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[ocelittle]

You know how you can play games wirelessly with only one cart? Like Mario 64 has that limited minigame stuff...well, would that be possible if someone in your friends list is online, they could transmit a game to you over the wifi and you could play that?

I haven't seen this discussed yet...but it would be cool, methinks.

 

[jooey]

sounds like something you'd need a cartridge to enable, which defeats the purpose. the regular DS system menu has no obvious INTERNETS button so it wouldn't work. until some fashionable rogue makes a decent tunnelling program though.

 

[Mejilan]

I doubt it, at the very least, I'd think that the game would need to be programmed to allow such a thing.

I wonder if Nintendo will be upgrading the DS' capabilities through online firmware patches. It'd be neat to get an online version of Pictochat, for instance.

 

[CamHostage]

If they firm-ware updated the DS Download feature to also check on IP as well as local (and they had a method of sorting from the number of people who might be on), then it would be possible. A player would go into the game, select the share mode, then he'd find a list of players who are pinging looking for any download to play. It'd be sort of the same as those downloadble demo kiosks, only on a massive scale. And I think it'd be an awesome idea.

 

[ocelittle]

It would definitely have to be programmed into the game...but that's the point.

Like Mario 64, I could play the game when my buddy has the cart but not me...he just sends the file wirelessly and I play with him...pretty swift.

So couldn't a wifi enabled game be able to transmit those similar data packs to my DS (or wherever) and then play together?

It worked wirelessly, why not wifi...elly.?

 

[ImNotLikeThem]

Because your DS would need to be connected to the internet to recieve the signal, and the only way it can do that is through a game that is internet enabled. its not magic vapors, it can't just randomly "find" a DS waiting to recieve a download somewhere in the world when it has no directions to do so.

 

[Juice]

Pretty much every idea mentioned here would require a firmware update.

Assuming firmware upgrades are even possible on the DS without sending them back to mfctr (for God's sake let's hope they are), they'd require an game-enabled Internet connection to initiate.

Perhaps the trickiest way Nintendo could initiate firmware upgrades would be this:

-Mario Kart DS comes preloaded with the firmware update installer on the cart.
-One person has Mario Kart DS in their DS. Any number of people on a local wlan don't have any Internet-enabled games at all.
-User selects "share firmware update" just like he'd share a game.
-Other users download the firmware patch as they would a single cart multiplayer game, and through what would have to be an amazing installer program running off the RAM, the DS prompts the user to install the new firmware.

 

[Unison]

This idea doesnt really make business sense either... or at least it doesn't fit Nintendo's business model. I know that other games have had online enabled demos, but Nintendo's notorious for being stingy on demos.

 

[Rocket Punch]

They could potentially use the GBA slot to provide a memory solution where everything firmware/wi-fi related can be stored for use online.

 

[ocelittle]

What the...

I don't think you guys are hearing me 100% the right way.

Assume for a second Mario 64 was online enabled...
In that game, you can play multiplayer with up to 4 DS' while only having ONE cart. So would that similar kind of dummied down multiplayer (just to give a taste of the game) be able to be transmitted over wi-fi instead of wireless.

It makes sense, or is wi-fi slower than the bluetooth or whatever is in the DS...?

Obviously one person you know in your friends list would have to have the game, but if they do, could it be feasible?

 

[Mejilan]

I believe that functionality would have to be specifically coded into the game. In other words, just because Nintendo puts together a wifi online infrastructure, doesn't mean that ALL games can make use of it, only those specifically programmed to do so. To my knowledge, Mario 64 DS was not, so there wouldn't be any way to take those mini games online.

I think.

 

[Jado]

He's saying IF Mario 64 DS was online-enabled.

He's basically asking if single-cart online multiplayer will be possible in the DS' lifespan, even if just with simple online minigame extras and not full-blown "everyone has a cart" MK racing, Hunters, etc.

 

[Mejilan]

Woops.

My brain go stupid.



Edit - That, or a stealth edit slipped by me...

 

[broadwayrock]

It would be possible if they wanted to, but i remember reading someone from Nintendo saying that a game like Mario Kart uses small amounts of its resources (hence they are able to offer it it for free).

So unless uploading demos to friends would not involve their server, i doubt they they would want to offer it for free.

 

[Shao]

I don't think its possible without some kind of upgrade, and I doubt thats forthcoming.

Simply put, when you click on download play on your DS, it scans the local environment for anything which is transmitting a signal. It then shows the game and you can click yes etc.

How would this work on wi-fi? You cant scan the entire world for anyone sending a game at that moment. How can you look for your friend to get a game off him? How will your friend see you on his friends list? You cannot be online without a game allowing you to get online.

That said I don't know the specifics of the whole thing, like how they will keep track of your scores etc, how will registering a user ID work and so on. I assume each game has its own unique ID rather than each DS user. This way you can take your game cart anywhere and still be you, but it also means every game will have seperate records and be completely unrelated.

 

[Blackbird]

I don't think its possible without some kind of upgrade, and I doubt thats forthcoming.

Simply put, when you click on download play on your DS, it scans the local environment for anything which is transmitting a signal. It then shows the game and you can click yes etc.

How would this work on wi-fi? You cant scan the entire world for anyone sending a game at that moment. How can you look for your friend to get a game off him? How will your friend see you on his friends list? You cannot be online without a game allowing you to get online.

Wasn't it confirmed in some interview that it would be possible to download demos like the E3 ones using the service, or am I mistaken and was that only through the Revolution? If I'm not mistaken there, it could be done centralized. Download the demo from the main server or something alike, then use the demo to connect to your friend.

However, I do see the problem you're describing though.

 

[Shao]

I'm afraid that was via Revolution, dl onto the console and send it to the DS.

There is no way to do thisstraight off the bat without releasing an online specific DS/gba cart which would allow you to search for and connect to servers and so on.

 

[borghe]

nm