According to Nintendo, 40% of Wii users have gone online. Assuming that the total number of people that bought internet strictly for their Wii (not likely) and/or are “borrowing” their neighbor’s wireless signal (more likely than you’d think) adds up to a generous 5% of Wii owners, this means that at least a third of Wii users have a computer, a router, a broadband internet connection, and a willingness to go online with their console. That demographic is ideal for online gaming.

While probably only a tenth or less of plugged-in Wii users would regularly play online games if they were handled on a per-game basis and quietly tucked away within each game’s title menu with nary a word spoken hence, a focused campaign from Nintendo to connect its Wii users in a centralized service – maybe dress it up extra adorable, smattered with Miis and smarm – could crack the typically-reclusive “casual market” open like an egg. And soon, God willing, most of the world could be shrieking racial epithets into their headsets.