Wi-Fi Play: Dojo Update #82

This game supports Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. If you connect your Wii to the Internet, you can enjoy linked battles with distant people!

For details, click here.

But because this form of communication is greatly affected by the distance between you and your opponent, your brawls may not run smoothly if you’re really far apart—like, for instance, if you’re connecting between Japan and America.

The more distant you are, the worse your connection becomes, and the slower it feels. I apologize, but I hope you understand.

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This is the main menu for Wi-Fi!

There are two primary connection methods. The names of these methods are “With Friends” and “With Anyone.” The menus and structures of each method are pretty different.

With Friends

Wii friends who have registered one another’s names can play together freely.

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Register your friends!

If you’re registered as friends, you can check each other’s status. If a friend is online and you earn his or her consent, you can enter a battle.

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You can change your icon…

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And even send short messages during brawls!

These short messages are entered in advance, and you send them by taunting. There are four messages for the four directions on the + Control Pad: Up, down, left and right.

With friends, you can brawl any way you like. And there are other modes besides just free-for-alls.

With Anyone

You can also battle with people you don’t know who are looking for brawls. The most important point here is that you will not know each other’s names.

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If you think of your opponent as a simple scarecrow, any psychological barriers may melt away.

Your opponent will not know your name or any information about you, and neither of you can send short messages. There will also be no battle records kept for this mode, so whether you win or lose, it doesn’t matter. Just sit back and play.

Now, while you’re waiting for a match to start, you can kill time with a little practice on Sandbag.

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Practice, practice!

We’re planning a number of services that make use of Wi-Fi, but we’ll reveal them gradually with the other modes. Enjoy.



Around The Net:


  • Santarex32

    BEST UPDATE EVER!!! Finally, Wi-Fi play is confirmed! I’m really excited now! If you don’t want to brawl with your friends you could just chat….I guess so. “We’re planning a number of services that make use of Wi-Fi” Would this mean downloadable content? Like trophies, stickers,….maybe even stages and characters?

  • Miguel

    Ok, but.. No Voice Chat? Only stupid short messages entered in advance? WTF? Is Nintendo joking? Is this a bad dream?… I hope so!

  • Taylor

    Oh yeah, the fact that they added a feature everyone wanted and greatly improves the game is ruined because you cant say ‘dude I totaly pwned that n00b.’

  • Wishale

    I hate the fact that they are announcing the lag before the game even releases!

  • http://wiinintendo.net/index.php?sFloating20%World Floating World

    They announced it for strikers and there really isn’t any..Mickey played from the US against the UK and experienced no lag.

    I think one of the other services will DEFINITELY be sticker trading, but I’d have to mill over it for other possibilities.

  • Hologram

    Too good for words. Nintendo just made my day.

  • Mike

    Lol But No Records like strikers so you can’t see whos the best Brawler out there. But still online play sweet nintendo has to add some Voice Tlak though.

  • potatoman

    wi-fi feakin sweet!!!!!!!! â—Ž+

  • mazer4455

    they said they would announce more features, so dont be so dumb pressed tp say that there will be no other forms of chat.

  • http://hullbreachonline.com hullbreach

    This game just moved one step closer to perfection.

  • paq

    This is actully update #100, but I guess that you’ve grouped some updates into one and therefore making it #82…

    On the other hand, this is awesome! It feels like they are really pushing everything that can be pushed into this game, and that makes me happy =) So, what could possibly update #200 be now? =D

  • Idonthave

    Yay :D and for u out there that wants talk chat just get a 360 and SHUT UP!

  • flamingsquirrel

    ok, so we already KNEW this was coming, so it’s not brilliant news or anything. Lets look at the bad news they announced.

    No Voice chat, just crappy messages. MABEY they’ll update again with voice chat, but not against random ppl.

    Already apologizing for lag. Which is bull **** because other systems (360) can do 16 ppl with no lag running game engines that are a HELL of a lot more complicated than a 2d brawler

    Ranked matches are f***ed up, there should be a record against random people, and no record against friends, not the other way around.

    Long loading times. If they go so far as to give you somthing to do while it’s loading, I’m guessing it’s not going to be short waiting times. Unless your doing that while waiting for a match.

  • Hologram

    In response to flamingsquirrel’s complaints:

    I personally hate voice chat in online games. Nine times out of ten, all it is is egotistical preteens swearing at each other. Not cool. And, despite this, not all “hope” is lost. There is still a chance to get headsets in a later update.

    The reason they talk about lag is because to keep Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection free, it is direct connect. All the servers do is the match-making. After that, it is a direct connection between the two consoles. Paying for servers is expensive and would make Nintendo charge for Wi-Fi.

    I personally just play non-ranked battles anyways. Who cares about some silly score? In the same vein, we already knew that if Brawl had Wi-Fi it wouldn’t have rankings.

    One thing I hate about online games is waiting in the lobby or on the load screens while people choose their settings. You can see that THAT is what the loading practice is meant to nullify via the fact that you can see two players selecting their character and stage.

    In all, this is a great Wi-Fi system and nothing to snub your nose at.

  • flamingsquirrel

    @ Hologram
    This is Nintendo we’re talking about, you can’t even send preset messages to random people. I want voice chat AT LEAST for people on my friends list. If Nintendo is gonna make me jump through the hoops known as friend odes to play online with my friends, I should at least be able to talk to them.

    Ranked battles are fun IMO, I wouldn’t play strikers so much if not for them. It’s fun to get your rank up, it gives you a reason to play,it makes it for me at least feel like I’m not just wasting time, I at least have something to show for it.

  • sht

    i agree with flamingsquirrel, thi is all bad news to me.
    i would even pay for another online service aside from xbox live ( i konw nintendo wont charge because they want their main focus to play online too).
    nintendo has to read ign’s article about their online and do something about it because i can’t continue with this kind of stuff.

    thank god i love brawl mario an samus but how long will it last…

  • kevbo

    wah wah wah…
    That is all I hear and that is all I would hear with voice chat anyway.
    No thanks…

    Anyway for the rest of us:
    I really like what Nintendo is doing with all their loading screens. I can’t believe it has taken this long for any game system to use interactive loading screens. But its finally becoming mainstream for Nintendo games which is great!! No more staring at a bar on the screen ;-}

  • fadecy

    voice chat would be nice, but I mean it’s a fighting game, people are just gonna get really pissed off if you’re kicking their ass, I know I do, specially if you don’t even get a hit in, so i think fighting games are better without voice chat, but FSPs need voice chat, otherwise how can you be a proper team?

  • fadecy

    hey anyone else noticed you can only have 64 friends? kinda lame…

  • Hologram

    I do agree that it could use voice chat with friends but I’m not complaining.

    If you want ranked battles, keep track of them yourselves. Pencil and paper, etc. Sure, Nintendo probably should have added them but, who knows, maybe ranked non-friend battles is one of the features mentioned at the end?

    Lastly, I don’t see the big deal about friend codes. Every time I send someone a letter, I have to write down their address. Every time I call someone on the phone, I have to put in a number (unless it’s presaved). Every time I e-mail someone, I have to put in their e-mail (unless it’s presaved). That’s three things I have to always write down or save if I want to contact another person. Friend codes are just one more thing. Is the system a bit silly? Yes, but it’s not this horror that people seem to think it is.

  • Bob

    there wont be voice chat. How the hell do you expect players to plug in a voice chatting device (which by the way doesnt exist duh) into a wii remote that already has a nunchuck plugged in so you can MOVE YOUR CHARACTER AROUND?

  • scullum2001

    @ Bob — it could be bluetooth or it could plug into the USB port(s) on the back of the Wii.

    To everyone else, I’m just excited that ONLINE is finally officially confirmed. Now, I’m just waiting to see what other services they will add later. I’m also happy that they’re giving us at least something to do while we are waiting for others to join us or pick their settings.

  • Manu

    umm good but not good enuff
    vioice chat will probably be implemented for friends at least in the next 2 months..especially as batallion wars 2 is coming out october 29th
    also..no ranked kinda sucks but then again maybe like metroid hunters, stats will be kept track of on a site (i think nintenod mentioned that once before)
    keep ur fingers crossed cuz there is moer updates on online to come anyway

  • http://wiinintendo.net/index.php?s=MJ MJ

    This is good and bad. I just cannot decide. I’ll rent it to see if there is lag and if how bad it is. If it’s OK I’ll go out and buy this game.

  • WiglyWorm

    We’re planning a number of services that make use of Wi-Fi, but we’ll reveal them gradually with the other modes. Enjoy.

    I think that’s the key here. Who says there won’t be a tournament mode with rankings/a ladder?

    Not having voice-chat with friends is a bummer, yes. However, not having any form of communication with others is a blessing. No doubt about it. Voice chat is the reason I hardly play halo 2 multiplayer anymore.

  • lagisyourproblem

    As someone has previously stated, any ‘lag’ you experience is either because of your connection or the host’s connection. Nintendo has nothing to do with any ‘lag’ you experience. To not get this game because you think you will have ‘lag’ is absolutely retarted. I guess that will be your loss though and not mine. Trust me, this could be much worse. They could have forced you to ONLY play against friends. Instead they decided to keep ‘anonymous’ play available but without chat (which is a blessing). Nothing worse than hearing whiny kids when they are loosing (or winning, heheh)

  • Comrade Ampersand

    I fully agree with the last two comments (and various others) about online voice chat being a bad idea in a fighter. what could you possibly talk about? “o i just owned your face!” NO YOU DIDNT CHEAP SHOT” “YOUR A HAXOR” i cant think of any way (unless there were HUGE scrolling levels) that voice chat would be that bad of a thing to leave out. One thing that I think would help is allowing you to plug in a keyboard through the USBs on the back and chat with that. Even if it was just for friend battles i think that would add something.

  • http://9thdoor.blogspot.com/ Hoff

    HELLO!!!

    Does this not confirm 4 new characters? Ash and those pokemon. C’mon people, WiFi capabilities are awesome, and THANKS for the update to tell us so, but I think you may have equally spoiled some character reveals there as well.

  • Mike

    it didnt confirm 4 new people

  • brawl_fan

    what about the icon select?? it only shows the characters available now! does that mean that you will unlock icons when you unlock characters?

  • *D*

    danm i thought i was a nintendo fan, but after reading some of this comments i see some of you will go to the death for nintendo.

    - no voice
    i would like to speak with family or friends that live far from here while i play,so that sucks.

    - long loading times
    play a game while waiting, sounds like you are going to be there for a while.

  • scullum2001

    @ Hoff — Those aren’t 4 new characters. The Pokemon trainer has already been announced with 3 Pokemon fighting for him. Also, it was not WiiNintendo that put this out and “spoiled” anything. Check out http://www.smashbros.com for all updates straight from the game’s creator. WiiNintendo is only re-posting them on their site.

    About voice-chat — I think it’d be cool with friends, but I’m thinking like a lot of others have said… With it on all the time, we’re probably only going to hear whiney kids complaining or cursing like crazy.

  • *D*

    indeed there will be kids cursing and crying.
    we record them and make fun of them on youtube.

    well the truth is that nintendo left the hardcore audience, most of us will be gone by the end of next year.

  • Rane

    I’m really glad that there won’t be a ranking system, because this way there won’t be any reason for somebody to quit when their opponent gets the slightest bit ahead.

  • Manu

    yea you no what…these guys are right
    ranked matches, as fun as they are on games like mario strikers charged really suck because about 25 % of the ppl u r beating disconnect meaning that i had to deliberately play matches close just so that i cud get thru it with some points. it just isnt fun when that happens. Hopefully there will be voice chat though for ppl uve added. when i first read this update i was disappointed but after reading some of the previous comments and giving it some thought, i see nintendo is pretty much on the right track

  • Hologram

    @*D*:
    I still don’t see where the heck people are getting “long loading times” from. Yes, there is a minigame and a 95 second timer on that screen but there is ALSO the fact that two players are still selecting their characters and stages. This means that if you get done picking your stuff first and someone else is indecisive, you get to play the minigame. The 95 second timer is no different than the timers in arcade fighting games where you get ten seconds or whatever to pick your character or it’ll pick for you. This one is just more forgiving.

    As for voice chat, yes, it would make the game better. We still have no confirmation that the game doesn’t support voice chat in friends mode. Probably not but there is the chance that Nintendo could release something soon considering all the new games that will be bouncing around online.

    And if talking to your friends is really that important to you, go ghetto. Boot up your computer and skype with them or use a 360 or PS3′s online and talk to them over that while playing. Heck, call them up on the phone if it really matters that much. Personally, I could care less. What are you going to say? “Nice hit,” “You cheater,” “Ha! Owned!,” etc. All these can be used with the taunts. In FPS and Strategy games, voice chat is helpful for strategizing but that doesn’t exist in a 2D fighter. And if you want to end up talking about anything not directly related to Smash, use a phone.

    Finally, has anyone ever thought that one of the reasons for no voice chat may be lag? Think of all the processing power required to add your voice, send it over the airwaves, and get it on someone else’s headset. That would be more than enough to add a nice chunk of lag to the game and in a fighting game like Brawl, every bit of lag hurts.

  • Faith

    I have faith in Nintendo, if you think about the decisions they are making, they make sense. If you think they have ‘left the hardcore crowd’ then go play something else that you think is ‘hardcore’ and stop whining. There is plenty of crap out there for everyone to enjoy.

  • *D*

    how cute you have faith.

    the decisions dont make sense at all, they are just trying to be a parent for everyone and we don’t need that.

    yes there is plenty of crap out there to play and that is what most people are doing.
    the only thing good that has come out of the wii is zelda and metroid, the rest is crap and nintendo knows that. that is why they are releasing their biggest franchises this year.

    we were just expecting better things from the online part.