14 DAY TRIAL // Sony is preparing to launch Home, the social space that will bring together all players that use the PlayStation 3 and want to connect with other people. Microsoft is releasing the New Xbox Experience which is set to offer more social options with Avatars and Live Parties. Meanwhile, Nintendo, although selling a ton of Wiis each month, is still in the land of hard to use friend codes. After all, the gaming console from Nintendo is easy to use, so the company must be thinking of making the social connections between its fans as easy to manage.
Reggie Fils-Aime, the president of Nintendo of America, talked to Forbes about this very issue and dropped a few hints regarding some of the company’s plans. As always, he emphasized the fact that Nintendo takes a different approach, so the very definition of “social” should be special enough. He says that “Our consumers do want a sense of community, and we're going to deliver that, but in a way that's unique to Nintendo”.
Nintendo has recently announced Wii Speak as a way to connect Wii users. The headphone package is now shipping with Animal Crossing: City Folk as part of a launch bundle but it will also be available as a separate device in December. With the audio element now in place, Nintendo needs to be thinking about a visual way of connecting people. A camera for the home console could be in the works and could help create a virtual world where a player's Mii, plus audio and video feed would be combined to make a social experience.
Of course, Nintendo might be planning something radically different from the approach that Sony and Microsoft are taking but it probably needs to launch an application soon in order to be able to boast that the Nintendo Wii is a social platform as well as a gaming console.