Wii Games Go Online, Lose Happy Clouds

Ars Technica has the news of some comments made by Reggie Fils-Aime on the SpikeTV show GameHead about Wii's online multiplayer future. Essentially, there aren't any games in the near future to look forward to, online. The Japanese launch saw the inclusion of Pokemon Battle Revolution, a with a solid online mode. The first batch of online games is slated for sometime around March or April. From the article: "Many games still in development for the Wii are designed around playing with people who are physically present: a recent preview of a new anime-themed golf game for the Wii on Electric Playground revealed that the developers had not included online multiplayer modes. Fils-Aime also indicated that new multiplayer channels were on their way for the Wii's online service, but declined to give any details about what new features might be enabled on them." In somewhat related news, it seems that the Bob Ross game may not end up happening after all. The loss of happy little clouds will be felt by every Wii owner.

Online Wii killer app...

[Pojut]

You heard me say it here and now folks. If the new Smash Brothers is online-capable, and they do it right...holy shit.

Re:And yet...

[j00r0m4nc3r]

Yeah I don't mind waiting for online games. I honestly don't even care about that. I have my PC for good online gaming anyway....

Re:Online Wii killer app...

[Thansal]

Yup, way back when they actualy said that SB:B would be out, online, onrelease. I don't mind the delay, I just want them to get it right.

Re:Online Wii killer app...

[seebs]

I can't imagine a playable online version of Smash Brothers; I don't have good enough latency to play it from anywhere to anywhere else. Way too much immediate response involved.

Re:Well it's not online but...

[Phisbut]

Online is good and all but with out a solid online platform having to share friends codes is more than a little annoying. Especially if we are forced to both be on at the same time.

How do you expect to play online with your friends if you are not all online at the same time? Does Xbox Live somehow manage to let you play online with people that are offline?!?

Re:Online Wii killer app...

[AuMatar]

THe complete opposite- voice is ok when with your guild, but with random players? Totally ruins the experience. I really don't want to hear random 13 year olds whining when I kick their ass, or dragging when they kick mine. Or random chatter about their lives that I quite honestly don't give a damn about.

Re:Bob Ross Would Be the Killer App on Wii

[Total_Wimp]

I got a chance to play with a friend's Wii. I was very impressed with the smoothness of the Wiimote, finding it much more precise and easy to use than my Gyrations mouse.

That said, my guess would be that ergonomics would be an issue. The way you hold a Wiimote doesn't seem very similar to me to the way you'd hold a paint brush. Even the size of the thing would be an issue. It's not huge, but it's certainly no paint brush.

Maybe I'm missing something here, but I'd be suprised if Wii painting ever caught on.

TW

I don't think the Wii NEEDS online. At all.

[HeavenlyBankAcct]

The Wii seems to me like it's designed to be a social device, the type of system you play with your family and friends. Online gaming is only 'social' at its lowest common denominator. I, for one, don't give much of a shit whether the Wii EVER "gets online right." In my mind, they've already gotten multi-player right by focusing on solid, fun, and communal play when two people are in the same room.

I play MMO's and I dig the pervasive online nature of the beast, but more than that, I love playing the Wii with my real life friends -- I, for one, have no desire to play Wii Tennis with STABZUFACE24 from Wisconsin. Am I alone here? I'm sure there's got to be more gamers than me out there who really don't care about online multi-player whatsoever, when half the fun of it is you and your buddies laughing at each other making asses out of yourselves.