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Comments: 76 +-   1 Millionth Unique User Logs on to Nintendo Wifi on Wednesday March 08 2006, @10:58AM

Posted by Zonk on Wednesday March 08 2006, @10:58AM
from the rawk-on dept.
nintendo
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MrJack5304 writes "According to Nintendo's official Press Release, the Nintendo Wifi service has logged it's 1 millionth user. In 5 short months Nintendo has reached 1 million users, and had 27 million total connections." From the release: "Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection lets Nintendo DS owners log on cost-free to compete or interact in a variety of games, from racing in Mario Kart DS to community-building in Animal Crossing: Wild World. The 1 millionth user was a player in Japan, who logged on to play Animal Crossing: Wild World." The release goes on to mention that Tetris DS and Metroid Hunters will also utilize the service.
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  • Future of online console gaming (Score:5, Interesting)

    by the computer guy nex (916959) on Wednesday March 08 2006, @11:02AM (#14875552)
    Which business model will win?

    Sony/MS use a subscription model. Nintendo is using free access.

    The free access is an extra bonus when buying a console, so Nintendo should sell extra consoles to make up the cost of free online gaming. Sony/MS would rather sell fewer consoles but use a subscription model.

    One way or another its nice to have choices.
  • Don't you mean 1 millionth pedophile? [/sarcasm]

      • Re:1 millionth (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 08 2006, @11:34AM (#14875927)
        Have you noticed that every single thing which comes along which might be considered fun by both teenage girls and adult men becomes a new tool for pedophiles in the eyes of the media?

        News Flash: Real pedophiles don't go after teen girls. They go after young children of both genders. When a 26 year-old male finds himself attracted to a 17 year-old girl, that's not a pedophile. That's an ordinary heterosexual male, whose biological impulse runs afoul of our provincial age-of-consent laws. If he acts on that impulse, he's a bit of a dweeb, but hardly what you would call a "predator."

        Apparently, it's okay for corporate America to use 15-year old models to sell issues of Maxim, but completely taboo for anybody to admit out loud that youth is attractive.

        Raise your daughters to understand that adult losers who hit on teens are both too old for them, and kind of pathetic. That's the only defense that's going to matter when she's chatting in the SIMS Online (or whatever) and some dork who can't find a date his own age is trying to make time with her.

        Also, the time to start watching out for sexual predators is not when your little angel starts dating, wearing make-up, and bugging you to let her get her nose pierced. It's when she's 5. Oh, and statistically, that predator you need to watch out for is probably a family member, teacher, or member of the clergy. Odds are, there are no strangers lurking in your bushes.
      • If I may repeat an oft-heard phrase, you must be new here.

        You see, on Slashdot, criticising Nintendo in any way, shape or form is like having a dig at Linux. It's just not the done thing, old chap. Humorous or sarcastic intent is irrelevant as far as the gamers on here are concerned. There are legions of mod-point owners who are convinced that Nintendo is pure and holy, each unaware of the irony involved with saying 'Nintendo always innovates' while in the same sentence saying that they are looking forwa

        • Re:1 millionth (Score:5, Insightful)

          by dogbowl (75870) on Wednesday March 08 2006, @11:56AM (#14876162) Homepage
          If you can't see the difference between the Mario platformers or the Zelda titles and if you can't recognize the accolades that each has received, thats not the fault of the mods
          • I didn't say that they were bad games or that there was no difference between them. I'm not criticising Nintendo here, just the rabid zealots that seem to appear on Slashdot in far higher numbers than Playstation and Xbox fanboys. It's more than obvious than Slashdot has a large pro-Nintendo slant, I was just pointing that out in a light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek manner. I've got no agenda.

            Infact, out of the 'next gen' consoles, the Revolution, and thus Nintendo, seems almost certain at getting my money.
            • I'm gonna go out on a limb, here, but I really wonder what the youth whose first console was the PSX will think about sony fifteen years after crash bandicoot, for example.

              Now, Mario, that's staying power. Because yeah, he was a pretty cool guy to hang out with during the eighties.

        • Re:1 millionth (Score:5, Insightful)

          by BTWR (540147) <americangibor3NO@SPAMyahoo.com> on Wednesday March 08 2006, @12:25PM (#14876457) Homepage Journal
          the irony involved with saying 'Nintendo always innovates' while in the same sentence saying that they are looking forward to the next Mario platformer, the next Mario Kart, the next Zelda, the next Metroid, the next Super Smash Brothers, etc.

          (Nearly) each Nintendo sequel is innovative (Metroid Prime, Mario 64, etc), even though it shares a name with it's predecessor. That's like saying The Godfather, Part II is not one of the most innovative movies ever, and basing that argument soley on the fact that it shares the title "Godfather" with the first movie released 2 years earlier...

          • It all depends on what you define as 'innovative'. To me, Mario 64 isn't innovative at all. It adds a third dimension, which was following the industry. It added new hats; which is a common practice in sequels (Adding new items). It focused on the Stars, which is a gameplay mechanic. Other than that, it's pretty much the same as the old games. Jump on heads and jump around. Not very innovative.

            I liked Metroid Prime. Never played the original, so I can't comment on that.

            And about Super Smash Brothers Melee:
            • >>It all depends on what you define as 'innovative'. To me, Mario 64 isn't innovative at all.

              If Mario64 was not innovating to you, perhaps you didn't play it until much after its release. Before Mario64, most 3D games were having a very hard time correctly incorporating the 3D aspect of the game. Some of the first few games released for the Nintendo 64 made many grave mistakes. Many of them made jumping from one area to another too difficult while others totally ignored the added dimension provided

  • And his prize? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by gEvil (beta) (945888) on Wednesday March 08 2006, @11:05AM (#14875599)
    And for being the 1 millionth user he gets?!? An anonymous mention in a press release... :-(
    • i thought the same thing. i mean for all the money that nintendo makes, youd think he could at least get a year of WiFi service free... oh wait!

    • Re:And his prize? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by rev063 (591509) on Wednesday March 08 2006, @12:14PM (#14876345) Homepage
      It's unlikely he can be identified: there's no formal registration process with Nintendo's WiFi service like there is with Xbox Live, for example. I guess the system can identify both the DS and the game card uniquely, but unless this guy registered his purchases with Nintendo, there's no way they can know who he is.

  • Interesting (Score:5, Informative)

    by voice_of_all_reason (926702) on Wednesday March 08 2006, @11:08AM (#14875629)
    So that's why all nintendo products have a hole in the back of the box for the cashier to scan each unique ID at purchase.

    //Did you guys also have to go in the back room and give a dna sample for your DS? 'Cause that wasn't really too pleasant at all...
    • 'Cause that wasn't really too pleasant at all...

      That would depend on the nature of the sample and how is was obtained and how helpful the nurse was. fap fap fap.

    • Re:Interesting (Score:5, Insightful)

      by littleghoti (637230) on Wednesday March 08 2006, @11:56AM (#14876168) Journal
      Or maybe they've just been keeping records of the MAC addresses connected to their servers?
    • No, that's so the cashier system can add the correct amount to your bill. You might be surprised to learn that most other products use bar codes, too.
    • No, the reason why they scan that extra barcode is so that they can track the specific piece of hardware they sell to you. This is more to combat different types of fraud or (for lack of a better term) creative deal hunting.

      Example 1: You buy a product and 6 months later it breaks. You buy a new one and return the old one in the new box with the new receipt. If they've scanned the hardware ID and tied it to the receipt, they can catch this.

      Example 2: You buy a product, and sometime after your price match pe
      • I thought the price match time span always lasted as long as the product return time span. Because you could just return it and buy it somewhere else.

      • Re:Interesting (Score:5, Informative)

        by tlhIngan (30335) <slashdot@ w o rf.net> on Wednesday March 08 2006, @04:56PM (#14878877)
        Actually, there's another reason all consoles have to have the serial number scanned - it's the warranty registration! That serial number goes to Nintendo (or Microsoft, or Sony), and it activates the warranty from the time it was scanned. If you later need service, all you have to do is call them up, give them the serial number, and they'll verify immediately if it needs service.

        If they don't have the registration on file, then they'll ask for you to include your sales receipt to qualify warranty (and they'll register the remaining period in their systems).

        My DS had a dud pixel, and the store I got it from didn't register it, so Nintendo took the original receipt, then created an extension on the replacement unit to the full year from the date I brought it in (not that it extended it much - just a week and a half).

  • Nintendo WiFi is nice, but... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by dividedsky319 (907852) on Wednesday March 08 2006, @11:08AM (#14875632) Homepage
    The WiFi service for the DS is nice, however... it could be implemented a little better.

    My problem with Mario Kart DS is that there's no ranking/ladder type system... so a first time player can be pitted against someone with 1000 wins and 3 losses. Not to mention the fact that I've had some of these people quit right before they were about to lose. (Which, I think, makes it so a loss isn't added to their record... which if true, is something else that should be changed)

    And my problem with Animal Crossing is that there's no "community" place where you can randomly visit someone else's town... you have to manually put someone else's code in.

    The hardware is in place, I just wish they'd develop the online community a little better.

    • Re:Nintendo WiFi is nice, but... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Lave (958216) on Wednesday March 08 2006, @11:24AM (#14875787)

      >My problem with Mario Kart DS is that there's no ranking/ladder type system... so a first time player can be pitted against someone with 1000 wins and 3 losses.

      Except for the "Rivals" match which searches for people with similar win/loss records.

    • And my problem with Animal Crossing is that there's no "community" place where you can randomly visit someone else's town... you have to manually put someone else's code in.

      That would seem to be design intent. If there were such a space, then Nintendo would have to police it. Communities do exist (eg. see gamefaqs message boards). Having random vistors would be very annoying - there are lots or idiots in the world who will trash your town.

      A matching service would be nice - perhaps we'll see it in a seque
      • there are lots or idiots in the world who will trash your town.

        Exactly. I've had an idoit come in and then start chopping down trees and picking up tiles as soon as they leave my sight. A friend of mine had a semi-valuable item stolen because he set it down outside his house when he was offline, then forgot about it when he opened up his town.

        Even beside malicous intent, there is unintentional carelessness. In Animal Crossing, you can cross polinate flowers and come up with special hybrids. They can be very
        • Maybe they should make it so that you can't do permanent damage. No cutting trees, No taking items, that sort of thing. Maybe have an option so that people can come to your town, but they can't affect anything.
          • There are other things people can do too. For instance, if you sit on a chair and they stand in front of the chair, you are blocked in. While you are sitting down, you can save (the button perform other functions). Your choice is either to wait it out or to just power off and lose any progress since your last save. Obviously the solution there is to make sure you have a way to save when you sit down, but I'm not sure the designers thought of that potential problem.

            The other problem is exploiting bugs in the

    • Re:Nintendo WiFi is nice, but... (Score:5, Funny)

      by voice_of_all_reason (926702) on Wednesday March 08 2006, @11:26AM (#14875811)
      so a first time player can be pitted against someone with 1000 wins and 3 losses

      Stick and move, Little Mac! Stick and move!
    • And my problem with Animal Crossing is that there's no "community" place where you can randomly visit someone else's town... you have to manually put someone else's code in.

      This is entirely intentional, from what I understand. Nintendo feels that Animal Crossing is a game that you should play with people you know somewhat well in real life, since you're letting them into your town where they can perform potentially damaging actions. It also fits more with their idea of the game - a neighborly, small-villa
  • They should atleast pay off the mortgage on his house...

  • He should be visited by Reggie AND Miyamoto. The pure level of awesomeness radiating during such a meeting would cause the Earth to explode, leaving naught but those two titans to craft us worlds anew...

    I believe Nintendo has already thought of such conclusions, hence no prize.

  • ... considering as far as I know, Mario Kart and Animal Crossing are the only two games to utilize this service stateside. I may be very wrong, however. I just hadn't been keeping up on DS stuff.
    • There's also a Tony Hawk game, the upcoming Metroid FPS (remember that one that shipped as a demo with every DS?) and Tetris DS. Goooooo Tetris!
    • I believe this is worldwide, as the article mentions that the 1.000.000th user was in japan.

      Also, Tony Hawk DS uses the wifi online thingy.
      • Don't want to flame you, but just look a little closer at my original post.


        "considering as far as I know, Mario Kart and Animal Crossing are the only two games to utilize this service stateside"

        I suppose I could have said in the US, but since, general, we get games after Japan and the rest of the world next, it's pretty synonomous.
        But, no, I didn't know about Tony Hawk.

  • Explain to me... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by PFI_Optix (936301) on Wednesday March 08 2006, @11:54AM (#14876149) Journal
    how is this special?

    I mean, it's been more than ten years since free online gaming was viable...Quake, for example.

    XBOX offers a centralized system for all games to use, and charges a subscription fee...like Steam on steroids. DS appears to use a more game-specific system, more like Battle.net or Half-Life's pre-Steam system. Both are just a result of gradual improvements upon systems used in gaming for years.

    (note: I say "appears" because I do not own and do not intend to buy a DS...I am working off what information is readily available on nintendowifi.com)

    • Re:Explain to me... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by BinaryOpty (736955) on Wednesday March 08 2006, @12:03PM (#14876246)
      This is special because Nintendo's online service reached 1 million in 4 months. Microsoft's took 2 years.
      • Nintendo has less competition and a much more loyal user base than Microsoft, so I don't see why anyone should find this surprising.

        PDAs have had wireless for years; a comparably-sized handheld console with it was inevitable. The question is, how good is the service? I talked to a friend who has one this afternoon, he said he hasn't really gotten anything out of the wireless service because it's too hard to find and play against friends.
        • Nintendo has less competition... than Microsoft

          Given that Nintendo is directly competing with Microsoft in the console arena, and in the handheld arena the PSP put up some strong competition, all I can assume is that you're trolling.

  • nintendo could get more slashdotters (Score:3, Informative)

    by honold (152273) on Wednesday March 08 2006, @12:20PM (#14876412)
    if they would support wpa on the ^$@#&*$^@# thing

    >:(
    • Or even more important than WPA, more complete support for wireless routers. My router is on the list as one not officially supported. I found that if I reboot the router every time just before I attempt to connect, I can get on no problem. However, if I don't reboot it I only get a connection part of the time. There are quite a few routers that have this problem, or that don't work at all under any circumstances. That is really my only disappointment with the DS.
      • Something I discovered recently is that Apple's Airport Express [apple.com] solves this problem for me. I have an Airport Express I use for business trips -- I can plug it into the fixed ethernet in the room and then have wifi in my hotel room. Anyway, I just realised I can use this when I'm travelling to play Mario Kart DS online, just by connecting to the access point created by the Airport Express. I have a wireless router that I had to manually downgrade to 2Mbps transfer rate before I could take my DS online, w
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