Free DS Wifi at McDonald’s

This makes me laugh. It’s not going to help the image of video gaming in general. McDonalds is already enough of a fat-kid factory as it is.

Still, the more people playing DS online, the better.

It would be a little embarrassing to walk into a restaurant, not order anything, and take a seat and play DS. Hopefully there will be some designated areas, and more people will be playing 😛

We have to remember here, that Nintendo isn’t targeting people like us, hardcore gamers, with this McDonalds thing. Nintendo already has us. We already have Wireless Routers, or will be more than willing to buy the dongle. No, this is targeting casual gamers. More specifically, the “Joe Average’s”, or as I like to call them, the LCD’s. The kinds of people who will visit these kinds of places at least once a week for a “family outing”, and consider going there to be like going to a real resturant. And these people will eat this up just as much as they eat up McDonald’s disgusting burgers.

One thing we should also consider….correct me if I’m wrong, but with the proliferation of McDonalds in the states, wouldn’t this mean you’d have at least one DS hotspot per square kilometre in metro areas? That’s a lot of hotspots.

Every little helps. Nintendo needs to able to allow people to connect to as many places as possible. McDonalds will be one of many places.

“I’ve never been to a McDonald’s where the burgers didn’t taste like processed cat turds.”

You mean you’ve eaten processed cat turds before? That’s disgusting!

I think it’s awesome, I can’t think of a place I’ve been where I couldn’t find a McD’s.

And who doesn’t like a BigMac?! Sure, it’s at the bottom of the restaurant food chain, but doesn’t cheap food have a certain appeal. A good fast food burger is like getting a hotdog at the ball park or a gyro from a street vendor in Greece. They cheap, you might not want to know what’s in it, but it tastes so good.

I am curious about a few things though. Will these WiFi connections be open to any kind of internet use? If not, how will they limit it to DS’s. What’s the range on them going to be like (can I play it while going through the drive through or sitting in my car in the parking lot)?

As far as playing your DS at cafe’s, etc. Remeber if the place already has an internet hotspot, you can play there. Most of the trendy type places do already have hotspots. Even a lot of gas stations in my city have hotspots.

A few years ago I would’ve thought this was a pretty brilliant strategy- but nowadays I hate Mc Donalds and do everything I can to avoid it and anything like it, so I’m not sure about this partnership deal. On the one hand I want Nintendo and the DS to do well, but on the other hand I’d rather they made a deal to put wifi spots in parks or libraries instead.

People, the McD’s deals is for other ppl, not us. It’s for the dudes going there at night for a snack, for the kids who go everyday after school. It’s convenient for whoever visits McD’s and it’s not a bad deal in any regard, no matter how much u hate the place. This is another stroke of genius on Nintendo’s part.

You mean you’ve eaten processed cat turds before? That’s disgusting!

Yes.

From a strategic marketing point of view, this is a good move by Nintendo. [of course, this depends on how many of the McDonald’s locations actually implement the Nintendo WiFi].

I think that this is more valuable for nintendo as a Media-buy rather than as something tangible that the players can use. Sure, it will be great for those people that bring their DS to McD – but I feel like my DS would get all greasy, the air in McD’s is terrible, and the food is the last thing that I would ever want to put in my body (outside of a McGriddle on a hangover).

This whole deal will be much more useful to Nintendo as a way to increase their brand exposure. The mass amounts of people that will see the logos and general signage indicating the wifi setup will get Nintendo’s name back in people’s heads again.

Rather than really supporting the wifi network, I think this will be more effective as a way to make Nintendo synonymous with Gaming once again (rather than Playstation being synonymous with gaming).

It’s great to have Wifi support, and it’s a start to getting the entire US Wifi-ed up. But McDonald’s sucks – plain and simple.

As I continue to blab on…Even though i think that mcDonalds sucks, there are PLENTLY of people that go there. I mean, hell, there is a McDonalds in EVERY WALLMART STORE, if that’s not brand exposure to the ‘critical-mass’ consumer, then I don’t know what is.

Really though – if Nintendo wants to be all protective of kids, like it seems to be – then perhaps it should not be slightly urging kids to eat unhealthy food…BUT then again – just like kids playing rated M games, what kids eat should be up to the Parents and not the game companies.

I could see a better partnership between N and other food establishments, but this IS better than nothing. At least we’re getting the WiFi out there.

I’ve typed more than enough.

The DS will be able to connect to the Nintendo WiFi connection from ANY wifi hotspot that is open or uses WEP. That includes home networks, libraries, etc. The USB connector is only for people who don’t already have a wireless network at home or want to have a quick way to setup wireless.