you would have to be playing some real obscure game for NO one to be playing at the time. Im just not seeing it, no way to share similar interests outside of the game. If im on the console WHY would i want to do that? Even if you want to play something like...I dont know Streets of Rage and nobody plays that. What are your plans, go to NintyLand or Home and just ask a bunch of strangers if they happen to play that one or two strange ass games?? It makes more sense to play the actual game and see who shows up

that sounds alot like HOME, what Ninty is doing isnt unique at all. Hell that sounds like a regular old forum.

Might be, I guess they'll add Voice chat and all that, I guess Nintendo will keep things simple, I never said it was unique.

fair enough, but i dont think they should be banking on something that is already available to a million other users.

I dont think they want to, which is either arrogant or stupid. Their are some things Ninty sucks at. Online is one of them. Screw the forum dwellers, in the real world nobody cares if you copied, they just care if it works

These comments coming out of Nintendo concern me greatly, and arguments as to why they shouldn't are simply obtuse. Cross game continuous chat isn't optional. It is a standard feature, and that makes it mandatory. Nintendo in no way should feel that they have a choice in this matter. This has been a staple of online gaming in PCs for almost twenty years, and is thoroughly entrenched in the current generation. To be even more blunt as if I really need to. There is no fundamental technological justification for it not being made available.

I could run voice chat applications behind games I was playing twelve years ago on my PC, and it wasn't even top of the line for the time. A new console a decade removed from that time should have more then enough power to handle the same today, and if Nintendo cannot handle it through their online strategy. They could do the right thing, and open up the platform to third parties that sell such applications. So users of their hardware can just run the application for themselves.

Which is partly where I think things are headed for the competitors. I have little doubt that both of their rivals are going to offer up the ability for their users to create dedicated chat channels. Where one player can create their own chat room open to the public, and in some cases game specific. So not only will players be able to continue playing uninterrupted, but they are going to be able to freely socialize with random people.

What happens then is those new consoles will look really pro social. While the Nintendo console looks antisocial and antiquated. The only solution I see is for Nintendo to reverse the dynamic if they are not going to play into the dynamic. They need to make their hub world the reason that players play games. They need to have reverse bleed through. They need to make the more antisocial experience of playing games on their platform into a way that players can further their agenda in the hub world.

You make the purpose of playing on the console the obtainment of swag in stand alone games which can then be brought back to the hub world for use. Think of the hub world like the over world in Zelda games, and the retail games like dungeons, and just like Zelda completing dungeons gets you new gear that you can use to open up even more of the over world. Like place a city space on top of a mountain that cannot be climbed. To get up to the top you need certain swags to get there.

You could go play a new Pilotwings to get a jet pack, or you could buy the new Starfox to get a fighter to fly you up there. I guess what I am saying is make the communal space into a Massive Multiplayer space. Which isn't what I am seeing out of Nintendo sadly. I am just seeing a big antiseptic space full of advertising and inane banter. It is really hard to see why people would want to spend precious time in what amounts to a hospital waiting room.

I am just not seeing anything remotely fun about what Nintendo is planning to do with their new console. Ideally you want to see the experience getting more interactive over time. I want someone to explain to me how being more closed off from others is in any way ideal.

Pardon this.  Maybe I need to go into some therapy to get over my attempt to support a bunch of XBox gamers who actually liked Game Room, and then finding out Microsoft really didn't care at all.  Yes, I went down the path of user community rep, and found out that Microsoft didn't get it at all.  I don't think they still do.  Sony tries with Home, but no one seems to be getting it actually.   If you look at the 100 friend list cap on XBox Live, I do believe Microsoft sees it as something you do with your normal contacts, not new people you meet.  

I will say that, when I write, I am not keeping a desire to "garner positive feedback" on this.  I am just writing my thoughts in a genuine way.  I don't see to impress, just express my mind.  Others can do the same.  I do hope that Nintendo does come up with a way to find gamers with similar interests.  What they have with their set up is something I see has potential.  Let's see if it delivers.  I still have concerns people will be doodling obscene stuff in their notes though.

Unless it is a FPS, I give you what I saw regarding game stuff.  Yes, even the most obscure FPS title still has people playing it.  But say go to Contra now and try to find someone.  You don't.  Same with other XBLA stuff.  This discussion shifted this way, because someone was talking about how you meet people in game.  Well, if the game doesn't have a stable pool of players, you aren't going to find anyone to play, and thus not meet anyone who has similiar interests.  And communities tend not to gather when no one gathers around them.  People give up and things become ghost towns.

Point is to have the network be a way to find people with similar interests.  And that is what I was talking about here.  At least the WiiU approach to things looks like it is geared towards finding new players into things, and similar interests.  As I said, Sony's Home is an approach to that and about the only one they have actually.  Microsoft offers nothing like that.  People you play are there not to make as friends, but human competitors.

No the Wii network was terrible, two functioning games outside of the entire library doesnt really change that. N its not like GE always ran smooth itself, which is one of the better online games for WIi. But that might be on Activision. No discounts on the games that released on the service. Little updates, features that were talked about never came to pass. Hell Ninty didnt even really try and thats whats annoying, cant remember the last game they made for the service. the one bright light (VC) got crap support and its only get SNK games that no one in their right mind would spend 9 bucks on. They need alot of work, but no one is expecting them to be as good as LIVE or even PSN, but there not even trying.  MiiVerse is not trying

im sorry but there is nothing that ive read from Miiverse that seems it would be any better at finding new people, just cause Ninty said it doesnt really make it so, they gave not details on how they would do so. I get where your coming from, but what is so hard in just going to a game's leaderboards and just manually typing in a name on the search and just send a request. PSN allows that and im sure MS does too, the only easier solution is to type in "Contra" and see who all were playing recently, but that isnt that much different than what i described. The cynic in me is saying that Ninty isnt going to do much improvement on what is already out there.