. As said before, the game will feature ranked and unranked matches, however when jumping into a quick ranked match against random opponent, you'll be region-locked, preventing you from taking on some competition from another country. Perhaps it'll cause less lag that way, but variety is the spice of life.

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Nintendo Wii Fanboy

First Mario Kart competition opens, disappoints

Dojo update: Friends List

Wii Warm Up: Concerns of corruption

Dojo update: Super Smash Bros. Brawl online multiplayer confirmed

Wii Warm Up: Did you pick up Mario Strikers Charged?

Wii Warm Up: A question of multiplayer

No Metroid Prime 3 Wi-Fi for you

Conjecture Countdown: 15 days to go

Nintendo updates site with Wii Wi-Fi goodness

Save your website from Wiitis

Wii Warm Up: Friend code rumor fest

Super Mario Strikers only lets you play against those in your region?

Fire Emblem to venture online?

Reuters late to the party, asks about Wii online

More deets on Super Mario Strikers: Charged

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