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Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection

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Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection logo

The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection is an online service run by Nintendo to facilitate free, Internet play in compatible Nintendo DS and Nintendo Revolution games. The service was launched in the US on November 14, 2005 with the release of Mario Kart DS and Tony Hawk's American Sk8land, in Australia on November 17, 2005 with the release of Mario Kart DS, in the UK on 18 November, 2005 with the release of Tony Hawk's American Sk8land, in Europe on 21 November with the release of both Mario Kart DS and Tony Hawk's American Sk8land, and in Japan on November 23, 2005 with the release of Animal Crossing: Wild World.

Up until 2005, Nintendo did not follow its market rivals into going online unless it could provide the service for free. It seems that this was found during the development of the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Revolution, both of which support the service.

Connecting to the service

The Nintendo DS is an IEEE 802.11b device, and a player can access the service via any compatible wireless network. This includes compatible public hotspots as well as personal 802.11b or 802.11g wireless routers. Entering the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection setup allows players to configure access to three different networks. A connection can be automatically detected on some routers, especially those that are AOSS-compatible. A user can also manually enter network settings. The Nintendo DS supports WEP encryption but (because it is an 802.11b device) not WPA. In addition to the three connections, the DS can be asked to connect to the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector, which requires little setup.

Nintendo's USB connector supports Windows XP-based PCs with broadband Internet access. Pricing in various markets will be $34.99 in Canada & the U.S., $AU49.95 (about $37) in Australia, £30 in the UK (about $52) €30,- in Europe, and ¥3500 in Japan (about $30). The USB connector is currently only available at Nintendo's Online store, but Nintendo has stated that it will be available at retailers with the release of Metroid Prime: Hunters in Early 2006. In the UK it can be found at eBay but usually at a higher price than what it was intended to be. It is also sold on the Gameplay website for £26.99 and on Amazon.

There is no charge for connecting to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, or for playing any Nintendo first-party games. Third-party developers are free to decide whether to charge fees for playing their games through the service. Nintendo is working with hotspot providers to allow free access in public for Nintendo DS users.

Nintendo announced, in an official press release on 18 October, 2005, that it is working with Texas-based firm Wayport to provide free wireless DS hotspots in McDonald's restauraunts. Wayport currently provides 6,000 WiFi hotspots (which are not free to non-DS users). Connecting to these hotspots does not require configuration on the DS, bypassing Wayport's standard login. Nintendo also confirmed that the Nintendo Revolution will use the Nintendo WiFi Connection in this press release.

A similar partnership with FatPort to create free hotspots in Canada was announced by Nintendo of Canada on 19 October, 2005.

25,000 hotspots will be created in Europe, according to Jim Merrick, Director of Marketing for Nintendo of Europe. These include 7,500 in UK alone, thanks to a partnership with The Cloud and BT Openzone.

Playing with others

Games designed to take advantage of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection offer Internet play seamlessly integrated into the game. After selecting Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection in the game's menu, the device connects to the service. Simplicity and speed of starting a game appear to be Nintendo's focus. For example, in Mario Kart DS, players choose the online multiplayer option, then the player chooses to play with people at his/her skill level, play with friends, play with people in their region, or play with people around the world. Then the game immediately starts searching for available players. Once it has found other players, the game can begin.

A user is identified to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection network by a unique, automatically generated ID number. This number is known as a friend code. To play with a friend online, that friend must have your 12-digit friend code to play you the first time they look for you online. After the first time they play, you are automatically added to each other's friend list. Another number called a Nintendo WFC ID can be used to register the user's copy of the game with nintendowifi.com, so that statistics on the user's standings can be viewed of their home computer. In addition, users playing compatible games locally via the Nintendo DS's LAN multiplayer function automatically add each other to their friend rosters offline, with the DS storing the additions until the next online connection.

Each user can pick a nickname to be displayed in-game while playing online, which is distinct from the system username and can be non-unique for each game. The user can also have a different game name for each game he plays online.

Some games will allow multiplayer Internet games with anyone, but others will allow players to visit others on their friend rosters only.

3rd party Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection matchmaking services (such as DS Meet) are sharing 12-digit Friend Codes to make new game buddies over the Internet.

Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Website

Nintendo has created the Official Nintendo Wi-Fi connection website as a portal for gamers looking to access the service, in need of troubleshooting assistance and much more. The website has live statistics and data from the service's servers and records high scores, and service status. The website went live on Monday, November 7, 2005 — one week prior to the key Mario Kart DS launch in North America.

Announced Wi-Fi games

Games that currently support Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection include Mario Kart DS, Animal Crossing: Wild World, and Tony Hawk's American Sk8land. Other games such as Metroid Prime: Hunters, Ultimate Brain Games, Ultimate Card Games, Contact, Bleach: Sōten ni Kakeru Unmei (Japan) will support WFC. Nintendo's monthly magazine, Nintendo Power has listed over 30 games that will use the online service, many of which have yet to be named by their developers.

See also

External links

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