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1 Millionth Unique User Logs on to Nintendo Wifi 76

Posted by Zonk from the rawk-on dept.
MrJack5304 writes "According to Nintendo's official Press Release, the Nintendo Wifi service has logged it's 1 millionth user. In 5 short months Nintendo has reached 1 million users, and had 27 million total connections." From the release: "Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection lets Nintendo DS owners log on cost-free to compete or interact in a variety of games, from racing in Mario Kart DS to community-building in Animal Crossing: Wild World. The 1 millionth user was a player in Japan, who logged on to play Animal Crossing: Wild World." The release goes on to mention that Tetris DS and Metroid Hunters will also utilize the service.
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1 Millionth Unique User Logs on to Nintendo Wifi More

1 Millionth Unique User Logs on to Nintendo Wifi

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  • Future of online console gaming (Score:5, Interesting)

    by the computer guy nex ( 916959 ) on Wednesday March 08, 2006 @12:02PM (#14875552)
    Which business model will win?

    Sony/MS use a subscription model. Nintendo is using free access.

    The free access is an extra bonus when buying a console, so Nintendo should sell extra consoles to make up the cost of free online gaming. Sony/MS would rather sell fewer consoles but use a subscription model.

    One way or another its nice to have choices.
  • Don't you mean 1 millionth pedophile? [/sarcasm]

  • And his prize? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by gEvil (beta) ( 945888 ) on Wednesday March 08, 2006 @12:05PM (#14875599)
    And for being the 1 millionth user he gets?!? An anonymous mention in a press release... :-(

  • Interesting (Score:5, Informative)

    by voice_of_all_reason ( 926702 ) on Wednesday March 08, 2006 @12:08PM (#14875629)
    So that's why all nintendo products have a hole in the back of the box for the cashier to scan each unique ID at purchase.

    //Did you guys also have to go in the back room and give a dna sample for your DS? 'Cause that wasn't really too pleasant at all...
    • 'Cause that wasn't really too pleasant at all...

      That would depend on the nature of the sample and how is was obtained and how helpful the nurse was. fap fap fap.

    • Re:Interesting (Score:5, Insightful)

      by littleghoti ( 637230 ) on Wednesday March 08, 2006 @12:56PM (#14876168) Journal
      Or maybe they've just been keeping records of the MAC addresses connected to their servers?
    • Its not the amount of purchaces, its the amount of people who have registered thier online codes at a WAP.
    • No, that's so the cashier system can add the correct amount to your bill. You might be surprised to learn that most other products use bar codes, too.
    • No, the reason why they scan that extra barcode is so that they can track the specific piece of hardware they sell to you. This is more to combat different types of fraud or (for lack of a better term) creative deal hunting.

      Example 1: You buy a product and 6 months later it breaks. You buy a new one and return the old one in the new box with the new receipt. If they've scanned the hardware ID and tied it to the receipt, they can catch this.

      Example 2: You buy a product, and sometime after your price match pe
      • I thought the price match time span always lasted as long as the product return time span. Because you could just return it and buy it somewhere else.

      • Re:Interesting (Score:5, Informative)

        by tlhIngan ( 30335 ) <slashdot.worf@net> on Wednesday March 08, 2006 @05:56PM (#14878877)
        Actually, there's another reason all consoles have to have the serial number scanned - it's the warranty registration! That serial number goes to Nintendo (or Microsoft, or Sony), and it activates the warranty from the time it was scanned. If you later need service, all you have to do is call them up, give them the serial number, and they'll verify immediately if it needs service.

        If they don't have the registration on file, then they'll ask for you to include your sales receipt to qualify warranty (and they'll register the remaining period in their systems).

        My DS had a dud pixel, and the store I got it from didn't register it, so Nintendo took the original receipt, then created an extension on the replacement unit to the full year from the date I brought it in (not that it extended it much - just a week and a half).

  • Nintendo WiFi is nice, but... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by dividedsky319 ( 907852 ) on Wednesday March 08, 2006 @12:08PM (#14875632)
    The WiFi service for the DS is nice, however... it could be implemented a little better.

    My problem with Mario Kart DS is that there's no ranking/ladder type system... so a first time player can be pitted against someone with 1000 wins and 3 losses. Not to mention the fact that I've had some of these people quit right before they were about to lose. (Which, I think, makes it so a loss isn't added to their record... which if true, is something else that should be changed)

    And my problem with Animal Crossing is that there's no "community" place where you can randomly visit someone else's town... you have to manually put someone else's code in.

    The hardware is in place, I just wish they'd develop the online community a little better.

    • Re:Nintendo WiFi is nice, but... (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I think it was on purpose to avoid this [slashdot.org] kind of crap [go.com].

      Doubtful they'd expand it.

    • Re:Nintendo WiFi is nice, but... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Lave ( 958216 ) on Wednesday March 08, 2006 @12:24PM (#14875787)

      >My problem with Mario Kart DS is that there's no ranking/ladder type system... so a first time player can be pitted against someone with 1000 wins and 3 losses.

      Except for the "Rivals" match which searches for people with similar win/loss records.

    • And my problem with Animal Crossing is that there's no "community" place where you can randomly visit someone else's town... you have to manually put someone else's code in.

      That would seem to be design intent. If there were such a space, then Nintendo would have to police it. Communities do exist (eg. see gamefaqs message boards). Having random vistors would be very annoying - there are lots or idiots in the world who will trash your town.

      A matching service would be nice - perhaps we'll see it in a seque
      • there are lots or idiots in the world who will trash your town.

        Exactly. I've had an idoit come in and then start chopping down trees and picking up tiles as soon as they leave my sight. A friend of mine had a semi-valuable item stolen because he set it down outside his house when he was offline, then forgot about it when he opened up his town.

        Even beside malicous intent, there is unintentional carelessness. In Animal Crossing, you can cross polinate flowers and come up with special hybrids. They can be very
        • Maybe they should make it so that you can't do permanent damage. No cutting trees, No taking items, that sort of thing. Maybe have an option so that people can come to your town, but they can't affect anything.
          • There are other things people can do too. For instance, if you sit on a chair and they stand in front of the chair, you are blocked in. While you are sitting down, you can save (the button perform other functions). Your choice is either to wait it out or to just power off and lose any progress since your last save. Obviously the solution there is to make sure you have a way to save when you sit down, but I'm not sure the designers thought of that potential problem.

            The other problem is exploiting bugs in the

    • Re:Nintendo WiFi is nice, but... (Score:5, Funny)

      by voice_of_all_reason ( 926702 ) on Wednesday March 08, 2006 @12:26PM (#14875811)
      so a first time player can be pitted against someone with 1000 wins and 3 losses

      Stick and move, Little Mac! Stick and move!
    • And my problem with Animal Crossing is that there's no "community" place where you can randomly visit someone else's town... you have to manually put someone else's code in.

      This is entirely intentional, from what I understand. Nintendo feels that Animal Crossing is a game that you should play with people you know somewhat well in real life, since you're letting them into your town where they can perform potentially damaging actions. It also fits more with their idea of the game - a neighborly, small-villa
  • They should atleast pay off the mortgage on his house...

  • didn't RTFA but.. (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    My only complaint about NintendoWiFi in Mario Kart DS has been the creation of, shall we say, artisically impressive and personally offensive avatars. Yes, they're both, because, wow, you managed to draw that pixel by pixel? Kudos. I believe VGCats touched [vgcats.com] on this, though I haven't come across anything that blatant yet. Flaming poo and an ass are what I've seen so far on the extreme end of things.

    Nis

  • He should be visited by Reggie AND Miyamoto. The pure level of awesomeness radiating during such a meeting would cause the Earth to explode, leaving naught but those two titans to craft us worlds anew...

    I believe Nintendo has already thought of such conclusions, hence no prize.

  • That's great (Score:2, Interesting)

    by steveo777 ( 183629 )
    ... considering as far as I know, Mario Kart and Animal Crossing are the only two games to utilize this service stateside. I may be very wrong, however. I just hadn't been keeping up on DS stuff.

    • Re:That's great (Score:2, Insightful)

      by generic-man ( 33649 )
      There's also a Tony Hawk game, the upcoming Metroid FPS (remember that one that shipped as a demo with every DS?) and Tetris DS. Goooooo Tetris!
    • I believe this is worldwide, as the article mentions that the 1.000.000th user was in japan.

      Also, Tony Hawk DS uses the wifi online thingy.
      • Don't want to flame you, but just look a little closer at my original post.


        "considering as far as I know, Mario Kart and Animal Crossing are the only two games to utilize this service stateside"

        I suppose I could have said in the US, but since, general, we get games after Japan and the rest of the world next, it's pretty synonomous.
        But, no, I didn't know about Tony Hawk.

  • Explain to me... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by PFI_Optix ( 936301 ) on Wednesday March 08, 2006 @12:54PM (#14876149) Journal
    how is this special?

    I mean, it's been more than ten years since free online gaming was viable...Quake, for example.

    XBOX offers a centralized system for all games to use, and charges a subscription fee...like Steam on steroids. DS appears to use a more game-specific system, more like Battle.net or Half-Life's pre-Steam system. Both are just a result of gradual improvements upon systems used in gaming for years.

    (note: I say "appears" because I do not own and do not intend to buy a DS...I am working off what information is readily available on nintendowifi.com)

    • Re:Explain to me... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by BinaryOpty ( 736955 ) on Wednesday March 08, 2006 @01:03PM (#14876246)
      This is special because Nintendo's online service reached 1 million in 4 months. Microsoft's took 2 years.
      • Nintendo has less competition and a much more loyal user base than Microsoft, so I don't see why anyone should find this surprising.

        PDAs have had wireless for years; a comparably-sized handheld console with it was inevitable. The question is, how good is the service? I talked to a friend who has one this afternoon, he said he hasn't really gotten anything out of the wireless service because it's too hard to find and play against friends.
        • Nintendo has less competition... than Microsoft

          Given that Nintendo is directly competing with Microsoft in the console arena, and in the handheld arena the PSP put up some strong competition, all I can assume is that you're trolling.
    • It is also special because the DS is handheld, not a console. This will certainly give the revolution a boost when it is available.

  • nintendo could get more slashdotters (Score:3, Informative)

    by honold ( 152273 ) on Wednesday March 08, 2006 @01:20PM (#14876412)
    if they would support wpa on the ^$@#&*$^@# thing

    >:(
    • Or even more important than WPA, more complete support for wireless routers. My router is on the list as one not officially supported. I found that if I reboot the router every time just before I attempt to connect, I can get on no problem. However, if I don't reboot it I only get a connection part of the time. There are quite a few routers that have this problem, or that don't work at all under any circumstances. That is really my only disappointment with the DS.
      • Something I discovered recently is that Apple's Airport Express [apple.com] solves this problem for me. I have an Airport Express I use for business trips -- I can plug it into the fixed ethernet in the room and then have wifi in my hotel room. Anyway, I just realised I can use this when I'm travelling to play Mario Kart DS online, just by connecting to the access point created by the Airport Express. I have a wireless router that I had to manually downgrade to 2Mbps transfer rate before I could take my DS online, w
  • Wow, 1 millionth unique user...

    Those guys who make press releases for Firefox could learn a thing or two from Nintendo ;)
    • What I would like to know is how they are counting uniques. There are three wireless DS games out there at the moment (AC, MK and Tony Hawk) all generate unique friend codes so are we just talking about a million unique friend codes or can they (and are they) counting each individual DS that logs on? Potentially if they are only counting unique friend codes the actual number of people to log on may be as low as 300k (assuming I 1:1:1 split among the three games, I'd say 5:4:1 is more likely, and I imagine y
  • They may have reached 1 million individual players faster than Xbox live did, but how many of those still play? What's the daily peak users?

    I'd guess that a large portion of that 1M were people who bought Mario Kart, tried Nintendo WiFi for a day and weren't compelled to return.

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