Nintendo is going to be having free Wi-Fi service for the DS handheld this 
year, and also for their new home system: Revolution, that's coming out next 
year.



http://ds.ign.com/articles/611/611384p1.html
Nintendo Reveals DS Online Service
The Nintendo DS will access the internet this year, and we have the details 
on how.
by Craig Harris
May 10, 2005 - Nintendo has revealed that the company will be utilizing IGN 
Entertainment's GameSpy Technology to create a wireless service that will 
enable the Nintendo DS to go online. Set to launch this year, Nintendo's 
service will enable future Nintendo DS software to connect wirelessly to the 
internet for multiplayer gaming.



Nintendo will not require any subscription charges to enable internet access 
on the Nintendo DS. The wireless service will be able to connect to home 
network Wi-Fi connections as well as free or subscription-based hotspots in 
public locations.

The service will be utilized by software developers in several Nintendo DS 
titles, including Animal Crossing DS which was revealed at the Game 
Developers Conference in March. Players will have the ability to choose to 
play with friends or strangers anywhere in the world, as long as both 
systems have access to a Wi-Fi hotspot. Nintendo will reveal other 
online-capable Nintendo DS titles in the coming weeks.

"With minimum setup procedures, Nintendo DS owners will be able to enjoy 
Wi-Fi gaming just as easily as if they were playing with their friends in 
the same room," explains Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America's executive 
vice president of sales & marketing. "To realize this simple and seamless 
transition to Wi-Fi gaming, we're partnering with one of the leaders in the 
multiplayer gaming world. Accessing the service will require no added 
Nintendo subscription charges, whether users hook up using a home broadband 
Wi-Fi connection or access a Wi-Fi hotspot at a coffee shop, library or 
elsewhere. It doesn't get any easier than that."

GameSpy Technology and editorial site IGN.com are owned by IGN 
Entertainment. GameSpy Technology is operated as a separate entity in Costa 
Mesa, Ca.



http://cube.ign.com/articles/611/611192p1.html
Iwata on Nintendo's Wi-Fi Service
Nintendo to reveal full Online plan at E3.
by Anoop G and Matty C
May 9, 2005 - E3 may be just around the corner, but Nintendo president 
Satoru Iwata apparently can't keep all the secrets to himself. Following up 
on his keynote speech at March's Game Developers Conference, Iwata offered a 
few exclusive comments on the company's Wi-Fi plans to Japanese gaming site 
Impress Game Watch. The comments focus mostly on the Japanese market, but 
many can be applied to America as well.


Iwata reveals that Nintendo plans on setting up Wi-Fi access points at game 
retailers throughout Japan. DS users will be able to connect to these for 
free. Currently, Nintendo is looking at establishing something on the scale 
of 1,000 such points throughout the nation. Of course, DS owners will also 
be able to use other access points, including those that are available in 
their own homes.
The term Iwata uses to describe the Nintendo Wi-Fi experience is "seamless." 
This includes a pain-free connection process both at the retailer kiosks 
and, if you use one of Nintendo's specified wireless routers, in your home. 
Nintendo is hoping that, even when playing Online, players will feel like 
they're playing with a DS that's located in the same room.

Online gaming through the DS will be a free experience, if Nintendo has 
anything to say about it. Iwata reveals that Nintendo will not charge users 
a dime (or, perhaps we should say, a yen) to play Online DS games. This 
means there won't be a monthly fee ala what Microsoft charges for Xbox Live 
access.

This doesn't necessarily guarantee that all future Online DS titles will be 
free. Nintendo is not forbidding publishers from charging for Online 
content, so it's foreseeable that some charges may appear from some 
publishers. However, Iwata states that Nintendo is working towards keeping 
the experience completely free of charge.

Further specifics on Nintendo's WiFi service will have to wait until E3. 
Iwata does reveal one bit to Impress Game Watch, though. Nintendo will be 
announcing a proper name for the Wi-Fi service at the show. Additionally, 
looking at Iwata's wording, the service is referred to as the "Nintendo 
Wi-Fi" service, rather than the "DS Wi-Fi" service. Perhaps Revolution will 
fit into this picture somewhere.

E3 is just a couple of weeks away, so be sure and keep checking back at 
IGNCube and IGNDS for more on Nintendo's Online plans.





http://cube.ign.com/articles/611/611668p1.html
Nintendo Teases Online Plans
A web survey hints at Nintendo's direction for online on DS and console.
by Craig Harris
May 10, 2005 - Nintendo today sent out a web survey to members on the 
company's mailing list, with questions focusing on the company's new 
direction of going online with the Nintendo DS and its next-generation 
Revolution console. In the survey, the company asks users to offer their 
input to questions that relate to whether you'd prefer a unique screen name 
or a preselected one and if you like playing against friends or complete 
strangers.


Most importantly, some questions focus on specific Nintendo game franchises 
that players might be interested in playing online. Listed in the survey are 
games such as Animal Crossing, Mario Kart, The Legend of Zelda, and Super 
Smash Bros.. Animal Crossing has already been revealed as an online title 
for the Nintendo DS, and Mario Kart DS will be at E3 next week. Nintendo has 
also revealed that the company's working on a Four Swords adventure on the 
Nintendo DS.
But so far, Nintendo has not revealed any plans for a Super Smash Bros. 
follow-up on any system, so it's very interesting to see this game appear in 
a survey list.

The survey has been posted until May 11th, but is only open to those who 
have received the email from the Nintendo Online Group.