WiiHD, which has been an impassioned anti-friend code voice in the past, delved into and transcribed a podcast from Nintendo Radio, regarding The Conduit, and it doesn't like what it hears. The title "probably will" require them for multiplayer, according to developer High Voltage Studios.

High Voltage insists it's going to lengths to make this process as easy and streamlined as possible. But it points out that this is Nintendo's field and they have to play ball on it. Although the two designers interviewed said they are no fan of the codes, "it's [Nintendo's] console, which we have to have their permission and their sign-off for whatever we put into the game. And if Friend Codes are what is, [that's what it] is gonna be."

The Conduit is still publisher-less, which means High Voltage would have less leverage on the Friend Code/No Code question — and close to zero if that publisher turns out to be Nintendo itself, as WiiHD surmises.

Death of The Conduit? [WiiHD]

Full disclosure, I do not own a Wii and so I'm talking a little out of class about the Friend Code experience. I do know that Googling "friend codes suck" returns about 1,000 pages.

Friend Codes are a pain, right? The Wii doesn't have the sort of lobby system that just about every other game machine has managed to perfect. The mechanism exists, sure, but I've never seen it function usably. If current reviews of Brawl are to be believed, it's best to match up with a friend than to try and get a random battle.

Of course, the Wii is a family console; I don't think Nintendo has anything to gain from making it easier for random strangers to hook up with kids on the internet. But why don't they make like Xbox did and offer different console packages?

Clearly, the Wii is selling like hot cakes and Nintendo doesn't need to do anything; but it would be nice to have the option of dumping the clunky Friend Code system, no?

Wii For Grown-Ups [Sexy Videogameland]

We also wouldn't mind the DualShock 3 being renamed "we lied, you do care" or Nintendo's friend codes going by something more catchy like "we want you to play with buddies IN PERSON, get it through your f'ing head already."

You say one thing, but you mean your mother. (VideoGame Box Art Edits 2) [via digg]

Commence with with "Nooooooo!"-ing.

Friend List [Smash Bros. Dojo - thanks, Paco!]

Boxer Albert Liaw got hit a few too many times. After suffering a stroke and brain injury, 34 year-old Liaw was left in a wheelchair with slowed speech and little movement in his left arm. The Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital is using the Nintendo Wii to help patients like Liaw recover. Instead of real world rehabilitation like throwing a ball or stretching putty, patients are guided through rounds of Wii Sports with help from therapists. They forget about their pain and simply enjoy playing the games — Sometimes for hours at a time! Virtual reality rehab expert and Rutgers University professor Dr. Griogore Burdea remarks:

This is pioneering work. ... Bill Gates (of Microsoft) would be wise to sponsor this kind of research.

Snap! There's even talk of having therapists monitoring remotely via Nintendo's online service and presumably using, err, Friend Codes. Heh. Brian Ashcraft

Wii Helps People Get Better [Edmonton Journal via VGB]

Reports are coming in the upcoming Pokemon Battle Revolution game, already released in Japan, has its own separate friend code for participating in online battles, above and beyond the current, system-specific friend code every Wii has. This pretty much means that after going through the trouble of exchanging friend codes, you have to do it all over again if you want to play online with your friends with Pokemon.

Disheartening, to say the least. It would be one thing if this were some third-party title, but this is a Nintendo flagship title. Will we have to go through this with every online title? Are the Wii system friend codes only good for exchanging Miis?

To be honest, I've not even bothered with the Wii's friend code business. Too much bother. It's the single biggest failing of the Wii as far as I am concerned. I want a recognizable handle that has personality. I am not a number, I am a free man! Michael Fahey

Each Wii Game has its own Friend Code [4 color rebellion]

The only problem we have is that no one is actually citing the source of this confirmation. The European Wii site has a translated version of the roundtable discussion that Satoru Iwata and the Wii engineers conducted, which, while filled with info, doesn't explicity mention said changes. The only information that I can find nestled in these interviews related to online gaming is the following:

I should just stress the point, in case anyone gets the wrong idea, that this network basically works in the same way as the one for Animal Crossing on DS. That is, connection is not possible unless both users register each other.

Hopefully, sites like N-Europe are correct and simply failing to link to the proper information, but for now, we're going to consider this a rumor and get in touch with Nintendo to get a response. Michael McWhertor

News: Nintendo Confirm Console Specific Code

IGN Wii: What is your plan for the Wi-Fi Connection and how might it compare to Xbox Live?

Takahashi Tezuka: Well, the Wii Wi-Fi Connection works the same as the Nintendo DS one. It's the three qualities that we emphasize. It's easy, safe and free.

IGN Wii: Will it have a central interface a la Live that all games will interact with, or will it be different on a game-by-game basis?

Tezuka: It'll be just like the DS so the interface will depend on the software.

IGN Wii: Will Wi-Fi Connection on Wii also use a Friends Code system?

Tezuka: Yes.

Sorry, Nintendo, that sucks. Most of us were happy to leave behind the entering of endless and easily fuddled cryptographic strings into our consoles when we stopped playing Castlevania 2. Although Tezuka emphasizes this is part of Nintendo's strategy to keep WiFi free, we'd be happy to pony up some cash as an option. Scrawling down a 16 character friend code and laboriously entering it just so our girlfriend can enter our Animal Crossing town is worth paying to avoid.

Wii Wi-Fi Just Like DS [IGN]