Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection (sometimes shortened to Nintendo WFC) was an online multiplayer gaming service run by Nintendo that formerly provided free online play in compatible Nintendo DS and Wii games. Launched on November 14, 2005, the service included the company's Wii Shop Channel and DSi Shop game download services. It also ran other features for the Wii and Nintendo DS systems.
Games designed to take advantage of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection offered internet play integrated into the game. When promoting this service, Nintendo emphasized the simplicity and speed of starting an online game. For example, in Mario Kart DS, an online game was initiated by selecting the online multiplayer option from the main menu, then choosing whether to play with friends or to play with other players (either in the local region or worldwide) at about the same skill level. After a selection was made, the game started searching for an available player.
On January 26, 2012, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was succeeded by the Nintendo Network. This online system unified the 3DS and Wii U platforms and replaced Friend Codes, while providing paid downloadable content, an online community style multiplayer system, and personal accounts. On May 20, 2014, Nintendo shut down Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, except for Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Pay & Play branded games for the Nintendo DSi Shop and Wii Shop Channel services, both of which were shut down separately in 2017 and 2019. After the service's closure, there have been various fan-made services to restore online functionality to games that Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection supported that remain operational, most notably Wiimmfi. __TOC__
Launch On November 14, 2005, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was deployed with the release of Mario Kart DS. Having been developed under the direct supervision of president Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's Takao Ohara lamented that Nintendo's long history of online strategies had each quit due to unexpectedly insufficient user bases, but that Nintendo WFC had in four months garnered 2.9 million connections from over one million unique users. To achieve the goal of a truly sustainable online user base with the most-used network service in the world, Ohara described a new strategy for identifying and relieving four main barriers. The proposed four barriers are difficult setup procedures, the psychological barrier preventing newcomers from joining in games, the unpleasantness of receiving abuse from other players, and the cost barrier. The company's proposed online strategy at this point was called "simple, safe, free". Nintendo believed that the online platform's success directly propelled the commercial success of the entire Nintendo DS platform. Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection then served as part of the basis of what would become the Wii.
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection architecture System Wii Nintendo DSi/DSi XL Nintendo DS/Lite Accounts Friend Code System Individual Miis (up to 100 at a time) Friend List (up to 100 friends)Individual account Games Online multiplayer Pay & Play (downloadable content) Online leaderboards WiiConnect24 Game-exclusive channels Online multiplayer Online leaderboards Communication WiiConnect24 Wii Message Board Wii Speak Channel Everybody Votes Channel Check Mii Out Channel (Mii Contest Channel in PAL region) Friend List Cross connectivity with Nintendo DS/DSi/3DS PictoChat (Wireless LAN communication only) Facebook (direct photo upload) DS Download Play Wii cross connectivity PictoChat (Wireless LAN communication only) DS Download Play Wii cross connectivity Online ShopWii Shop ChannelNintendo DSi Shop Entertainment Netflix (North America and Europe only) Hulu Plus (United States only) YouTube Channel (North America and Europe only) LOVEFiLM Channel (United Kingdom only) Amazon Video Channel (United States only) BBC iPlayer (United Kingdom only) Television Friend Channel (Japan only) Digicam Print Channel (Japan only) Demae Channel (Japan only) Today and Tomorrow Channel (Japan and PAL region only) Flipnote Studio Flipnote Hatena Commercial Nintendo Channel Nintendo Zone Internet Navigation Opera based Internet Browser (w/ Flash video and audio support on Wii) Integrated Google/Yahoo search engine DS browser sold separately, not supported on DSi Loyalty Program Club Nintendo Other Utilities Parental controls Online game instruction manuals Nintendo Customer Service (video game console warranty and damage/help support) Nintendo Online Store System Update Wii System Update Nintendo DSi System Update
Services and apps discontinued before May 20, 2014: Wii no Ma - ceased operations on April 30, 2012. Kirby TV Channel - ceased operations in October 2012.The Kirby TV Channel for Wii is back! | 2012 | News. Nintendo. Retrieved on August 23, 2013. As Nintendo terminated the WiiConnect24 service worldwide on June 28, 2013, the following Wii Channels were consequently closed: Nintendo Channel Forecast Channel News Channel Check Mii Out Channel Everybody Votes Channel Digicam Print Channel Flipnote Studio was replaced by Flipnote Studio 3D on June 1, 2013, and its online services for both Flipnote Studio and Flipnote Studio 3D shut down following the secession of Hatena Co. Ltd. The Pokémon Global Link for fifth generation Pokémon games - phased out between October 1, 2013, and January 14, 2014.
General features Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was developed to be easy to connect to, safe for anyone to use, and free of charge. Games designed to take advantage of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection offered Internet play integrated into the game. The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection supported up to sixteen players on the Nintendo DS and thirty-two players on the Wii. Basic features of the Wi-Fi Connection included worldwide matchmaking, leaderboards, and tournaments. Additional features were available to friends who exchanged Friend Codes.
Friend Codes Each game that used Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection generated a unique twelve-digit Friend Code that could be exchanged with friends and be used to maintain individual friend lists in each game. Though certain games could be played online without a Friend Code, a Friend Code was required to play with a specific person. Friend Codes were generated from an identifier unique to a copy of a game and the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection ID of a DS or Wii system. Using a different copy of a game or loading the same copy in a different system generated a new Friend Code. If users wanted to become "Friends", they had to mutually add Friend Codes and be authenticated as Friends once both of them were online. Nintendo introduced these features as conscious steps to preserve users' privacy. If a DS or Wii game was sold, but not the system, there was no risk of the purchaser impersonating the seller. If a user needed to replace his or her DS system, then the old system's Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection ID could be transferred wirelessly, in order to maintain the user's original Friend Codes on the new machine. Some games required that the user use Friend Codes to use any online functionality.
Many games have additional features that are enabled between registered friends. These may include customized matchmaking options, cooperative play, friend lists, text chat, and voice chat. Certain Wii games use the 16-digit Wii Number to share some data passively between mutually registered users via WiiConnect24 instead of using independent Friend Codes. Although some of these games may use both the 16-digit Wii Number and its own 12-digit Friend Code, depending on whether the online connectivity requires either passive data-sharing or active multiplayer respectively.
Through internal design documents inadvertently leaked in May 2020, Nintendo had chosen to use the 12-digit Friend Codes over more common screen names as the company feared that there could be conflict with people with the same screen name, and it would be potentially easy to guess at a person's screen name, which created issues with privacy concerns.
System features While the DS's firmware predated Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, the Wii and DSi featured more robust internet connectivity, in addition to software patches.
Pay & Play In 2008, Nintendo announced a new feature for the Wi-Fi Connection called Pay & Play. Games that used the Pay & Play feature had additional downloadable content (DLC) or services that required extra fees. These fees were paid for using Nintendo Points. A special red Wi-Fi Connection logo with the words "Pay & Play" was used to distinguish these games from the regular Wi-Fi accessible games.
The first games to feature Pay & Play were released in Japan as part of WiiWare on March 25, 2008. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King, Kotoba no Puzzle Mojipittan Wii and Lonpos each had downloadable content available for 100 to 800 Wii Points. The first retail Wii titles to feature Pay & Play functionality are Samba de Amigo, Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band 2.
WiiConnect24
WiiConnect24 is a defunct service that allowed the system to be connected to the Internet even when the console was in standby mode. Games and channels that utilized WiiConnect24 could send and receive data even while the game was not being played. Players who wished to send data to friends only needed to register each other's Wii System Code and not individual Friend Codes. Players could also send messages to their friends using WiiConnect24 from the Wii Message Board. It was shut down on June 28, 2013. When a message was received, the Wii's disc slot glowed blue. WiiConnect24 was succeeded by SpotPass on the 3DS and Wii U.
BBC iPlayer On April 9, 2008, the BBC announced that its online BBC iPlayer would be available on the Wii via the Internet Channel browser. Some users experienced difficulties with the service. On November 18, 2009, BBC iPlayer on the Wii was relaunched as the BBC iPlayer Channel, which was free to download from the Wii Shop Channel. The service was only available to users in the United Kingdom. On February 10, 2015, the BBC announced on their website that they had removed BBC iPlayer from the Wii Shop Channel and terminated the service on the Wii due to resource limitations and infrastructure changes.
Wii Shop Channel
The Wii Shop Channel is a defunct online storefront that allowed users to download games and other software by redeeming Wii Points, which could be obtained by purchasing Nintendo Points cards from retail outlets or directly through the Wii Shop Channel using a MasterCard or Visa debit or credit card. Users could browse in the Virtual Console, WiiWare, or Wii Channels sections for downloads. A feature to purchase downloaded software as gifts for others became available worldwide on December 10, 2007. Additional channels that were not released at the console's launch were available for purchase in the Wii Shop Channel. These include the Internet Channel, Everybody Votes Channel, Check Mii Out Channel, Nintendo Channel, Netflix Channel, Hulu Plus Channel and the Japan-only Television Friend Channel. all downloadable channels were free of charge. Nintendo announced the purchase and redemption of Wii Points would be disabled on March 26, 2018, and then shut down the channel on January 30, 2019, similar to the DSi Shop two years earlier.
Virtual Console