No More Friend Codes!!!
This has been on my mind for a long time, and I believe now is as good as time as ever to talk to you about the Wii’s Friend code system. This prison cell number has been plaguing gamers on the Wii since it’s launch a couple of years back. There is absolutely no excuse for making gamers enter not only one 16 digit number to share messages with friends, but also a separate number for each and every other game that supports online multiplayer with friends.
Here is my main beef with this whole system. The Xbox 360 and PS3 both have a simple gamertag system that only requires you to enter one name in order to share messages, and to play games online with friends. This is a simple and effective way of organizing chaos into one simple idea that will benefit everyone who uses the specific consoles online services. Nintendo decided to go the other route and make a complete mess out of everything by making you enter a different code for each game that you want to play with your friends, as well as make you enter a different code to share messages from console to console.
I just want to know one thing Nintendo, why did you decide to go this route, what gave you the idea that we wanted a challenge just to play games, and to share messages with other people? I know that parents are monitoring everything that is going on with their kids these days, and the Wii is supposed to be a family friendly console and all that, which means you have to cater to all types of gamers, but the Wii already has a parental control system built into it.
You can simply enter a specific code that allows only the owner of the console to access certain features of it, so why do you need another set of numbers for each game that your child plays, so you can anal retentively watch their every move, that’s just a crock of crap if you ask me. It would actually be easier to have one list of friends that you know your child plays games with, that way you know that your child only plays games with these people. Instead of saying, “Oh thats one of my friends from Brawl, Smash Up, and Mariokart”, your kid can simply say “Oh that’s so and so, he or she likes the same games I do, so I decided to add them to my friends list”, but I digress.
And another thing, for us gamers out there who like to associate with other gamers, why can’t we simply just have the name of our Mii characters appear in the place of our Wii Number. I never heard someone having a conversation with somebody else online going “Hey xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx I just got this new game, you want to play it with me” and have them respond by saying “sure xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx, I would like to play that game with you”. No one on this earth associates with someone else by using a 16 digit number to call out their name, it’s simply ridiculous. You can still have the friend code (just one) and just add the option of adding your Mii characters name as a nickname or something, that way it would sound like you are talking to a human being, instead of a convicted felon in prison.
There is hope for the future though, and that is due to the fact that some games(preferably EA Sports ones) have created an online system that has combined both friends from your Wii, and friends that you have met from playing games with into one cohesive list, making it easier to play a game with them, send them a message, etc. If only Nintendo themselves caught on to this idea, and implemented this into the Wii to begin with, then maybe this problem would not exist at all. One can only hope that they do keep this in mind while designing the Wii 2, but like I said before, i hope they do, but more than likely, we will be dealing with this problem for years to come.
Either way, the friend code system sucks, and something needs to be done about it.
That is the end of my rant, if you have anything to add, leave a comment, or send me an email at mrb4@rejectedgamer.com.
I so agree, my thinking is they are not able to handle the likes of traffic and online gaming would bring if they made it easy. I for one steer clear away fron online gaming on the Wii and look at it as if its non existing really. I look at the Wii more as a local only family gaming system. Its perfect for my daughters to play and for the family to enjoy. If I want to shoot things up and play with friends, I head over to Xbox Live where everything and everyone is about one button mash away. Easy Peezy, Lemon Cheezy!