A major third-party publisher is going to release a game with online multiplayer in 2009 that is reportedly going to be unrestricted by Friend Codes. According to IGN's latest Nintendo Voice Chat podcast, the developers of the title discovered that it was possible to access the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection without them, and built a custom engine that did so. The quote about this shows up about 49 minutes into the original podcast.
IGN's access to well-placed sources is unimpeachable, so there's no reason to seriously doubt this claim. Right now the game in question is unnamed and possibly unannounced -- Joystiq independently confirmed that it wasn't The Conduit. My money would be on it being an Electronic Arts title, since they've got a better track record for building their own online infrastructure for consoles than almost any other publisher right now. What's your guess?
Either way, this is news to be excited about. Assuming Nintendo doesn't stop the publication of the game or force in Friend Codes, one third-party publisher pulling off online multiplayer free of the Friend Code system means others are going to follow. It'll be a much-needed shot in the arm for the Wii's appeal to the hardcore crowd.
Some other interesting info from the podcast, some great and some depressing:
- The source for the rumor about the pricing and launch date of the Nintendo DSi is clearly out of CES. While the IGN guys don't mention the rumor by name, they clearly have a discussion about it fairly early into the podcast. This podcast would've been recorded before the price/date rumor floated up with specifics, too.
- IGN has asked Namco Bandai about localization of the much-anticipated Fragile RPG for Wii. Namco Bandai told them that they have no plans a release this year, which is a serious downer. It is possible but not likely another publisher could pick up Fragile instead, but... we're either looking at a ridiculous 2010 release, or no release at all. This wouldn't be the first time Namco Bandai sat on a great RPG made for a Nintendo system for no clear reason: neither of the DS Tales games have been localized despite the obvious popularity of the series.
- Apparently the anemic feeling of 2008's Nintendo press conference at E3 can be chalked up to the star of the show not arriving. According to IGN, Kid Icarus Wii was supposed to be the big reveal instead of Wii Music-- but the game was unable appear due to the onset of Factor 5's financial troubles. Things for Factor 5 are looking very, very bad judging from some things described in the podcast.
