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DS Gets Online Countdown

25th of November deadline for DS Internet-enabled gaming

DS Gets Online Countdown
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DS

It’ll be arriving two weeks later than originally planned but the release of Mario Kart DS on 25 November will the starting gun for Nintendo to unleash its online plans for DS.

For the first time you’ll be able to play DS games against anyone else playing anywhere in the world - assuming they are online at the same time as you. Mario Kart DS will be the first game to support this, although others including Tony Hawk's American SK8Land, Animal Crossing: Wild World and Metroid Prime: Hunters will quickly follow. By the end of 2006 it's expected that most DS games will include some form of online multiplayer mode.

The trick to getting online will be a combination of the multiplayer mode contained in the games, Nintendo's game servers and its Wi-Fi Connection Access Points. These are the physical locations where you can take your DS and connect to the Internet via a wi-fi hotspot. Nintendo has yet to announce where these places will be, but it has announced that it will be releasing a Wi-Fi USB Connector. This little device will plug into your broadband-connected PC (not Apple Macs however) via a USB port and then wirelessly connect with your DS, sharing the PC's broadband connection to get you online. Nintendo's official connector will cost around £30, although it's likely other companies will offer cheaper versions. Of course, if you already have a wireless broadband network at home, your DS will be able to automatically connect to the Internet without this connector.

So what will happen once you're online?

Well, in Mario Kart DS you'll be able to race against three other players anywhere in the world. These could be random people who are roughly as good at playing the game as you are. This matching of opponents is organised through Nintendo's game servers, which use a skill mapping system based on the ratings of your save games. Alternatively you can set up a Friends' Roster. This works using a Friend Code, which is a 12 digit number you swap with each of your friends. Enter it into your game and then anytime they’re logged onto the Nintendo game servers you can select to play against just them.

What you're able to do online will be different depending on the game. In Animal Crossing: Wild World, for example, you'll able to invite up to three people from your Friends' Roster to visit your town simply by opening the town's gate. With Tony Hawk's American SK8Land you'll able to create custom skateboard art and graffiti tags and share them with other players. The game will also track the best high scores from around the world.

Jon Jordan
Jon Jordan
A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon can turn his hand to anything except hand turning. He is editor-at-large at PG.biz which means he can arrive anywhere in the world, acting like a slightly confused uncle looking for the way out. He likes letters, cameras, imaginary numbers and legumes.