Those unfriendly friend codes are getting the boot.
MTV Multiplayer managed to get some time in with Adrian Blunt, an Ubisoft producer working on Ghost Recon Online for the Wii U. When asked about the ease of use for online with the Wii U–something the original Wii is notoriously bad for due to its complex, clunky Friend Code system–Blunt replied that things would be different on the Wii U. For a start, users could create an individual profile, rather than one for their machine. When asked if this would be a user-system similar to the Xbox 360 and Playstation Network systems, Blunt replied “Yeah, exactly.” He then elaborated:
Also the ability to easily find friends. Rather than using friend codes, which we’ve had in the past, we’re able to connect players in a much easier way, which allows us to have a community that’s playing together in the game.
This is a definite step in the right direction for Nintendo if they want to compete with the contemporary hardcore and mainstream market of consoles today. Multi-player is an incredibly important component of modern gaming, whether its mainstream gamers playing Modern Warfare, or hardcore gamers playing Demons Souls. How this will jibe with Nintendo’s traditional reluctance to make online gaming easier for child-predators and other safety concerns remains to be seen. But at least for older gamers, with this news in mind, it looks like playing online will be less of an ordeal for next generation Nintendo users than it is right now.
