It’s hardly an industry secret that Nintendo is the most reluctant console manufacturer of “the big three” when it comes to pushing online play on its latest home console. Xbox Live has really set the benchmark when it comes to providing what players now readily expect from a gaming experience that takes them into the wider virtual world outside of their own machine, Sony also seems to want to reach that same wavelength, but Nintendo still appears somewhat cautious about the whole idea - a decision that could potentially harm the chances of the Nintendo Wii in the years to come.

Nintendo has been reserved about the process of online gaming for years now. While Microsoft had the ambition, foresight (and monetary funds) to pursue the idea as far back as the launch of Xbox Live with the firm’s first console, Nintendo seemed somewhat reluctant. While allowing third parties to dabble in Internet gaming on the GameCube (most notably SEGA, who provided the GameCube’s only online title, Phantasy Star Online), George Harrison, vice president of marketing for Nintendo of America stated at the time in May 2002 that it saw online projects as “a very interesting market” and one that would be “very small” for the foreseeable future.

The rest HERE - http://www.nintendic.com/news/2083

Yup after two years online play will suddenly become important, Nintendo will completely ignore it, and the Wii will die a terrible violent death.

i dont think it could kill it, but its true that wii dsnt give a fuck about their online gaming.

i was at my cousins house for easter, and she has a wii. and i have to admit, brawl is a pretty good game, along with wii sports, but it does get ptretty damn boaring. she couldnt even go online because she doesnt have a wireless router. and wheres the voice chat? i would love to play brawl and shit talk the people i pwn.

soo... you frequent Nintendic too?

So is the Wii dead yet?

Also aren't only 40% of Wii owners connected to the interenet, and that includes any that did it purely for VC downloads or the browser.

To tell the truth it seem a lot of the folks who buys the wii know exactly what they are getting, and seems for the most part does not give a hoot about online gaming, don't get me wrong, there are quite a few folks who want it to be as great as Xbox live, nintendo are not interested in just copying live. To me live seems like it is uses gaming to socialize, whereby nintendo's approach seems more of socializing through gaming.