Topic: Online Structure

@Syntech: I remember a lot of PR before release but not many of those devs actually wanting it. Aliens: Colonial Marines was going to be best on Wii U. Ken Levine (Bioshock) was excited about what could be done with the GamePad. But when it came to actual development all we saw were old games being ported. Some of those ports were very good, but developers/publishers weren't flocking.

@DefHalan: Lol your responses never cease to amuse me. I'll be honest - I kinda didn't read everything you typed because I read the part at the bottom first about you not actually owning an X1 or PS4.

SO, while I respect the fact that you have a right to express your opinion, I will also have to say that I don't respect anything you have to say regarding these online systems that you don't actually "own"...

@DarthNocturnal: I just checked - there seems to be multiple interpretations lol but I think you are right. You still "own" the game even if your sub expires, but your rights to play it expire. Which is really weird lol Some people are saying it never expires on the 360, though, while others are saying the opposite. But yea, let's go with what you said.

@rallydefault: I did own a 360 while they were doing the free games, I never used them. So while I don't currently own a system where I get free games (I do own a PS3 but I don't play for Plus) I do have experience with it.

@DefHalan: Gotcha.

TBH there's not a lot that the Wii U doesn't have that I desperately want. Cloud saves would be nice as would some sort of cross-buy but other than that? eh.

The online structure needs to be like Xbox Live and PSN. Voice chat in every game, party chat, being able to message other players without leaving the game or application, total elimination of friend codes, and being able to record your gameplay from any game to upload to Miiverse and YouTube.

Worked out why I don't care....

Voice chat in every game: meh
Party chat: meh
Being able to message other players without leaving the game or application: For sure, and a proper MiiVerse app
Total elimination of friend codes: I thought we already had this
Being able to record your gameplay from any game to upload to Miiverse and YouTube: meh

Not on the 3DS, and this system could be a portable.

I think it's probably a console, though.

They've never taken a backwards step though. The original DS line had no system friend code and different codes for each game. The Wii added a system friend code and some games (I think only Mario Kart) allowed you do add friends if you had their system friend code. The 3DS added a single friend code for everything. The Wii U introduced the NNID. I think we can be fairly confident that whatever the NX is it'll also use your NNID.

Friend codes are already dead.

I like how certain games are doing without voice chat, and not just on Nintendo consoles. For example, I LOVE how Blizzard left out "all chat" in Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm - I think it makes a huge difference when it comes to the potential toxicity you can experience in match.

This way, the only method for an opposing player to trashtalk you is to friend you on Battle.net. I love when I trounce someone in Hearthstone, and the instant the match is over I'll get a friend request from the opponent. I know all they're going to do is trash talk me and my deck, so I just ignore the request and never have to deal with it. I like how Nintendo chose to do the same with Splatoon and Tri Force Heroes, etc. "Free" chat in all games is definitely not something I would consider a plus for an online service.

I do think a proper messaging system, (one where I don't need to go into a different app to see them) party chat, and a better notification system is a must. I would also like a better download system. It kinda annoys me when I boot up a game and it has to download an update and then install the update, there is no need for me to see that. Make into 1 progress bar like the 360. Also, while some games are great at downloading patches while in sleep mode other games aren't, all games should be able to download patches. Mainly I just want small improvements and a party chat system. I am not a big fan of in-game voice chat because a lot of people online are pretty toxic but Party Chat is only with friends.

I agree a lot with what DefHalan has said. A better messaging and party chat system would do Nintendo a world of good. I normally don't care for in-game game voice chat, but sometimes it is nice to have. It can be a lot of fun when you find a like-minded random gamer and are able to play with them for a while.

I really wish there was party chat with Splatoon. It would definitely make the game significantly more enjoyable when playing with friends.

The 'online' features of NX - however you want to categorise them - will im sure be a top priority for Nintendo. They at least made some progress with the Wii U in terms of generating communities, but there is much work to be done making the experience s smooth as it can be.

All I ask for are a modern account system and Miiverse (or a replacement) that run in the background with the ability to quickly jump out of a game.

Otherwise... Nintendo will pay for their lack of vision... cackle

One feature I would like to see revamped is the user profile. It would be pretty neat if your amiibo collection was visible there as a sort of gallery that you could curate, like on Smash Bros.

While I'm not a huge social gamer, and so party/voice chat has little interest to me, I can see how others would appreciate it for both current and future games and thus it makes sense to implement it now rather than a rush patch later.

I also like the idea of a revamped user profile too. One of the things that I like about PSN is being able to look (and compare) at people's trophies and profiles. It's not a massive undertaking but does that little extra to make the place feel like a community. Agree that Nintendo would do well to turn it into a gallery feature; I could click onto a user profile and see their Mii, see their Amiibo collection on a shelf, a list of their VC purchases on another, maybe some trophies or achievements that said user wants to highlight (if this feature were to be implemented), read a brief profile/bio about them, a link to their MiiVerse postings, even a selection of gameplay videos they have recorded (again if implemented).

Again it's just a lighthearted way of establishing a community. Nintendo seems to want that with MiiVerse but in all fairness, posting a screenshot with the caption "this new costume is so cute" isn't going to really bring people together. The MiiVerse could act like a virtual town, not to the scale of PS Home, but a gathering place where you can see other users (and thus look at their profiles), see trailers for new games, demos to download, find the latest Nintendo news etc. Sure you can continue this via the eShop like now, but sometimes having that extra community space brings it all together nicer.

Nintendo will always suffer with online so long as they keep pretending that only 10 year olds use their hardware. Once they learn to just put in age restrictions to posting online and having a full profile things might actually start to go somewhere. I mean for Christ sake we couldn't even have Swapnote, a personal messaging system for friends only.

The problem (or rather, one of) with Miiverse is that it's not tied into the operating system very well. It's basically a glorified web browser, which although grants the devs flexibility for changing it's function/appearance on the fly, is just slow and cumbersome to use as it's one big, boring menu. It simply needs to be more interactive, with greater focus on how that interactivity is displayed through personalisation.

It should be an experience that only Nintendo can provide. I click on a game that I like playing, and I'm taken to a 'hub', if you will, that is unique to that game, were other users Mii's and posts float around a lobby. Not a boring green and white menu.