The Nintendo Wii's pitiful online gaming service. -By Jack Patrick Rodgers

SSB:B's Online mode was a real dissapointment.

I didn't buy the Wii for online gaming, so I can't say its lack of solid support for it bothers me very much.

This is news? I did not buy a wii for the online service. I have 2 other consoles that do just fine in that department. I look at the WII as a differant kind of console. Inovative and differant. Its great as a second machine and plays its types of games wonderful. Nintendo acheived what they wanted to. A machine that really does not compete with the others but compliments them. Aside from afew exclusives the 360 and ps3 are the same thing.

You don't buy Wii for online service. Buy it for the good games it has.

This is news? I did not buy a wii for the online service. I have 2 other consoles that do just fine in that department. I look at the WII as a differant kind of console. Inovative and differant. Its great as a second machine and plays its types of games wonderful. Nintendo acheived what they wanted to. A machine that really does not compete with the others but compliments them. Aside from afew exclusives the 360 and ps3 are the same thing.

cloudman5

I didn't buy mine to play online. My Wii is online just to get VC and Wiiware games.

I really don't think anyone that bought a wii is really looking for superior online gaming. Besides there are quite a few games on the wii that has some very good online multiplayer.

Pretty much every post above me. This is old news, and people who buy a Wii aren't doing so for the online experience.

wow this is like old who bumped an old thread or create 1 based on old news topics

meh... online gets the job done for me... i have lots of fun.

I don't buy any console for its online infrastructure, I barely make use of Live; but even if some don't buy the console for it, that doesn't excuse have a weak system. However, that brings me to my second point, the Wii's infrastructure or lack thereof depending on who you ask is completely blown out of proportion simply because its not a carbon copy of Live. It's functional, it does what its suppose to do, you can buy your content and play games online. Could it have been more intuitive, like a single code? Yes and their making that move with the 3DS, but that doesn't make the system broken. And trying to say the system is broken because of failures like Brawl is ridiculous, because that is a fault of the individual game, not the infrastructure. That's like saying Live and PSN sucks because of the mess that is MvC3; that's just Capcom dropping the ball on that game and Brawl is just Nintendo and Hal dropping the ball on that single game.

They even tried to do voice communication, problem is people and developers didn't seem very interested, not a fault of the online system, it can obviously be done, its just not do to lack of interest. And if you play online games a lot on the other two platforms, you see a huge number of people don't use voice chat on that and you see why. The online system certainly has room for imporvement, but calling a completely functional system pitiful is a bad joke.

that artcile is 100% true. online on the wii is a joke. friend codes are among the worst gaming ideas ever. the online infractructure is piss poor. this makes given the choice for example buy COD on the wii or xbox? the xbox is the clear choice. and while the 3ds seems like it will have better online im not convinced nintendo has figured out you need a better online system. the bottom line is wii2 needs something similar to xbox live. its the gold standard. either copy it or beat it.kayoticdreamz

Pretty much every post above me. This is old news, and people who buy a Wii aren't doing so for the online experience.

trugs26

Yes but doesn't change the fact that Nintendo online system for the wii is garbage in comparasion to what other systems offer.

[QUOTE="kayoticdreamz"]that artcile is 100% true. online on the wii is a joke. friend codes are among the worst gaming ideas ever. the online infractructure is piss poor. this makes given the choice for example buy COD on the wii or xbox? the xbox is the clear choice. and while the 3ds seems like it will have better online im not convinced nintendo has figured out you need a better online system. the bottom line is wii2 needs something similar to xbox live. its the gold standard. either copy it or beat it.rcafan

What's so terrible about the Wii's online service? The same things I do on the 360/PS3 online services are just about the same things I do on the Wii--online multiplayer! The Wii's library of games with online features may be lacking, but there are still quite a number of Wii games with online functionality to keep you busy.

Also, I'm not really a fan of downloadable content (i.e map packs,new characters, items, demosof every game, and new quests)as I hardly use such features on the 360/PS3 as well. Unless you're big on downloadable content (the content I mentioned above), then there realy isn't anything wrong with the Wii's online service. If there is anything wrong it's the lack of games that utilitze the Wii's online functions. But like I said before, we shouldn't ignore the fact that there are a good number Wii games that have decent online features.

This month, Nintendo had the chance to change that. Two weeks ago, the company released Super Smash Bros. Brawl...PictureGame

Who cares? I have a xbox360 and a wii, and I still play my Wii more than my xbox360. Nintendo doesn't cover your Wii menu screen in advertisements like Xbox360 does. They are unavoidable on the Xbox360, unless you unplug your ethernet cord.PocketPlayer

What! People pay for Live and MS has the balls to spam them with ads?

I thought that would be something Sony did with their online service since it's free.

What's so terrible about the Wii's online service? The same things I do on the 360/PS3 online services are just about the same things I do on the Wii--online multiplayer! The Wii's library of games with online features may be lacking, but there are still quite a number of Wii games with online functionality to keep you busy.

Also, I'm not really a fan of downloadable content (i.e map packs,new characters, items, demosof every game, and new quests)as I hardly use such features on the 360/PS3 as well. Unless you're big on downloadable content (the content I mentioned above), then there realy isn't anything wrong with the Wii's online service. If there is anything wrong it's the lack of games that utilitze the Wii's online functions. But like I said before, we shouldn't ignore the fact that there are a good number Wii games that have decent online features.

Tri-Enforcer

-lag , especially in fighters like Super Smash Bros Brawl or Tatsunoko vs Capcom , lag in shooters and racing games is handled better so that one isnt a problem -friendcodes not being very handy vs. a simple click and add friend

-unability to track or message randomly met players in most games

-no patches to fix glitches/hacks/exploit allowing hackers/cheaters to ruin the online experience for people who play legit ( firmware updates never stop them from coming back ) like in Mario Kart Wii or Goldeneye 007

-Call of Duty Black Ops proving that the 3 things I mentioned above are possible on the Wii , proving that the Wii online service lacks those features by laziness , and not because the console isnt actually able to provide those features ( Bops Wii has text messages , ability to add random players from matches , use of Friend Codes being optional , patches and even DLC , the only other game on Wii that I had that had minor DLC and that I played was Animal Crossing )

-unability to report said hackers/cheaters

[QUOTE="Tri-Enforcer"]

What's so terrible about the Wii's online service? The same things I do on the 360/PS3 online services are just about the same things I do on the Wii--online multiplayer! The Wii's library of games with online features may be lacking, but there are still quite a number of Wii games with online functionality to keep you busy.

Also, I'm not really a fan of downloadable content (i.e map packs,new characters, items, demosof every game, and new quests)as I hardly use such features on the 360/PS3 as well. Unless you're big on downloadable content (the content I mentioned above), then there realy isn't anything wrong with the Wii's online service. If there is anything wrong it's the lack of games that utilitze the Wii's online functions. But like I said before, we shouldn't ignore the fact that there are a good number Wii games that have decent online features.

mastahwolf

-lag , especially in fighters like Super Smash Bros Brawl or Tatsunoko vs Capcom , lag in shooters and racing games is handled better so that one isnt a problem -friendcodes not being very handy vs. a simple click and add friend

-unability to track or message randomly met players in most games

-no patches to fix glitches/hacks/exploit allowing hackers/cheaters to ruin the online experience for people who play legit ( firmware updates never stop them from coming back ) like in Mario Kart Wii or Goldeneye 007

-Call of Duty Black Ops proving that the 3 things I mentioned above are possible on the Wii , proving that the Wii online service lacks those features by laziness , and not because the console isnt actually able to provide those features ( Bops Wii has text messages , ability to add random players from matches , use of Friend Codes being optional , patches and even DLC , the only other game on Wii that I had that had minor DLC and that I played was Animal Crossing )

-unability to report said hackers/cheaters

Well, like you said it's more so a problem with the developers than it is the Wii's limitations. Much of what you mentioned above can be done on the Wii. It's just that developers either don't have the skillset or budget to implements such features when it comes down to the Wii. I just disagree with the article put blame on the hardware for the Wii's online shortcomings. It's the developers who are disappointing.

[QUOTE="rcafan"][QUOTE="kayoticdreamz"]that artcile is 100% true. online on the wii is a joke. friend codes are among the worst gaming ideas ever. the online infractructure is piss poor. this makes given the choice for example buy COD on the wii or xbox? the xbox is the clear choice. and while the 3ds seems like it will have better online im not convinced nintendo has figured out you need a better online system. the bottom line is wii2 needs something similar to xbox live. its the gold standard. either copy it or beat it.DJ_Headshot

still saying wii is a joke... and your no better than him.

still saying wii is a joke... and your no better than him.rcafan

that artcile is 100% true. online on the wii is a joke.kayoticdreamz

Umm... old article is old? Seriously, people, this is a four-year old subject here we're talking about in regards to what the Wii offers online. If it hasn't changed now, what's the point in even griping about it? Deal with it and move on.

One point that I haven't seen brought up has nothing to do with how the Wii's online service is/has become, but exactly what games out there have even made an attempt to 'advance' the online experience. Just look at Nintendo's biggest games the past few years, and you should see where I'm getting at. Mario Sports Mix and Sin&Punishment 2 the only first party game that comes to mind that has even used online functionalities for the Wii; the latter of the two games only used it for leaderboards and neither title is what I would call a "major release" for the company. It's difficult to improve something when you're not focusing on that very thing, and that's pretty much been Nintendo with online 'gaming' on the Wii. To the big 'N''s credit, though, it never once said that it was trying to make an Xbox Live-type service for the Wii, so all of the comparisons being made between the two systems is just wishful thinking.

But yeah... we're living, the Wii is still living, and Nintendo's online setup for the Wii is still living. Nothing to see here. Let's move on...

I refuse to really even think of the Wii as an internet compatible system. Trying to get online with it is such a hassle and anyone else I know that has a wii doesnt even bother with getting online. It's a very party based or family based system, not really geared towards online play.Palladian

FALSE!!!! I've played plenty of Wii games online that connected online and played smoothly. I have played Monster Hunter Tri, Black Ops, Reflex and even Madden for several hours straight with no problems. If anything my rate of hiccups were comparable to that of 360/PS3 games. Brawl was indeed a disappointment online. I think with Brawl being sucha highly anticipated game,MANYpeople were exposed to it's online problems, which in turn made many people feel that the Wii just can'tperform well online.