Nintendo Network Logo

After yesterday’s announcement that the Wii U will be in stores by Christmas in all major territories, Nintendo Company President Saturo Iwata has announced the launch of a new online portal dubbed Nintendo Network for the upcoming Wii U console and 3DS handheld during a Q3 Finance call.

The Nintendo Network will operate in a similar way to Sony’s PlayStation Network and Microsoft’s Xbox Live services. Nintendo have not needed such an elaborate service until now due to the lack of AAA title support for the Wii which usually offer DLC post launch. That will change for the Wii U as revealed in a game montage during E3 2011 where it was clear that publisher multiplatform support would stem out beyond Sony and Microsoft to Nintendo’s new offering via teased games such as Darksiders 2.

There are talks that the whole experience will be simplified and unified. The removal of the current tedious friend code system will be the most welcoming change. The Network will also feature clan support via Communities, DLC purchases, communication and competitions. Other plans include the sale of full retail titles via download and Wii U support for multiple user accounts. Parts of the service have already started rolling out. Mario Kart 7 on the 3DS features Communities and the first titles to support DLC for the company are Tobidasu Pricla Kiradeco Revolution and Theatrhythm with releases due in the upcoming months.

The most interesting aspect of the Nintendo Network will be how Nintendo will differentiate itself from their competitors. As a company, Nintendo have always had strong values to innovate and it is highly probable they will want to attempt something new in this area too. My only issue with the service is the logo. It looks like a complete rip off of the RSS logo. The curved white rays and orange background are pretty much the same with the only difference being the letter n instead of a white dot. You can see the RSS symbol in the Follow Me box on the right hand side.

NFC functionality built into the Wii U controller was the second big announcement made. Saturo’s vision combines two areas the tech is currently being used in and brings it to the home console platform.

“By installing this functionality, it will become possible to create cards and figurines that can electronically read and write data via noncontact NFC and to expand the new play format in the video game world. Adoption of this functionality will enable various other possibilities such as using it as a means of making micropayments.”

NFC inclusion may result in built in functionality for games similar to the recent success of Spyro Skylanders. A big trend expected to rise in smartphones this year is the inclusion of NFC. This will allow users to walk around with a virtual wallet and will make it simple for them to make micro transactions on the Nintendo Network Store. Another area where NFC could be of use is in prepaid currency cards. A £10 Nintendo Network voucher need only be placed on top of the controller to activate rather than typing in a long code manually like the system it’s rivals have in place.

Moving on, the Wii U may be rebranded under a new name. The rumours arrive after a new marketing tag line was revealed for the 3DS as being “This is not DS. This is 3DS” for upcoming UK TV adverts. It seems like a wise decision as the public may have looked past the 3DS completely by assuming it is just a DS with a 3D screen. Nintendo would be heading in the right direction to differentiate the Wii from the Wii U through a new name. This would most definitely help its mostly casual consumer market understand that the Wii U is a brand new product rather than a small upgrade or rebrand.

Finally, Nintendo will continue to support the 3DS with a strong line up of games especially after sales for the device have started picking up. Big hitters include Luigi’s Mansion 2, Mario Tennis and Paper Mario but the big surprise is the announcement of a secret completely new 2D side scrolling Mario game which is currently in development for the handheld. I suspect an announcement will be made at E3 in June.