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GameSpy: Wii friend codes to be title specific photo
This seals the deal -- I'm not going to play Pokemon Battle Revolution online. Well, this and the fact that I'm not 9-years-old, of course.

Hot on the heels of the recent GameSpy/Nintendo love-in comes some not-so-shocking, yet depressing news. In a recent interview with Wii: Definitive Speculation, GameSpy (who will providing the tools for Nintendo and third-parties to take their games online) dropped the bomb:

Falafelkid: Just one last question to make absolutely sure I have got this right, please. If I have a friend roster in one game, that roster will not be available to me in any other game. I have to build up an entirely new list for each title, right?

GameSpy: The answer to your question is yes, for the Wii friend lists are game specific.


Forget for a second that the person doing the interview is named "Falafelkid" (I tried to convince you guys my last name was actually "Brutal" for awhile) and let the answer sink in. That's right -- friend codes for every single online multi-player game on the Wii! Oh joy!

Well damn it, Nintendo. If this is actually the case, my aspirations of playing any Wii games online are dead to me. Nintendo won't even let their own forum users share friend codes via private messages, for God's sake.

You know, I'm really glad that I was able to use my system code to share my Chuck Norris Mii with my buddies; but I guess it would have been too much to ask to make the system specific code useful for something that pertains to actual gaming.


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52 comments | showing # 1 to 50

BahamutZero's Avatar
BahamutZero at 03/14/2007 19:32
that's brutal, brutal.
BahamutZero's Avatar
BahamutZero at 03/14/2007 19:33
anyway, back to GoW 2. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
broham's Avatar
broham at 03/14/2007 19:45
But you gots to thinks of the childrens.....the oh so lovely children......
Hipple's Avatar
Hipple at 03/14/2007 19:45
How can they think this is a good system? What is wrong with Nintendo?

This won't affect my Wii plans too much, since the only Wii game I hope to play online is SSBB. Dear god, it better be online.
lowercaseluke's Avatar
lowercaseluke at 03/14/2007 19:50
Screw this, I'm off to buy a PS3
SpiderChrist's Avatar
SpiderChrist at 03/14/2007 19:50
if this game was a man, it'd be having sex with another man(s)
piestuff's Avatar
piestuff at 03/14/2007 19:55
Well someone finally got "Pokemans" right this time.
DJDuffy 's Avatar
DJDuffy at 03/14/2007 19:58
it sort of reminds me of ICQ back in the day...and I can't remember my ICQ number. Numbers are not very memorable.
fromagex's Avatar
fromagex at 03/14/2007 19:59
jesus, thats going to be ridiculous

yep, back to GoWII
Nick Chester's Avatar
Nick Chester at 03/14/2007 20:01
DTOID...! YOU CONSPIRE AGAINST ME!?
Milofo's Avatar
Milofo at 03/14/2007 20:06
Nintendo.... why? WHY?!!!!
subnet6's Avatar
subnet6 at 03/14/2007 20:08
I recall they disclosed this quite some time ago that PBR would be using game specific codes because it was being developing fully in the DS infrastructure but that future games might not. It sounds like this news not only confirms what we new about Battle Revolution but expands to say that ALL games will do this? Fuck. I hope I"m misinterpreting this. Friends codes are the wart on Nintendo this gen for sure.
RobTurboGA's Avatar
RobTurboGA at 03/14/2007 20:10
Oh please no... say it ain't so...
Topher Cantler's Avatar
Topher Cantler at 03/14/2007 20:10
Anybody wanna buy a Wii?
Chad Concelmo's Avatar
Chad Concelmo at 03/14/2007 20:36
In honer of this news, I just sent an angry letter to Nintendo via Pony Express.
Chad Concelmo's Avatar
Chad Concelmo at 03/14/2007 20:36
honer = honor.
See what you are doing to me Nintendo (waving fist in the air)!
Howard Moon's Avatar
Howard Moon at 03/14/2007 20:37
Why even bother now... If anything proves that Nintendo can't evolve with their audience this is it! I mean we all have clearly been pleading with the big N to avoid this at all cost.
Is this a result of not caring, caring too much (about the kids they have to parent because their actual guardians won't!), or they just can't do it. Having teamed with gamespy again I am thinking they just can't handle this online interweb thing the kids are all into these day...ha funny I guess they are trying to apeal to older generations, friend codes remind me of ye'olde telegraph! WTF!!! Don't hold your breath smash bros. fans! (meaning a year is a long time to wait and for what...this shit!)

also quick question... will this deter devs from using the Wii online function?

god damn!
parrothead's Avatar
parrothead at 03/14/2007 21:09
Well it is a good thing I don't play games online. I was looking forward to starting to play some we games online....I guess I will just have to go back to voting on stupid questions on the Everyone Votes Channel, because that is loads of fun...not!
vgfreak30's Avatar
vgfreak30 at 03/14/2007 21:29
this pisses me off, maybe they will make this a seamless integration into the system. Like once you have a friend code it is saved into the system so it would automatically load. Please let this be true.
Bard's Avatar
Bard at 03/14/2007 21:49
I...I...AAAAUUUUGH.

Nintendo is supposed to be about innovation and, with the Wii, simplicity and fun. How in the flying <i>fuck</i> is a 16 digit code for every person you'd like to play with for disc in your library anything but unnecessarily complicated? Are we gonna go back to entering secret codes to save our progress in games, too?
Rockvillian's Avatar
Rockvillian at 03/14/2007 21:50
Namelessted's Avatar
Namelessted at 03/14/2007 21:55
Nintendo fails. I won't be playing the wii online anytime
Bard's Avatar
Bard at 03/14/2007 21:55
Oh. So that's BBCode.
subnet6's Avatar
subnet6 at 03/14/2007 22:09
Ok, so I just read this somewhere else and I realized that this news doesn't mention friends CODES at all. Instead it says you'll have unique LISTS of friends for each game, which I would actually prefer. If I play Madden with someone, I don't necessarily want him on my Mario Kart friends list. Hopefully there won't be different friend codes for each game, just unique friends rosters based on game.
Geoff's Avatar
Geoff at 03/14/2007 23:06
Then again, we usually play different games with friends.
Rockvillian's Avatar
Rockvillian at 03/14/2007 23:12
subnet, I hope you're right... but I'm still going to bed face down cursing into my pillow, just for safe measure.
ChrisFurniss's Avatar
ChrisFurniss at 03/14/2007 23:27
Oh, nintendo. Just open your damn eyes and figure out that PEOPLE DONT WANT THIS.
mdvalenz's Avatar
mdvalenz at 03/14/2007 23:30
As much as I hope subnet is right, I doubt its the case. When has Nintendo ever handled online play correctly.
realyst's Avatar
realyst at 03/15/2007 00:19
.
.
.
.
goddammit...
Rezbit's Avatar
Rezbit at 03/15/2007 01:02
-1 Wii sale.

PS LMAO@image.
Dexter345's Avatar
Dexter345 at 03/15/2007 01:16
Dear everybody: you will be able to play online without using Friend Codes, just like with the DS. It's only if you want to play with people you know that you have to use Nintendo's tools of the devil.

That said, Nintendo needs to get their stuff together and scrap the whole Friend Code thing... It was the dumbest thing they've ever come up with, and it doesn't even achieve what it's said to do.
zaqu's Avatar
zaqu at 03/15/2007 02:30
oh subnet i hope you are right because that would actually be be better to see your friends who own the game
Darkhalf's Avatar
Darkhalf at 03/15/2007 02:45
Gratz Ninty, you screwed it again. Thousand of users screaming against you because of the shitty system in DS and you make it again... Time for giving a try to the online system on PS3 (when it's released in Europe).
Burnt Meatloaf's Avatar
Burnt Meatloaf at 03/15/2007 03:05
Why even bother if you're not going to do it right?

That seems to apply to a lot of things about the Wii.
kevinski's Avatar
kevinski at 03/15/2007 03:17
Perhaps the most amusing aspect of friend codes is how people (especially children) post them on message boards without thinking twice about it. So much for security.
Snaileb 's Avatar
Snaileb at 03/15/2007 06:59
I just gotta say that photo is fucking awesome.
bhive01's Avatar
bhive01 at 03/15/2007 07:56
I'd prefer a list of my favorite gamers telling me what they're playing so I can invite them to another game or join in what they are playing. I'd prefer to type in their name once and invite them to be my friend to which they can accept or deny. I'd prefer if my friends names were not 16 random digits that I can't memorize from my computer to my living room.

Obviously Nintendo isn't listening to Dtoid and other places on teh internets, otherwise they would have fixed it. If anything, the friends list is hidden away in that little messaging box in the lower corner and they don't expect/want people to actually use it.

This is really frustrating to me. We see how good Live is, why can't we have WiiLive? Why? WHY???? (I feel like I'm pouting damnit!)
Snaileb 's Avatar
Snaileb at 03/15/2007 07:58
We all are bhive....

I hate my Wii (save smash), and miss my 360.
Jambo's Avatar
Jambo at 03/15/2007 08:33
meh hehehe Im so glad I sold my wii...*back to gears of war*
Mxyzptlk's Avatar
Mxyzptlk at 03/15/2007 09:14
None of my friends are ever online the same time as me anyway. I always end up playing Mario Kart DS with 9 year old cyborgs from Japan in the middle of the night. At least I can't hear them when they call me racial slurs.

Nintendo takes one step forward with online, and two steps back with friend codes. Meh.
Campbell's Avatar
Campbell at 03/15/2007 09:17
Why is this an issue?

PetiePalo's Avatar
PetiePalo at 03/15/2007 09:19
Why are they holding onto this so tight? Can't you decide whether your Wii should be Friend-Code or Gamertag set up? Make it part of parental controls. Hell a 7 year old kid could enter in a random Wii Friend Code and still get a child molester.
masonexcell's Avatar
masonexcell at 03/15/2007 09:41
hey i may not be able to play online games without a "protective friend code" but at least i can still look at porn reletivley easy wiht my Wii Internet Browser. Nintendo really had this whole protect the kids thing in mind hardcore when they decided to implement FC's but forgot all about the internet they provided. That of which is the danger not playing games online. I was just about to point out how they treat FC trading on their offical site. WTF NINTENDO!!!!!!!
yamabushi's Avatar
yamabushi at 03/15/2007 10:57
Nintendo: Hating thier customers since 1996
Jaded Alyx's Avatar
Jaded Alyx at 03/15/2007 13:37
This mentions NOTHING about friend codes whatsoever.
Nickle's Avatar
Nickle at 03/15/2007 15:32
Yep, for one, the word "Code" wasn't used once. Also, this was an interview with a PR rep for Gamefly. Those who follow the news should know that PR reps have no idea what they're talking about (see also: Sony). That being said, I wouldn't put it past Nintendo to use the same system as the DS. They're that stubborn about online play.

Of course, I have friends in real life, so online play has never been a selling point for me. If I wanted to be yelled at by a 12 year old, I would've been a teacher.
Rosseh's Avatar
Rosseh at 03/15/2007 19:46
I don't really trust some random blog.
Also if they did this it could only be for pokemon because of the DS system otherwise what's the point in the wii codes?
If it's true however, they're idiots.
Foxtoid's Avatar
Foxtoid at 03/15/2007 22:40
Are you guys crazy? Nintendo has not gone FAR ENOUGH to ensure my safety. Why haven't they set it up so friend codes are on a rolling frequency so that they are constantly changing. It's the only SAFE way.

Yeah. Not serious. Friend codes, no biggie. A new friend code every game. Very disappointing.
Mxyzptlk's Avatar
Mxyzptlk at 03/16/2007 09:09
This may just mean that if a person you've traded system codes with hasn't played Mario Kart Wii, he won't show up on your Mario Kart friend list. Hopefully that's the case and random blog I've never heard of just misinterpreted the Gamespy guy's meaning. I guess we'll know soon enough for certain.
Daft's Avatar
Daft at 03/17/2007 20:58
Why isn't it WiiLive? May I remind you that it is free?

It's really not that big of a deal...
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