Nintendo has announced that the Wii U controller will feature Near Field Communication, or NFC for short, which according to Nintendo president Satoru Iwata will allow the Wii U to do the following:
“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.”
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata also revealed that the Wii U will get personal user accounts similar to those seen on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. This should mean that digital purchases will be linked to user accounts, rather than the actual console.
“Also for the Wii U, we are planning to introduce a personal account system compatible with Nintendo Network. With this, for example, the ease of using a video game system when the hardware is shared by multiple family members, which has been a challenge we needed to tackle, shall be improved, and we will also be able to construct and offer the system by combining a variety of different services and content.”
NFC reminds me of what the Skylanders toys do. Sounds kinda cooooool! I’m so excited for the U to be out already >.< c'mon, E3 :D
Also, YAY for personal accounts on the NN!
Nintendo ruination of innovation smh, look at how long it took,(and note that 3rd party company had to fix) for a decent motion controlled game(skyward sword) to be released. For a game to be released in 2011 with no voicd acting, no HD, low graphics, pixaleted and a story that has been told before is shameful.
How does this news story about NFC and user accounts have anything to do with the game Skyward Sword?
Yeah David, that’s exactly why Skyward Sword is a uh… PREQUEL, right?
^this Yeah the 3ds is awsome for those who don’t mind getting a headache or those that are too much of Nintendo fans to care. Also the 3ds must be played at a certain view or the 3d effect messes up big time, again not a problem for those who are Big nintendo fans.
or you can just shut off the 3D and still be blown away by the gameplay.
Well at least xbox has a proper network. Do you have a wii? The network is absolute trash and I can promise that wii u will have a crappy network. Theres a reson xbox live is charge its for better services. wii u will steal only 2% of what xbox live has and the fans are already acting like its godsend sad really poor souls never owned high tech gear. The wii u will carry the same problems as the wii and I for one look foward to hacking,cheating and downloading there games for free while you suckers wait for mommy to pay lol. oh well am sure it will sale well casual people like buying trash example metro pcs and Its quite amusing when they swear that saod low tech gear is amazing smh.
I have to disagree. I enjoy just as much online multiplayer as the next person, but I never really found a big issue with nintendo’s online outside their demonic friendcodes. I’m not lookin to get all personally engaged with complete strangers just because I played a game of COD with them. And honestly, all I really wanna do is just enjoy some multiplayer action, and I feel like I really shouldnt have to pay extra just to get that exact same experience on an xbox that I can enjoy on my wii or ps3. I really dont care bout PSN gettin hacked cuz I didnt get my ps3 till just last month. And I don’t see nintendo’s network getting hacked, as they have been discovering ways to prevent piracy on their systems. So it all really comes down to it’s worth: pay for a super-fancy network that has tons of features I dont care for and can get from my ps3 just to be able to play my multiplayer, or get a free network that offers slightly lesser features but allows online multiplayer. I think I’ll take that second offer.
i dont know about you but i can look at the 3ds in 3d without hurting my eyes or getting a headache(everyones eyes are different),not to mention the angle in which you view the 3ds isnt that annoying,unless your retarded and tilt your 3ds in an awkward manner which kills the 3d,not to mention like the other guy said,turn off the damn 3d….
^Failure to realize what innovation is. ESS EM AYSHE
@jack treese btw Hey did you see what capcom did to megaman lol Capcom made him a fatass.
David, your xBox Sales SUCK.
Maybe Xbox wouldn’t have to charge for the service if the could actually sell consoles.
Do you own a wii?
Yeah, so does everyone else.
WOW. David, you do not understand video game history at all. If you dont know anything about it STFU
Shameful?
Well, that makes one of you with that opinion.
SS was one of the best games in the Zelda series. I’ve logged over 100 hours, do you even know what the story is about?
I didn’t think so, otherwise you wouldn’t be posting bullshit like an xBox sheep.
@Anonymous In my opinion skyward sword was the worst zelda right next to twilight princess and the the phantom hour glass along with the sequels.
why? well ss had to many save points and the only thing that ruined it for me was the motion control it was too distracting and gimmicky for me to get ingaged to and seeing how future zelda are going full motion I guess I will be playing the handheld versions which if the rumers of future titles of zelda=3ds version than I’ll stick around. As for twilight while graphical awsome the story felt boring and forgetful compared to their other zelda titles-to me anyways.
@David
WTF? You didn’t like Skywward Sword because it had “too many save points”? That seems like quite possibly the stupidest reason to hate a game. And you thought that the “motion control was too distracting and gimmicky”? You did realize you were playing it on a Wii, right? NOT a 360? LOL That would be like saying “I hated playing (nameless 360/PS3 game, because pushing buttons distracted me).
The graphics aren’t that bad. Sounds like you need component cables to max out the Wii.
Zelda games never had voice acting, it’s a part of the series (I’d like it to be changed, but I’m defending it in terms of tradition of the series). You can’t make it HD on a system that is not HD.
Did you just call Skyward Sword’s graphics low? You are either retarded, or never played the game. Skyward Sword’s visuals are a masterpiece. Story that has been told before? What the hell are you talking about. Retarded troll is retarded.
just another bitch ass reason to bash onn nintendo! were the hell do you get skyward sword from that comment?
are you some kind of retard or you just love to troll.
Don’t feed the trolls, please!
*sigh….* David… Listen to me. You are too blinded by what nintendo doesn’t do, and do not even credit what they ACTUALLY do.
Let me tell you something. Voice acting, HD, graphics, ALL of that add NOTHING to how FUN a game PLAYS. Nintendo chose to be DIFFERENT. You’re just like Michael Pachter. You don’t give credit to what nintendo DOES do. The games may have a story that has been told many times, they may have a not so advanced graphics engine, but why do you hate nintendo for working with what they DO have, and making a game that is STILL beautiful, colorful, has a big twist in the story, but most of all, FUN? You know, FUN? Anyone remember FUN?
Nintendo is trying so hard to fix their mistakes for people like you. A personalized account system, great online service, third party support, HD, they are doing all of this stuff for YOU. These things have become standards, so of course nintendo is going to include them.
Dude, we get it okay? You hate nintendo. That is fine. So if I may ask, why are you posting on this nintendo fan site? Can you explain to me why you are posting on this site if you hate nintendo so much?
FUCK PLAYSTATIONS AND XBOXS NINTENDO WII2 FTW
Sounds pretty good, and how about we get a system like the trophy one in PSN?
I heard it will have an achievement system from a credible source but I can’t be too sure. And this mean NN isn’t just a rebranding of NWFC
Nintendo might go with a more advanced version of the 3DS coin earning system, perhaps achievements with coin currency instead of gamerscore, something like ‘Beat the 1st time trial – 30 coins’ instead of 30G’. Looking at what they did with the Letterbox app and how you can send special messages using coins you have earned I can see them going down this route.
It would also be cool if this extended to the Club Nintendo coins.
I’ve had this exact thought. It would be a fantastic addition.
Add some facial recognition into the controller for signing into these accounts and things will be very interesting, could be a great demo for casual users to show how easy it is to access your own account, get straight into your own Brain Training save by just picking up the controller and looking at it etc. This could tie in with the strong ‘U’ emphasis that Nintendo were talking about at E3.
That would be an amazing hook.
old news? kidding.. i mean i read it at IGN but its only bin some hours or so. but back to topic, this is exciting news! NN is sounding better and better. im still not sure what NFC does…
It’s sort of like Bluetooth. It’s a very local wireless connection that can transfer data from one device to another. It’s current biggest use is in cell phones. Phones with NFC can do things like transfer credit card information to an NFC cash register, which eliminates the need for cards.
Iwata was very vague as to how NFC will be used with Wii U. It sounds like Nintendo plans on releasing cards or figurines that are NFC compatible. The figures could be used in a number of ways: in-game objects that appear when the item is in range, for instance, or as preorder bonuses that house extra content.
Something like a Wii U system transfer is another viable option.
Thanks for explaining it, I was a little confused too. You also have some good ideas there :)
Thanks for the explanation, I was raking my brain for hours
I hope they make a better network than PSN and XBL. I love my PS3, but the Wii U is the first next generation console, it needs to raise the bar, it needs to be better. Hopefully they’re really working on the internet functionality. Friend codes just… over complicated things. It’s much easier to exchange nintendofanboy294 instead of 1630-4219-3219 (examples, not realy FC’s or usernames).
I hope this works out..
good for nintendo to play catch up.
this^^^
Honestly wasn’t aware any other console had NFC.
Once i saw “NFC” i thought it was No Friend Code. :(
FINALLY an account based system. Friend codes were a pain…
This feature is one thing I’m looking forward the most in terms of new announcements. I guess that Ubisoft card game may not be just a rumor after all.
Just like with Skylanders, Nintendo may want to enter the toy/card manufacturing thing again. Having this feature alongside something like a Pokemon figure/card game or a partnership with Konami for Yu-gi-oh! games could potentially drawn Nintendo in so much cash that they would use it to wipe their butts.
The payment option is a nice addition. You see, by having this method, they can avoid saving personal user information on their systems, and it eliminates the pain of having to enter you credit card info every time you buy something from their online store. I knew they were working on something to avoid hacks that have invaded the PSN and recently the XBL, but this was a really nice surprise.
Cool. Can’t wait to see what devs will do with this but I hope it doesn’t make Nintendo Network that much easier for hackers to get into.