If you wanted to snag the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Brawl largely so you could get your online on, you may want to let the launch window pass and see if the WFC can handle it. As of the recent Japanese release, the online play appears to be having some serious problems according to a hands-on test from Kotaku's Brian Ashcraft:
Sure, the interface is nice and all, but in the last a hour and a half, I've logged on almost twenty times. I have connected to the game's servers, and I have picked my character and battle stage. But, the game hasn't been able to find me a single partner to play against. It searches and searches and then knocks me offline. That's if I'm lucky and actually able to connect. More often than not, it won't let me connect. At all. It's a lot of hassle and not exactly the online experience we've become accustomed to with Xbox Live and the PSN.
Ashcroft speculates that it's due to so many people trying to connect, but I wonder if the lag-free gameplay of early vids is only possible due to a system that's very likely to disconnect a player with even minor connection woes. If so, then ouch.
