I didn't mind friend codes at all, they were a great idea to protect kids from bad people imo

3DS friend system is great.

The only downside (to me) is that sometimes you'd get paired up with somebody in Mario Kart or Resident Evil or something and you'd have a great time.  Then, when the game is over, you never see them again.  I end up feeling dirty and abused like some sort of cheap whore.  If we could just play with random people we enjoyed, it would be perfect.

Good point, but you're a cheap whore so it doesn't count

...We're still on for tonight though, right?

Honestly, I don't think friend codes were (ever) a bad decision but the lack of features surrounding friend codes were the problem ... A friend code really isn't any different than a phone number or address, and people don't mind these systems because they are well structured, can be stored for future use, and there are systems designed to search for them.

is that what you got out of that? 

Like the Nintendo 3DS, Wii U will feature friend codes so that strangers won’t be able to purposely harass dutiful gamers. You can, however, be Wii U buddies with strangers via Miiverse, according to Nintendo President Satoru Iwata. Iwata says Wii U players can friend people on Miiverse who share similar interests.

sounds to me like wii U has a 3ds like friend code system with the additional ability to be "mii verse" friends inside of miiverse.  to me that means there is an extra layer of complexity to find a person on miiverse to pre-exchange friend codes before going into a game.  in psn i can get hookup inside of a game with a random, decide they are a fun person to play with, and then friend them directly from the list of "met players".  simplier and easier.  but hey, in the right directly at least.

a majority of people who have Nintendo systems are underage so I agree with the friend code system. As someone who has a younger sister (who I plan on buying a second wiiU) for I am grateful for this. My little sister was playing chess on yahoo and you wouldn't believe the level of harassment she gets because her avatar is a girl. I made her change it into a boy but she still gets that annoying prick once in a while. I hope Nintendo never gets rid of friend codes.

Just tell me I'm pretty.  I need to hear it.

Isn't there a 'recently played' catergory with the last 50 people you encountered online with that though? I know it's not making them a friend but at least you can see when they're online, join their game etc. and it also shows you wins-losses in Mario Kart at least.

At any rate, I'd imagine we'll hear more on the Miiverse very very soon,

Yours sounds no better lol. You completely assumed the system was just like the 3DS version. It says like the 3DS, WiiU will feature friend codes. So did the Wii and DS.