Slate Declares the Wii Online"A Smashing Failure"

[FuLLBLeeD]

http://kotaku.com/373840/slate-declares-the-wii-online-a-smashing-failure

It's legitimate to ask whether the Wii needs an online service as rich and powerful as Xbox Live .... Much of the Wii's charm comes in watching your friends and family make fools out of themselves by swinging the remote like a baseball bat; that sort of amusement would be lost online. But it's important to note that many of the Wii's games (including Brawl) don't require physical exercise and are similar to the games on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. And while Nintendo could be forgiven for designing a more streamlined network than Live in order to appeal to casual gamers, the one they've given Wii owners makes it difficult to do even the most basic things, like interact with your friends.

Being the solitary type when I'm gaming, I've never made much of any online features except in a few rare cases, but it would be nice if Nintendo would think of maybe, just maybe, doing some tweaking with online functionality so it's more ... functional.

I have to agree. Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection is a joke. Smash Bros is unplayable online, and has no text or voice chat. Its a joke. And don't even get me started on friend codes...

What do you think?

 

[Fonz]

Yep, I agree. It is unplayable. Huge let down. :/

 

[Bassoonist]

It definitely could have been better. However it IS online, and I've never really known the joy of playing with others... So I like it.

 

[Sir Brane Damuj]

It's fine for me when I play my friends across town, but unless you have a chat going with that person, it is just like playing a CPU with lag.

 

[Soluble Toast]

I like it. It's fine.
Nintendo are new to the whole online thing. i don't expect them to get it it right straight away. I thought they did pretty good.

Sure, having a way to actually communicate with your friends, invite people into a room, and the possibility of a leader board would have been nice, but what can 'ya do?

" With anyone" is horrendous, but playing with friends can be good.

 

[Fonz]

Nintendo isn't making progress though, it is somehow worse than mario superstrikers online. How did they go about messing that up?

 

[Alex_Zander]

It's a darn shame indeed, but it could be worse...I think. Some upgrading needs to be done.

 

[Marth_entersthefray]

Firstly, I'd like to say that my friend hooked up his PS2 so he could play Ratchet Deadlocked online. You can't communicate during the battle, only before, and it takes so long to type, you might as well not bother. Secondly, if he's bashing the Wii games and stuff, and therefore insinuating that the PS3 and 360 are better, than it's pretty much a compliment to say that games on the Wii are similar to games on the 360 or the PS3. In a lot of games, non-talking communication would be a major setback, especially in games where you must constantly pay attention (e.g. Guitar Hero and SSBB). Not to mention, some people play online just for a better challenge. And I think friend codes are a good idea.

 

[shiek_freak]

Anyone else realize that Slate.com is owned by Microsoft, and therefore would be unlikely to tout the competition's product?

 

[Raustblackdragon]

When a man builds a house for a homeless man, he is not met with complaints on shoddy craftsmanship.

At least online play EXISTS. it's a start, don't complain.

 

[PwnyRide]

Completely misses the point on why there is very little communication between players over the WiFi connection.

Imo, it's fine. It does it's job.

 

[blackninjaforevr]

ps2's Monster Hunter was last generation and it had great online (minus voice chat, but most preferred keyboard)

 

[Lovage 805]

Yep, Wifi pretty much is the suck. Can only play with people in your state, no way to communicate. But at least it's online, I would pay 50$ for Melee: Online

 

[PwnyRide]

Yep, Wifi pretty much is the suck. Can only play with people in your state,

What?

Spoiler

10char

 

[0RLY]

The lag is unbearable... really, it is. Sakurai confirmed no dlc, but at least make a Wii update that will make online play smoother...

 

[Big Burn]

yes...it is garbage... along with the rest of the game

 

[Rash]

yes...it is garbage... along with the rest of the game

No need to be a troll.

 

[salaboB]

My big problem with it is lack of adjustability for the timers when I'm using friends codes -- I have some friends that I know will go on as soon as they've decided, and I don't need a 45 second timer making everyone feel rushed when discussing who to play and having to go over to the computer to talk.

Again, nintendo just fails at customization imo.

(If there is some hidden way to change these values that I've just missed I will of course retract this statement )

 

[Rith Areous]

Saying that Brawl's ineptitude with online is excusable because it's free isn't true. Many people bought brawl in part for the inclusion of online. It was a feature promised by the developer and is part of the whole of the purchased product. We payed for online when we payed for the game. It is not free.

 

[FMArthur]

Smash Bros Brawl is not online. There, it is now a nearly spotless game.

 

[Imp]

I think it's decent, but voice communication would make it much better. Most people I play online I have their phone number though, so I just throw my cell on speakerphone and it works just fine.

I do agree that it isn't perfect; but this is Nintendo's first attempt at online play for home consoles.

Failure? Most certainly not.

Room for improvement? Plenty.

 

[cobaltblue]

I like it. It's fine.
Nintendo are new to the whole online thing. i don't expect them to get it it right straight away. I thought they did pretty good.

Sure, having a way to actually communicate with your friends, invite people into a room, and the possibility of a leader board would have been nice, but what can 'ya do?

" With anyone" is horrendous, but playing with friends can be good.

Considering the sega dreamcast had a better online service than nintendo, they have no excuse.

 

[Superstarmario]

"I'm not a Nintendo employee or anything, but defending their shoddy workmanship is SERIOUS BUSINESS."

And I think friend codes are a good idea.

HAHAHAHAHHAHA

That's rich.

When a man builds a house for a homeless man, he is not met with complaints on shoddy craftsmanship.

At least online play EXISTS. it's a start, don't complain.

Online play has existed since Dreamcast. Hell, before that if you leave out consoles. That's no excuse. It exists. And it still sucks balls.

That's like saying Superman 64 isn't a bad game cause "WEl1 AT LEAST SOME1 MADE iT!!!!"

Nintendo are new to the whole online thing. i don't expect them to get it it right straight away. I thought they did pretty good.

No, no they're not. Gamecube's online games (PSO) ran just fine. Even Warpipe ran well, and it wasn't even offical. Strikers ran ok and had Leaderboards and Usernames.

How the hell did Brawl end up ten times worse? I lagged playing against someone right down the friggin road.

And even if it were their first time, it still is crap.

Saying that Brawl's ineptitude with online is excusable because it's free isn't true. Many people bought brawl in part for the inclusion of online. It was a feature promised by the developer and is part of the whole of the purchased product. We payed for online when we payed for the game. It is not free.

What's worse is soon we're going to pay for this crap.

 

[FuLLBLeeD]

What?

Spoiler

10char

He means unless you're playing someone geographically close to you, you might as well not even bother. The lag is that bad. Characters like Samus that rely on timing and precision are basically gimped because of the online.

 

[BlackPanther]

What's worse is soon we're going to pay for this crap.

Really O_O?

 

[FMArthur]

"They're new to online" is the most ridiculous excuse I've ever heard. "They're new to technology and have never seen any other online game, and don't know how to program very well and refuse to learn" might pass as an excuse, but it's a lie. It's actually inexcusable. This is about as bad as a game programming student's first try at an online game. They are not ****ing new at this ****.

 

[AlexX]

I'm personally glad that there ISN'T any text or voice-chat. Why? For voice chat, I'll put it this way: my friends with Xbox live admit to having their headphones off 90% of the time. I wonder why... Brawls with friends? How are you going to have time to chat? It's just a game, but you're still in the middle of a fight.

Text chat? If I want to IM someone, I'll use my computer. I play my Wii because I want to play games, not talk about them.

 

[Monshou_no_Nazo]

Saying that Brawl's ineptitude with online is excusable because it's free isn't true. Many people bought brawl in part for the inclusion of online. It was a feature promised by the developer and is part of the whole of the purchased product. We payed for online when we payed for the game. It is not free.

You only pay for the ability to go online. You do not pay for monthly fees that could be used to improve online, thus Nintendo relies on P2P to make most of the online work done from the console side, thus increasing latency due to a lack of central point.

Also, latency isn't that bad as long as the person you are playing with is just a couple of states away. Latency is actually quite large if you live in Oklahoma, and try to play with someone from California or Florida.

Still, people who were expecting WiFi to magically replace real life tournaments and are disappointed were foolish. People who are complaining about WiFi's downfalls must have not played the Nintendo DS WiFi games, some of which actually offer worse services than Smash WiFi.

As for communication. People usually communicate between matches and talk about the highlights sometimes, say "gg" and such.

 

[Sinistar]

Smash Boards stresses me so much now.

Can't ever get away from this crap.

 

[Superstarmario]

I'm personally glad that there ISN'T any text or voice-chat. Why? For voice chat, I'll put it this way: my friends with Xbox live admit to having their headphones off 90% of the time. I wonder why... Brawls with friends? How are you going to have time to chat? It's just a game, but you're still in the middle of a fight.

Text chat? If I want to IM someone, I'll use my computer. I play my Wii because I want to play games, not talk about them.

People can talk AND type in huge shooters like Halo. Heck, it's intergral to success for the most part. People also found it quite easy to talk and chat on Street Fighter online too.

Best things about your Xbox Live friends? They have the option to turn off the headphones. What's so terrible about options?

As far as the text part goes, I somewhat agree. Still having some way to communicate while you wait for people to choose stages and such isn't that bad. Isn't the Wii famed for it's "1337 motion sensor typing skillz"?

 

[NukeA6]

I shouldn't complain about lag because the WI-FI networks and pretty much any internet connection for online gaming (where I'm at) sucks complete ***! I know this because downloading things via Wii takes 30 minutes - several hours. I wasted almost 3 hours trying to download KOF94 and it still wasn't halfway done. And when my roommate uses the Internet, I can't do **** with WiiConnect14.

Too bad I won't be home till around May. Sure there's bad days but Internet was always fine. I wonder why the spectator matches don't lag at all.

 

[Superstarmario]

I wonder why the spectator matches don't lag at all.

I hear it's pre recorded online matches.

Really O_O?

Yeah. Dunno if it will apply to Smash, but in GI (verify on you're own if you're one of the "theyre biased!" types) it was said that Nintendo will start having a charge for Nintendo Wifi connection. Or at least some parts. Let's hope it's WiiWare only.

I wasn't that surprised. After hearing that they had a million Wifi connectors, I knew it was a matter of time for good ol' Nintendo to cash in.

Who's online is better than Sony's again?

You only pay for the ability to go online. You do not pay for monthly fees that could be used to improve online, thus Nintendo relies on P2P to make most of the online work done from the console side, thus increasing latency due to a lack of central point.

I don't recall paying any monthly fees for Ratchet and Clank: Up your Arsenal. Oh, hey, it still works!

 

[NukeA6]

I hear it's pre recorded online matches.

:embarrass

That should've been obvious. Sometimes I don't know how to think.

 

[Rith Areous]

You only pay for the ability to go online. You do not pay for monthly fees that could be used to improve online, thus Nintendo relies on P2P to make most of the online work done from the console side, thus increasing latency due to a lack of central point.

Games have managed to have fine online experiences without monthly subscriptions for years. Further, we aren't complaining about Nintendo's refusal to improve online content in the future; the problem is that the mode has had massive faults from the get-go.
In any case, lag is only part of the problem. The interface for Brawl's online mode is terrible, and no extenuating circumstances such as distance between players, server loads or internet connections can be held responsible for this. Factors entirely within the developers control were handled very poorly. Friend codes are clumsy and arbitrary, communication is almost nil, customization is absent and there is no sense of community.

 

[AlexX]

People can talk AND type in huge shooters like Halo. Heck, it's intergral to success for the most part. People also found it quite easy to talk and chat on Street Fighter online too.

Halo is a tactical shooter when multiplayer is involved (or at least it seems to be treated that way, considering how people act like they're in the military when it comes to discussing strategy during a match... =/ ), so communication is vital to locating and taking out enemies. Smash doesn't work like that. Comparing it to Street Fighter is also a fairly poor comparison considering how different the games are. What could really be discussed during a fight except from random comments like "that was a cheap shot", or "I've got you now"? The taunt comments work just fine for minor quips like that.

Best things about your Xbox Live friends? They have the option to turn off the headphones. What's so terrible about options?

Do YOU want to listen to a bunch of morons spewing out cuss words at you left and right during an online brawl because they're somehow convinced that doing so makes them cool? I didn't think so.

As far as the text part goes, I somewhat agree. Still having some way to communicate while you wait for people to choose stages and such isn't that bad. Isn't the Wii famed for it's "1337 motion sensor typing skillz"?

I'd rather not contribute to even more lag with something that I can already do just fine on my labtop.

 

[milind4]

you know, i really can't see how nintendo could've possible included voice chat, simply because of bandwidth. they have to send all the brawl data with as little lag as possible, and then you want them to send the large audio data as well? it would be nearly impossible to have both the gameplay and the audio to not stutter with lag, which is why i think nintendo did not include audio.

 

[Monshou_no_Nazo]

Games have managed to have fine online experiences without monthly subscriptions for years. Further, we aren't complaining about Nintendo's refusal to improve online content in the future; the problem is that the mode has had massive faults from the get-go.

Actually, I'm seeing a lot of "free" games rely on purchasable content to improve player ability as an alternative to monthly payment. Of course, not every company uses this to improve servers, because last time I played Gunz Ijji were douchebags and did not attempt to improve latency and instead kept adding premium weapons and armor for people to continue purchasing.

In any case, lag is only part of the problem. The interface for Brawl's online mode is terrible, and no extenuating circumstances such as distance between players, server loads or internet connections can be held responsible for this. Factors entirely within the developers control were handled very poorly. Friend codes are clumsy and arbitrary, communication is almost nil, customization is absent and there is no sense of community.

Yes, friend codes suck, and Nintendo is catering to the casual person that will not care about technical details. My argument is that Nintendo is not going to change this practice anytime soon, whether I like it or not. Nintendo is actually relying on people to use external forms of communication instead of implementing their own.

Nintendo is also relying on communities to build on the game, rather than the game building communities. I do not excuse this as a reason to make Random Matches un-customizable, but again Nintendo is simply not going to change this practice for future games.

I am happy that Smash Bros is online in the first place. I'm happy I get to play against other people even if it is not the de-facto tournament scene.

 

[Superstarmario]

Before I start, keep in mind that this arguement is already in shambles due to the obvious exclusion to everyone's (least) favorite online mode: Basic Brawl.

Comparing it to Street Fighter is also a fairly poor comparison considering how different the games are. What could really be discussed during a fight except from random comments like "that was a cheap shot", or "I've got you now"? The taunt comments work just fine for minor quips like that.

Just what about that makes it different than Street Fighter then?

The quips make the game seem more human. Which was supposedly the intent. And not just the 4 pretyped stuff. It worked, again, for Street Fighter.

Do YOU want to listen to a bunch of morons spewing out cuss words at you left and right during an online brawl because they're somehow convinced that doing so makes them cool? I didn't think so.

Actually, I do. It amuses the hell out of me. The point is we're different people. And it's not like you have to listen or even play with these people. Unless it's Basic Brawl. (Oh wait, we're not talking about that)

I'd rather not contribute to even more lag with something that I can already do just fine on my labtop.

Voice chatting in the waiting room? I would, seeing as Brawl already has horrendus lag and load times to begin with.

 

[Mr.Lombardi34]

Yeah, having 4 pre-typed phrases to say to your friends isn't very satisfying. I mean, part of the fun when I play smah with my friends is when someone wins and everyone yells and gets worked up. If you hit someone with a falcon pWnch, do want to have a little bubble that says "Falcon pWnched!" come up, or would you rather bellow, "FALCON PWNCHED N00B!" in your friend's face (Ear)? Yeah, don't pretend the second option isn't way better.

 

[cobaltblue]

Is there even a wii key board or mouse avliable yet? If there isn't then that just goes to show how much nintendo prepared for online.