3DS will use universal friend code.

[SuperMarioMaster]

Ah...only one friend code... I hope you can have more than ten letters in your username!

 

[Anakir]

Yay. No more inputting of 2139087319847193847 amount of numbers. Good stuff Nintendo.

Now.. remove region lock. :\

 

[SamAsh07]

Nice improvement, will definitely boost sales for ppl who hated the FC system (old one)

 

[Joe88]

well they are going in the right direction now

however it still needs to have personalization (a nintendo online network handle, ie: a username) instead of a bunch of numbers

 

[Devin]

It'd be a nice choice to have a option to use your Nintendo ID, or Club Nintendo ID instead of a bunch of random numbers. It's a pretty good step though. It would also be nice if the Friend system was more like social websites like Facebook, where you could send a request instead of them having to punch in your code as well.

 

[KingVamp]

Well... it is about time

lol

!!!

 

[Terminator02]

well this is absolutely not like psn or xbl, whoever said/agreed with that, this is still random jargon numbers put together that you must check every time to tell ur friend what it is

it's a baby step, but a much welcomed one

 

[Zarcon]

well this is absolutely not like psn or xbl, whoever said/agreed with that, this is still random jargon numbers put together that you must check every time to tell ur friend what it is

it's a baby step, but a much welcomed one

It's only one number to share with your friends.
If there's any sort of lobby in games you can probably auto-add too like a few DS games allow.
And this allows you to use any name you want without worrying about names being taken.

 

[Deleted_171835]

Nintendo took a step in the right direction.
Universal friend codes make it much easier to add people!

 

[naruses]

I just kinda screamed of excitement

3DS is AWEESOMEEE!!

 

[YayMii]

I've been on a bunch of websites with people complaining "Why not usernames?" Well, I have a possible answer: With user names, nobody can have identical names, while with Friend codes, the nickname doesn't matter because it's paired with the friend code (so you probably can have duplicates just because of the code).

 

[CarbonX13]

Good move by Nintendo. It's much better than having multiple codes for every single game you purchase.

 

[Yuan]

its like psn and xbl yay lol

No, it is not. What is easier to remember, 12 random numbers or a name?

Better than nothing, anyway.

QUOTE(YayMii @ Jan 19 2011, 08:00 PM) I've been on a bunch of websites with people complaining "Why not usernames?" Well, I have a possible answer: With user names, nobody can have identical names, while with Friend codes, the nickname doesn't matter because it's paired with the friend code (so you probably can have duplicates just because of the code).

It is worse. Imagine having 10 friends with the same nick, how will you know who is who? By their unique 12 random numbers?

 

[Fishaman P]

Exceptional news, it will make setting up matches in Mario Kart 100,000x easier.

YES.

I hate when I switch between carts (AKA cart and AK2i) how my friends are missing from the copy I have with me.

 

[ProtoKun7]

It'd be a nice choice to have a option to use your Nintendo ID, or Club Nintendo ID instead of a bunch of random numbers. It's a pretty good step though. It would also be nice if the Friend system was more like social websites like Facebook, where you could send a request instead of them having to punch in your code as well.

I agree about the Club Nintendo account idea, though not everyone will actually have one.

 

[YayMii]

its like psn and xbl yay lol

No, it is not. What is easier to remember, 12 random numbers or a name?

Better than nothing, anyway.

QUOTE(YayMii @ Jan 19 2011, 08:00 PM) I've been on a bunch of websites with people complaining "Why not usernames?" Well, I have a possible answer: With user names, nobody can have identical names, while with Friend codes, the nickname doesn't matter because it's paired with the friend code (so you probably can have duplicates just because of the code).

It is worse. Imagine having 10 friends with the same nick, how will you know who is who? By their unique 12 random numbers?

I doubt you'd have 10 friends with the same nickname. You'd probably be able to change your nick at any time anyways.

 

[Zarxrax]

Are we really sure about this?
Because everyone thought the Wii had a universal friend code at first, but it turned out to just be an extra code IN ADDITION to the normal friend codes.

 

[Yuan]

its like psn and xbl yay lol

No, it is not. What is easier to remember, 12 random numbers or a name?

Better than nothing, anyway.

QUOTE(YayMii @ Jan 19 2011, 08:00 PM) I've been on a bunch of websites with people complaining "Why not usernames?" Well, I have a possible answer: With user names, nobody can have identical names, while with Friend codes, the nickname doesn't matter because it's paired with the friend code (so you probably can have duplicates just because of the code).

It is worse. Imagine having 10 friends with the same nick, how will you know who is who? By their unique 12 random numbers?

I doubt you'd have 10 friends with the same nickname. You'd probably be able to change your nick at any time anyways.

Of course, it is just an example. Just to show it is not a feature which justifies the use of random numbers instead of a name.

 

[tmac24]

Roll on March its about time nintendo!!!!!!!! it'll be interesting to see how this universal friend code pans out

 

[Goli]

its like psn and xbl yay lol

No, it is not. What is easier to remember, 12 random numbers or a name?

Better than nothing, anyway.

QUOTE(YayMii @ Jan 19 2011, 08:00 PM) I've been on a bunch of websites with people complaining "Why not usernames?" Well, I have a possible answer: With user names, nobody can have identical names, while with Friend codes, the nickname doesn't matter because it's paired with the friend code (so you probably can have duplicates just because of the code).

It is worse. Imagine having 10 friends with the same nick, how will you know who is who? By their unique 12 random numbers?

I doubt you'd have 10 friends with the same nickname. You'd probably be able to change your nick at any time anyways.

Of course, it is just an example. Just to show it is not a feature which justifies the use of random numbers instead of a name.

In many DS and Wii games, nickname and friend code seem to have no relation, with the friend code being the only important part and the name being simply an identifier for the user who registered it. Assuming the same applies for the 3DS, let's say you have 3 friends named Jonathan, with Jonathan being the nickname they use in their 3DSs, you could register each as Jonathan... or you could register each one with something different. Like Jon, Johnny and Jonathan!