Can we wii together?

September 23, 2009 7:47 AM

What is the easiest way to set up a multiplayer game "room" for a group of kids who all have Wii's?

My homeschool co-op is trying to set up a way for the kids to have a "game night" and be able to play video games together, from their own homes. Most of the kids have wii systems and from the research that I've done, the wii doesn't do this as easily as the xbox. We would like to be able for the kids to all sign into a private room (or some equally secure equivalent) and play together. Does the wii have places to do this without every child having to buy the same game? Privacy and security is the first priority, then cost. I'm sorry that my question is kind of broad but I don't know much about what the wii system can do and my research is just getting me more confused. Figured I would throw out my end goal and see if the hive can help me get there. Thanks!

posted by pearlybob to technology (7 comments total)

um, why don't you get a single Wii and just have multiple controllers. There are a lot of games that allow a bunch of people to play. That'll resolve a few issues: cost and the sensor technology. If they can't share, they can't play wii.
posted by history is a weapon at 8:24 AM on September 23

I'm talking about a group of 100 kids who live all over the county. They all won't play at once but we want to have a way for them to play/interact during a scheduled time of the week and then be able to play at their leisure. From their own home/ game rooms/ basements.
posted by pearlybob at 8:57 AM on September 23

Make a website where they can exchange friend codes, thats about the best you can do with the Wii unfortunately.
posted by BobbyDigital at 9:05 AM on September 23

Ok BobbyDigital, I read about the friend code thing, we have a yahoo group so exchanging the codes is not too hard. I actually like that feature because it helps keep our group private. I think I'm just wondering what we can do after that? Looking for any tips about what to play, what might be free and enjoyable.

I'm over moderating my question but I didn't ask it well to begin with. Thanks for all the help so far, keep it coming.
posted by pearlybob at 9:11 AM on September 23

Does the wii have places to do this without every child having to buy the same game?

No, the wii does not have this functionality (neither does the xbox 360 for that matter). Further more, while friendcodes are awesome for security/privacy - you said there are about 100 kids.

Each friendcode is 12 numbers long and each code has to be inputted manually (as well as confirmed by the code's owner). It's a long and tedious process if you have to do it 100 times and confirm your own code 100 times.

There is no wii game out there that will let you play with 100 people.

Your best bet for anything like this is to use computers. Unfortunately, I don't have any suggestions as to what type of games you could play on a computer.
posted by royalsong at 9:57 AM on September 23

Some games don't use the friend codes, favouring their own systems. For example, Grand Slam Tennis uses an EA login and lets you set up buddy lists, but obviously everyone would need a copy of the game and have to invite each other to be buddies.

Sadly, the Wii manages to make multiplayer in the same room delightfully accessible, yet Nintendo is embarrassingly inept with online gaming.

If you set up an easy-to-use private forum with areas for help info and different games (and ideally some kind of live chat feature) then participants could use it for matchmaking and sharing results.
posted by malevolent at 10:10 AM on September 23

I also forgot in order to do this each child's home must be set up for wireless (wifi) internet access or buy a separate cable to connect through a router.
posted by royalsong at 10:13 AM on September 23