14 DAY TRIAL // Nintendo Europe confirmed the use of unique, console specific, friend codes for Wii instead of the rather inconvenient friend code system previously used for DS online play. This major development hasn't yet been announced on the official Nintendo site, thus it's still in the rumor stages. While Nintendo is aware that single game code system for DS compromises usability, it all might get reworked and improved for the Wii. You can now send messages to other users while they're playing another game, or invite them to play together. You will only get one friend code per console as opposed to a friend code on each Wii account.
Here's the word directly from the official Nintendo website: "If we chose to, we could allow each family member to have their own account. But that just isn't what Wii is about. To give a very straightforward example, we're aiming at a console for everyone to use, but if we allowed everyone to have their own account, you would need to enter a password to use the console. To switch on Wii and be presented with a screen asking for your user name and password...well for me, that would have been unacceptable. In discussions, pretty much everyone agreed on this point."
Unlike Microsoft and Sony, Nintendo actively markets to children, thus the main benefit is knowing for certain who players are, regardless of handle, since privacy and security are major concerns. You have to go through the second channel to obtain a friend code, a great way to ensure no mischief is perpetrated with help from the Wii online services. Connection is only possible if both users register each other, so rest assured there won't be any unwanted communication from strangers, like harassment or the ever annoying spam messages.