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The DS and Revolution to Connect Wirelessly

Posted by Zonk on from the two-screens-no-waiting dept.

Nintendo President Iwata further discussed the realities of the DS wireless initiative, Gamasutra reports. At the press conference he also revealed that, indeed, the next-generation console will utilize a wireless link-up to connect to the DS. From the article: "One particularly interesting piece of news is that, though Nintendo will not charge for the new online service, other publishers will be able to with relation to particular software titles - an option that is likely to please third-party publishers who may want to launch more complex online-capable RPG games or other information-retrieval services and then charge a monthly fee for them. Iwata makes it clear that any charges will be obviously signposted, however."

7 of 47 comments (clear)

  1. Say It With Me by Winckle · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Not Going To Happen

  2. Free online play... by Wraithfighter · · Score: 4, Insightful
    I'm not entirely sure this is such a great idea. There isn't going to be a lot of games that take advantage of this, since they will probably have to supply a lot of the resources themselves instead of Nintendo taking care of a lot of it.

    Not that I love Xbox's current model, but at least there's only one bill to pay and pretty much most of the games that come out on Xbox has some form of online support.

    Then again, you do have to admit that there might be more, quality online programs going on for the Revolution, since the individual companies might have more of a motive to create a more immersive environment.

    But, again, ya gotta wait for the games. Until we see a game take advantage of any of the features in a good way, then the feature is just window dressing.

    Case in point: When was the last time someone came out with a good Eye-Toy game?

    --
    Beyond the Polygons : Because 50,000 polygo
  3. Already been down this road... by Hamster+Lover · · Score: 3, Insightful

    PS2 owners who want network play know all about the inconsistencies with the Sony on-line approach.

    I would rather pay a small fee each month for a centralized service that works consistently, such as Xbox Live, than suffer through the mess that you have on the PS2.

    I am no Microsoft fan, but anyone who's compared the on-line experiences will say that Xbox Live is the way it should be done.

    I would also like to think that having the Xbox Live infrastructure is very appealing to game studios since it removes the cost of server maintanence and upkeep. Further, players aren't at the mercy of game studios if they decide to shut down the network servers for whatever reason.

    1. Re:Already been down this road... by FriedTurkey · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I like the price of my PS2 online connectivity. Never had any problems with online play on a PS2.

      I bought the game now I have to pay to play online? No thanks.

  4. Re:well by Reignking · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Just in case of what?

    --
    One man's Funny is another man's Offtopic.
  5. Re:well by harrkev · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Just in case you live in an apartment complex filled with other wireless networks, microwave ovens, cordless phones, etc. Under these conditions, wireless can be problematic. Wired always works, and you don't have to worry if Aunt Tilly decides to microwave some popcorn.

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    "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
  6. Re:No network fee by MMaestro · · Score: 2, Insightful
    they should make sure their wireless/wired standard is open and compatible with PS2 and xbox in the next generation.

    Sure, right after Sony stops gimping its hardware (the PS2 is a piece of crap hardware-wise), Microsoft makes a controller for ALL ages (the Xbox S Controller isn't 'kid friendly') and Nintendo decides to be a crowd follower instead of being a crowd leader (I swear they could change their name to "Da Video Game Innovators" and people would still know and call them Nintendo).