digg

Facebook Connect Join Digg About

Nintendo Beats Google To Free Nationwide Wi-Fi

networkingpipeline.com — Strange as it may seem, Nintendo is deploying a free, nationwide Wi-Fi network, well before Google. For now, it's a game service. But there's no reason why in the future it couldn't be used for the Web, email, and data as well.

Who dugg this? Made popular Nov 30, 2005

Digg DudeWhat is Digg?

Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. Digg surfaces the best stuff as submitted and voted on by the community. Take the Tour to learn more.

32 Comments

show profanity settings
expand all
  • PantherX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Actually if you want to compare Nintendo's and Google's plan as similar... Starbucks beat them both to it long ago.

    Apples and Oranges baby.
  • cambrown99, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Google is proposing to build a system that can cover an entire city, not just select McDonald's dining rooms. I give Nintendo props for doing this, but they aren't even remotely the same thing.

    Oh, and Starbuck's host T-Mobile Hotspots which cost something like $30 a month. My locally owned coffee place offers it for free (and their latte's are cheaper too).

  • Soave, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Doesn't Starbucks's service cost money?
  • zafw05, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Free Wifi.. Does that mean it can be used for non-gaming use?
    ...

    Using nintendo's wifi locator it's everywhere around my neighborhood because of McDs and its on every street around here.
  • v0id, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0/"Actually if you want to compare Nintendo's and Google's plan as similar... Starbucks beat them both to it long ago.

    Apples and Oranges baby." /

    haha mans got a point
  • dvydra, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0so what happens when the ds protocol gets hacked and people get a PC app that can pretend to be a DS and connect over nintendo wifi?
  • aemaeth7, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0IIRC WiFi Cafes are there to provide free inet in order to capture potential buyers of the products of the cafe.

    Le cause, le effect.
  • Wamzlee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Too true PantherX
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0i cant see nintendo offering wifi.. since the company(wayport) they are using to provide it already provides full wifi to many mcdonalds..
    i do see nintendos cash helping wayport get more mcdonalds..
    i can see nitendo getting to use it for games, and people who want to surf the web will hvave to buy it just like at star bucks.IF you log into the web you will see a wayport logo not nintendo.
  • bchang, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Only in McDonalds far from nation wide.
  • zafw05, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The prices of some hotspots out there are rip-offs but that's a whole another topic isn't it? Bah.

  • scotty588, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Starbucks internet is provided by t-mobile and it does cost money.

    It says its only for gaming but how would they disipher between gaming and browsing the internet? I guess only allow access to a certain site that hooks gamers of the same game up.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0yeah vary misleading.. they wayport site does clear it up and say the wifi will cost money for all users except nintendo gaming.
    here are some pricing charts
    http://www.wayport.com/chart
    there current locations
    http://wayport.know-where.com/wayport/
    I'll digg it when someone hacks a nintendo to use the web free over their service.
  • andy787, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Actually if you want to compare Nintendo's and Google's plan as similar... Starbucks beat them both to it long ago."

    Seriously. What the hell kind of topic is this?
  • WeeklyGeek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This is an old story, and also completely uninformed. What the heck?
  • RandomChu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Wait ... WAIT ...

    "Its primary market, 8-to-14-year-old boys, is shrinking."

    I want to know where he got THAT information. Last I checked, people turning eight were still on the face of this planet.

    "Other gaming systems, such as the XBox 360, are cleaning Nintendo's clock."

    Same goes with this. No digg. :
  • stewacide, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Nintendo is clever to keep the wireless protocol for the DS and I presume the next-gen GameBoy proprietary, since they can build it into the Revolution and and market its functionality as a GameBoy net access point...
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0NO they will offer wifi too but charge you
    free for games.. cost you to browse
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0they probly will use a hiddin specterum like unwired(austrailan wifi isp) use is u cant see the network on ur laptop or whateva

    http://www.frontlinetech.blogspot.com
  • n3tfury, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0lame. no digg.
  • Elranzer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Only in McDonalds far from nation wide."

    Um, McDonalds practically IS nationwide.
  • zachgc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Last time I checked, the US was a little bigger than a few McDonald's restaurants.
  • tolbs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0this guy really didn't do enough research, and will probably get reamed for it. Too bad :p.
  • tofuman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Nintendo didn't launch anything, they just signed up with Wayport who had previously signed up with McDonalds. This has to be the stupidest story I've read this year.
  • vhold, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0As much as I hate people over using the 'Apples and oranges' argument, this time I'm going to have to agree. Sure. they.. could... kinda.. sorta.. have.. widespread-ish ... freeish... kinda.. nationwide-ish broadband, but .. why would nintendo want that?

    It's nothing at all like -real- free nationwide wi-fi, and what neccesarily implies google wants -real- free nationwide wi-fi anyways? Sure google might wanna get a few cities hooked up with free wi-fi, but the entire nation, for free? Why?

    They are a company.
  • torunforever, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I think the author of the article is trying to troll Nintendo fans.
  • newezra, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0No digg on this one for the obvious reasons mentioned above. Also, this guy is VERY misinformed if he believes that Nintendo's target market is 8-14 boys. Someone needs to do their research.
  • BadArse, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I don't care who offers it...I WANT FREE NATION WIDE WIFI!
  • thisnameisfake, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0McDonalds has the best fries cooked in lard flavored oil.
  • G33TARRIST, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Well i dont think they "beat google to nation wide wifi" more like beat them to hooking fat kids to zelda. But I mean it is quite a step in the world of gaming. Not sure about internet use since you can have a pda or tablet pc that can connect to the internet anywhere via antenna or reciever of sort. I think this is sorta blown outa proportion though i mean honestly its not really internet its just "ds live" of sorts. SO i think google still has time.
  • Osiriscky3, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0pwnt
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0And why will this never happen? because it's being used for GAMES.
    GAMES. GAMES. Duh!@

    And why would they ever?
    Nintendo is known for being narrow minded, or maybe just smart???? and not "free" in any sense of the word. Look at their history of prohibitively expensive development kits.

    They never allowed the nintendo "seal of quality" on games legally developed for the NES using their own homebrew development systems (search nesworld.com for the micro machines article)

    That's why micro machines was the only game ever sold at toys 'r us that didn't have it.

    Here it is, at the bottom:
    http://www.nesworld.com/updmay04.htm

    another relevant URL:
    http://www.nesworld.com/lawsuits.htm

  • Add a Comment

    Login or register to comment!
    Or, sign-in super fast with your Facebook account ...

© Digg Inc. 2009 — Content created and posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain | Terms of Use Updated | Privacy Policy
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.