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Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection

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Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection logo

The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection is an online service run by Nintendo to facilitate free Internet play in compatible Nintendo DS and Wii games. Both systems can connect to the service through a Wi-Fi connection, and the Wii also has the ability to connect to the service through Ethernet.

History

File:MKDS9.jpg
Mario Kart DS was the first ever Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection game released.

The service was launched in North America on November 14, 2005 with the release of Mario Kart DS, Tony Hawk's American Sk8land, and soon after, Animal Crossing: Wild World, in Australia on November 17, 2005, with the release of Mario Kart DS, in the UK on November 18, 2005 with the release of Tony Hawk's American Sk8land, in Europe on November 21 2005 with the release of both Mario Kart DS and Tony Hawk's American Sk8land, and in Japan on November 23, 2005 with the release of Animal Crossing: Wild World. According to Nintendo on August 28 2006, the service had logged over 70 million connections from over 2 million unique users worldwide in nine months, with a population surpassing that of 15 different U.S. states.[1]

Functionality

Games designed to take advantage of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection offer Internet play seamlessly integrated into the game. After selecting Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection in the game's menu, the device connects to the service. Simplicity and speed of starting a game appear to be Nintendo's focus. For example, in Mario Kart DS, players choose the online multiplayer option, then the player chooses to play with friends, play with people in his/her region, or play with people around the world. Then the game immediately starts searching for available players. The user can also have a different game name for each game he or she plays online.

Friend codes

DS Friend codes are generated from an identifier specific to the copy of the game and the Nintendo WFC ID of the DS system. Thus, using a different copy of the game, or loading the same copy in a different system, generates a different Friend Code.[2] In order for users to become "Friends", they must mutually add Friend Codes, and will be authenticated as Friends once both have gone online. These measures (mutual friend code exchange, per-game friend codes, and the pairing of the friend code and system) are conscious steps to preserve users' privacy. For example, if one sells a DS game, but not the system, there is no risk of the purchaser impersonating the seller. Similarly one cannot add a user to their Friends list for the sole purpose of antagonizing them online.

Features enabled by becoming "Friends" can range from simply seeking each other out for online play (Mario Kart DS, Tetris DS), to voice and text chat (Metroid Prime Hunters). Unusually, most of the online features in Animal Crossing: Wild World are disabled unless users are friends, with some exceptions, primarily due to the capacity for vandalism of another user's personalized Town in the game.

While all codes are twelve digits long, they are presented in different manners. For example, the codes of Mario Kart DS and Tetris DS are six digits followed by another row of six digits, while Animal Crossing's codes comprise three groups of four digits separated by hyphens. If a user needs to replace their DS system (a common occurrence with the release of the DS Lite), then the old system's Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection ID can be transferred wirelessly, to maintain the user's original friend codes on the new machine.

It should be noted, though, that some players, and even developers, do not like Friend Codes.

Rivals

The Rivals concept was first introduced in Metroid Prime Hunters. After each game, players have the option of adding each other as "Rivals." If both players agree, they are added to each others' rivals roster. In the future, the Rivals have the option of playing with each other again. In Metroid Prime Hunters' case, Rivals can play game modes and access advanced features that are not available in regular online multiplayer. Unfortunately, Rivals still cannot chat with each other. Otherwise, Rivals connect and play like friends can.

Note that although there is a "Rivals" mode in Mario Kart DS, this does not perform like the above; instead, the player is matched against players of similar skill level, as determined by their progress through the game's single-player modes.

Wii Number

This is very important though - the console's Wii number. And I think this is going to figure into your online network. This is going to play directly, hand-in-hand with the Friend Code system, so you're not going to be entering friend codes for each one of your games, your console's gonna have a number and that's gonna be the end of it.

[6], Matt Casamassina

The "Wii Number" is an identifier unique to each Wii system which operates in a similar manner to the Friend Code. As demonstrated by Matt Casamassina of IGN Wii[3], the "Address Book" in the system's "Message Board" feature displays the system's "Wii Number", and allows other users' Wii numbers to be registered. Mutual exchange of Wii Numbers allows messages, cell phone text messages, photos, and Miis to be sent between the Wiis in question.[4] In addition, the Wii can send and receive e-mails between potentially any e-mail client by sending a request e-mail that contains a link that, when clicked, activates future two-way communication. The e-mail address for all Wii consoles is w################@wii.com, where # represents a digit in the Wii number.

Games

Wi-Fi connection uses the most recent Nintendo consoles, the Nintendo DS/DS Lite and Wii, for Internet play. For a list of games played on Wi-Fi for each console, see List of Nintendo DS Wi-Fi games and List of Wii Wi-Fi games.

Internet connection

The Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector

The Nintendo DS is an IEEE 802.11 device, and a player can access the service via any compatible wireless network. This includes public hotspots as well as personal 802.11b or 802.11g wireless routers, but does not yet include most public hotspots that use a captive portal. Entering the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection setup allows players to configure access to three different networks. A connection can be automatically detected on some routers, especially those that are AOSS-compatible. A user can also manually enter network settings. The Nintendo DS supports WEP encryption but not WPA. However, the Wii supports both. In addition to the three connections, the Nintendo DS and Wii can connect through the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector.

Although the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector only officially supports Windows XP-based PCs, the card uses a common Ralink chipset which is supported on many platforms, including OpenBSD and Linux. Some hackers have modified the official drivers to support an extended set of adaptors with similar chipsets to allow them to act as official Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connectors[5]. The chipset also means the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector can be used for Wireless Multi Boot. Broadband Internet access is not required to make use of this connectivity, though it is recommended to prevent network latency.[citation needed]

There is no charge for connecting to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection or for playing any Nintendo first-party games. Third-party developers are free to decide whether to charge fees for playing their games through the service. Nintendo is working with hotspot providers to allow free access in public for Nintendo DS users and has already reached such an agreement with Texas-based firm Wayport to provide access in McDonald's Restaurants in the U.S.[6] Wayport currently provides 6,000 Wi-Fi hotspots (which are not free to non-Nintendo DS users). Connecting to these hotspots does not require configuration on the Nintendo DS, bypassing Wayport's standard login. Nintendo also confirmed that the Wii will use the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection in this press release. A similar partnership with FatPort to create free hotspots in Canada was announced by Nintendo of Canada on October 19, 2005[7].

25,000 hotspots will be created in Europe, according to Jim Merrick, former Director of Marketing for Nintendo of Europe[8]. These include 7,500 in UK alone, thanks to a partnership with The Cloud and BT Openzone. [citation needed]

Nintendo Australia announced on November 17, 2005 that they would roll out 26 hotspots across the country, in partnership with selected Electronics Boutique, Myer and Dick Smith Powerhouse stores. The sheer lack of hotspots came as a surprise to gamers in Australia, with many confused about whether the press release referred to 26 chains of stores, or 26 individual locations. It turned out to be the latter, meaning that many gamers would have to travel long distances to reach an official hotspot. Currently, all 26 points are active, but with no official announcements regarding an expansion with to the service or a partnership to allow access in McDonald's restaurants like in the U.S., most Australians have to purchase the USB adapter, use a home wireless router or find an unofficial wireless hotspot.

Datel have released a wired LAN adapter for the Wii which plugs into the Wii via one of the USB 2.0 ports. It comes with a 6 feet long patch cable which then plugs into a DSL modem, cable modem or router.

Datel have also released WiFi Max. It acts like the official Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector except it comes with a CD containing drivers for Windows 98SE and onwards. Linux and Mac systems are not mentioned in the manual as a system requirement.

Hotspot providers with free access to Nintendo DS users:

Official website

Nintendo has created the official Nintendo Wi-Fi connection Web site as a portal for gamers looking to access the service, in need of troubleshooting assistance and much more. The website has live statistics and data from the service's servers and records high scores, and service status. It also allows a user to link his or her WFC ID to a My Nintendo account, although officially the terms of service limit this feature to residents of the US and Canada.

The website went live on Monday, November 7, 2005 — one week prior to the key Mario Kart DS launch in North America. On March 7, 2006 at 1:31am PST, the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection passed the milestone of having its one millionth unique user log on. The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection passed the two million unique user mark on August 28 2006[1].

Trivia

Facts from Nintendo Power

Facts taken from vol. 205 of Nintendo Power

  • As of 1:31a.m. PST March 7, 2006, 1 million unique users had logged onto the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection.
  • The US is leading the charge with 15 million Wi-Fi connections thus far. Japan is a close second.
  • In the first week after the game launched, 2 out of every 3 people who purchased Metroid Prime Hunters also played it online.
  • In its first week of sales, Tetris DS inspired 133,407 connections - that's over 13 games played per minute.
  • Players logged in to the WFC over 2.5 million times to play Metroid Prime Hunters in the first month the game was available.

Facts taken from vol. 212 of Nintendo Power

  • As of December 2006, over 2 million unique players have logged in. This is twice the number of players logged in to the service than there were 8 months ago.

Usage statistics

(Sample stats taken from week of April 10, 2006 through April 23, 2006) (source: RevoGaming.net) (live stats)

  • Animal Crossing: Wild World 116,901 (44.2% of total) (live stats)
  • Metroid Prime Hunters 70,954 (26.8% of total) (live stats)
  • Mario Kart DS 59,544 (22.5% of total) (live stats)
  • Tetris DS 15,842 (6% of total) (live stats)
  • Tony Hawk: American Sk8land 1,159 (0.4% of total) (live stats)
  • LostMagic (live stats)

As of August 28, 2006, 2 million users have logged on to WFC.[1]

Although not supported by Nintendo, it is possible to play certain WFC games over a dial-up connection (via a Nintendo WFC USB adapter or a Wireless Dial-Up Router such as the Apple Airport Extreme) with almost no lag; Mario Kart DS and Animal Crossing: Wild World has been reported to work fluidly as long as no other programs are using bandwidth.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "AT 2 MILLION STRONG, NINTENDO'S WIRELESS GAMING COMMUNITY GROWS LARGER THAN 15 U.S. STATES" (Press release). Nintendo of America. 2006-08-28. Retrieved 2006-08-29. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Nintendo. "How do I get a Friend Code?" Online posting. 28 Dec. 2005. nintendowifi.com FAQs. 26 Dec 2006 [1]
  3. ^ Matt Casamassina (2006-11-1). "Wii Interface Video Demo". IGN. Retrieved 2006-11-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Captain (2006-10-28). "Wii Number and Address Book uncovered". Aussie-Nintendo.com. Retrieved 2006-10-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Xtreme. "USB Wi-Fi to Nintendo Wi-Fi v1.04 Guide & Downloads." Online posting. 28 Dec. 2005. gbadev.org forum. 20 July 2006 [2].
  6. ^ "Nintendo and Wayport Join Forces to Bring Free U.S. Wi-Fi Access To Nintendo DS Users." Nintendo.com. 18 Oct. 2005. 20 July 2006 [3].
  7. ^ "Nintendo and Fatport Join Forces to Bring Free Wi-Fi Access To Canadian Nintendo DS Users." Nintendo.ca. 19 Oct. 2005. 20 July 2006 [4].
  8. ^ "Nintendo of Europe on DS Chat, Revolution." 1UP. 31 Oct. 2005. 20 July 2006 [5].
Official Sites
Tutorials
Unofficial Sites
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