Topic: Why doesn't Nintendo ever advertise their free online aspect?

Mario Kart and Smash will have online. That's all we need

Depends on how you define "have online" I guess. If you're talking about online multiplayer then sure, nothing yet. If you're talking about online in general then there are quite a few from the sort of games you'd normally not expect it from. New SMB U, NintendoLand and Game & Wario have fairly strong MiiVerse integration and Pikmin 3 has an, admittedly fairly rudimentary, leaderboard for various parts of the game. Those games basically make up all of the first party Wii U titles.

Of those the only one that's in a genre you'd kinda hope for online in is Pikmin 3. The rest are the sorts of games you wouldn't see much more than Nintendo gave us in terms of online from the other guys if they made them.

To be honest, I suspect part of the reason is that Nintendo rather undervalues online multiplayer. Perhaps it's because Japan was never as internet obsessed as the rest of the world and hence Nintendo never really got the appeal of it until too late.

there's a saying here in brazil that describes this situation "o barato sai caro" it means that sometimes cheaper(or free) stuff may end so problematic that it might end "with a higher cost"(that's exactly the situation because if you lose your console the free online will cost you all your games that were in the console's "account")

Yeah you're right, I did mean online multiplayer. Miiverse integration is nice, and that's a step in the right direction, but online multiplayer can really extend the play time and increase the fun factor of a game.

I could understand why Nintendo Land doesn't have online, because you really need to be able to communicate to play the multiplayer games well. And Pikmin 3 would have syncing issues apparently. Not sure about Game & Wario since I've never played it.

BUT, I think NSMBU would work great with online multiplayer! 4-player co-op games generally work very well online, and it doesn't seem like it would be too difficult to implement. I'm not sure what versus mode is like in this game, but I'd imagine that would be pretty fun online as well. It could also be a great reason to add co-op levels where you NEED more than one player to be able to complete the level. Just my opinion though.

Having multiplayer online games would DEFINITELY encourage me to play my Wii U much more. I've had some great times playing Mario Strikers Charged, Guitar Hero/Rock Band, Mario Kart, and Smash Bros. online on my Wii, and games like Metroid Prime: Hunters and Tony Hawk online on my Nintendo DS. I've been yearning to play a good online multiplayer game on the Wii U!

Because as of now their online services aren't good enough to be advertised. Maybe later when they start using more games with online and as their online services expand it their online might be good enough for an advertisement.

@PloXyZeRO
I'm not sure how much of a missed opportunity lacking online multi in New SMB really is. Personally I think that platformer multiplayer is enough of a task as it is without introducing lag into the equation. The most I would hope for is something like what Rayman Legends did with its challenges.

As for Pikmin well... Starcraft says hi

The Famicom had internet. Nintendo just tends to do things when they are more convenient.
Networks are alot more advanced then they used to be, so they don't really have to think as hard to have a standard internet experience as it used to be.
Every Nintendo console has technically had internet in Japan, while not the same could be said about any other gaming console manufacturer, unless you count PC for Microsoft.

hopefully this gen they'll get it right with the games that need it, like smash.
I believe the reason they haven't really embraced online play consistently throughout their library is related to their design-philosophy more than anything else...but altogether they need to sort out the entire online infrastructure before bragging about it being free. So much work to be done.

But, my post on topic, I think it has to do with Nintendo's general lack of a focus on online. They seem as if they are lost on how to appropriately handle creating a suitable online experience. Nintendo may know how to make games and that is a huge part of the business but things have changed since even the early 2000's. More people now expect and desire to have a great time with online beyond even just being able to play the games with friends. Sega truly started the online campaign, Microsoft enhanced it and led this charge, Sony vastly improved to compete and now it is time for Nintendo to catch up. Your online service is a strong selling point with consoles now and a lot of people use the systems for multimedia machines. I think Nintendo knows they have been smoked thus far in this spot of the business and doesn't with to flaunt that. They now seem as if they are getting it with talking about cloud services and the new NNID system. Give them time to get all things sorted out and then you might see more of a spotlight on it but right now as far as advertising goes shouldn't we be asking more of the question of where is it? Because there's a huge lack of.

Well, Wii U and 3DS are their first game systems that can support "great" online based on hardware. That's enough reason for me to think they'll get it right.
The hardware is built to support alot more than it is currently. The only thing they need to do is update and improve the OSs, which is what they're doing.

Like I said, every Nintendo home console has had online in Japan, but it was basically just what Wii offered.
The news/weather, game info, radio, etc. has been sent via internet for years on Nintendo consoles.

If we really want to get into specifics, Atari and Sega had DLC services similar to PS+. Atari is basically dead, and Sega isn't looked at as being as big of a player as they used to be.

The biggest problem is that Nintendo won't have a killer online app for the console till early next year. Having a good online system isn't just enough, and you need to have a great example of online gameplay in its first year something the wii u won't have. I think if Zombiu would have been thrown in the oven a bit more it could have been that game Even Nintendoland could have easily benefitted from certain modes (Metroid blast) would have had online gameplay.

Looking at the launch line ups for the other systems most if not all the games have online in some ways.

I kind of agree, but Nintendo Land was basically just a tech demo. It was still cool in its own right, but the full games that could happen from those IPs has alot more potential and it wouldn't make sense to have features of a more full game on a social mini-game collection.

Same thing with ZombiU. They were just trying to get a core single player experience that used the GamePad out for the Wii U launch.

They figured Zombi U would be a hit, because it was the only game that used the GamePad more effectively than any other game. Now there's Pikmin 3, Lego City, and Game & Wario. Those are the only games I can think of that use the GamePad the best this far, besides Nintendo Land.

Off-TV play is just kinda standard, and I wouldn't consider it ideal, at least in comparison to the 2 screen uses games could have.

Nintendo was kinda screwed in this regard, if they wanted to actually release some games this year.

I don't think Nintendo is all that worried, anyway. Pikmin 3 is the only game that got pushed back, besides Rayman which is out of Nintendo's control.

They released their console knowing the OS and online features wouldn't be finished.

That's why having the Wii U on the market a year prior is important. They can build an install base and get marketing just by having the system on the shelf while they work on "finishing" the console.

Just look at the Xbox Internet Explorer as a feature they left out basically the entire generation. We all knew Xbox 360 could run an internet browser, it just didn't.

The difference is can't and isn't. People tend to forget those differences, and give Nintendo the benefit of the doubt.

Wii Fit U gor pushed back as well and its easy enough to assume that other games in the piplie were also effected by delays of other games.

problem is a browser ona console wasn't a big deal at the time that the 360 launched. The Wii U's OS/Online set is missing very basic features that have become common place. You can't use the 360 as an argument for why the Wii U isn't as good as it should be. There wasn't a standard when the 360 launched.

With that said as far as online is concerned Wii U won't be adopted that much like xbox one/PS4 will be but the games that will support it will get a decent following like Monster Hunter Tri.

@Sony_70
Ya I can. The Xbox 360 not having an internet browser at first is a perfect example of adding features.
It may not matter that much in regards to the internet browser on Xbox 360, but my point is that people are expecting things that Nintendo has basically shown the Wii U will do once the OS gets done.
3DS connectivity is already basically confirmed, and broader NNID is obvious, because the NNID exists at all.

The comparison is flawed because Nintendo doesn't have the luxuries that Microsoft has had with the 360. When the 360 launched a console with an overarching online compent and an actual OS was never heard of or had flat out failed.

The Wii U has the expectations to be on par with for better or worse the PS3/360, and eventually becoming somewhat close to the PS4/XB1. I can't really blame them since most of Nintendo's games have a singular focus, but a few games should have had online.

-Nintendoland (if not multiplayer than leaderboards)
-Pikmin 3
-Lego City Undercover

The big problem is that people won't compare the hypothetical future of the Wii U, but compare it to what were going to see this fall.

The only way my argument is flawed is that there wasn't an expectation. Besides that, it is essentially the same idea.

If you're talking on par for better or worse, the only option after par is better. They're taking steps forward, not back.

I understand the Wii U online isn't that great, but the point I've been trying to get across since they announced OS enhancements(January Nintendo Direct), is that people have been judging the console without a complete OS.

Agreed (for leaderboards), probably, NOOOOOOO. In that order. Yes, the Wii U 3rd party exclusive in March should have spent money on online in an open world game, that wouldn't have been a terrible idea or lose them money or take a ton of time or anything! I mean, Nintendo could afford another game getting delayed-OH WAIT. Like the other 2 games I do agree with and I think it's because whether intentional or not, Nintendo's usual game development philosophies are too conservative to work in AAA HD gaming (see: the news a while ago where they announced they have been expanding their own studios).