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Wii

Remember Your Wii Friend Code the 1-800 Way 62

Posted by Zonk from the every-little-bit-helps dept.
MTV's Stephen Totilo has a simple, common-sense solution to the issue of friend codes on the Wii: friend sentences. Using a tool like PhoneSpell.org, he advocates turning your incomprehensible code into something a bit more manageable. Instead of the sixteen digit mishmash that the Wii offers me, I can instead offer up "a-010-lure-texsku-50". Not a heck of a lot better, but certainly more memorable. "Each time, I had to send them my code, input theirs, and then wait for the Nintendo network to recognize we both wanted to be on each other's friends lists. A couple of months ago, however, my Wii broke. I got a new one. I was excited, but then spotted the dark lining to my silver cloud: My new system would force a new Friend Code on me, a Friend Code that I'd need to send out to everyone and hope they'd be willing to cancel my old listing and type in the new. That's when I realized the true pain of these 16-digit codes."
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Remember Your Wii Friend Code the 1-800 Way More

Remember Your Wii Friend Code the 1-800 Way

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  • 16 digit codes are a pain. It still beats hearing every 12 year old kids opinion of me on XBox live, IMO.

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by Saige ( 53303 )
      Press Guide Button -> Personal Settings -> Voice - > Set Volume to 0

      It's just that easy.
      • And then the whole point of communication in game is moot.

        • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

          by Saige ( 53303 )
          Well, that's the easiest way if you're playing games with random people you don't want to talk to.

          Others include, if you're playing with only 1 friend, being in private chat with them.

          Or mute the specific fucktard who's talking crap, and make sure to submit feedback (a voice ban or two calms some of them down).

          Or play games with friends only, just like on the Wii, without the pain of friend codes.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by MS-06FZ ( 832329 )

          And then the whole point of communication in game is moot.
          Well, you also don't get communication in DS games for the most part...

          Though when someone's beating me in Mario Kart, and stops at the finish line, waits 'til I get there, and then turns around and crosses it driving backwards, that sends a pretty clear message. :)

          • Though when someone's beating me in Mario Kart, and stops at the finish line, waits 'til I get there, and then turns around and crosses it driving backwards, that sends a pretty clear message. :)
            What message? That you can't snake worth a darn?

            • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

              by MS-06FZ ( 832329 )

              Though when someone's beating me in Mario Kart, and stops at the finish line, waits 'til I get there, and then turns around and crosses it driving backwards, that sends a pretty clear message. :)

              What message? That you can't snake worth a darn?

              Something like that... I'm actually reasonably good at the game - good enough to beat the Nintendo Ghost data on Yoshi Falls and a few other tracks, anyway (though not consistently) - there are just racers who are better at the game than I am, and sometimes they taunt me when they beat me very badly. :) I don't mind losing, but I don't like when people are dicks about it. ...though I hate that the game breaks down to that "snaking" process. Powerslide boost should be a little bonus for getting around co

  • I prefer to play with my wii by myself. And I'm most certainly not interested in calling some telephone number while playing with my wii. I tried that before and it got REALLY expensive.

  • WiTendoFi.com still works (Score:5, Informative)

    by GweeDo ( 127172 ) on Wednesday March 28, 2007 @08:00PM (#18522715) Homepage
    Or just use WiTendoFi.com [witendofi.com]. They worked great for the DS and now they have Wii System Code support too. In fact, you can see my card here:
    mywifitag.com/gweedo767 [mywifitag.com]

    That is a lot easier to remember than coming up with that crap.
    • seems to be the case, anyways. you should mention that in your post if you're going to pimp your site. "full disclosure". without it, you must be new here.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by aliquis ( 678370 )
        Don't worry, the CSS doesn't work correctly in Opera and who knows what more browsers so no worries.

        Also I know there are plenty of friendcode sites for the DS, and I guess more than his support the wii aswell.

  • My concern... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by earthbound kid ( 859282 ) on Wednesday March 28, 2007 @09:04PM (#18523313) Homepage
    You know Nintendo is going to come out with new colors of Wii with extra features like DVD playback in a year or so. (Or they could add a 120GB HD, paint it black, and take out the WiFi adapter then call it "Wii Elite." ;-p ) The question is, will I be allowed to move my Virtual Console games to the new machine if I purge the old one before reselling it? It seems like we should be allowed to, but so far I haven't seen evidence that we will, which kind of screws over the early adopters who want to upgrade later.
    • Don't you mean "WiiLiite"?
    • If they have to replace your Wii, your account is moved with it, and I was able to re-download my games. There is a re-download option in the Wii Shop, so I would assume its allowed.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by nbehary ( 140745 )
      So far no, unless, as another reply stated, replaces your console for a warranty issue. I too hope they do more at some point. I really don't think they'll ever offer anything to make me want to upgrade.....I can buy a cheap DVD player for under $50.....if I ever need another. Don't think Nin would add a HD. I have no basis for that, but I just don't. My issue is when I need to replace it and it's not under warranty. I had a GC die while moving a few years back....not even sure what happened to it. I

    • You know Nintendo is going to come out with new colors of Wii with extra features like DVD playback in a year or so.

      Yes, because I've often thought that getting a DVD movie player was much too difficult and expensive.

      Lack of DVD movie support was a good idea. At $30 [bestbuy.com] everyone who wants a DVD player has one and has probably had it fom some time. It saved Nintendo a little money in licensing fees per machine. As an added bonus they don't need to worry about the complexity of adding Macrovision or other

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by zentu ( 584197 ) *
      It said in the TOS for Virtual Console when I got mine that you can only have 1 Authorized console available, that seems to me that you can. How to do that, I have no clue. The only caveat is that it has to be joined to your nintendo.com username.

      • It said in the TOS for Virtual Console when I got mine that you can only have 1 Authorized console available, that seems to me that you can. How to do that, I have no clue. The only caveat is that it has to be joined to your nintendo.com username.

        Right. I'd imagine that there must be some way to do (actually I'd be shocked if you couldn't).

        Speaking only towards the PS3 (since thats what I have, and I can't directly comment on other consoles), you can have up to 3 Consoles (PS3/PSP) authorized at any one ti

        • I'm going to make a guess. The owner's manual describes some "purge" features that it recommends you use before selling your console. One of these functions purges the virtual store records. Wanna bet that de-authorizes the machine from your account? If so, when you sign on to the store from your new machine, you'd be given the option to re-download.

          ------RM

  • Is that so freaking hard? If so, then use one of the Wii friend code web sites out there. I agree, the system sucks from a usability stand point, but unless Nintendo finds their balls or you can get all the parent's groups, children's advocates and right and left wing game censorship nuts to simmer down, you're going to have to live with it.
    • It sure would be nice if Nintendo would grab some brains and realize that the Wii has PARENTAL CONTROLS.

      Yeesh, open it up for us adults if we so choose, and let this friend code nonsense exist only on locked-down machines.

      I love my Wii dearly, but I'm almost certainly never going to use it for multiplayer anything if I have to go through the hoops involved just to transfer Miis right now.

  • Here's mine (Score:5, Insightful)

    by The-Bus ( 138060 ) on Wednesday March 28, 2007 @10:41PM (#18524065)
    I-NOW-GOT-TIRED-OF-IT

    Brian Hastings made an excellent point [n4g.com] earlier this week:

    Your friend Reggie invites you over for a Wii Party. It's awesome. You and your friends partake in whatever beverages are legally appropriate for your age group. The next day everyone who went to the party rushes out and buys a Wii. A week later Reggie hosts another Wii Party. This time only half the group comes. It's still fun, but there isn't quite as much shoving to get at the Wiimote. The next week Reggie hosts another Wii Party. You tell him you have bird flu.
    That's how it goes. It's only fun for so long. Now, mind you, from a business standpoint it's excellent. Consider the distilled truth: "The next day everyone who went to the party rushes out and buys a Wii." What other console can say that? Hell, what other product?

    Even if you do play it, you can't do much with each other's friend codes. At least not yet.

    • I don't think it's fair to just say "motion control is a gimmick" and close the book. What makes us so sure that button mashing isn't a gimmick? My girlfriend is still playing WiiSports regularly as a fitness thing. Right now my favorite Wii game is "Everybody Votes," since I already beat Zelda (twice) and Elebits, but I'm still excited for Super Paper Mario. Yes, some people may get tired of the Wii, but it's crazy to say everyone will, especially when you consider the wide range of games that are being ma

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by grumbel ( 592662 )
        ### What makes us so sure that button mashing isn't a gimmick?

        Simple, button mashing isn't the point why you play the game, motion sensing on the other side often is. Remove the motion sensing and you won't have much of a game left. Its like with the prerendered-movie-games, eToy and all that other stuff, its only fun for so long, once you are over the initial "oh, cool"-phase its the underlying game that matters, not the technique and more often then not the underlying games just aren't all that good when

        • Right now my favorite Wii game is "Everybody Votes,"

          Which kind of nicely shows that the Wii is in trouble right now.

          Not really. I don't mean it as a condemnation of the Wii at all. What I mean is that the user interface of Everybody Votes really sucks me in so that I feel like have to check it every time they update the poll to see what the new question is and to see if I predicted the last answer right. If Nintendo can make a friggin' poll compelling just by having you grab a Mii instead of just clicking a

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by grumbel ( 592662 )
            ### Also, I don't agree that Zelda is the "bad" kind of motion control.

            Its not bad, but its useless, I don't buy a motion-control console to have the same old control scheme as before, just with camera control removed (this could turn out pretty bad for some games) and wiggle motion as button press replacement.

            ### but that doesn't mean it doesn't feel different to the user

            Most people just wiggle the Wiimote around after a few hours of gameplay, since doing full swings turn out rather pointless. And with wig

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by LKM ( 227954 )
      I had a few parties when the Wii came out. Then I had a few parties when Wario came out. I'll have a few when Mario Party comes out. Guess what, playing the same game all the time becomes boring. That's why god invented consoles where you can actually, you know... go out and buy new games.
    • The problem was that 'Reggie' had a party every week. Spacing it out more keeps people from getting tired of it and allows time for new games to come out. Of course, my friends who didn't already have a Wii didn't buy one, so there's more incentive to play at my house.

      Back on topic, I exchanged a few friend codes but haven't used them after the first week. They're not the console's strongest point.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by BarneyL ( 578636 )
      So Brian Hastings, Chief Creative Officer of Insomniac games, whose only current release is for the PS3 is insulting the competition?
      It must all be true because he would have no reason to like, make all that stuff up.
  • I don't know, but when Nintendo replaces a Wii, they normally transfer all the data over (VC games purchased, account with Wii points, game saves, miis, etc) - does this not include the friend code as well?

    Just would seem odd that Nintendo would transfer everything over except the friend code...

  • Coming up: (Score:3, Funny)

    by nugneant ( 553683 ) on Thursday March 29, 2007 @01:03AM (#18524875) Journal
    Coming up on Slashdot:

    Using color-coded jewelcases to separate LiveCDs from porn "backups", reducing monitor glare with opaque curtains, and applying previously learned lessons in moderation towards the past-time of drinking Mountain Dew. CowboyHeloise brings us all of these, plus fifty helpful tips to prevent shitting in your pants during an all-night coding session!

    <SPOILER> - the #1 tip: "Make sure to remove your pants before defecating. A little hand-written sign scotch-taped to the wall across from the toilet can be a last-minute life-saver!" </SPOILER>



    Slashdot: Help for nerds. Hints that matter.
  • The examples offered are no easier to remember than a numerical code, and have the added hassle of having to convert it back to numbers before you enter it.
    (not owning a Wii, IDK how the code is entered: if it's a 0-9 keypad with the letters also printed on the keys (like a phone) the conversion isn't necessary).

    To me, it seems the problem is more fundamental. Why did Nintendo assign random 16-digit numbers instead of allowing users to choose their own 'friend code'? My name (if needed, with a 3-digit numbe
  • Seriously. Pen and paper are your friend. But since brain games are all the rage these days, 16 digit Wii Friend Codes offer a great opportunitiy for everyone to master the The Major System for memorizing numbers:

    http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article /newTIM_07.h tm [mindtools.com]

    It has a learning curve up front, but once you get it down, you can mop up the floor with 16 digit numbers.

    High level summary:
    Map numbers to consonants. Insert vowels and the letters h, q, w, x, and y freely to make the consonant
  • A couple of months ago, however, my Wii broke.

    Ummm...the Wii is only a couple of months old. How did you break it almost immediately after buying it? Did you impale it with your Wiimote or was there a hardware failure? Also, if there is such a huge shortage of Wiis right now, how did you manage to get your hands on another one, and how long was your wait?

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