WiFi Nightmares - are Friend Codes really a solution?
Sunday, August 12th, 2007 at 12:10pm by Andrew
No matter which games you decide to play online, there will always be someone there to mess up the good times. The notorious Halo after-battle-chats have plagued parents’ thoughts for a long time. Now, after buying a child friendly game console, the Wii, their thoughts may have been inaccurate about child friendly WiFi.
Recently on the Infendo Forums, user Alucard posted a picture of the “Nintendo WFC Central” screen from Mario Strikers (pictured above). It displayed a vulgar Mii, courtesy of the “Striker of the Day”.
Even with Friend Codes and Nintendo’s security, things like this will invade the network. So, is there a really a use for Friend Codes at all?
August 12th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
what?
August 12th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
hmmm, i’m very curious as to what it is/was; i can only guess one thing though…
August 12th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
Friend codes were supposed to keep garbage like this away from Nintendo’s younger gamers. And obviously, they has clearly failed.
Of course, I have seen this much SOONER on Mario Kart DS with custom paint jobs of “phallic symbols” and / or rude nick names online so it is not an isolated incident, as a matter of fact it is just the beginning. As more and more online games creep out on the Wii and the DS, more and more jerks will be finding ways to be rude. As we have already seen on both the DS and on the Wii with there limited amount of online games.
Another fault of Nintendo’s Online system is the lack of user options to DO something about these jerks when you encounter them. On X-box live one can always eliminate any jerks voice, or better yet completely take them off your player list and put them on an ignore list that you will NEVER have to worry about them again.
So Nintendo needs to fix this problem whatever way they can , maybe add some more options for gamers to send back negative feedback about the jerk to Nintendo themselves like you can do on X-box LIVE.
Anyway way you look at it, as it stands right now, friend codes have obviously failed their main purpose. I never liked them in the first place, but understood that there are many young gamers playing Nintendo, so IF they actually worked, they were tolerable. But they don’t work. So why the hell HAVE these annoying, long game specific codes at all ?
August 12th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
Proof of how important friend codes are, Imagine talking to that guy that has a mii like that! Any user created content has the disadvantage of offending someone, and it probably be pushed by a few to really offend. Nintendo tries,but its just in our dna to make someone feel bad.
August 12th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
Just imagine if you were allowed to modify the miis’ hands, think how many would be pointing the middle finger just because it can be done.
August 12th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
Nintendo’s friend code system has always been horrible. They claim it’s safe ‘n all, but really it’s just as bad as any other online service. The thing about online in general, is that your kid is never really safe on it. There will always be something that your kid finds or is shown. So the only way to keep your child from being exposed to this is to not let him/her online; or monitor them when they are online.
I also agree with Wii Wii: Why does Nintendo even use these codes in the first place? Believe it or not, coding a friends code system is easier to code than Xbox Live’s system for getting friends. So why Nintendo continues to stick with FC’s is beyond me. Wouldn’t it be great if FC’s were banned and forced Nintendo to code a “better,” “safer” online system? Of course knowing Nintendo, they’ll probably just not have online period. Or at least for a whole year they won’t (you’ll have to count the 10 plus times they’ll delay the relaunch of it.)
August 12th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
At least they are trying.
August 12th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
How can a mii be vulgar?
August 12th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
I was playing online, and ended up being paired with a player called “Team Anal”. I’m unsure what the face was supposed to be, but it didn’t look like other Miis. Although vulgar, it wasn’t explicitly profane. Unfortunately, there will always be people will use any excuse to display their stupidity when given the opportunity. I will not delve into a socio-political tirade, but unfortunately it is to be expected. I do not hold Nintendo at fault. Great game, by the way.
August 12th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
I failed to mention that Nintendo uses a Wii Code/Friend Code system, and these codes, or at least the Wii code, could easily be used to blacklist offending players/systems.
August 12th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
OH, alright, I didn’t realize the pic above was censored…
August 12th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
The Mii’s name was suklfuckr and had a penis for a nose. The actual screenshot can be seen here http://www.infendo.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=1476.
August 12th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
@ rokerovakero:
As of yet, at least on the wii there is no way to chat to others in the first place so having friend codes that don’t really do anything like prevent chat with the person in the first place is useless.
August 12th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
Maybe its just me, but I made a Mii just like that. I ended up erasing it before my kids saw it…but hey…if a 35 year old professional finds penis noses funny you can expect the younger set to find them amusing as well. Then again, maybe most 16 year olds are more mature than me. That is probably the case…
August 12th, 2007 at 6:18 pm
Uh, wow, I can’t believe Nintendo didn’t see that putting the Mii of each day’s champion up for everyone to view would eventually result in this happening.
August 12th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
I’m no fan of friends codes, but this mii is hardly evidence that they have failed.
“Even with Friend Codes and Nintendo’s security, things like this will invade the network. So, is there a really a use for Friend Codes at all?”
Are you kidding me? This is like saying, even though we have laws as a society, people still commit crime so is there any point to having laws at all?
And to the guy who had this to say:
“Anyway way you look at it, as it stands right now, friend codes have obviously failed their main purpose.”
This is quite possibly the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Thank you.
August 12th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
Well, even without friend codes, Strikers could never be a more dangerous experience for minors than is now. Even with your friends, you can’t chat by voice or text, and you have no way to reveal personal information except by the name of your Mii.
So the analogy between WFC and society at large wouldn’t work, because people could and would do worse things without laws than they do with them, whereas Super Mario Strikers’ online experience is written to be like wearing 3 condoms at once regardless of who your friends are. Wake me up when there’s a Wii game with chat capability, and then maybe this discussion will be worth having.
August 12th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
I can only assume that someone created a male part on the face? Well, Nintendo did encourage people to be creative with the facial options that we’ve got.
August 12th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
I saw the penisnose i don’t get how you could get offended or how it could screw up you children this is a big fuss over nothing at all… Actually i would never have guessed that it was supposed to look like a penis if i hadn’t been told.
August 12th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
Nintendo has taken the time to punish us with friend codes to protect children when there are already parental settings on the Wii, but they didn’t take the time to block curse words like fuck in a mii name? If they don’t correct this in the next few weeks I will be shocked.
August 12th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Why theres any lobby , why it doesnt show how many players are playing ? instead we are forced to play with somebody with a pennis on his face radomly …..
You think if I see somebody in the lobby room with a face like that , I will play with that person ?
I think having a lobby that show thier mii’s and name will make you pick the player you want to play with wisely…..
But no, we are forced to play with the first jacka$$ that appears to be ready to play…….
All I want is a lobby where you can pick and choose a player I want to play with and the amount of players that are logged on …
But still if you want him/her to be on your friends list you still need to exchange friend codes..
August 12th, 2007 at 11:57 pm
So there’re leaks in the security measure, well gee whiz, obviously it’s not working and totally not worth it, let the flood gates open.
I mean c’mon, seriously? I’m surprised you’re still using windows and buying videogames, with all the patching and updates and all. This is obviously just making mountains out of mole hills and poking at weak spots because of the simple matter of the fact that you just don’t like Friend Codes period. So why not just say it that way instead of decrying every little nitpick, otherwise you’d be suggesting methods to avoid such incidents in the future.
August 12th, 2007 at 11:59 pm
sorry but this is ridiculous. if you are such a “concerned” parent that you are invested in never allowing your child to see a penis or the word fuck then do not let them play this game. or live a life. children are bound to see this stuff somewhere. there is no way for nintendo or anyone to prevent that.
August 13th, 2007 at 12:47 am
[...] Link [...]
August 13th, 2007 at 1:14 am
“Well, even without friend codes, Strikers could never be a more dangerous experience for minors than is now.”
If you start off with lies as a premise, I suppose you could make any point you want, no matter how ridiculous. Strikers isn’t dangerous for minors now. This is all to do about a nose that looks ever so vaguely like a penis. It doesn’t even really look like a penis. So yeah, thats just as dangerous as having a 9 year old listen to people screaming GET RAPED over voice chat. The idiocy on the internets never ceases to amaze.
August 13th, 2007 at 5:21 am
Of course many f you people don’t get offended seeing someone making a nose look like a dick on the miis, tell your girlfriend how funny you find looking at dicks on guys faces on your Nintendo, she’s probably go buy your a cake since you are such a catch! or maybe your mom wants to play the game and finds you made yourself look like a anus and she now plays for the “anal team” since you forgot to erase it. Or maybe your children start writing “Salty Nutz!” on the furniture since that’s what you call yourself on a Mario Bros game. I know, just good ol’ fun!
Beast, maybe your are just new to nintendo online gaming, but this thing started thanks Animal Crossing, Mario Kart had it, but really was made with AC in mind, some people were getting angry when adding some stranger (something nintendo doesn’t recommend) and started chopping all your trees, and YOU KNEW IT WAS THE RISK you took inviting someone you don’t know into your game, imagine letting them roam free? have you seen how crazy second life is? that’s what Nintendo is avoiding, specially since children are the main targets, not some 28 year old coming from work at 10pm to play Nintendogs.
August 13th, 2007 at 5:24 am
Leave it to the Americans to cry wolf over a penis.
“WiFi Nightmares - are Friend Codes really a solution?” Think again, please.
August 13th, 2007 at 5:39 am
Atually my first experience on Nintendo Wifi was talking with a kid that told me he was always sad because he was the only black kid on the classroom and the kids always made fun of him, oh and girls didn’t like him because he talk like a white guy, I just really don’t understand what kind of stupidity you got in the U.S.A. I felt playing online was a double-edged sword since he was getting into a very racist-sexist-I-can-say-what-i-want kind of world. Japanese know about this so they rather block all personality other than a little blocky character, and look, someone figured a way to make a penis and a asshole! they sure are clever! Xbox added video chat, and on the first day, Assholes while playing UNO!
August 13th, 2007 at 6:19 am
I think there is a deep misunderstanding of what Friend Codes are for!
Friend Codes are not there to keep “children safe”. Friend Codes are there to keep Nintendo safe! Just like in XBox LIVE, once you have someone added to your Friend Code list, they have access to your system as much as the game will let them. And if Strikers allowed for voice chatting, Alucard would have heard every little detail from “Striker of the Day” on how to use his nose!
The way Friend Codes work is this: you can give anyone communication access to your system as long as you exchange codes with them outside any system provided by Nintendo. This frees Nintendo from all legal accountability regarding their game system.
Sort of like saying “I didn’t do it“!
August 13th, 2007 at 9:06 am
Listen, everyone is taking this way too seriously.
I’d first like to say that while the guy’s username (seen in the actual screenshot) is rather offensive and I wouldn’t prefer to let any kid I ever have see it at a young age, it’s not that big of a deal. And truthfully, I wouldn’t have guessed his nose was a penis if everyone hadn’t told me.
And something tells me an 8-year-old might have felt the same way.
Every system has some sort of weakness, but if all there is for friendcodes is long numbers to type in and an obnoxious username or Mii, then I’d say Nintendo did a pretty good job of making sure no one would really suffer any damage. Truthfully, an image of a penis and the word “fuck”, while not exactly the most eloquent choice of personal representation, is really not that bad.
So I think the friend code system is holding up quite well and is very responsible, especially when compared to all of the horror stories I’ve heard about XBOX Live.
Oh, and I’d like to add two things to this comment:
1. I think it was a little irresponsible on Infendo’s part to fuel the fire because of their hatred for the friend code system. While I dont expect the staff and writers of Infendo to remain completely impartial, I think that delivering something as editorial as this would have benefited from from any lack of opinion. And this line didn’t help:
“Even with Friend Codes and Nintendo’s security, things like this will invade the network. So, is there a really a use for Friend Codes at all?”
2. Rokerovakero, to call someone you spoke to online racist and then to basically say that people in the United States are stupid really destroys any validity (of which there was very little) you might have had in the first place. You need to learn to articulate better and support your reasoning with more than anecdotes that are likely to offend, or else your scant point of view will seem even less-believable.
August 13th, 2007 at 9:57 am
Hey hey hey. I certainly don’t love the FC system, but I don’t hate it!
No system is ever going to be perfect. I think we should all just deal with FC, regardless of where we stand on them, and have fun playing games like Strikers. Does that sound a bit syrupy? O well, Strikers rocks and I expect more of the same from Nintendo in the future.
-jack
PS — Insults aside, I’m loving the passion Infendo readers are putting forth in their comments these days. Good form!
August 13th, 2007 at 11:35 am
The above posters are right. This little episode does nothing to indict the safety of friends codes. Anyone waving this as a flag of friend code failure, particularly while wrapping themselves in a cloak of “lets protect the kids” is a hypocrite and has no idea what they’re talking about.
August 13th, 2007 at 11:46 am
My problem is not with the Friend Codes themselves, it’s the lack of an online gaming “hub” on the part of Nintendo! Friend Codes work just like gamer tags in Xbox LIVE, except they are numbers, and you cannot send invites via your Wii or DS. Big deal.
The REAL problem is that, once you got your list of friends, you don’t have a place on the console to view who’s on and what are they playing. This decreases the chance that you will ever meet.
You’ll see what I’m talking about once we get half a dozen Wii games with online play capability…
August 13th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
Nintendo came up with the friend code system and that was it. They’re a totally closed minded entity. They come up with a solution that to them, is THE way to go and everyone else in the world is wrong.
There are plenty of free services to provide match making services for gamers on the PC, providing ease of use yet being as (or more) safe than Nintendo’s shoddy method. Having simple user control options and buddy lists are NOT the exclusive domain of pay-for services such as XBL…
As for the Mii, really, it’s not a big deal, if you are afraid of seeing something that looks abit like a penis or if seeing a drawing of a nob or any other body-part is so jarring it will ruin you or your children’s mental state then you have issues. Going outside you’ll see much much worse scribbled everywhere, and if you turn on the TV the violence, social degenerates and plain stupidity commonly found on most shows, music and movies are much worse than a human body part.
Moral of the story, if Nintendo had provided a half decent online system, you’d have the option to simply block users like this and that would be the end of it. As it is, you’re stuck with it. And I still cant add friends codes from another country in Mario Charged, welcome to 1994 Nintendo.
August 13th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
racist? can you tell where did I call someone a racist? if you are talking about the kid I spoke to, he was saying how he was a victim of racism, since he was a african-american. Maybe if you tried reading my comment again…
August 13th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Sorry If I don’t write to your level, but english is my second language, so I didn’t think we had Oxford graduates here, sorry if you feel I misused your language.
As a foreigner, I understand you guys are so angry that Nintendo chose this as their way of online since you have had it very easy with Xbox Live since a few years, but the rest of the world does not revolve around the internet, so Nintendo getting online is just like Invisibleman said, covering their lawsuit-friendly image around kids.
I believe I think different that most of you, but I just rather have the codes and add a bunch of friends I know, that mix with a buch of “hardcore” strangers. I like having the mexican flag on my xbox live account, and 90% Of the people I meet, can’t understand why some mexican crushed their asses, and get pretty angry. I guess you guys are so cool that you don’t care and don’t get offended by ANYTHING but did you know some of your compatriots REALLY hate mexicans, specially if they are better than them? I didn’t know that mexicans were taking your jobs overthere, but I had nothing to do with that!
If you guys don’t like Nintendo’s online system, write them some emails and they will probably create a online community with chatrooms and badges and wallpapers and stuff like that, tell them you rather pay $60 a year for that stuff, and Nintendo will come to their senses, but as I been a Nintendo user since the 80’s, they probably go for a $19.99 a month, but that way they can please their “hardcore” mature users, just like they did on E3…
Has anyone bought Boogie yet?
August 13th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
@rokero,
First, not everyone here hates/dislikes mexicans. I love mexicans, and I agree with you. Friends codes would not have been my first choice for an online architecture, but you know what? Mario strikers works pretty damn well. I have my friends added and I can see if they are online, I can invite them to play or i can play strangers. I can’t ask for much more than that in a free online service. I’m very happy so far. If they release more games and they keep this level of service and it is free, I anticipate that the Nintendo online gaming community will be much larger than the xbox live gold subscribership. Already the DS has surpassed the number of online gamers on xbox live. It took the DS less than 2 years to get more online gamers that xbox was able to get in 6 years so it can’t be that bad. Y tambien Rokero, no te preocupes que eres extranjero, tu ingles esta bien, muy mejor que el espanol de las personas quien commentar aqui.
August 13th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
amen, dude!
August 13th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
I looked at the image and what immediately jumped out at me had nothing to do with the controversy at hand.
I thought this would be a discussion about how, even if you try to enter friend codes they are frustrating and inconvenient. I am not philosophically opposed to the idea, but after putting in 30-some odd Striker codes from infendo readers I have only 3 friends on my roster!
I am getting pretty annoyed in the random ranked battles being full of disconnectors! Nintendo, call it a loss please!
-Chris
August 13th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
BTW, I thought this because of the prominent 0 of 0 friends online at the top of the screen.
August 13th, 2007 at 4:09 pm
Friend codes only work in a closed environment. As soon as you open up access to the public, via chat, voice or even a leader board as we see here, all bets are off.
I believe Nintendo is trying to balance a closed system (friends only) with an open system like XBox Live. Many people like to play in public games and it increases the value of the game’s online component since you can play more often with more people if your friends are limited. In a closed system you can only play with your friends when they are available and in an open system you have to put up with the dregs of society.
This balancing act is difficult and Nintendo is proceeding cautiously in my opinion, but they will never be able to have an open AND sterile environment. I guess that is why they have build parental controls into the Wii.
August 13th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
“I am getting pretty annoyed in the random ranked battles being full of disconnectors!”
Really? I hardly ever get a disconnect (i got a few the first day, but I’m sure it was the congestion of everyone logging in the first time). You’d have to be an idiot to disconnect, it gives your opponent an automatic win and you take a 5 point loss.
August 13th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
I’ve been disconnected on numerous times, but haven’t been credited with a win any of these times.
August 13th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
@chris,
If you didn’t get a win, then the opponent didn’t quit on you. The connection was lost. If your opponent powers down or unplugs their machine, you WILL get a win and 10 points. If the connection is dropped somewhere between you and the servers or vice versa, then no one is awarded a win/loss and no one gets any points.
August 14th, 2007 at 12:05 am
LOL. He was named SckItFckr or something like that.
August 14th, 2007 at 10:47 am
Again, the problem is NOT so much the Friend Code system, that’s only an annoyance… The REAL problem is that you never know if your friends are on or what they are playing until you look for them through the specific game they are playing at the moment. The chances of that happening are nearly astronomical!
The real convenience of Xbox LIVE is that I can log onto their website on my computer and see which of my friends are on and what are they playing, so I can simply jump in! Or, I can turn on my Xbox or Xbox 360 and look them up there. Once I’m signed into my console, they can see me too, whether I’m in a game or not, and in whichever game I’m playing!
Surely everyone can see the advantage of that, right? The issue with Wii not having that might be technical, I’m afraid. But if Nintendo could pull it off, how awesome would it be to have that kind of hub not just for Wii, but for DS as well?? (Through a Wii channel, of course… I don’t think the DS could handle that kind of connectivity!)
August 14th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
Unlike the poster above, I’m glad not to have that type of hub functionality, I would prefer that people on my friends list can’t see me online in other games than what I’ve added them to. If I add a friend in strikers, I want him to see me on in strikers, but I don’t necessarily want him to see me when I’m on playing Animal Crossing, for obvious reasons.
Maybe this is a symptom of friend codes in that I have a lot of strangers in my friends list, most of which I don’t want to see me online unless it’s in a specific game. I’m sure they could code it so that you could block certain users from seeing you in certain games, but what a pain in the ass. This is a free system after all. I would expect features like that in a system as expensive as LIVE but thats overkill in a free online environment.
August 14th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Used cisco, don’t call other people liars if you’re going to lie yourself. Super Mario Strikers doesn’t have voice chat in the first place, so it would be pretty hard for a 9 year old to hear “GET RAPED” through it, with or without friend codes. You couldn’t come up with a scenario when not having friend codes in Super Mario Strikers would be harmful, so you made one up.
Hence my point. With or without friend codes, playing Super Mario Strikers online is designed to be a 3-condom experience.
So, when Nintendo actually releases a Wii game with some kind of chat built-in, we can have this conversation again, but for Super Mario Strikers, friend codes are pointless.
August 14th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
I didn’t lie. You did. Or at the very least you don’t really understand what it is you’re saying.
“Well, even without friend codes, Strikers could never be a more dangerous experience for minors than is now.”
Lets see, “strikers could NEVER be a more dangerous experience”.
Sure it could. They could allow voice chat. They could allow texting.
Both of which would make it more dangerous for kids. So your comment is flat out false. It COULD be more dangerous, WITH or WITHOUT friend codes. Don’t say never if thats not what you mean. To say it could NEVER me more dangerous without friend codes is ridiculous. Hell, it could be more dangerous WITH friend codes, obviously it could be more dangerous WITHOUT. Maybe thats not what you meant but its what you typed, and its false. Period.
Some people just don’t get it because they are so busy crying (see your posts for examples). Friend codes are not the ultimate answer to security for kids. They are part of a larger system. One that doesn’t typically include things like voice chat or messaging or online propositioning by strangers.
It may not be 10 condoms, but like you say, it’s 3. Maybe thats not right for you or me, but Nintendo has to balance that against what they feel is right for other users and their company. Personally, I wouldn’t choose friends codes the way Nintendo has, but I understand why they are doing it and they are not keeping me from having a damn fun time online playing with friends and strangers alike, the only thing thats bothersome is the people whining like the children Nintendo is trying to protect.
August 17th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
Oh, fine. To clarify: all other things being as they are now, if Nintendo hadn’t put friend codes into Strikers, it could never be a more dangerous experience than it currently is.
August 17th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
You may want to clarify further, in that, the experience really isn’t dangerous at all the way things stand right now WITH friend codes, so arguing that it couldn’t be MORE dangerous without friend codes (whether or not it’s true) is pretty lame.
August 19th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
The fact that it’s not dangerous right now with friend codes, but would not be any more dangerous without friend codes, due to the lack of any significant information-sharing ability, was exactly my point. It demonstrates that in Mario Strikers Charged, as released, friend codes are completely pointless. In other games they may not be, but in Strikers they are.
August 20th, 2007 at 11:09 am
But friend codes aren’t pointless. I use them to see if my friends are online. I use them to invite a friend to play online. I think you are confusing them being pointless with your preference that they be letters chosen by the user rather than numbers chosen at random. Friend codes are pretty handy whether you like the implementation of them or not.
August 20th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
Congratulations. That has to be the most disingenuous comment I’ve ever read on Infendo.
August 21st, 2007 at 10:59 am
Which part? Dont you use friend codes to connect to buddies online? Maybe I’m using them wrong.