If I was personally designing the friend code system to try and stay within Nintendo's boundaries it'd have three layers:
Console Code/Friend Code - A code attached to the console that allows anyone you've swapped codes with to see what game you're currently playing, invite them to a multiplayer lobby of your own choosing, and allow you to join their game session if you're playing the same game and there's room. You also get to see the username they've created for themselves.
Game Code/Rival Code - A code attached to the game you're playing that allows anyone who enters it in to see if you're playing that game currently and join your current multiplayer session if there's room. There's no communication is possible outside of premade canned responses (there's specific rival-only ones) and you can see a list of everyone who's marked you as a rival and block them if you wish.
No Code - Only playable via random matchmaking. No communication is possible outside of premade canned responses. You can choose to become the rival of any random person as well but an extra step is introduced where they're asked if it's okay for you to become their rival before it's set in stone.
What generation are they finally going to do it then? Cause they've been using the bloody things for a while now, surely this would've been the chance to finally show some progress. Their continual refusal to make progress in this area is only going to hurt them in the long run while Microsoft and Sony are heavily investing in it.
Like I said, 3DS and Super Wii generation. Their current online is about as shitty as PS2's was.
As for per system friend codes being just as good as usernames, they're not. Sure it'd be an actual start but friend codes are still completely unintuitive and forgettable compared to a name.
If you only ever have to enter it once, it isn't really a big deal though. Sure, if it is per game, then yeah it's a pain in the rear. But it is hardly the huge timesink it is made out to be.
The whole convoluted process of Friend Codes made the Wii Speak channel absolutely pointless. I was hoping when that came out it would be the beginning of things being more open, but only ended up being extremely frusterating and pointless.
Thats a shame because I really liked the layout and the way it seems it worked. I just never ever had the chance to actually use it.
mxmarks on
PSN: mxmarks - WiiU: mxmarks - twitter: @ MikesPS4 - twitch.tv/mxmarks - "Yes, mxmarks is the King of Queens" - Unbreakable Vow
If you only ever have to enter it once, it isn't really a big deal though. Sure, if it is per game, then yeah it's a pain in the rear. But it is hardly the huge timesink it is made out to be.
It's not about being a timesink though, it's about them being unintuitive. Names are easier to remember than sequences of numbers. And how exactly is your friends list going to work? You write down on a piece of paper who is who?
Honestly, I don't even know how friend codes are meant to protect kids, outside of making the entire thing so shit no-one can be bothered to use it. Considering some of the devices kids use these days, it just seems like Nintendo has no clue communication technology has advanced since the 90's.
The creator of Pong attempts to school us whippersnappers as to what we're doing wrong:
Atari co-founder and Pong programmer Al Alcorn has challenged contemporary game designers to "take risks to do new things" arguing that ballooning budgets discourage experimentation and have led to stagnation in the industry.
Speaking to VentureBeat, the grandfather of the games industry said: "I think it was a lot more fun when it was just a little thing and there were no expectations."
"If you look at our games – the earlier games – they were all really wildly different," he continued. "We tried all kinds of things. It was a great time to experiment. Now, the money is so big, we're afraid to take risks. We took a lot of risks and we had a lot of fun doing it."
Alcorn, who left Atari in 1981 to become a tech consultant in Silicon Valley, advised today's generation of game designers not to shy away from risk.
"Boy, I've not been in the video game business for a long time," he said, when asked if he had any advice for contemporary game makers, "but I think just in general you've got to take some risks to do new things. We're seeing some of it slowly with the 3D Kinect thing and the Wii."
"If you're trying to compete with what somebody else has already done it's really, really risky to [try and] do better than that," he added. "I think people are better off trying a new kind of game, and maybe they'll get lucky."
Zynga's CityVille, the most popular app on Facebook ever, has drawn in more than 100 million monthly active users since launching on the social network six weeks ago, according to Inside Social Games.
The social game owes much of its success to being the company's first internationally launched game, debuting with English, German, Italian, Spanish and French versions. Demographic data shows that over half of its record userbase is located outside of North America.
Zynga has also supported CityVille's rapid growth by cross-promoting it through ads displayed in its other popular titles (e.g. Mafia Wars, FrontierVille), and it claims players are helping push the game to their friends through invites and status updates, too.
FarmVille, previously Facebook's most popular app and also developed by Zynga, hit its peak of 84 million monthly users in March 2010 before the site enacted changes designed to limit "notification spam" from applications. The farming sim's audience has since shrunk to 57 million.
Though CityVille is close to doubling FarmVille's monthly user count, Inside Social Games notes that the city-building clone has 18.6 million daily players, indicating a "stickiness" (daily audience divided by monthly) of just 19 percent versus FarmVille's current 26 percent.
Taking this into account along with CityVille's average monthly active user growth recently slowing from three million new users per day to one million per day, Inside Social Games predicts that the game will not reach 110 million monthly players.
We really have been seeing much more innovation in app store/indie games lately. And sometimes, it can really pay off (Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, etc.).
If you only ever have to enter it once, it isn't really a big deal though. Sure, if it is per game, then yeah it's a pain in the rear. But it is hardly the huge timesink it is made out to be.
It's not about being a timesink though, it's about them being unintuitive. Names are easier to remember than sequences of numbers. And how exactly is your friends list going to work? You write down on a piece of paper who is who?
Honestly, I don't even know how friend codes are meant to protect kids, outside of making the entire thing so shit no-one can be bothered to use it. Considering some of the devices kids use these days, it just seems like Nintendo has no clue communication technology has advanced since the 90's.
The idea is that you have to know the person to get their code. So if you have an 8 year old he can trade friend codes with friends at school and play. That 30 year old cougar looking for a teenage date can't just send a friend request and start trading phone numbers.
It breaks down with people like us who want to play games with other video game enthusiast that we only know from online and who get a lot of games.
In the 8 year old example maybe he gets 4 games a year. It isn't that hard to put in a different code for each game a friend gets as well.
In the example of us, it is a pain in the ass to put in 20 Mario Kart codes just so you can see the high scores.
For the 8 year old it works beautifully. For us it is annoying.
AZChristopher on
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Brainiac 8Don't call me Shirley...Registered Userregular
I am not an expert on Nintendo, but personally, I think--emphasis on that--"Overcautious option intended to please certain concerned parents" is no more likely than "Can't be bothered to change it, busy doing more important stuff, get out of my office option".
Assuming we get the worse case scenario.
Nah, they very much model themselves in the Disney vogue.
Southpark taught me that Disney isn't as innocent as they seem.
If you only ever have to enter it once, it isn't really a big deal though. Sure, if it is per game, then yeah it's a pain in the rear. But it is hardly the huge timesink it is made out to be.
It's not about being a timesink though, it's about them being unintuitive. Names are easier to remember than sequences of numbers. And how exactly is your friends list going to work? You write down on a piece of paper who is who?
Honestly, I don't even know how friend codes are meant to protect kids, outside of making the entire thing so shit no-one can be bothered to use it. Considering some of the devices kids use these days, it just seems like Nintendo has no clue communication technology has advanced since the 90's.
The idea is that you have to know the person to get their code. So if you have an 8 year old he can trade friend codes with friends at school and play. That 30 year old cougar looking for a teenage date can't just send a friend request and start trading phone numbers.
It breaks down with people like us who want to play games with other video game enthusiast that we only know from online and who get a lot of games.
In the 8 year old example maybe he gets 4 games a year. It isn't that hard to put in a different code for each game a friend gets as well.
In the example of us, it is a pain in the ass to put in 20 Mario Kart codes just so you can see the high scores.
For the 8 year old it works beautifully. For us it is annoying.
Send a friend request to whom, exactly?
It's pretty hard to add someone by their gamertag or PSN ID unless you know that, too.
darleysam on
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FencingsaxIt is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understandingGNU Terry PratchettRegistered Userregular
I am not an expert on Nintendo, but personally, I think--emphasis on that--"Overcautious option intended to please certain concerned parents" is no more likely than "Can't be bothered to change it, busy doing more important stuff, get out of my office option".
Assuming we get the worse case scenario.
Nah, they very much model themselves in the Disney vogue.
Southpark taught me that Disney isn't as innocent as they seem.
Eh, Disney is just extremely good at creating vision and atmosphere.
Southpark taught me that Disney isn't as innocent as they seem.
They're really awful for a number of reasons.
At least the ridiculous control of their stars slightly lessened after they ended up contributing to the death of one of them. But it seems to be slowly sliding back.
If you only ever have to enter it once, it isn't really a big deal though. Sure, if it is per game, then yeah it's a pain in the rear. But it is hardly the huge timesink it is made out to be.
It's not about being a timesink though, it's about them being unintuitive. Names are easier to remember than sequences of numbers. And how exactly is your friends list going to work? You write down on a piece of paper who is who?
Honestly, I don't even know how friend codes are meant to protect kids, outside of making the entire thing so shit no-one can be bothered to use it. Considering some of the devices kids use these days, it just seems like Nintendo has no clue communication technology has advanced since the 90's.
The idea is that you have to know the person to get their code. So if you have an 8 year old he can trade friend codes with friends at school and play. That 30 year old cougar looking for a teenage date can't just send a friend request and start trading phone numbers.
It breaks down with people like us who want to play games with other video game enthusiast that we only know from online and who get a lot of games.
In the 8 year old example maybe he gets 4 games a year. It isn't that hard to put in a different code for each game a friend gets as well.
In the example of us, it is a pain in the ass to put in 20 Mario Kart codes just so you can see the high scores.
For the 8 year old it works beautifully. For us it is annoying.
Send a friend request to whom, exactly?
It's pretty hard to add someone by their gamertag or PSN ID unless you know that, too.
I don't know about PSN but on the 360 all I have to do is play an online match and I can pick any of them I want to send a friend request. You can also send audio which is why I get 5+ stupid preteen/teenagers sending me a voice message about joining their clan or how they can boost my points every time I play Halo or Call of Duty.
If you only ever have to enter it once, it isn't really a big deal though. Sure, if it is per game, then yeah it's a pain in the rear. But it is hardly the huge timesink it is made out to be.
It's not about being a timesink though, it's about them being unintuitive. Names are easier to remember than sequences of numbers. And how exactly is your friends list going to work? You write down on a piece of paper who is who?
Honestly, I don't even know how friend codes are meant to protect kids, outside of making the entire thing so shit no-one can be bothered to use it. Considering some of the devices kids use these days, it just seems like Nintendo has no clue communication technology has advanced since the 90's.
The idea is that you have to know the person to get their code. So if you have an 8 year old he can trade friend codes with friends at school and play. That 30 year old cougar looking for a teenage date can't just send a friend request and start trading phone numbers.
It breaks down with people like us who want to play games with other video game enthusiast that we only know from online and who get a lot of games.
In the 8 year old example maybe he gets 4 games a year. It isn't that hard to put in a different code for each game a friend gets as well.
In the example of us, it is a pain in the ass to put in 20 Mario Kart codes just so you can see the high scores.
For the 8 year old it works beautifully. For us it is annoying.
To clarify, it works beautifully if you're okay with being treated like an 8-year-old.
As I sort of mentioned in the other thread, I think Nintendo has expanded vastly beyond the "Kidtendo" stigma and shouldn't be shackled by that when it comes to implementing online features. I don't think it's out of the question to adopt a similar setup to the immensely by-the-books casual Facebook: A chosen identity, simple friend requests and notifications, seeing when friends are online, the ability to block, parental controls, etc.
Really, if it is just a one-per-system Friend Code, I'll chafe a little but I'll be fine with it. There's a reason, though, that the entire world stopped using the CompuServe and Prodigy method of creating e-mail addresses. :P
Right, it's all about meeting people in random matches. If you like playing with someone you randomly meet up with in CODBLOPS or something, you can easily add them. And then, as the histrionic local news programs would have you believe, get their phone numbers and then show up on their doorstep for some rapin'.
While with Nintendo, if you don't already have someone on your friends list you'll never know who the hell you're playing against in Mario Kart. Not only do you have the numbers, but those numbers are never revealed.
As a dad, seriously, the friend code thing is great. It is way better than the Live and PSN world where it is easy to add folks. I know it is onerous but they are protecting their core market. Plus, if any of you wanted to friend my kid in mario kart, you had better believe I would want to know who you are first.
This is the sales thread and I would argue that providing a walled garden for users is exactly their MO and they have been successful in doing it.
As a dad, seriously, the friend code thing is great. It is way better than the Live and PSN world where it is easy to add folks. I know it is onerous but they are protecting their core market. Plus, if any of you wanted to friend my kid in mario kart, you had better believe I would want to know who you are first.
This is the sales thread and I would argue that providing a walled garden for users is exactly their MO and they have been successful in doing it.
Are people actually arguing that making it difficult to add friends for online gameplay is a good thing?
Is this like those fixed gear bicycles I've been seeing?
As a dad, seriously, the friend code thing is great. It is way better than the Live and PSN world where it is easy to add folks. I know it is onerous but they are protecting their core market. Plus, if any of you wanted to friend my kid in mario kart, you had better believe I would want to know who you are first.
This is the sales thread and I would argue that providing a walled garden for users is exactly their MO and they have been successful in doing it.
I'd say they've been successful despite it, but hey.
As a dad, seriously, the friend code thing is great. It is way better than the Live and PSN world where it is easy to add folks. I know it is onerous but they are protecting their core market. Plus, if any of you wanted to friend my kid in mario kart, you had better believe I would want to know who you are first.
This is the sales thread and I would argue that providing a walled garden for users is exactly their MO and they have been successful in doing it.
Why not just use parental controls? I wouldn't call their walled garden a success in any sense. In MarioKart Wii for example, there was 0 interaction between me and the people I played with online. What would it have hurt to give me the option to add a particularly good player to a friends list, or a "please try to match me up with these people next time I play" list?
It's one thing to try and protect young users, I get the point of that. I just don't see why we can't have both options. It just seems lazy to me.
Right, it's all about meeting people in random matches. If you like playing with someone you randomly meet up with in CODBLOPS or something, you can easily add them. And then, as the histrionic local news programs would have you believe, get their phone numbers and then show up on their doorstep for some rapin'.
While with Nintendo, if you don't already have someone on your friends list you'll never know who the hell you're playing against in Mario Kart. Not only do you have the numbers, but those numbers are never revealed.
As a dad, I just don't give my 10 year old an online account on the 360. Problem solved and it doesn't gimp my experience any.
The F.E.A.R. 3 "Collector's Edition" release will include a SteelBook case, an in-game gun and a comic or something -- those items aren't important. The real bonus is something more intangible: a lifetime of nightmares. See, the Collector's Edition also includes a pregnant Alma figurine, and of course it glows in the dark.
YES!!!
Just what gamers needed everywhere, a statue of a naked pregnant woman that is trying to kill everyone. How could you not want that and apparently the baby inside even glows in the dark, huzzah!
As a dad, seriously, the friend code thing is great. It is way better than the Live and PSN world where it is easy to add folks. I know it is onerous but they are protecting their core market. Plus, if any of you wanted to friend my kid in mario kart, you had better believe I would want to know who you are first.
This is the sales thread and I would argue that providing a walled garden for users is exactly their MO and they have been successful in doing it.
Please, I need that walled garden to protect me from your kid! I have added a PA'ers kid to my ignore list in the past.
Of course at the time I didn't know this and feel bad about it now :oops:
You should all really fear my child. He was be amazing at Rock Band in no time.
I guess the idea is that other walled garden models have worked maybe in spite of themselves but it is one way to ensure maximum protection.
Plus, parental controls never work. Kids are crazy smart, and I can already see my little dude cracking codes like he was on Mission Impossible or something.
Developer reveals Hollywood legend has seen upcoming sequel in 3D; claims Crysis 2 is 3D “benchmark”.
Crytek has revealed that James Cameron saw Crysis 2 running in 3D – and was a big fan.
“James Cameron has seen Crysis 2, and he loved what he saw because his eyes are trained for 3D more than anyone else’s, and that makes me confident that we have a super-high-end 3D experience on all formats.”
Yerli even draws comparison between Crytek’s upcoming sequel and the Cameron-directed smash hit that has fuelled Hollywood’s current love for all things three-dimensional. “I’ll even claim it’s the same as Avatar’s status in 3D,” he says.
When asked what led one of Hollywood’s most successful directors to see Crysis 2, Yerli laughs and says: “that’s another story.”
Cade on
0
Brainiac 8Don't call me Shirley...Registered Userregular
Right, it's all about meeting people in random matches. If you like playing with someone you randomly meet up with in CODBLOPS or something, you can easily add them. And then, as the histrionic local news programs would have you believe, get their phone numbers and then show up on their doorstep for some rapin'.
While with Nintendo, if you don't already have someone on your friends list you'll never know who the hell you're playing against in Mario Kart. Not only do you have the numbers, but those numbers are never revealed.
As a dad, I just don't give my 10 year old an online account on the 360. Problem solved and it doesn't gimp my experience any.
As a dad, I handle things like RD here. My kids don't get unlimited access to online accounts, whether it be XBL or Wii. Nintendo's handling of the FC could be much better, and I don't need a company doing the job that is mine to do.
Right, it's all about meeting people in random matches. If you like playing with someone you randomly meet up with in CODBLOPS or something, you can easily add them. And then, as the histrionic local news programs would have you believe, get their phone numbers and then show up on their doorstep for some rapin'.
While with Nintendo, if you don't already have someone on your friends list you'll never know who the hell you're playing against in Mario Kart. Not only do you have the numbers, but those numbers are never revealed.
As a dad, I just don't give my 10 year old an online account on the 360. Problem solved and it doesn't gimp my experience any.
As a dad, I handle things like RD here. My kids don't get unlimited access to online accounts, whether it be XBL or Wii. Nintendo's handling of the FC could be much better, and I don't need a company doing the job that is mine to do.
This right here. There's no reason setting up parental controls with even just a password shouldn't work.
And if your kid is "crazy smart" and "cracking codes" I submit to you that online gaming is the least of your worries, given the "dangers" of going on the net via PC.
There is no amount of reason and logic that will deter people who are willing to sacrifice liberty for security. In the end, it's easier if somebody else does it for you. Nintendo's general policy is unlikely to change, and their image as being child friendly will only make that more and more permanent.
And there are simply those who are satisfied by such a minimum effort. Nothing really changes.
It's not about our liberty and our security, it's clearly about theirs. And being their garden, it's in their interests to protect it. We can talk about parental involvement and doing our jobs and it's all wonderful (non sarcastically), but it only takes one bad instance. One kid who's parents just plug him in and go do whatever. One 13-year-old girl who gets Babrie Ponie Adventure on her 360 to get kidnapped because of her dumbass guardians. Not even lawsuits, from which I'm sure they're well protected, but just the PR damage of every 11 p.m. newscast in the country leading with, "Xbox, 13-year-old, kidnap" etc.
Sony and Microsoft looked at their audience and its needs and sees the (clearly minimal) risk as being worth the reward. Nintendo has, at least this generation, done the same and made its own decision. And they're probably all right in their actions from their perspectives.
But just like a million decisions that get made every day, it has little to do with what we want or what's best for us or what would sell us (as in active, adult gamers) the product better.
You know what we've been sorely lacking recently? A console shortage. Fortunately Microsoft's stepping up to the plate:
According to Xbox 360 hype man Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, Microsoft isn't expecting to "win" December's hardware sales battle, as depicted in the NPD's monthly report (to be released later today). "I found out we ran out of consoles at the end of the month," Hryb tweeted, with a follow-up that added, "Jan/Feb supply is tight as well."
That said, he's anticipating "likely amazing YOY [year-over-year] growth numbers for Xbox." In non-business speak, that means he's expecting last month's Xbox 360 hardware sales to have surpassed the figure recorded in December 2009. While that would mean more than 1.31 million Xboxes were sold in the final month of 2010, if Hryb's prediction is correct, it would also mark the second year in a row that the Xbox was bested by Sony's PlayStation 3 in one of the year's most important sales months.
The problem is that a lot of adults don't understand the technology enough to add protections for their kids. For them the protection method is to just not buy the system. Nintendo wants you to buy it so they take the require knowledge out of the equation.
It takes less than a minute to add a friend code. Really not that big of an issue. The issue is that their online is not good.
All that is missing is for them to say that supplies are now constrained and might be hard to find.
Has the PSP ever been supply constrained?
The PS3 had both a fake and a real supply problem at various points so I think that everything else is covered.
I don't think they have, but I could be wrong.
Meanwhile...
It was a less-than-happy holiday season for the folks over at Planet Moon Studios, it seems -- multiple sources are reporting that the studio responsible for games such as Giants: Citizen Kabuto and Armed & Dangerous ran out of funding last December, due to the loss of a "substantial amount" of money allegedly owed by investors. CEO Aaron Loeb says his company will file suit against its debtors.
Fortunately, MMO developer Bigpoint has picked up 37 staff members from Planet Moon, swelling the ranks of its San Francisco studio to more than 100 people. Bigpoint's CEO, Heko Hubertz, says the refugee staffers will be put to work using their cross-platform experience on Bigpoint's titles, which it just recently claimed have an audience of over 150 million users.
Joystiq has reached out to Loeb for a comment on the pending legal action, and to learn what happened to any titles the company currently has (or had) in development. We'll let you know when we hear back.
Posts
Console Code/Friend Code - A code attached to the console that allows anyone you've swapped codes with to see what game you're currently playing, invite them to a multiplayer lobby of your own choosing, and allow you to join their game session if you're playing the same game and there's room. You also get to see the username they've created for themselves.
Game Code/Rival Code - A code attached to the game you're playing that allows anyone who enters it in to see if you're playing that game currently and join your current multiplayer session if there's room. There's no communication is possible outside of premade canned responses (there's specific rival-only ones) and you can see a list of everyone who's marked you as a rival and block them if you wish.
No Code - Only playable via random matchmaking. No communication is possible outside of premade canned responses. You can choose to become the rival of any random person as well but an extra step is introduced where they're asked if it's okay for you to become their rival before it's set in stone.
Like I said, 3DS and Super Wii generation. Their current online is about as shitty as PS2's was.
If you only ever have to enter it once, it isn't really a big deal though. Sure, if it is per game, then yeah it's a pain in the rear. But it is hardly the huge timesink it is made out to be.
I did.
Do not engage the Watermelons.
Thats a shame because I really liked the layout and the way it seems it worked. I just never ever had the chance to actually use it.
It's not about being a timesink though, it's about them being unintuitive. Names are easier to remember than sequences of numbers. And how exactly is your friends list going to work? You write down on a piece of paper who is who?
Honestly, I don't even know how friend codes are meant to protect kids, outside of making the entire thing so shit no-one can be bothered to use it. Considering some of the devices kids use these days, it just seems like Nintendo has no clue communication technology has advanced since the 90's.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/32425/Pong_Creator_Challenges_Todays_Game_Designers_To_Take_Risks_To_Do_New_Things.php
Also:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/32430/CityVille_Surpasses_100M_Monthly_Active_Users.php
Sigh.
As far as taking risks? I'll agree with that, and that's why I think the App store has done so well, as it makes it easier for someone to take risks.
3DS Friend Code: 0404-6826-4588 PM if you add.
The idea is that you have to know the person to get their code. So if you have an 8 year old he can trade friend codes with friends at school and play. That 30 year old cougar looking for a teenage date can't just send a friend request and start trading phone numbers.
It breaks down with people like us who want to play games with other video game enthusiast that we only know from online and who get a lot of games.
In the 8 year old example maybe he gets 4 games a year. It isn't that hard to put in a different code for each game a friend gets as well.
In the example of us, it is a pain in the ass to put in 20 Mario Kart codes just so you can see the high scores.
For the 8 year old it works beautifully. For us it is annoying.
Southpark taught me that Disney isn't as innocent as they seem.
Nintendo Network ID - Brainiac_8
PSN - Brainiac_8
Steam - http://steamcommunity.com/id/BRAINIAC8/
Add me!
Send a friend request to whom, exactly?
It's pretty hard to add someone by their gamertag or PSN ID unless you know that, too.
Eh, Disney is just extremely good at creating vision and atmosphere.
They're really awful for a number of reasons.
At least the ridiculous control of their stars slightly lessened after they ended up contributing to the death of one of them. But it seems to be slowly sliding back.
I don't know about PSN but on the 360 all I have to do is play an online match and I can pick any of them I want to send a friend request. You can also send audio which is why I get 5+ stupid preteen/teenagers sending me a voice message about joining their clan or how they can boost my points every time I play Halo or Call of Duty.
It isn't hard at all. Extremely easy.
To clarify, it works beautifully if you're okay with being treated like an 8-year-old.
As I sort of mentioned in the other thread, I think Nintendo has expanded vastly beyond the "Kidtendo" stigma and shouldn't be shackled by that when it comes to implementing online features. I don't think it's out of the question to adopt a similar setup to the immensely by-the-books casual Facebook: A chosen identity, simple friend requests and notifications, seeing when friends are online, the ability to block, parental controls, etc.
Really, if it is just a one-per-system Friend Code, I'll chafe a little but I'll be fine with it. There's a reason, though, that the entire world stopped using the CompuServe and Prodigy method of creating e-mail addresses. :P
While with Nintendo, if you don't already have someone on your friends list you'll never know who the hell you're playing against in Mario Kart. Not only do you have the numbers, but those numbers are never revealed.
This is the sales thread and I would argue that providing a walled garden for users is exactly their MO and they have been successful in doing it.
Are people actually arguing that making it difficult to add friends for online gameplay is a good thing?
Is this like those fixed gear bicycles I've been seeing?
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/
I write about video games and stuff. It is fun. Sometimes.
I'd say they've been successful despite it, but hey.
Why not just use parental controls? I wouldn't call their walled garden a success in any sense. In MarioKart Wii for example, there was 0 interaction between me and the people I played with online. What would it have hurt to give me the option to add a particularly good player to a friends list, or a "please try to match me up with these people next time I play" list?
It's one thing to try and protect young users, I get the point of that. I just don't see why we can't have both options. It just seems lazy to me.
As a dad, I just don't give my 10 year old an online account on the 360. Problem solved and it doesn't gimp my experience any.
Steam ID : rwb36, Twitter : Werezompire,
YES!!!
Just what gamers needed everywhere, a statue of a naked pregnant woman that is trying to kill everyone. How could you not want that and apparently the baby inside even glows in the dark, huzzah!
F3ar the leet speak.
Oh yeah, you're right. 6:30 eastern.
I guess the idea is that other walled garden models have worked maybe in spite of themselves but it is one way to ensure maximum protection.
Plus, parental controls never work. Kids are crazy smart, and I can already see my little dude cracking codes like he was on Mission Impossible or something.
As a dad, I handle things like RD here. My kids don't get unlimited access to online accounts, whether it be XBL or Wii. Nintendo's handling of the FC could be much better, and I don't need a company doing the job that is mine to do.
Nintendo Network ID - Brainiac_8
PSN - Brainiac_8
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This right here. There's no reason setting up parental controls with even just a password shouldn't work.
And if your kid is "crazy smart" and "cracking codes" I submit to you that online gaming is the least of your worries, given the "dangers" of going on the net via PC.
We are a subset of the population, ideally talented to address these kinds of issues.
Except if you allow any interaction, outside so limited that there's no point playing multi and not bots, It will be circumvented.
(even includes a friends code system, guess how it works out)
And there are simply those who are satisfied by such a minimum effort. Nothing really changes.
Do not engage the Watermelons.
Sony and Microsoft looked at their audience and its needs and sees the (clearly minimal) risk as being worth the reward. Nintendo has, at least this generation, done the same and made its own decision. And they're probably all right in their actions from their perspectives.
But just like a million decisions that get made every day, it has little to do with what we want or what's best for us or what would sell us (as in active, adult gamers) the product better.
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/01/13/major-nelson-xbox-360-sold-out-in-dec-supply-tight-now/
Though to be fair, if the estimates of huge Dec. 360 sales are anywhere close to being accurate, the shortage is kinda understandable.
It takes less than a minute to add a friend code. Really not that big of an issue. The issue is that their online is not good.
All that is missing is for them to say that supplies are now constrained and might be hard to find.
Nintendo Network ID - Brainiac_8
PSN - Brainiac_8
Steam - http://steamcommunity.com/id/BRAINIAC8/
Add me!
Has the PSP ever been supply constrained?
The PS3 had both a fake and a real supply problem at various points so I think that everything else is covered.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
I don't think they have, but I could be wrong.
Meanwhile...
I had no idea Planet Moon was still around.