in the past, i've shurgged off friend codes. i'm like, dude, what if my friends aren't online? like 2am in the morning? then i can't play with other guys. friends only? what a ridiculous idea.
but after watching that video... i realize that even if i run into that experience just once i would just be totally turned off.
now imagine how the casuals feel. if casuals are the target audience, Nintendo cannot afford even the 0.1% chance of this happening to one of them, or the word spreads.
if you provide friends code, then it's your fault if you get into those situations. hey, maybe you even enjoy trashtalking that much.
so for the first time i actually see one plausible reason for this friend code thingy, in additional to that pedophile argument which is just, well, let's just leave it alone.
if nintendo keeps the friend codes to the purest form (i.e. no modifications), the above argument paints a consistent picture.
to the more avid gamers, nintendo says, "you guys just have to figure out a way to get together." and guess what... websites that exchange friend code abound. it's inconvenient at this stage, but we'll see how nintendo executes on this front.
the Wii is an epidemic.
