SpotPass

Open for business

3DS owners, make sure your wireless switch is on: Nintendo just sent out a new puzzle panel for StreetPass Puzzle Swap. The new picture of Mario Tennis Open is a 40-piece puzzle, which should last you a fair old while. We haven't heard of any other pictures coming through yet, but if you get a different image then be sure to let us...

Starting today

3DS owners in North America, observe: your console is about to get a lot more musical. Starting today, the Nintendo Video app will start to offer new 3D music videos, with Sabotage by Wale and So Good by B.o.B the first to land on this very day. After that you can expect videos from Skrillex, OK Go, Death Cab for Cutie and more, all...

More than just a letter box

Nintendo Letter Box, also known by the catchier title of Swapnote in North America, filled a notable gap in the 3DS’ functionality when it was launched in late December last year. When the handheld launched various features were bare-bone or missing, and one frustrating omission was the lack of any meaningful way to...

Pick up the pieces

Puzzle Swap is one of the most compelling reasons to take your 3DS out and about, but if you've completed all the puzzle panels — yes, even the ones in the November update — you'll be pleased to know Nintendo has just released a new puzzle via SpotPass. 3DS owners with their consoles connected to the internet will receive a...

Getting stronger all the time

Masahiro Sakurai has revealed players will be able to grab new weapons for Kid Icarus: Uprising through SpotPass. Speaking at the on-going Nintendo Direct, Sakurai spoke about the system's StreetPass and SpotPass functions opening up new ways to share and create weapons. Players will be able to get new Power Gems to...

Careful with that ketchup

Nintendo has today announced more than 5,000 new Wi-Fi Hotspots available through Europe. After previously confirming an equivalent deal for UK airports, this provides further evidence that Nintendo is serious about its promises to provide online 3DS access at a variety of locations. This particular deal has been struck...

It's taking off

Nintendo UK has confirmed an agreement with the curiously-named Boingo Wireless to provide free Wi-Fi access in a number of major British airports, a move that will also bring Nintendo Zone to the UK for the first time. This is ideal news for jet-setters who fancy a bit of eShop browsing while waiting for their flight. It's important to note that 3DS consoles will only connect to..

Group effort

As promised, Nintendo has opened up about the online features in its big multiplayer title for 2011, Mario Kart 7. One of the big new features is the ability to create groups for your friends, letting you organise players into specific skill, location or friendship groups, with these shared via StreetPass too. You can also custom rules for each group, opening up the opportunity for..

More than just a video

A set of seven new 3D trailers hit the eShop today, but like the Nintendo Life team they're not just pretty to look at: they serve a higher purpose too. Downloading any of the trailers also allows you in to receive SpotPass notifications for that title in future by playing the video, selecting "Notifications" and making your choice there. Of course, you can change..

5,000 new hotspots

The 3DS's innovative SpotPass service — where the console automatically downloads content as you carry it around — is contingent on there being easily discoverable, unsecured WiFi access. While gamers in North America have access to 10,000 AT&T hotspots, there's been no such deal for the UK — until now. Nintendo UK will team up with The Cloud to grant console owners..

And more scheduled to arrive

Dead or Alive: Dimensions releases today in the UK and Europe, and it's already taking advantage of the SpotPass service with downloadable content available today. Once you pick up your copy, head to a hotspot or your own home Wi-Fi broadband connection to receive a brand new costume for Kasumi. You can also face Kasumi as controlled by a CPU replication of Team Ninja..

SpotPass in store

Following the official North American 3DS launch at Best Buy in New York back in March, Nintendo is to continue its relationship with the retailer by offering exclusive downloadable content for the console at around 1,000 stores from 7th June. As well as offering 3DS users access to the SpotPass service, which sees the console automatically connect to an available Wi-Fi hotspot to..

Or read the code inside

SpotPass, so we're told, will deliver fresh updates straight to your 3DS: new characters, new content, all automatically and for free. Don't believe us? Ask a Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition player, as they recently received a new figurine from Capcom through thin air. While a level 7 golden Blanka statue doesn't sound like much to the uninitiated, to those engaging in..

SpotPass just got easier

The 3DS's new SpotPass feature is designed to let the console automatically seek out new content every time it comes within range of a wireless Internet hotspot, a feature that just got a lot more useful across North America as Nintendo President Satoru Iwata announced a new collaboration between the company and AT&T that will see 10,000 hotspots opened up to console..

We wouldn't want that to happen with the 3DS, would we?

He may think that the 3DS and Sony's Next Generation Portable (NGP) will appeal to different demographics, but intrinsically, the two systems share more in common with each other than the rivals let on. One difference however, is the inclusion of a 3G service on the NGP, and Iwata has shared his thoughts on the possible implications of..

Went with SpotPass instead

Nintendo's idea with the 3DS is, in the company's own words, "Carry Around, Affect Each Other and Something New Every Day". At one time there was a rumour that 3DS would contain 3G functionality, allowing gamers to access the Internet wherever they were as a modern mobile phone would, and president Satoru Iwata confirmed the company looked into the feature but..