Will Nintendo ever take ONline gaming seriously?

I love Brawl when it works, I love Kart all the time online. Strikers was amusing before glitchers ruined it, and theres a trend of good Nintendo online games being ruined by cheaters (MK DS, MPH)

I'm wondering, do you guys ever think Nintendo will take online gaming as serious as other industry developers? The one's that excel at online gaming, will Nintendo Online gaming ever belong in the same breath as them?

I dunno, i honestly think if Nintendo thought it was a bad enough problem they'd have fixed it by now. They had bad feedback about FCs, no Voice Chat, and poor matchmaking, and poor online altogether since WFC launched in 2005/2006, and haven't seemed intent to better anything.

We can't even get downloadable patches for the most part, due to storage issues. An update could fix Brawl's lag problems if they aren't connection related, perhaps it could lessen the chances of lag happening, but we have no chances of updates really

and Nintendo continues to not put online multiplayer in games that could use it, Punch Out has a mediocre offline multiplayer mode from what i hear but why couldn't it be online? Same for Mario Sluggers, Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort.

Will they ever take Online gaming more seriously? do they even have to? they're getting along fine so far

3rd party is targeting casual crowd and besides just because it doesnt have blood and guts doesnt mean its not hardcore

The wii isn't set up to handle serious online gaming like you see on the 360 and PS3. I certainly hope nintendo makes more of a effort next gen.

i like things the way they are... not saying that it couldn't be better, but it suits my online needs as it is.

I think Nintendo will design a better online model for their next console, but I don't expect that to come out for quite a few years yet. It will probably be early 2011 when we hear about the new consoles, and late 2011 or sometime in 2012 when they see release. Either way, most of us agree that this generation of consoles has more room to grow, and it is too early to go throwing the towel in just yet.

I do think that developers can do better with what we have now though. Brawl, as we know, was a rushed game - it was literally thrust onto the lead director without him having any prior knowledge that he would be making it, from the company he had just parted ways with to do freelance work. And for all the obstacles the massive team had to work through, I still think the game turned out pretty good. Mario Kart Wii proved that the Wii can have pretty good online, and now we have some other games coming out of the woodwork that utilize it, but still not enoughthird-party devshave really taken advantage of it - a reoccuring problem for Nintendo.

yea really online is fine but they need to say bye bye to friend codes then ill be happy

Not this gen, thats for sure.

HOPEFULLY next gen they put more emphasis on online play..

You know, I still think that as far asdownloadable content goes, Nintendo does have Microsoft and Sony beat right now. A massive library of virtual console games being constantly updated, we have a bunch of Wiiware games that are starting to look more and more promising, and really while we might not have the best online gaming experience, I think this more than makes up for it. I do think, though, that Nintendo could release a little more every week, but I guess it's forgiveable since I already have a great collection of games on my SD card.

i like things the way they are... not saying that it couldn't be better, but it suits my online needs as it is.

dan_the_menace

You're the target Nintendo has set out for. the 1 in 10,000 people that believe Nintendo is just right the way it is. Unfortunately for those who have nothing better to do than play video games, they believe Nintendo Wii Online is an embarassment. Bad Matchmaking, no VoiceChat, Friend Codes (like..wtf?), Lag lag and more lag, 8 player MAX rooms....Just bad.

[QUOTE="dan_the_menace"]

i like things the way they are... not saying that it couldn't be better, but it suits my online needs as it is.

Spanishflea12

You're the target Nintendo has set out for. the 1 in 10,000 people that believe Nintendo is just right the way it is. Unfortunately for those who have nothing better to do than play video games, they believe Nintendo Wii Online is an embarassment. Bad Matchmaking, no VoiceChat, Friend Codes (like..wtf?), Lag lag and more lag, 8 player MAX rooms....Just bad.

EDIT: So what I am getting at it...with Nintendo, I have all the requirements. If something is slow or doesnt work, that is only because of the game itself, not my connection, so I can play Mario Kart just fine without worry.

Well, since they are targetting the casual crowd, I can't see a more in depth online experience being one of their priorities. Though it would be nice, and could possible happen, I doubt that we will see anything much more advanced than Nintendo's current online system. Kcdragon8116

Couldn't agree more. As long as the target is the casual crowd, online will be lost in the shuffle.

By the time they take it seriously, they will be one step behind...............again.

If they remain focused on the casual gamer then online will never be a priority, but next gen i bet they will have a few games that show some great online features, but i doubt they will ever expand on it and catch up to the other consoles.

They will if they need to be competitive. They are doing great without focusing on it right now, so I don't expect them to change anything soon.thriteenthmonke

Hit the nail right in the head.

Nintendo didn't care about online with Gamecube. Nintendo barely cares about online with the Wii. I think it will take them another 10-15 years before they get with the times.

It's not that bad at the moment but it could be better. I'm hoping next gen Nintendo's console will be powerful enough to handle DLC in games aside from music games, more people online (Like 8 vs 8 in World at War instead of 4 vs 4) and less lag (Brawl).

Look out for what you wish for - a 'better' online capability is going to cost YOU the gamer. No more free online services etc. so_hai

You get what you pay for. We don't pay anything so we have crap, I would gladly shell out for a good online experience.. why not? It dramatically increases the playability of my games so I don't have to go spend $50 bucks on a new one.

The only problem with Nintendo charging for an online service is that many people are already shelling out $50 a year for another online service. Now let's say that the other company starts charging $50 a year as well and that you have all 3 consoles and want to play all 3 online. That paltry $50 a year you are paying turns into $150 and isn't looking so paltry any longer when you consider that extra $100 could buy you another 2 games.

The only problem with Nintendo charging for an online service is that many people are already shelling out $50 a year for another online service. Now let's say that the other company starts charging $50 a year as well and that you have all 3 consoles and want to play all 3 online. That paltry $50 a year you are paying turns into $150 and isn't looking so paltry any longer when you consider that extra $100 could buy you another 2 games.

-John_Connor-

Somehow I doubt Nintendo/Microsoft/Sony are going to care one bit if they cut into the others profits a bit. They are businesses.. profit > you.

Who is to say they would have to charge the Microsoft rate anyways? They don't have to provide movie streaming, online rentals, etc that would warrant a higher price.. Nintendo is about games. 5-10 bucks a month sounds more than reasonable for stable, lag-free game servers.

[QUOTE="-John_Connor-"]

The only problem with Nintendo charging for an online service is that many people are already shelling out $50 a year for another online service. Now let's say that the other company starts charging $50 a year as well and that you have all 3 consoles and want to play all 3 online. That paltry $50 a year you are paying turns into $150 and isn't looking so paltry any longer when you consider that extra $100 could buy you another 2 games.

TaMuK711

Somehow I doubt Nintendo/Microsoft/Sony are going to care one bit if they cut into the others profits a bit. They are businesses.. profit > you.

Who is to say they would have to charge the Microsoft rate anyways? They don't have to provide movie streaming, online rentals, etc that would warrant a higher price.. Nintendo is about games. 5-10 bucks a month sounds more than reasonable for stable, lag-free game servers.

Right, but what about people who would be paying for 3 services? While I understand that corporations only care about profit and not their customers, that very corporate mentality eventually leads to fewer and fewer customers until the company goes bankrupt or has to change their business model. Examples in electronics would be Sega and Circuit City.10 years from now you might be able to replace those names with Nintendo and Best Buy. Who would have guessed 10 years ago that Sega would be out of the hardware business and Circuit City would just be out of business period? No one.

I think Nintendo sees its online approach the same way that it sees its gaming direction in general, and that happens to be in a direction that's different from its 'competitors' and something that's aimed for a different crowd. I believed that you answered your own question when you said that Nintendo doesn't seem that interested in changing what its online service is, for better or worse, which suggests that the company's content on where it is at the moment. I believe I've said it before, but I think Nintendo is more interested in the other avenues of the online world at the moment, such as being able to provide new content, such as channels and games, than they are with the actual online multiplayer side of things that most online gamers have become accustomed to. From Nintendo's perspective, I think they look at online extremely seriously. It's just not reflecting in the way most would want it to, though. :P

I believe that the online will be stellar on Nintendo's next console. The Wii is just a way for Nintendo to broaden its horizons.

Nintendo has constantly failed to captilize on the online market. Their online interace is probably the worse aspect and biggest downfall of the Wii. If they ever wake up and start implementing an online system that does not make you jump through hoops to play with friends and enter a community then we will see major improvements.

By the time they take it seriously, they will be one step behind...............again.

Hungry_Jello

That is so sad.

I love Brawl when it works, I love Kart all the time online. Strikers was amusing before glitchers ruined it, and theres a trend of good Nintendo online games being ruined by cheaters (MK DS, MPH)

I'm wondering, do you guys ever think Nintendo will take online gaming as serious as other industry developers? The one's that excel at online gaming, will Nintendo Online gaming ever belong in the same breath as them?

I dunno, i honestly think if Nintendo thought it was a bad enough problem they'd have fixed it by now. They had bad feedback about FCs, no Voice Chat, and poor matchmaking, and poor online altogether since WFC launched in 2005/2006, and haven't seemed intent to better anything.

We can't even get downloadable patches for the most part, due to storage issues. An update could fix Brawl's lag problems if they aren't connection related, perhaps it could lessen the chances of lag happening, but we have no chances of updates really

and Nintendo continues to not put online multiplayer in games that could use it, Punch Out has a mediocre offline multiplayer mode from what i hear but why couldn't it be online? Same for Mario Sluggers, Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort.

Will they ever take Online gaming more seriously? do they even have to? they're getting along fine so far

darth-pyschosis

Is online really THAT important??

Is online really THAT important??

JuarN18

Nobody can take it seriously with hackers online.

Nobody can take it seriously with hackers online.

sman3579

I think they will try and improve it for games like Super Smash Bros Brawl. but they don't need online as a big part of their console. Nintendo have always done thing their own way and we don't need another console using a lot of resources for online. Nintendo love to innovate, even though motion sensing is a failure if you ask me, (the Wii-Motion Plus could fix that) and they wouldn't jump on that bandwagon anytime soon. Oh, and I consider the Virtual Console to be a million times better than the XBLA or PSN store.

Not this gen, but if Nintendo takes the fanbase feedback seriously, they're going to have a better online service next gen, probably.

Not this gen, but if Nintendo takes the fanbase feedback seriously, they're going to have a better online service next gen, probably.

Nintendo_Fan128