The end of Wii Friend Codes? It is fully possible!

[Razer]

from www,gamepro.com-
"Majesco bucked industry trends on Thursday, saying that Nintendo's Wii online service is "well connected" and doesn't require Friend Codes.
Blast Works WiiWare

She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid

Did it take a simple, user-generated shoot 'em up game from Majesco to dismantle the now common set of complaints about the Wii's inability to produce an adequte online experience?

If Blast Works: Build, Fuse and Destroy is any indication, then the answer to that question is a resounding "yes" and those infamous Friend Codes are today a thing of the past.

"There's no technical reason why games for the Wii aren't more connected," said Kevin Ray, Chief Technology Officer, Majesco in an interview with MTV Multiplayer. "The Wii is a very connected device and Nintendo not only provides library support for communications, but was very supportive with positive feedback and marketing input."

Ray said that lately Nintendo has actually been very proactive in providing Wii online tools and support to all publishers producing games for the system. The burden of utilizing those tools to their fullest now rests in the hands of the publishers, not Nintendo, he said.

As for Friend Codes, Ray and the Majesco team found a workaround that seems almost too simple and too good to be true, given the Wii's online past to date.

"If you look in the Address Book on your Wii you can see this number called the Wii Machine ID. We reference this ID when you connect to the [Blast Works] site," Ray said. The combination of a secure network connection and this unique Wii Machine ID allow us to seamlessly integrate the web site with your Wii and bypass any cumbersome login procedures."

Additionally, the unique system also allows Majesco to provide players with a directory-service that eliminates the act of remembering Friend Codes, and will allow players to find one another based on real name, user name, favorite game and/or geographic region.

For a moment there this morning, we almost thought this was an article about Xbox Live--but this is Nintendo!

Majesco's BlastWorks: Build, Trade & Destroy is set for a May 6 release in North America."


Hopefully Nin does adopt this policy for their own games also. I doubt it as Nin originally used them to protect users from assholes (or so they said) but if Nin are the only company to use them then that, at least, would be a welcome change.

[Aiman]

I hope so too. I mean, it can easily be made into an option for people who are paranoid and prefer friend codes... which I can't really imagine anyone who would, but you never know.