No unified gamer tags or codes for Wii online

There will not be unified gamer tags or codes for Wii online games. Users will have to register with each title separately, as is already the case with the DS and the Wii´s first online title, ´Pokemon Battle Revolution´.

This exclusive information comes from GameSpy´s PR people after I asked them to go into the details of them providing the Wii´s online service. Here is the correspondence:

Falafelkid: I would like to know if I am right in assuming that the features mentioned (friend rosters, advanced matchmaking capabilities and comprehensive rankings data) suggest a single, unified online platform for each console, rather than one which is dependent on individual games (as is the case with the DS).

GameSpy: GameSpy’s technology does allow for features that could span multiple games. With the Nintendo Wii, however, the multiplayer features are title-specific.

Falafelkid: But is that the case for all Wii online titles across the board?

GameSpy: Yes, that is the case for Wii titles.

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.

Now, I must say that I am baffled. The Wii itself already has a friend list. Online games could simply tap into that list. Why make things more difficult? Of course, difficult is not always bad. I have previously said that I believe friend codes are at least partially a good idea, if only to differentiate Nintendo´s ´Wi-Fi Connection´ from Microsoft´s fantastic ´Live´ service.

They do, in fact, even enable certain gameplay elements that would not work in any other environment. Consider the tacit exchange of user-generated content in games like ´Animal Crossing: Wild World´. A good example of that is your animals automatically picking up slogans your friends taught their animals. If it was not for friend codes guaranteeing a common denominator, your animals would suddenly start to say things you would not want them to say.

So friend codes can be a good idea, I believe. But it is entirely unnecessary to use individual codes and lists for each game. That only complicates online communication further without any tangible benefit as far as the service or the gameplay offered by it are concerned.

Commenting on ´Pokemon Battle Revolution´ in December, IGN did not understand that decision either.

Strangely, despite the Wii hardware having its own friend list, Battle Revolution uses its own, independent friend list. (...) We're not sure if Nintendo's policy of minimizing interaction with strangers will change, but future titles will hopefully include chat features, get rid of the lag, and tap into the Wii's built in friend list.

Any such hope that remained seems to have died today. However, we do not yet know if Nintendo will indeed use friend codes across the board. Remember that this exclusive information contains no news about the use of friend codes.

If Nintendo were to do away with such codes for most games, the service could be likened to the state of the PlayStation network up until the current generation (each PS3 apparently has a unified online identity which is used for all online games).

However, if Nintendo were to go ahead and implement friend codes for most of their online games, alongside the game-specific system we have just learned about, building up a friend list would simply become a chore with every new title you purchase.