Reggie on Wii U Friend Codes, achievements, Miiverse moderation, more
The situation surrounding Wii U Friend Codes becomes more confusing by the day. Based on new comments from Reggie Fils-Aime, the setup is returning for the console, but it’ll be extremely different this time around. Reggie told Kotaku that “The method by which you identify someone as a friend is a lot simpler than what’s happening today with Friend Codes.”
For more details on Friend Codes, the GamePad’s battery life, Off-TV Play, achievements for the Wii U, Miiverse moderation, and more, head past the break.
GamePad Battery Life
– Final Wii U GamePads will take charge below the screen as opposed to input at the top of the controller
“I have to say that, as a company, we are amazingly conservative when it comes to giving guidance on things like battery life. If you go back to the 3DS discussion on battery life, the numbers we gave before launch vs. the reality of launch were very different. So what I would tell you is that Nintendo is absolutely committed to making sure that the battery life for the Wii U will not get in the way of the gaming experience.”
Off-TV Play
“(The ability to view and play Wii U games on the GamePad screen rather than on a TV screen is a) capability [that] is there for every game but it’s a developer’s choice if they want that to be part of the experience.”
– This feature is called Off-TV Play
– Feature will probably be flagged on Wii U game boxes
Wii U Pro Controller
“And you could say that our competitive controllers look a lot like our controller.”Fundamentally, ergonomically, it’s driven by what feels good in the hand. The controller has been in development for quite some time, and it’s based on feedback that, for certain games and for certain experiences, that type of controller offers a richer experience.”
Miiverse Moderation
“The way to think about how we will ensure a positive consumer experience with MiiVerse… first, there are parental controls. As a parent you can choose for your child not to have any MiiVerse conversation. You can do it only with friends. You can do it with everyone.
“The second level is going to be essentially a technology-driven scan to make sure that inappropriate words and inappropriate pictures don’t make it onto MiiVerse.
“The third level is going to be the community that will police and flag items.
“The fourth level is for a human review at Nintendo.”
“Let’s take that example. I need help with level so-and-so. The technical scan happens. There’s no bad words. It happens.”
– There would be no queue for the example above
“If the community is flagging it or if there’s an issue where the consumer is continuously trying to send inappropriate content. Because this is account driven, if Stephen Totilo is continuously trying to send inappropriate content then we have the ability to message this.”
System-Level Achievements
– Achievement-like system in place similar to the 3DS
– The system itself has achievements
“We will have that. Once you start getting into game-specific [Achievements] that’s developer driven.”
Reggie says it’s not Nintendo’s philosophy to require achievements for every game
Friend Codes
– Friend codes are back – sort of
“There are friend codes, but it’s not the existing friend code system. What do I mean by that? Here’s what I mean: you will be able to identify people as friends and have a certain level of interaction vs. a different level of interaction for the more general population. The method by which you identify someone as a friend is a lot simpler than what’s happening today with Friend Codes.”
– Reggie agrees that it wasn’t easy to add friends with Wii without calling a person and exchanging friend codes, etc.
– Reggie says that these people will be happier with Wii U
Wii Digital Content Survives
– Once again, you can transfer digital content and saves from Wii to Wii U
Data Storage
– No hard drive is coming with the console
“The main message we’ve communicated is that it’s got USB ports so you can keep adding storage to your heart’s content.”
Wii U-3DS Connection
“It was last year that we talked about a new Smash Bros. that will have some interoperability, some linkage between Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. Obviously [Smash Bros. lead designer] Mr. Sakurai, having just finished Kid Icarus, hasn’t made a ton of progress on that game, but that’s going to be the one where we talk about how the two systems could work together on one game.”
Single-Touch vs. Multi-Touch
“When we went through the building of this and, given some of the functionality, we thought that single-touch was a more appropriate option, especially when you’ve got other button configurations.”
“Certainly there’s a cost to it. Again, we envision this as a controller that you’re putting in your hands and you’re doing a two-screen experience. The concept of putting it in your lap to do multi-touch for us just feels unwieldy.”
Used Games
“We don’t have a policy surrounding used games. We have not put in place any technology to go after the used game business.”
Black and White Wii U
“We are showing white and black [Wii U’s] here [at E3]. We haven’t said anything about launch.”
Topics for which Fils-Aime had nothing to announce
– Reggie didn’t comment on new Virtual Console platforms, whether VC games can be played on the GamePad, Wii U launch price and launch lineup
