Wii U To Have “Refined Friend Codes”

Just when you thought it was safe to play online with a Nintendo console again… It would appear as though friend codes are still present with the new Wii U, however, they will be much more refined. Nintendo UK marketing manager Rob Lowe has said that the Wii U's friend code system will now be "refined".

[a_bro]

Not Buying...

[Controversy]

Judas Priest. The Wii U is really starting to disappoint.

1) The new, fancy controller is useless if you take it away from the console. I would have LOVED to see some independent function.

2) No HDD

3) Friend codes shouldn't return in any form.

I've gone from very excited to not buying. I love you, Nintendo, but this round you have lost me.

[Theyellowflash30]

@Controversy
Your 1st and 2nd reasons are stupid. The controller is not supposed to be a portable. It doesn't have a CPU or Ram or anything it would be hard for nintendo to make the controller continue to play when it isn't somewhere near the console.

No HDD is not a big deal you can buy 1 TB HDD and hook it up to the Wii U and it will work just fine. Or you can buy a 32GB SD card or 16GB USB stick, there is all sorts of ways you can buy the memory you want. When i first brought my PS3 and 360 they both came with 20GB HDD and I ended up spending over 200 bucks to get New HDD for both of them. So thats not a issue.

Now your 3rd reason is the only reason that actually reasonable.

[Shok]

Using the controller outside the house would cannibalize the 3DS.

Nintendo confirmed you can use external HDDs.

Agreed.

[iamnsuperman]

"We always try and strike a balance. Because we do have more younger consumers than any other hardware manufacturer or games brand we need to protect them". Really. I thought it was the parents responsibility. Surely there are other methods. Like blocking certain content via a parent account. Also this could be applied to online.

[Controversy]

@ Theyellowflash30

And wouldn't it have been nice if you didn't HAVE to spend the extra $200? I can get a brand new Ps3 now for $299 and have a 160 HDD included.

I understand the new controller isn't supposed to be portable. I can simply wish it was.

You don't have to agree.

[TBM]

Well I was initially going to wait a year until after the release to see if I would purchase one, but its looking like i'll be waiting a bit longer, or even at all.

[Rainstorm81]

Nintendo is completely out of touch when it comes to the online gaming community. You can see the benefit of MS starting XBL last gen, Sony is in thier learning process with PSN and PS4's online will benefit.

The Wii U may have online comparable to the Wii/PS2 maybe the Xbox1.....or so it seems.

[pepsilover_2007]

i think he might have been talking about the 3ds in that article

[Shackdaddy836]

They are talking about the 3DS. Not the wiiu. Read it again.

Ubisoft already confirmed no friend codes for wiiu.

"But with the online of 3DS it’s obviously a massive leap on from where we were with DSi and DSi XL. It’s smooth, robust, it doesn’t drop in and out. The friend code system has also been refined. It still exists but in the same way that you’d need to pair up with friends on PSN or Xbox live."

This site just lost all of its credibility by not even reading what they wrote/copied...

[Shackdaddy836]

Love the disagree when the author just apologized for the misinterpretation in the article.

Only on N4G...

[carlitoskaruuz]

@Shok, I love you and all Shokio man but, you know that the Wii U now has Friend Codes, This is a not buy.

[PirateThom]

Friend codes... but I'm a big boy...

[jack_burt0n]

3,,,2,,,,1,,,, Spin.......

[nikebee]

Why in the hell don't they just use gamertags?

[Lifewish]

I never got Nintendo's obsession with friend codes.. it is completely idiotic to make school moms and kids remember some long list of numbers.. not that there was ever any reason to add anyone on the Wii..but yea I was hoping they would move away from these and actually use a gamertag or something like that.

[interrergator]

NOOOOOOOOO

[D2K]

Nintendo, it's not your responsibility to protect children, it's their parent's responsibility. That's not a valid excuse. Scrap the friend coeds and be done with it.

[LegendarySins]

Here here

[tanoris]

there goes my purchase..

[rexbolt]

so ur willing to miss out on some great stuff cus u dont wana add numbers? aint it the same as adding a username? same shit

[Shok]

By "refined" I think he means fixed. Ubisoft said that it won't be using friendcodes. Maybe he's saying its been EXCORSISED and not just improved-upon.

But if they ARE still being used, than FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF WTF Nintendo?

[Theyellowflash30]

Epic Fail if this turns out to be true.

[Pedobear Rocks]

Rob Lowe in charge of morality?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

[xtremexx]

JUST USE USERNAMES!!! FFS!!!!!!

[UltraPoetMan]

Read it again. They're talking about the 3DS.

[JD_Shadow]

Yeah, I caught that, too:

1. The site REALLY needs to learn what paragraphs are.
2. It's unclear (because of lack of paragraphs) which system he's referring to (seems like he's saying the 3DS has the refined codes).
3. Not quite sure where this site is getting this. What's their source for anything?

EDIT: Well, this came from Eurogamer, even though this site fails to cite its source: http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...

Also, didn't Ubisoft say there WOULDN'T be Friend Codes on the WiiU? http://www.joystiq.com/2011...

EDIT2: Okay, I'm blind. Either their sourcing was at the bottom the whole time and I didn't see it or they just added it after the fact. Either way, they now (or did) source it as it coming from Eurogamer.

EDIT3: Watch, though, that no one will GRASP that they are talking about the 3DS here and that we read into it too much and just go into constant hysterics or just troll for the sake of it.

[Theyellowflash30]

I read it again and they are talking about the 3DS.

[theredsquire]

Don't know why they still haven't gotten this right...

[CarnageXB]

Why cant they just usernames like everyone else?

[AdventShadow01]

Nintendo how the hell can you have so much fail? I mean seriously, you claim you want to entice hard core gamers but you must not understand that hard core gamers don't want a 13 digit number as a gamer tag. oh well so much for hard core and wii u.

[GFahim]

i bet u any money half of those comments bashing the wii didnt even bother reading the article.

coz NOW the article says it was a mistake and this is only referring to the 3DS and not WII U! ubisoft even comfirmed it wont have friend codes!

you can bash nintendo with sound basis. but when you do it with blind hate, then you eventually make yourself look like a complete fool as the people in these comments must be feeling right now...

[Apex13]

If you read the article properly he is talking about the 3ds but the article is nit well written. I think we should wait for official word instead of hear say

[D2K]

If the article is 'poorly written' then it's not an issue if people are reading it properly.

[yavorsv]

The ARTICLE IS ABOUT THE 3DS. Stop bashing, idiots. :)

[InTheLab]

I applaud N for wanting to do their own thing but what in the hell....Friend codes were a joke. It's easier to type in Bomberman or Punch Out!! codes. Transpose a number and you've just made friends with a rapist.

If they're going the 3DS route with one coder per console...I suppose...nope...still stupid.

[Lyle91]

How did this get approved? The article is saying that the 3DS has refined friend codes, not the Wii U. The title is all wrong.