The Nintendo DS offers free WiFi connectivity (if you have an access point) for network gaming. And, it's growing.
The Nintendo DS is a successful hand-held product, as many already know. However, for those that are not DS wielders: The DS is network capable. This works by powering it on and playing a network-capable game, Tetris is a good example.
Once you put in Tetris and click on the multiplayer menu the game will look for an open wireless access point. If your house is equiped with one the DS will attempt to connect to it. Once connected it will go out onto the Internet and find gamers to match you up against. This is similar to Xbox Live without the concept of "gamer tags" (one that really should be implemented). This allows, for free, DS gamers to play against each other competitively.
This service now has 2 million gamers playing DS games! That's fairly impressive for a simple hand-held console system. The service provided by Nintendo has also logged over 70 million individual gaming sessions in the nine months of its operation.
Every new WiFi game that is released for the DS will increase these figures by attracting new gamers and keeping older gamers WiFi addicted.
The new game, Star Fox Command, is the newest addition to the family. Recently released, Star Fox Command allows for multiplayer dogfights! That means you can game with friends (or random people) from the comfort of your home, passenger seat in a car, airport, space museam or the back of the classroom!
If this is an example of the success that we can see on the Wii, hopefully with upgraded support and "gamer tags," it might be the next best thing to Xbox Live!
The Nintendo DS is a successful hand-held product, as many already know. However, for those that are not DS wielders: The DS is network capable. This works by powering it on and playing a network-capable game, Tetris is a good example.
Once you put in Tetris and click on the multiplayer menu the game will look for an open wireless access point. If your house is equiped with one the DS will attempt to connect to it. Once connected it will go out onto the Internet and find gamers to match you up against. This is similar to Xbox Live without the concept of "gamer tags" (one that really should be implemented). This allows, for free, DS gamers to play against each other competitively.
This service now has 2 million gamers playing DS games! That's fairly impressive for a simple hand-held console system. The service provided by Nintendo has also logged over 70 million individual gaming sessions in the nine months of its operation.
Every new WiFi game that is released for the DS will increase these figures by attracting new gamers and keeping older gamers WiFi addicted.
The new game, Star Fox Command, is the newest addition to the family. Recently released, Star Fox Command allows for multiplayer dogfights! That means you can game with friends (or random people) from the comfort of your home, passenger seat in a car, airport, space museam or the back of the classroom!
If this is an example of the success that we can see on the Wii, hopefully with upgraded support and "gamer tags," it might be the next best thing to Xbox Live!
