Nintendo Network

[Krisis]

Nintendo Gets More Serious About Online With the Nintendo Network
Iwata shares some early details on what to expect, plus Wii U gets user accounts. By Chris Pereira, 01/27/2012



The digital and online spaces are two areas where Nintendo hasn't been the most forward-thinking. But after a year where the company struggled to meet expectations, despite an uptick in 3DS sales in 2011's final months, it now seems more serious than ever about providing a more robust online experience.

President Satoru Iwata conducted a briefing for investors regarding its Q3 performance in Japan on Friday. For the third quarter in a row, the company was forced to lower its guidance to reflect lower-than-expected sales of Nintendo hardware and software. Noting the initial poor sales of 3DS after its launch, the ensuing price drop, and a lack of big games released in the first half of the fiscal year (April through September), Iwata said, "Our business performance will be the worst since we went into business in the video game industry." This was expected after Nintendo announced in October that it anticipated suffering its first annual loss in 30 years.

To help change things going forward, Nintendo won't simply continue doing the sort of things we've become accustomed to -- though it will do some of that, too, including releasing a 2D sidescrolling Mario game for 3DS in the next fiscal year, meaning it could be out anytime between April 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013. It'll also stop selling the 3DS at a loss by the end of September, which will help its bottom line, as will the launch of the Wii U, which Iwata confirmed for release in Japan, the U.S., Europe, and Australia by the holiday shopping season later this year. Nintendo also seems to be understanding more and more the importance of online, both in its ability to connect gamers and to sell them games and content.

Perhaps the biggest announcement Iwata had to share was the creation of the Nintendo Network. This name was seen just recently on the cover of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy in Japan, but its logo alone could have suggested it was merely a rebranding of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. It's actually much more than that, with the Communities feature in Mario Kart 7 being the first example of something that goes beyond the typical Wi-Fi Connection offering.

Nintendo Network will span both 3DS and Wii U -- no word on if the two system's Networks will be independent of one another -- and is said to be more of a "platform where various services available through the network for our consumers shall be connected via Nintendo Network service so that the company can make comprehensive proposals to consumers." That's as opposed to WFC, which Iwata described as being focused on "specific functionalities and concepts."

Communication between gamers with Nintendo systems has always been lackluster, to say the least. Sending messages on Wii is limited only to friends and isn't accessible system-wide. Swapnote for 3DS is great but is hardly a replacement for the ability to send messages to other users on Xbox Live or PlayStation Network. It looks as if functionality will be in place on the Nintendo Network, which is one small step in the right direction.

What's more exciting is the addition of a "personal account system" on Wii U. You'll finally be able to have multiple accounts on a Nintendo system rather than a single friend code tied to the hardware regardless of who is using it. Friend codes have long been an annoyance for those looking to connect with other gamers; sharing a 12-digit code simply isn't as convenient as telling someone your Gamertag. Iwata didn't say whether this system would be based on friend codes or not -- last year when Nintendo talked about providing a service more akin to Xbox Live, friend codes hadn't yet been abandoned -- but we can only hope they are gone. It would be senseless to finally incorporate this sort of account feature and then saddle it with the burden that is friend codes.

Nintendo will capitalize on the Network to sell digital content as well. While the Wii, DSi, and 3DS all allow for downloadable games to be purchased, none offer the games available at retail (something that's been done on 360, PS3, and PSP for a while now). Iwata said the digital distribution of retail games is being considered, and added, "This concept was built into the design of the Nintendo 3DS, and we already have the necessary infrastructure. We will prepare the same infrastructure for the Wii U." Whether those games will be sold digitally day-and-date with their retail releases, Nintendo has not decided, as it does not want to step on the feet of retailers.

With there already being pages for retail games on the 3DS eShop, it does feel like Nintendo has been contemplating this idea for some time. As much as I enjoy downloadable games on consoles, it's on handhelds that they make the most sense. Carrying around a handful of game cards isn't as pleasant as having your games all loaded up on the system to go; sometimes you just don't know what you're going to feel like playing. That's one reason I was particularly pleased with the 3DS Ambassador games, as it means having no less than 20 games to choose from at any time. Although, let's be honest, I'm never going to play Yoshi again.

Ideally Nintendo will at least match Sony and the Vita by releasing all retail titles on the Network. Whereas Sony has talked about doing day-and-date releases at retail and PSN, with Nintendo it would feel like a milestone for it to do a digital release of a physical game at any point in time.

I'd be shocked if this isn't something we end up seeing a good deal of on Nintendo systems, as Nintendo stands to benefit perhaps more than anyone from providing easy access to its library of physical games. As one of the few companies whose games sell well over a long period of time -- hence the reason it refers to them as evergreen titles -- offering an easy place to find those games could only help to extend those long tails even further. That's particularly true of the games it has published that become hard to find over time; Electroplankton, Tetris DS, and (at one point in time) Dragon Quest V all come to mind as examples.

Even with Nintendo trying to become more serious about its digital offerings, Iwata offered up some reassurance that it doesn't plan to nickel and dime gamers with downloadable content. Nintendo "does not plan to deploy businesses where our consumers cannot know in advance which item will appear as the result of their payment and they have to repeat the payments and, before they know it, they end up spending a huge amount of money in order to obtain the items they originally wanted to purchase." It's an admirable position, and Nintendo's delay in getting into the DLC business has afforded it the benefit of seeing what has and hasn't worked in the DLC market. It knows gamers won't react well if it starts selling horse armor and cheat codes.

It's difficult to draw any solid conclusions about all of this without knowing a lot more. More than likely it won't be until this year's E3 in June -- where Iwata reaffirmed we'll be hearing about more details and seeing the "final format" of Wii U -- that concrete details on the Nintendo Network and how it functions on Wii U are revealed. Last month's system update introducing DLC support on 3DS demonstrates the company's capability and willingness to provide new functionality for that system, and the reappearance of WiiWare demos are promising signs that this isn't all talk.

But its ability to provide a service on Wii U that begins to approach Xbox Live or the PlayStation Network will depend in large part on it being less insistent upon protecting gamers with things like the friend code system. If it continues to be stubborn in handicapping potentially great things -- Swapnote sharing is restricted to friends; you can't even exchange notes with a stranger through StreetPass -- we might be in for another less-than-ideal Nintendo online experience.