Following up from that recent earnings conference more news of the future of Nintendo’s Wii U has been surfacing offering some interesting developments for the home system and the 3DS Portable and their positions in the console market – introducing a Nintendo Network.
Yesterday came confirmation from Japanese co. boss Satoru Iwata that the Nintendo Wii U will indeed be arriving for the Christmas gift buying season and we know a “finished product” is due for the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June. We’re now hearing that also at the earnings report this week Iwata has detailed plans to unite gamers in a networking system which resembles Xbox LIVE and the Playstation Network, offering personal accounts for Wii U owners, digitally distributed packaged software and “competitions and communication among users, as well as the sales of digital content.”
“Unlike Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, which has been focused upon specific functionalities and concepts, we are aiming to establish a platform where various services available through the network for our consumers shall be connected via Nintendo Network service so that the company can make comprehensive proposals to consumers” says the CEO.
Iwata speaks of the versatile Wii U account system which will allow for more than the current one user to register: “We will also be able to construct and offer the personal account system by combining a variety of different services and content”.
The Nintendo Network is firstly set to make its presence felt on Nintendo 3DS before presumably touching down on the Wii U at time of release.
In other Wii U news the final name of the home console itself has been thrown into doubt by a quote taken from an “insider” which reads: “Serious discussions are ongoing at the highest level in the US and Japan as to whether the firm should cut its losses and give the console a different name.”
We all had a snigger when the original Wii name was unveiled. At first it was ridiculous but now it’s just become part of the gaming landscape. When the second coming was outted at last year’s E3 and they called it Wii U because it’s for “me and U” we audibly facepalmed. But will a change of name really make a difference?
Let us know your thoughts on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.
Tags: 3ds, Account, change, Christmas, Competition, conference, content, Live, name, network, nintendo, Personal, playstation, Portable, psn, satoru iwata, Wii U, xbox
Gadget Help, News and Advice. Brought to you by Gadgethelpline.com - Join now for only £2.99 per month to end those handbook horrors
