While Nintendo remains a formidable force in the game industry, the company has seen better days, recently posting a net loss in its business and trying to figure out its next move with the Wii U, and whether a renaming of the system is necessary or not.  That said, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata remained confident in the future of the company business, and (finally) introduced a dedicated gaming network coming soon from the company, one that should offer simplicity to those picking up a Nintendo 3DS or, later this year, a Wii U.

Announced yesterday during a Nintendo press conference, the Nintendo Network, which doesn't have a specific launch date as of yet, is a dedicated online service where Nintendo will not only offer downloadable content for games, but also downloadable games themselves for both the Wii U and 3DS.  Said Iwata, it will mainly cover "competitions and communication among users, as well as the sales of digital content."

One of these big new aspects of the Nintendo Network is building a community, somewhere along the lines of what Microsoft is doing with Xbox Live and Sony is doing with the PlayStation Network.  Communities are a big part of games these days, and one particular title that Nintendo is focusing on with this feature is Mario Kart 7, which remains a top seller for Nintendo 3DS nearly two months after its release.  The Nintendo Network should somehow play a huge part in this, though Iwata didn't exactly break down just how yet.  We're guessing adding favorite drivers, without the need of pesky Friend Codes, is a start.

Another big part of the Nintendo Network is, at long last, the option of setting up multiple accounts.  One big Achilles' heel of Nintendo systems is that any purchases you make are limited to one system.  So if you buy a game for the Wii and get rid of it, then get a new one, you have to buy the game all over again, rather than just redownloading it like you would through Xbox Live or PSN.  With the use of multiple accounts for one system (namely the Wii U), players can actually keep their content stored, and log in and out as they please individually.

About the Author

Robert Workman

Senior Writer/Editor

Robert has years of experience in the video game industry, writing for such sites as AOL GameDaily, PlanetXbox360 and Comic Book Resources.  He can also outdrink you any day of the week.  And twice on Sunday.  Follow him at www.twitter.com/thedcd.