David Braben of Frontier

Frontier boss David Braben has stated that he believes many Wii owners aren't even aware of their console's connectivity.

Braben, who is currently putting the finishing touches to the LostWinds sequel Winter of the Melodias, had this to say:

With online on Wii, it is gradually improving. There are a lot of people out there who don't realize it is even possible, and that the wireless network is built in - you don't have to buy anything separate. People buy it often for a specific game, whether it's Wii Fit or something like that, and see it as a Wii Fit device, and then only later realize, oh I can play other stuff on this.

However, Braben thinks Nintendo's new Ambassador Programme will change this:

World of mouth does that. Friends, particularly the playground, will help a lot, especially when there's 500 free points for everyone you can bag! It's not going to be overnight. The Ambassador Programme is going to help a lot. People are already starting to connect.

It's true with all consoles, on average it's fewer than 50 per cent are online, maybe Xbox is slightly higher. But it's interesting with time the percentage with Xbox has fallen. It's not risen. But the numbers have risen. It's those numbers that matter.

It's quite obvious, the reason the percentages have fallen is as with the PS2 generation, where the early adopters are often core gamers like you and I, that then spreads to a lot more people who, to be honest, don't want the fiddle of connecting it up, until they realise, oh, cool, free stuff! I'll sign up after all.

Speaking of LostWinds, you can read our exclusive interview with Braben here.

[source videogamer.com]