It's amazing what a subtle nudge can produce, isn't it Foo?
Seeing as this is the night of the long post I'll try to join in .. .. .. ..
I like the Nintendo Friend Code system. I know that isn't a popular opinion, but I don't care. I like it. I like knowing that my kids can play online against their friends if they want to without having a friend of a friend of a friend ask them to play a game (in the style of XBLA). I like knowing that I have to actually WANT to add someone, and that they WANT to also add me to their game / console / life. The double positive failsafe route is reassuring in these times of media hype about sexual predators. I'm happy for my kids to play online on their DS or Wii whenever they want to because I know that they can't be approached by random strangers, something that can't be said of the Xbox or a PC. In preparation to the response "parental control" .. .. .. I try to let my kids set their own boundaries (guided, obviously) so within the environment that Nintendo has created they feel like they have the freedom to choose whereas I know they are limited in their choices .. .. .. win / win as far as I'm concerned.
I am frustrated at the size of the FC lists though. I have already filled my MKWii roster, and Bede has yet to purchase the game .. .. .. I've a feeling I'll be looking at the names very carefully to see who Ive actually raced with (thelocalUK .. .. I'm sorry but your survival of the cull is looking dubious!). The situation isn't new to me though .. .. ..my Pokemon D/P lists were also on paper because the 32 slots only covered a third of my FC list .. .. .. the trading was intense as I raced to fill my pokedex .. .. .. ..
But larger memory means either less game saves or higher costs for the consoles. I don't think support for external drives is likely because that could provide a back door for modders and hackers, something that Ninty are keen to avoid.Nintendo have always tried to keep profits up by squeezing the minimum spec technology into the maximum retail return and they aren't going to change to suit European gamers desire for online play.
So we're left with notebooks and A4 paper .. .. .. but you know what? If the result is more games like MKWii I'm prepared to practice my handwriting!
(oh, and now a good time to suggest that the Repository is converted to a mod run section of the forum? Continually editing in peoples codes while I'm stuck at work unable to play is depressing
)