Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments
Search

News for nerds, stuff that matters

Slashdot Log In

Log In

Create Account  |  Retrieve Password

Nintendo Releasing Wireless Router for Revolution

Posted by CmdrTaco on Tue Jul 12, 2005 07:57 AM
from the wireless-uber-alles dept.
Wireless Networking Businesses Nintendo Hardware Entertainment Games
nmaster64 writes "Nintendo is really pushing their Nintendo Wi-fi hard, completely reversing the anti-online mentality they've held in years past. Nwizard.com reports, "Nintendo will soon be producing a router that will allow access to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Network on both the DS and the Revolution. The router plugs into a USB 2.0 port and transfers your computers internet connection wirelessly into your next-gen Nintendo devices." It should be noted this story came at almost the same time as Sony announced they dropped the PS3's router functionality." Update: 07/13 06:20 GMT by Z : Please note there is no source referenced for this "story", and this could in fact be some guy's pet theory.
+ -
story
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

Nintendo Releasing Wireless Router for Revolution 50 Comments More /

 Full
 Abbreviated
 Hidden
More
Loading... please wait.

  • Yes, but... (Score:5, Funny)

    by mrRay720 (874710) on Tuesday July 12 2005, @08:02AM (#13041248)
    ...is Mario WPA enabled? Without decent wireless security that princess will just get stolen again. :(

  • WiFi for consoles makes sense (Score:5, Informative)

    by ReformedExCon (897248) <reformed.excon@gmail.com> on Tuesday July 12 2005, @08:03AM (#13041260)
    The ability to reduce the number of cables is absolutely outstanding. A console that can be attached to the Internet without having to run a wire from the router or wireless hub to the box is a godsend. The ping times might suffer a little, though, I bet.

    I can't understand why Sony would want to withdraw WiFi from the PS3 spec, though. If it is a technical issue, then you can bet they will come back later with an add-on WiFi dongle. If it is something else, then they've got me in the dark as to why they would reduce the spec at this stage when PS3s aren't even scheduled to hit the stores yet.

    But as wireless networking becomes faster, and broadband providers start providing wireless router modems, this kind of thing is going to become the norm. Not only games, of course, but almost anything that needs to "think" more than a "dumb" device will be designed to take advantage of the home-wireless LAN.

    • Re:WiFi for consoles makes sense (Score:5, Insightful)

      by John Betonschaar (178617) on Tuesday July 12 2005, @08:11AM (#13041322)
      I can't understand why Sony would want to withdraw WiFi from the PS3 spec, though.

      Probably because they can't deliver what they've promised, just like with the PSX and the PS2: a mouthfull of hype and buzz, but in the end half of the features are pulled, and the performance is nowhere near the initial announcements (remember how the PS2 would be '100 times faster than any PC on the market' at the time it would be launched. See the PS3/Cell buzz right now...

      Nintendo however not only 'reverses the anti-online mentality' but also reverses Sony's marketing practices: stay silent and keep your feature set undisclosed until its really sure what the final product will be like, this way not disappointing their future customers.

      Still Sony seems to be winning over Nintendo... Which IMO is a pity, not only hardware-wise but also software-wise...

        • Don't give me lines about how their pint-sized lineup emphasizes quality over quantity either. Half of the PS2 line is redundant shovelware that could go out the window, but that still makes the shelf at EBGames three times as big, with quality titles like Sly Cooper, GTA, and God of War.

          As someone who has owned a GC (sold it because I don't have much time left to play computer games nowadays) and an XBOX (yeah I know, but I only bought it second-hand so I could chip it and use it as a Linux box, which I
          • I may have to concede your point there. I bought a PS2 very late in the game, and have bought only 20 titles so far (most used), but I doubt I'd have sustained that purchasing momentum if I'd bought it new, so I figure I might own a whopping 35 games. And there are some real good ones for Nintendo, and I figure Nintendo's vertical integration is no worse than Sony's market manipulations.

            Still, almost all the best games are simultaneously ported to either Sony's or Microsoft's offering (often both), while

    • Nintendo's marketing strategy (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Manchot (847225) on Tuesday July 12 2005, @08:11AM (#13041324)
      I'm getting the impression that for this generation of consoles, Nintendo's decided to sit out of the marketing hype war that Sony and Microsoft are enaged in. Then, whenever either of those two companies admits to overhyping their product, Nintendo swoops in and shows them up by announcing a previously-unknown feature (such as this).

    • Re:WiFi for consoles makes sense (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Hast (24833) <marcushast@gmail.com> on Tuesday July 12 2005, @08:31AM (#13041457)
      I can't understand why Sony would want to withdraw WiFi from the PS3 spec, though.

      That's because they are not removing the WiFi from the PS3. They are removing the /router/ functionality.

      Originally it was supposed to have 3 extra Gbit ethernet connections on the back allowing you to use the PS3 as a networking router. I guess they came to their senses and figured out that no-one wants a console to be a router when a dedicated router which is quiet is dirt cheap.
      • This is already true for the Gameboy DS. It uses WiFi but its incompatible with existing WiFi standards. Revolution will use the same standard. Not sure exactly why, but as I understand their controllers use the same system. So this standard is probably more inline with wireless USB than 811

        • Re:WiFi for consoles makes sense (Score:4, Informative)

          by heov (740302) on Tuesday July 12 2005, @08:31AM (#13041458)
          it's nintendo ds, not gameboy ds. the ds has both wifi and a proprietary rf signal. currently it uses the proprietary rf signal for DS to DS communication. the wifi radio in the ds will be used when online games finally come out. it's real wifi. can work on any router. same goes w/ the revolution. the controller uses a proprietary signal, but online play is standard wifi. this device nintendo released is basically a proprietary wifi dongle. it's not required, but is meant for those who don't have wifi already (which i suggest simply buying a real router)

  • Router? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Freaky Spook (811861) on Tuesday July 12 2005, @08:04AM (#13041262)
    How is it a router if it has to plug into a PC to use its internet connection and not nativley negotiate it coming in?

    Wouldn't you just buy a router dedicated to handle both connections sepratley? They are not that expensive these days.
    • yeah but a good one is around the range of the Revolutions expected price, they want this to be dirt cheap.

      As I said in another post, I have a feeling this is for those people who dont have wifi and who might even still use dialup. Likely anyone who does have a wifi setup wont need it. Nintendo is basically taking the Apple route and making it stupidly easy for the common man to do, which for a gaming system I think is a very smart move.

  • I'm curious what futire plans they have instore for this. Nintendo is always considered a great innovator so it stands to reason that they will come up with some intersting things to use this router for. At least I hope so, because who wants to us the ds to browse the net when you have to be near a computer anyway just to access the wifi signal =p

  • Windows only? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Apreche (239272) on Tuesday July 12 2005, @08:09AM (#13041298) Homepage Journal
    USB eh? Will it only work on windows? Nintendo has traditionally stayed away from the PC to avoid the inconsistency that comes with such a platform. I'm surprised they didn't just make a router that connects with a cat5 cable and does DHCP. Would be much more seamless than a USB device and OS independent.

    As for security, I'm not worried. It is likely that this router will be for Nintendo devices only and wont be subject to war drivers. Notice on the bottom of the DS it says "RSA Secured". Whatever patented security mechanism that refers to is what makes Nintendo wireless different from the wireless our laptops use.
    • " I'm surprised they didn't just make a router that connects with a cat5 cable and does DHCP."
      I am not. This solution will work with any type of internet connection even dial up. But will it work with Mac?
    • USB eh? Will it only work on windows?
      bash$ modprobe usbnet

      bash$ ifconfig usb0 10.0.0.27
      I think this would work nicely on a Linux box - provided they use a standard usbnet instead of some proprietary protocol over USB. It's pretty much as standard as CAT5 ethernet.

    • Re:Windows only? (Score:5, Informative)

      by Torne (78524) <torne@wolfpuppy.org.uk> on Tuesday July 12 2005, @09:07AM (#13041782)
      No, the RSA encryption on the DS is not used to secure the actual wireless communications, but only to secure wireless download play (when you play multiplayer over wifi with only one cartridge between you). The code sent over wifi to multiboot all the DSes that don't have a cartridge is RSA signed, and an unmodified DS will refuse to run multiboot code that does not pass the signature check.

      Once the DS has been booted, either by multiboot or by having a cartridge inserted, the 'RSA Secured' is irrelevant, and any security which is then used is only whatever security the game developer has put into their software, usually zero.

      The device Nintendo are proposing here basically seems to be nothing more than an access-point mode USB wifi adapter, possibly with some software to configure Windows' connection sharing. It will work just as well with any standard wifi router/access point, as far as anyone can tell (online DS games soon to be released, such as Animal Crossing DS, are being promoted as working at any wifi hotspot, something that wouldn't happen if they used some Nintendo proprietary 'thing').

      Speculation: They didn't make a router that connects with a cat5 cable because these days a lot of people have all-in-one wireless router/broadband/everything boxes anyway, and probably most of the people who don't already have some kind of solution to this, integrated or otherwise, only have their broadband connected to a single PC. They could've built this functionality into the Revolution, making it an access point in its own right and giving it an ethernet port, but it's cheaper not to, I guess, especially if my speculation is true.

    • Re:Windows only? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by poot_rootbeer (188613) on Tuesday July 12 2005, @10:55AM (#13043080)
      USB eh? Will it only work on windows?

      Somehow I get the feeling that Nintendo is going to try to avoid making it a prerequisite that you own and use a product sold by one of their competitors in the console market.

      • Re:Windows only? (Score:5, Informative)

        by Dolda2000 (759023) <(moc.0002adlod) (ta) (kirderf)> on Tuesday July 12 2005, @08:55AM (#13041663) Homepage
        If Nintendo all of the sudden relies on a Windows PC to do all this magic, I will have to turn in my fanboy card.
        That you won't have to do. Regardlessly of whether this router requires Windows, both the DS and the Revolution are still compatible with standard 802.11b (and g?) WiFi networks. So you can still use an ordinary WiFi AP to do that magic.

  • It should also be noted... (Score:3, Informative)

    by Quarters (18322) on Tuesday July 12 2005, @08:09AM (#13041300)
    It should be noted this story came at almost the same time as Sony announced they dropped the PS3's router functionality.

    It should also be noted that there is no connection whatsoever between the the statements/actions of either company and there is no point in the above sentence being in the article summary.

    Besides, the Nintendo USB2.0 WiFi device is a bridge, not a router.

    • It should also be noted that there is no connection whatsoever between the the statements/actions of either company and there is no point in the above sentence being in the article summary.

      No point? It was a contrasting statement. I did not know that Sony had made that decision, as much I as I did not know about Nintendo's plans for this "router." (bridge). I found it interesting that these two console manufacturers are seemingly choosing different strategies. I did not see an implication in the summary

    • It should also be noted that there is no connection whatsoever between the the statements/actions of either company and there is no point in the above sentence being in the article summary.

      On the same day Sony dropped a feature from the PS3, Nintendo announced a feature on the Revolution (with next to nothing known about it). Now it may have been a co-incidence, but they're both about features for the next consoles. I'd say there's very much a point of it being in the summary.
  • There's not much info in the article. Is this some Windows-only kludge?

  • Source? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Pointdexter (89416)
    I notice this was submitted by the same guy that wrote the post over at nwizard. Is there any official news on it?

  • Standard spec? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by m50d (797211) on Tuesday July 12 2005, @08:17AM (#13041348) Homepage Journal
    Will it still work with a standard wireless router like the one I have in front of me?

      • Re:Standard spec? (Score:4, Informative)

        by Torne (78524) <torne@wolfpuppy.org.uk> on Tuesday July 12 2005, @09:00AM (#13041711)
        The DS uses 802.11b, perfectly standard. The Revolution may be 11b or 11g, I don't know, but will also be standard. What's nonstandard is that the DS (and presumably the Revolution when talking to the DS) does not use IP over the top of 802.11b, but a custom layer 3 protocol. When being used for online play, it will use IP, the same as everything else (otherwise it won't be able to talk to the Internet), and there is absolutely no suggestion whatsoever that it will not work with a standard wifi access point. Animal Crossing DS is being marketed as working with any wifi hotspot.

        The 'Ni-fi' referred to on DS hacking sites is the layer 3 protocol used by the DS above standard 802.11b, it's not meant to imply that it's not standard wifi.

  • Hmm (Score:5, Insightful)

    by BronxBomber (633404) on Tuesday July 12 2005, @08:18AM (#13041362)
    Among all the hype with all 3 consoles, I hope as much attention is being paid to game playability and fun factor.

    The Genesis, NES, and TurboGraphx16 werent online (well, the Genesis was with XBand eventually), and some of the most innovative, playable games were released on those 3 platforms.

    Super Mario Bros 3, Earthworm Jim, the original Metal Gear, Final Fantasy - a long laundry list of original titles.

    Here we are now in the wireless age and I cant count how many shooter titles are on the Xbox, or generic RPG titles are available on the PS2. The GC clearly still holds rank with gameplay innovation, but interestingly they sit 3rd overall in the worldwide console battle.

    Its kind of sad, really. The market seems to be more concerned with whether or not I can get on the net with yet ANOTHER device, instead of making games compelling enough for me to WANT to get online with it.

    • The Genesis, NES, and TurboGraphx16 werent online (well, the Genesis was with XBand eventually), and some of the most innovative, playable games were released on those 3 platforms.

      Teleplay Modem. [nesworld.com]

  • Since when is Nintendo anti-online? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by _iris (92554) on Tuesday July 12 2005, @08:19AM (#13041369) Homepage
    "...completely reversing the anti-online mentality they've held in years past."

    Since when did Nintendo have an anti-online mentality? All I have ever read Nintendo executives say is that the market was not ready and would only be ready at the tail end of the GameCube's lifecycle, so it didn't make financial sense for them to go out of their way to support it on the GC.

    So far I'd say they were pretty accurate. The XBox Live subscription level is about 2.5% of the worldwide sales; 350,000 subscribers out of 13.7 mil sales. Those numbers are from 2003 and late 2004 respectively. The fact that Microsoft hasn't published their subscription level for XBox Live since 2003 is pretty telling that they are in the very situation that Nintendo did not want to be in. They brought a product to market before the market was ready. It was just successful enough that it is going to be a pain to support, yet it isn't successful enough to be cost effective.

    • Re:Let me get this straight... (Score:5, Funny)

      by TobyWong (168498) on Tuesday July 12 2005, @08:01AM (#13041241)
      Wait wait wait, somehow they are able to catapault bits and bites through mid air???

      What manner of sorcery is this nintendo?!?

    • obviously its using a computer because they want to make it as cheap as possible (maybe even in the 30 dollar range or less) by eliminating things in the router a computer can do, but still offer it for the laymen 98% of whom DONT read slashdot and who are NOT tech savvy and thus might not have 802.11 access in their house or *gasp* use a dial up modem!!!
      • The luddites you describe are not going to buy the latest console for the same reason they don't buy any other bleeding edge gadgets. They will be happily playing their PSX or dreamcast without a care in the world.
          • They aren't "stuck in the past", they just don't care about having the latest and greatest gadgetry. Either that or they can't afford it so they make due with older technology. In either case, they aren't going to have a brand spanking new console.

            And for the record, wireless routers go for less than $50 nowadays. I just took a look on newegg and you can get a netgear 802.11b for $15.99 after mail-in rebate. So much for "$100 - $200".
      • > obviously its using a computer because they want to make it as cheap as possible

        Computers are cheaper than a console accesory these days? Who'd have thought!

        > but still offer it for the laymen

        I though the laymen were the ones /.ers said to know nothing about computers, have them infested with malware and run unpatched windows machines open for everyone. And somehow a device that plugs in one of them infernal machines is better than an accessory that connects directly to the console and just w

    • The "Revolution" is so advanced that... it needs a computer to have access to a Wi-Fi network

      I think misunderstood that: the Revolution has built-in WiFi and Nintendo is selling a WiFi router so PCs can access that WiFi net... they use their own WiFi network. This means if you buy a Revolution and have a DS, the DS can connect to the Revolution immediately without the need of buying a connector.

      AFAIK they have their own WiFi net because of the special requirements a gaming device has.

      • No, no, no, no... no. (Score:5, Insightful)

        by mcc (14761) <amcclure@purdue.edu> on Tuesday July 12 2005, @09:42AM (#13042070) Homepage
        I think misunderstood that: the Revolution has built-in WiFi and Nintendo is selling a WiFi router so PCs can access that WiFi net... they use their own WiFi network

        The Nintendo DS uses 802.11. This USB wirelessy thing is almost certainly going to just be a totally normal 802.11 router, just it plugs into USB instead of sitting between your modem and computer the way a Netgear would.

        You have probably heard that Nintendo has some kind of "propreitary wi-fi protocol". This is true. However this protocol is used for DS to DS multiplayer. Like, if you have two DSes in a room. This "propreitary" protocol will also, as you note, probably be used to connect the DS to the Revolution.

        However, when the DS needs to go onto the internet-- i.e. when you buy one of the online-enabled games such as Animal Crossing or Mario Kart coming later this year-- it switches to 802.11 TCP/IP.

        I think we can completely assume that the Revolution will work the same way.

    • Re:Let me get this straight... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by rhennigan (833589) on Tuesday July 12 2005, @08:09AM (#13041303)
      Nice troll, but the Revolution, just like the DS, will work with any 802.11b/g router. This is just a cheap solution for those without a wireless network already in their home.
        • Not everyone wants to run Cat5 from their computer room, through the hallway, into the living room, around the couch, and into their gaming console. Dropping ports through the walls isn't the easiest thing for a lot of people either. God forbid Nintendo offer us any choices.
          • No, you run the Cat-5 from the console to the cable modem/DSL box(modem/router)/whatever, and then to the wall. All that usually amounts to little more than a couple of meters of cable, nicely fitting behind a sofa. If you have cable TV and cable internet you pretty much have everything you need already next to the TV.

            >God forbid Nintendo offer us any choices.

            How is it offering ONLY Wi-Fi a choice, and offering only ethernet NOT a choice?

    • Re:Nintendo back on top? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by _PimpDaddy7_ (415866) on Tuesday July 12 2005, @08:11AM (#13041320)
      Does this mean Nintendo is going to make a comeback into being relevant again?

      Nintendo was always relevant. Sure their sales were never as big as Xbox or PS2, but Nintendo had a great niche market that generated good revenue. They didn't need huge sales numbers. Nintendo has always made quality games and always been part of a niche market.

      This wireless will only add value to an already great, present, niche market. They know what they are doing.

    • If you're talking about the NES, your memory is a bit clouded. It has an 8 bit processor and can display 24 colours on screen, not 256 (8 bits).
    • 8-bit graphics?! Luxury! Back in my day we had to play Mario with a broken bit of tin from a rubbish can, and a rotting turtle shell from the road!

      We used to get up every morning at six a.m., set up all the bricks to be broken, and then beg tuppence off of passersby to use for coins in the game.

      But you try 'n tell that to kids today, an' they won't believe you!

    • Re:The downfall of Nintendo (Score:5, Insightful)

      by cowscows (103644) on Tuesday July 12 2005, @08:28AM (#13041427) Journal
      The problems with Nintendo are much simpler than that. They pissed off all their 3rd party support with the N64 (expensive cartridges instead of cheap optical disks, and other stupid moves). And a lot of those third parties were still a little upset because Nintendo made some fairly anti-competitive moves during their NES monopoly marketshare days.

      Also, while gaming in general began to market heavily towards the teenage male demographic with games involving gore, violence, and less clothing, Nintendo generally just kept making the games they wanted to make, and with Mario and the like they took on the aura of "kiddie games."

      With all of that, Nintendo's marketshare has dropped significantly, and Sony and MS have become major players. In my opinion, however, Nintendo's games are generally just as high quality as they ever were. And they're definitely the most innovative of the big three.

      Halo made the Xbox, no argument there. The PS2 is not riding high on the coattails of Katamari Damacy, its real killer app was GTA3, although it already had plenty of market share by that point.

      *shrug* It's my anecdotal evidence vs yours at this point, but I thought the gamecube Mario Kart was a real improvement over the N64 version. I have all three of the current consoles, with a similar number of games for each, and the gamecube easily sees the most play. Not to mention that, except for Burnout3 on the Xbox, I can't get my girlfriend to play anything other than the gamecube.

      I hope Nintendo keeps doing what they've been doing(with a few minor exceptions maybe). And hopefully as the gaming community continues to mature, more people will rediscover how Nintendo does a good job of making fun games.
      • Take a look at this article: Nintendo Versus Everyone: The Business of Business [buzzcut.com]

        A quote from the article:

        In this light, it's odd how few game commentators seem to understand just how profitable Nintendo really is. With a net margin of over 20%, Nintendo is a financial rock star. Just by way of comparison, General Electric, that monster global conglomerate whose executives write the books about corporate leadership that other Fortune 500 execs read, clocks in with a net margin of 11%. Nintendo's business

    • "New wireless support will not help the company for as long as the same people who came up with Mini-DVD disks and whoever is in charge of their game licensing division are still in power."

      He's not. Hiroshi Yamauchi [n-sider.com], Nintendo's president since the late 40's, retired in 2002, nearly a year after the GameCube went to market. His successor, Satoru Iwata [n-sider.com], is taking the company in a new, distinct direction as evidenced by the Nintendo DS, among other things. Under his lead, Nintendo has become more accepting

    • Re:The downfall of Nintendo (Score:4, Insightful)

      by chrismcdirty (677039) on Tuesday July 12 2005, @10:03AM (#13042372) Homepage
      I'm going to be nit-picky here.

      First of all, most others would not say their last major success was the N64, they would say it was the beginning of the downfall. Sure, it was their first 3D console, but as an earlier poster said, they made a lot of 3rd parties mad by using cartridges, which also limited textures and such because of the limited memory of the cartridges.

      You say the GCN has a clunky shape, but it seems to me that I can place it anywhere near my TV without it looking out of place. If I have an extra 6-8 inches on the side of my TV, I can put it there. DVD functionality should matter not these days. I just bought a DVD player better than both PS2 and Xbox for $30.

      Xbox has its various Halos. You mean both 1 & 2? Is that all the good games it has? PS2 has Katamari Damacy, and GCN has no quirky games like this? No Wario Ware? No Super Monkey Ball? No Pikmin? And it's blasphemy to say that MK64 is better than MK:DD. The graphics and framerate are so bad in MK64 that it's nearly unplayable. I'd much rather play the original Mario Kart with sprites in Mode7 than play with 2D sprite characters in a 3D world.

      And where exactly is the problem with mini-DVD discs, as you call them? The only problem I see is that it deters pirates, not only because of the smaller disc size (which you can probably buy nowadays), but also because the track is written and read from outside-in, not like normal CDs/DVDs which are read inside-out.
    • Nope, you are not alone. Configuring network addressing/firewalls, downloading patches, Logging into a game, finding people to play against, and then getting sniped at the spawn point every time makes for a real enjoyable gaming experience... at least people like to think so.

      I've been a gamer for over 20 years, a member of the gaming media, and NEVER am I compelled to play an online title. I just want to escape a bit when I play a game not be thrust right back into the asshats of society with spamming/chea

    • Re:Tip for Nintendo (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Darth Maul (19860) on Tuesday July 12 2005, @09:40AM (#13042046) Homepage

      Oh come on. Are you serious? Every time I hear someone scream out for some company to release something as open source and it would be an automatic bonus in terms of usage base I'm reminded of the same people that call for Ogg Vorbis support in the iPod. Who really cares? If Nintendo released the Gamecube OS or Revolution OS as open source, then maybe a dozen geeks would actually do something with it. And that's it. Maybe you're forgetting that Nintendo is all about gaming, and some geek that can compile the Revolution OS is not going to be making a game that will make any money.

      The effect would certainly not be "huge", as you said.

      1. release as open source
      2. ???
      3. profit!

    • Re:Tip for Nintendo (Score:5, Funny)

      by zeath (624023) on Tuesday July 12 2005, @09:43AM (#13042073) Homepage
      P.S. My biggest dream has always been to run telnetd on my cell phone...

      A real geek would be running sshd

All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. Comments are owned by the Poster. The Rest © 1997-2009 Geeknet, Inc.