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[MutFox]

I wish one of the questions was about what nintendo will do with cheaters.
That is what ruins online for me.

 

[hooo]

I hope the DS isn't WEP only, or they at least release a usb/rj45 dongle that uses a non standard 802.11. I won't open up my router for DS online play.

 

[capslock]

More 4th rate site pimping. Can someone just repaste the interesting part of the interview?

Whoa! Asshole alert!

 

[Mrbob]

I wish one of the questions was about what nintendo will do with cheaters.
That is what ruins online for me.

Cheating will always be a problem in online gaming.

I understand why Nintendo is offering multiple screen names being the same but I wish they wouldn't do it. Yeah there is an identity key but does that key always show up? What if you have four or five people on your buddy list with the same screen name?

 

[impirius]

But underline there is a single identity which is used and we will allow you to connect that to your account on nintendo-europe.com or if you're in the US nintendo.com, so it can be linked together there. And you can look at your buddy-list, look at your high-scores, and compare, all through the webinterface.

Okay, that's cool. Unified login and web stats get!

Now we just need, y'know, Battle Mode....

 

[Dalthien]

I'll add my voice to the chorus.
Awesome interview! Thanks for the link.

 

[GaimeGuy]

Cheating will always be a problem in online gaming.

I understand why Nintendo is offering multiple screen names being the same but I wish they wouldn't do it. Yeah there is an identity key but does that key always show up? What if you have four or five people on your buddy list with the same screen name?

Each DS gets a unique key assigned to it the first time it logs on, so your screen name doesn't matter for nintendo to identify you

 

[Mrbob]

Each DS gets a unique key assigned to it the first time it logs on, so your screen name doesn't matter for nintendo to identify you

I'm not talking about Nintendo identifying users. I'm talking about users identifying users. What if you have 5 different "Dan"'s on your friends list? That would suck.

 

[Flynn]

Nice work with the interview. This is the biggest chunk of news we've gotten about DS's online service.

The text could use a copy edit though. Hurry, before you start getting linked by tons of game blogs.

 

[TurtleSnatcher]

Wow whoever did this interview.. Kudos.. Greatest interview I've read to this date about DS online gaming.. Great job..

Im looking forward to this I cant wait at all. Everything they brought up is great, but I wonder if they will block out anyone who uses Action Replay etc.. cause I cant stand stupid cheaters.

 

[argon]

I'm not talking about Nintendo identifying users. I'm talking about users identifying users. What if you have 5 different "Dan"'s on your friends list? That would suck.

You can probably change the alias names on your buddy list.

 

[Calidor]

too bad the hackers will ensure to ruin the buddy list with spoofing identitys on the first week

 

[The Faceless Master]

More 4th rate site pimping. Can someone just repaste the interesting part of the interview?

D. Copyrighted Material

The posting of full transcriptions of articles ...

 

[Jado]

I'm not talking about Nintendo identifying users. I'm talking about users identifying users. What if you have 5 different "Dan"'s on your friends list? That would suck.

There are two types of ID keys. One is for when you first go online with Nintendo. Interview says you'll never see this key. It'll just look like you're going online to play Mario Kart seamlessly.

The other key is everytime you add someone to your buddy list. DS generates a unique ID code for that person. Each "Dan" you add to your list will have a different code, and as someone mentioned, you may probably be able to alter the alias or add a "buddy comment" to further differentiate each "Dan."

 

[The Faceless Master]

You don't really want people you don't know coming into your village and chumping down your trees

damn, my plans are ruined!

 

[Deku]

I'm not talking about Nintendo identifying users. I'm talking about users identifying users. What if you have 5 different "Dan"'s on your friends list? That would suck.

Sure you can. Each DS has a unique address, so you can probably block that parituclar person from playing with you again if Nintendo lets us do that.

The fact that DS is buddy list based will cut down on cheating considerably.

I agree that cheating will be a problem, and I suspect there will be a mini industry of bot programs and the lite written for the GBA flash cards that players can install to enhance their on-line play illegally. But in terms of demographics, most people probably won't have access to these cards so it wouldn't be as big a problem as say cheating with a memory card or using the HD, which is a requirement for other on-line games.

 

[Particle Physicist]

What wasn't clear to me was the match-making service. Simple question: Would it be like Halo 2's?

it kinda sounds like its like halo's.. only a bit refined.. like you are able to specific regions and skill levels.

 

[Drensch]

Great iview. Exciting stuff, I do want to have some info on wpa stuff.

 

[Chittagong]

PN: We know that the registration mechanism will be very easy, how will you ensure that the friend you intend to add is actually really your friend?

JM: There is no user identification or password that you enter. But each DS and each user on the DS is uniquely identified on the system. So it's very much like giving to someone your mobile number. We generate a kind of one-time password: say "Add me to your buddy-list, here is my thing". A number, a password, or something like that. When they go online, they find you and ask you to be added to their list. It's really like sharing your phone number with somebody.

PN: Does it also require each user to have a different name or nickname? Can you have more than one Jim on the NWC?

JM: No, you can have as many as you want. It's one of the criterias. If you want to go to America On Line, because their namespace is horrible, I can't be Jim, I'll have to be JimSomething. So we do want to have duplicate names. We know people want to be called Mario when playing Mario Kart, or Tom Nook when playing Animal Crossing. And what the developers have asked for is the ability to have names in context of the game. So you might be Mario while racing a Mario Kart game, and Tom while playing Animal Crossing, so you don't have to pick one name for all games. But underline there is a single identity which is used and we will allow you to connect that to your account on nintendo-europe.com or if you're in the US nintendo.com, so it can be linked together there. And you can look at your buddy-list, look at your high-scores, and compare, all through the webinterface.

PN: Will the registration be per system or per game?

JM: We do use the term profiles. Profile defines different WiFi connections or locations. At home you might have a profile that uses WEP encryption and doesn't need a username or password. And you might have to have, if you play at work, another profile with a username and password. It's not for Nintendo, it's for your connection to the Internet. We also have a profile for Nintendo free hotspots that we'll put at retail locations, shopping malls and so on. Once those profiles are set up, it will detect them automatically, but it just needs to know if it's your home SSID to define, it has to use this WEP key in this environment. In terms of you picking up a username, the first time you connect to WiFi Connection Service, DS will automatically generate a userID that you will never see, you don't need to, but there is one created which creates the account for you on the servers. As far as you're concerned, you just get on and play the game.

PN: Is it the same number you give to your friends in order to appear on their buddy-list?

JM: No, it's an easier number, it's not the same number. The unique identifier for that DS, for that player, is complex. It uses the MAC Address, the time, just to make sure it is unique, because it is generated offline. So we have to know it has to be unique. That one is a bit complicated, but it's OK because you will never see it. When you want to add somebody to your buddy-list, you ask your system to give you a unique password or key that you'll give to your friend.

PN: So you'll have some servers on the network taking care of this stuff?

JM: What happens is the following: on your system it will generate a password. You can do that when both are without a WiFi Connection. The next time you go online, you get the request from your friend who also went online at some stage, and that's it. It will wait for a certain period of time. Basically every time you connect via WiFi, we have to poll the server and check if there's anybody willing to add me to their buddy-list. It's very transparent.

Wow. Nintendo sure made online gaming easy.

 

[ManaByte]

JM: We do use the term profiles. Profile defines different WiFi connections or locations. At home you might have a profile that uses WEP encryption and doesn't need a username or password. And you might have to have, if you play at work, another profile with a username and password. It's not for Nintendo, it's for your connection to the Internet. We also have a profile for Nintendo free hotspots that we'll put at retail locations, shopping malls and so on. Once those profiles are set up, it will detect them automatically, but it just needs to know if it's your home SSID to define, it has to use this WEP key in this environment. In terms of you picking up a username, the first time you connect to WiFi Connection Service, DS will automatically generate a userID that you will never see, you don't need to, but there is one created which creates the account for you on the servers. As far as you're concerned, you just get on and play the game.

We will let DS owners enjoy Wi-Fi without the difficulty of entering an SS-ID or WEP key.

So they will have a profile set up for free hotspots to automatically log you in, but you still need to enter your SSID or WEP key for encrypted networks.

 

[Chittagong]

So they will have a profile set up for free hotspots to automatically log you in, but you still need to enter your SSID or WEP key for encrypted networks.

This is pretty much what I've been saying all along.

Having been 6 times across the Atlantic this year, and drinking whisky in most major airports around the world, and hanging out in countless cafés, it's apparent that there is no easy way for WLAN. Still, I was pretty eager to see whether Nintendo would have somehow cracked it.

The most wishful suggested that Nintendo would be doing deals with the likes of Starbucks, T-Mobile etc. to provide a wide universal access. This interview reveals that the talks of "free hotspots" concern Nintendo retail locations, and even in those cases Nintendo is not sure if they can utilize the stores DSL or if they must bring their own cable.

StarRoad this ain't.

 

[White Man]

The picture confirms it. :lol

(Actually, the Elephant Man's name was John Merrick, not Jim)

Actually, it was Joseph Merrick. It was John Merrick in the movie because it was based off of early biographies where he was mistakingly referred to as John.

And you bastards all stole my crack. Show me your weenis.

 

[GDGF]

We also have a profile for Nintendo free hotspots that we'll put at retail locations, shopping malls and so on.

I so called this months ago, but certain people said I was crazy. I say they'll turn their kiosks into hotspots. Watch me be right.

 

[Jonnyram]

The service sounds awesome.
The one thing I'm curious about, is how your unique ID will work with third party games. Will the third party have access to it in the same way Nintendo uses it? Aren't there some central Nintendo servers involved in coordinating it?

Anyway, technicalities aside, the service seems to have been well thought out, and I can't wait to play online on a handheld!

 

[ManaByte]

Anyway, technicalities aside, the service seems to have been well thought out, and I can't wait to play online on a handheld!

You can play online on a handheld now. It honestly isn't as good as on a console because communication is near impossible.

 

[GDGF]

You can play online on a handheld now. It honestly isn't as good as on a console because communication is near impossible.

Nintendo's already working on voice over IP, though. That should make things a hell of alot easier.

 

[Jonnyram]

You can play online on a handheld now. It honestly isn't as good as on a console because communication is near impossible.

PSP is not online in Japan yet

 

[neptunes]

Nintendo's already working on voice over IP, though. That should make things a hell of alot easier.

Re-read the interview

 

[GDGF]

JM: Voice over IP is a very interesting idea, and there's a lot you can do with it. I don't think the DS makes a very good telephone. It was a technical demo and how we might incorporate that in games in the future, I don't know. But I see it as something we'd like to bring into a game, where communication plays a fundamental part of the game. We don't want to get into the IP Phone type of business.

He didn't contradict me. I never said they were going to get into the internet telephony business, I said that they were already working on voice over IP (which they are)

...and when they do use it, it will be used to make communication easier in future online titles

 

[yoopoo]

Animal Crossing is rumoured to have voice chat capabilities. Nintendo catalog in Germany has a mic icon printed next to AC section.