Madden 08 Wii online without friend codes
by Ross Miller 
{ Jun 14th 2007 at 1:25PM }
The next installment of Electronic Arts' Madden 08 will feature online multiplayer but will not be using Nintendo's friend code system, according to associate producer Damian Zerr in an interview with IGN."Madden Wii doesn't support the Wii friends system during online play," he said. "This is something we're still working on with Nintendo. For now our online play uses your EA Nation Persona to search and manage your EA Messenger account." IGN does not press further as to why EA made this decision, leaving us to only speculate the reasons why. Perhaps EA is as distraught with the system as many Joystiq readers have conveyed.
No voice chat will be available during online play, relying instead on EA Messenger for communication (details on how were also not given), but alongside DS connectivity was not ruled out for Madden 09.
[Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nate @ Jun 14th 2007 1:30PM
"No voice chat will be available during online play, relying instead on EA Messenger for communication"
I really don't understand the point of having online play then. In sports games I think the whole point of online play is being able to communicate and talk with others over mics (maybe a little trash talk as well). Other games like FPS's can be fine without a mic, but in sports games, you might as well just be playing against the computer.
Jake @ Jun 14th 2007 1:33PM
Nintendo consoles rely heavily on the young fanbase. They need their console to be a safe place for those youth. If kids could go online and speak and hear all the garbage associated with a typical online game, parents would be very concerned. This way you don't have to worry that someone is verbally abusing your little Timmy. Or more likely you don't have to worry that Timmy is polishing his racist pottymouth with other little a-holes.
Beni @ Jun 14th 2007 2:00PM
Failure. Almost all computer games these days rely on keyboard/text communication. Sure you CAN talk using the mic, but its irrelevant since every PC doesn't get bundled with a microphone..
You should be glad you can talk at all.
Judd @ Jun 14th 2007 1:40PM
@Jake
1. If Nintendo refuses to allow voice chat on their systems because children might hear naughty words, they are only hurting their "kiddie system" image.
2. There is a message next to the ESRB rating in almost all online games. "Game Experience May Change During Online Play."
3. It's not as if kids wouldn't be able to type in curse words. Often vulgarity is worse typed than spoken.
billychaos @ Jun 14th 2007 2:00PM
@Jake
Your assumption of lack of voice chat due to kids is incorrect. The Nintendo 'kiddy' Flagship...Pokemon Diamond and Pearl for the DS Both have Voice chat. (although personally I dont consider Pokemon kiddy)
Other games such as the newest Worms, Custom Robo, Puzzle League all as well have in-game Voice chat for the DS.
deaftly @ Jun 14th 2007 2:02PM
jake is right, if nintendo wasnt worried about the kiddies hearing vulgar language, they would have had a decent online service by now (maybe), nintendo will never lose the kiddie image because the majority of nintendo supporters are kiddies and/or parents buying nintendo products as presents for their kids, sure you might see 1 or 2 M rated games a year but the majority of games will always be targeted towards younger people
SuperMario21 @ Jun 14th 2007 2:24PM
I personally do not care that there isn't voice chat available for the Wii. I would find it werid to talk trash to people I don't know and I wouldn't even use it if it had the option. Im just glad that its online and I will be able to show off my Madden skillz online
sheppy @ Jun 14th 2007 2:11PM
Yes.. deaftly... that's exactly it. Didn't you read that on the missions statement at Nintendo.com? Allow me copy and paste.
"Only little kids buy our stuff so we have to protect the little kidnap-prone retards America seems to breed in abundance. Perhaps if our role wasn't as the parent in the family and we could make a game without having to worry about ethics, we could expand our userbase. But alas, it was never meant to be."
I'd say this decision from EA has more to do with Nintendo still not having a solid online plan or tools for developers. So while it sucks, it looks like EA will have to go it alone for the time being.
The_aNew @ Jun 14th 2007 2:15PM
@deaftly
Godfather Blackhand
Scarface
Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition
No More Heros
Manhunt 2
Obscure II
Orb
just to name a few Mature rated titles, that's a lot more than 1 or 2 a year loland Yes, there's more M titles coming!
vidGuy @ Jun 14th 2007 2:32PM
I'm trading Madden 07 Wii in for 08 because of the online capabilities and the bump in visuals (not shown off by the pic above). The only thing, okay they aren't using friend codes, but now you have to have a unique identifier for EA games! So how's that better? That's worse IMO.
Of course, friend codes aren't an issue if you make everything transparent. Say you sign in to play a random player. You want to be friends, so you send this player an invite. He/she accepts, and the consoles trade friend codes automatically. This way, the online time you would manually input a friend code is when you don't meet your friends online. Of course, for this to be best you need to have voice communication, but at least it is better than manual entry for all codes (though I'm not sure if that's what is required for the Wii).
Mr Khan @ Jun 14th 2007 2:36PM
Watch for this pattern to be repeated, especially if any MMO's want to come to the Wii
Its not like Nintendo forces you to use their friend-code bearing network, if you have your own network (like EA and SEGA), then you can basically do as you please
The lack of voice support is probably just due to the fact that (unless Boogie gets released before this) there won't be any kind of microphone system for the Wii
JodyAnthony @ Jun 14th 2007 2:47PM
"The lack of voice support is probably just due to the fact that (unless Boogie gets released before this) there won't be any kind of microphone system for the Wii"
even then, the boogie mic is not a headset, its a handheld microphone. It would be hard to play with wiimote/nunchuk and still hold the mic.
Oh well, its just the usual whiners. "wii online sucks because of friend codes! oh, I dont have to use the friend code for this? wii online sucks because of no voicechat!"
vidGuy @ Jun 14th 2007 2:54PM
A Wii headset presents a unique problem. They could make one with maybe 5 feet of cord and a connector that goes between the remote and the nunchuk. Of course, then your arms are tethored.
They could make the headset Bluetooth. This would make the headset more expensive and require batteries. Plus, I can't remember how many BT channels the Wii has, but if it's less than 8 then you couldn't have 4 players with headsets (don't know why you would want to, but still).
I'm surprised the Boogie mic isn't bluetooth, but maybe the increased price and battery-dependency was enough to make the decision to go to USB easy.
tack @ Jun 14th 2007 3:00PM
Thank you nintendo for bringing internet gaming back 9 years!!
Mr Khan @ Jun 14th 2007 3:03PM
I believe the Wii can slave 7 BlueTooth devices
Although i don't remember where i heard it
Neebs @ Jun 14th 2007 3:19PM
Take that! If EA can do it, anyone can.
sheppy @ Jun 14th 2007 3:59PM
"A Wii headset presents a unique problem. They could make one with maybe 5 feet of cord and a connector that goes between the remote and the nunchuk. Of course, then your arms are tethored."
The Wiimotes actually have a voice chip on them. So a headset solution would likely be tethered to the controller since, you know, that chip runs about $2-$3 per remote to put in there. Nintendo paid the money, much like the unusual headset plug, far in advance. There is a solution coming, it's just a matter of when.
ill trooper @ Jun 14th 2007 4:05PM
Man, Sony gets slammed for not having an exact LIVE clone ready at launch, while Nintendo has been dodging gamer's calls since before launch. Despite the huge number of consoles sold, I think their late pass is almost expired on this 'online' issue...
And I think the wired USB mic is pretty lame while the whole controller is wireless, and you're not often sitting still while playing. I don't think having a wired headset connected inbetween the Wii remote and the Nunchuck would work well either. They need to make a wireless headset. Well, first they need to allow gamers to play online. THEN they need to make a wireless headset.
Kye @ Jun 14th 2007 4:29PM
That sucks that they don't have voice chat yet.
Really, It's hard to be a member of the NDF when stupidity is your sidekick.
NintendoFanbot @ Jun 14th 2007 4:42PM
I bet Nintendo would be alright with online-cursing and everything but they don't want to get sued even if they aren't in the wrongdoing. The last time that happened they had to put that Safety warning upon starting up the DS and Wii.
Ah well, back on topic: See everyone? If a company doesn't like Nintendo's slowly-growing system, they don't have to use it.
EA is doing some really good work this gen. 0_0
cityoftroy @ Jun 14th 2007 4:45PM
Gonintendo.com had an article where someone connected 15 wiimotes to their wii, so it has at least 15 channels
here is the article
http://gonintendo.com/?p=19106
Gurei @ Jun 14th 2007 5:26PM
Glad,i hate that code system,devs hate it,people hate it,eveyone hates its and i hope nintendo notices that soon,the system is flawed .
Inovation is good,but these time they should have stayed with the true proven system like that of Live
Ken @ Jun 14th 2007 5:27PM
So... Where are all the anti-Nintendo people filling up this thread?
Oh that's right, they actually CANT spin this to bad news.
Don't worry guys, there's that thread up ahead that says: "zOMG! SOME GUY SAYS THE WII HAS BAD GRAFIX!!!"
Gausser @ Jun 14th 2007 5:50PM
I don't know why people make a big deal about friend codes. You don't need them for online play in general. You only have to use them if you want to play a specific friend. How many friends do you guys have? Even if it's 20 friend codes, that's less than 10 minutes. Not a big deal. I've come to the conclusion that gamers just love to whine.
Ken @ Jun 14th 2007 6:10PM
@Gausser
Nope, just those on this site, unfortunately.
Mr Khan @ Jun 14th 2007 6:39PM
@ Ken
You've never seen a NeoGAF thread before then, have you?
Ken @ Jun 14th 2007 8:11PM
@Mr Khan
No, but I've been told NOT to go there. For fear of my sanity. LOL
supporturwii @ Jul 18th 2007 9:03PM
y r u all complaining.wii is going to online play thats great news.big deal we cant voice chat yet itll come let em work out the bugs.if you dont like it buy a 360 enjoy ur voice chat for a couple months til u get the red eye of death then tell me how much the wii sucks.wii is innovative, cheap, fun and continues to improve while ps3 collects dust and 360 breaks.if u dont like what the wii offers for maturity level and online experiences u shouldnt have gotten one that isnt what they were advertising to begin with.i applaud nintendo and ea for offering more for less.ive had the xbox 360 i bought it for xbox live there was nothin special bout voice chat except distortion and the 360 itself is a flawed system that wasnt ready to be put on shelves when it launched thats y microsoft had to spend billions to finally 2 years too late extend every owners warranty.enjoy online madden and give nintendo the time it deserves to put out a great online gaming experience.