[kick]

The Wii was too early, I think (anecdotally, I remember my family couldn't figure out how to get it connected to the internet), given the market it was aiming for (families).

They introduced friend codes with either the original DS or the DS Lite, I believe.

[Kaiyou]

The GameCube had at least one game that was online only: Phantasy Star Online III. And you're telling me a generation later was still too early? Heck, in Japan, both the N64 and the SNES had online capabilities through additional hardware.

[kick]

SNES didn't have online capabilities, it had satellite capabilities with specialized and expensive hardware (assuming you're referring to SatellaView).

Anything that requires specialized hardware to access the internet isn't ready for general consumption.

PSOepIII (episode III, not PSO III. It was actually PSO II) was an MMORPG; MMORPGs are aimed at a far different demographic than the group that the Wii was targeted at. Also, weren't PSO ep. I and ep. II released on the GameCube? Pretty sure they were.

"There were multiple companies in the 60s that had mainframes that didn't even work very well; are you telling me that your average family wouldn't be ready for computing back then?"

Focusing on internet connectivity on the Wii would have harmed the Wii, yes. The Wii had Wii Shop and a few titles that could interact online. Making it the core feature in many of them would harm the console, because not only would many people have difficulty setting it up, there were also significant portions of even the United States that were almost entirely decrepit of even moderately decent internet connections.

[mattl]

SNES had the XBAND modem too.

Not sure if it used the Internet, however.

[kick]

I forgot about the XBAND!

If I remember right, which I might not, XBAND used the phone system but didn't use the internet.

[stallmanite]

Don’t forget online banking on the SNES:

https://youtu.be/Dkxxd3uH1ZY

[mattl]

I think XBAND had some kind of email service that did let you email people on the Internet.

[JonathonW]

DS and Wii games both used the same friend code system— they’re GameSpy profile IDs converted over to a friendly 12-digit format.

Which, coincidentally, is why Wii and DS online no longer work; Nintendo never built a replacement service after GameSpy shut down in 2014.

[tosssafgfr]

the Wii came after X360, not too early.

[kick]

The Xbox 360 was aimed at a niche of people (college-aged 'gamers'), and I qualified my statement saying that it was too early for the demographic the Wii was targeting.

[wink]

Yeah, but am I misremembering that you could play online with the original Wii? or was that only the Wii U?

Pretty sure it had a browser and a store.

[everdrive]

Wii had online play, and friendcodes. You could play Mario Kart Wii online, and share your time trial ghosts with your friends. (if you exchanged friend codes)