Sharing Nintendo DS Friend Codes

June 30, 2006 11:18 PM

Hey Matt! You own a Nintendo DS, just like I do. Infact, Metafilter has several DS owners, as this question of mine revealed. The thing is, we're not playing each other online as we damn well should be. So how about adding a field or two on our preferences pages to allow us to prominently advertise our Friend Codes? It's been talked about before. Let's make it happen.
posted by Effigy2000 to Feature Requests at 11:18 PM (30 comments total)

And yes, I know we could just add it in the 'Blurb About You' section, but if you were looking for someone's Friend Code, that might not be the first place one would think to look. Something prominent, at the top of someones user page, with a dedicated field would make finding another MeFite's friend code a lot easier.

For the record, my Mario Kart DS Friend Code is 545521146328...

... and my Tetris code is 764443286614.

And I will thrash anyone who tries to challenge me at the latter.
posted by Effigy2000 at 11:24 PM on June 30, 2006

Add a field for DS friend codes? Good luck with that. (not going to happen)
posted by puke & cry at 12:23 AM on July 1, 2006

How about y'all just post them in this thread. That will probably achieve a more realistic outcome.
posted by Jimbob at 12:25 AM on July 1, 2006

Because that's been done at least
twice before. And threads get closed when they get archived. There's no way to update your friend codes without starting a whole new MeTa thread.

A dedicated space on ones profile which you could update when you need to (like when you sell a game or get a new one, for example) would be better than a simple MeTa thread.
posted by Effigy2000 at 12:35 AM on July 1, 2006

A dedicated space on ones profile which you could update when you need to (like when you sell a game or get a new one, for example) would be better than a simple MeTa thread.

What about the "Blurb about you" text field in your account preferences, which everyone can see who so chooses?
posted by Mr. Six at 12:53 AM on July 1, 2006

Mr Six: In reply, please refer to my first comment in this thread.
posted by Effigy2000 at 12:56 AM on July 1, 2006

This is a fringe issue as far as metafilter goes. Maybe matt, being a ds user, will add a ds code field to profiles. But really, I doubt it.
posted by puke & cry at 1:04 AM on July 1, 2006

Is there something wrong with the generic, open ended "about me" section?

'Cause if you get a field for DS codes I want one for my grocery discount tag.
posted by loquacious at 1:14 AM on July 1, 2006

I don't like the way the DS has a different friend code for every single game. I'd have to add a new table to hold them all.

Just put it in your about you blurb. I wish nintendo did a better job of sharing codes (I'm sure it's actually to keep creeps away from 12 year olds) because it'd be nice if you could just say you are friends with mathowie and get all my friend codes from a central server somewhere.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 2:26 AM on July 1, 2006

loquacious : "Is there something wrong with the generic, open ended 'about me' section?"

I'm certainly not arguing that This Needs To Be Done, but one thing that makes individual entry fields nice is that it provides for a lot of information that it wouldn't occur to most people to put in. I have no Ninty, so it doesn't apply to me, but I used to be on XBox Live, and it just never occured to me "hey, I could put that in my MeFi profile". And I'm sure that's not the only example (I'd provide more, but since the point is that there are things which wouldn't occur to me, understandably other examples aren't occuring to me). I just generally like profile forms that have a billion things listed, so you can look through and go, "Oh, hey, yeah, I could put that in too!"

But, again, that's just my personal preference, not a declaration of something Universally Good, or something which should be done, and I only mention it as an answer to your question, not as an argument to matt or anyone in the thread.
posted by Bugbread at 3:48 AM on July 1, 2006

locquacious, you have a grocery discount tag? Why haven't you shared this with us before?
posted by graventy at 6:17 AM on July 1, 2006

Good lord, I spelled that poorly.
posted by graventy at 6:18 AM on July 1, 2006

I've just put my Animal Crossing friend code in my profile. I'm really glad you brought this up (and linked to the earlier post), because I was very worried I was the only person older than 14 in the world playing AC.
posted by featherboa at 6:56 AM on July 1, 2006

Problem with using a MeTa thread: Threads close and are buried. If someone buys mariokart in future they will not be able to add their code to the existing thread, since it has closed

Problem with using profiles: If you buy mariokart how do you get a list of other users who would like to play? you have to hope you'll stumble across them. Then you'll have to hope they have an email address listed so you can let them know your code.

I think a better solution would be to make a page on the wiki that lists ds codes.
posted by Olli at 7:14 AM on July 1, 2006

I think a better solution would be to make a page on the wiki that lists ds codes.

DING DING DING! Seems like the way to go.
posted by cortex at 8:07 AM on July 1, 2006

I guess I could create two fields for game name and friend code, and let people enter them in one by one, but I really wish nintendo did this better and I didn't have to code something to make their games easier to use.

I was very worried I was the only person older than 14 in the world playing AC.

animal crossing is totally world of warcraft for 8 year olds. I gave up when it became more work than fun.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 8:24 AM on July 1, 2006

How about adding a tagging system to user pages similar to what we have in mefi/askme? That would make it pretty easy to find any user who added a ds tag - they could put their codes in their profile, but users would have a simple way to find every user who tagged themselves with DS
posted by davey_darling at 8:37 AM on July 1, 2006

I'd like a field for my zodiac sign, in case I ever find out what it is.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 9:01 AM on July 1, 2006

locquacious, you have a grocery discount tag? Why haven't you shared this with us before?

Erm, there wasn't a field for it. zing!

animal crossing is totally world of warcraft for 8 year olds. I gave up when it became more work than fun.

That game is pure evil. Well, I've only played the Gamecube version, and only briefly. And it was cute and fun and all to watch my ex-gf play it until I realized it had her pulling video game weeds - that and running sundry errands for the gossipy, bitchy townsfolk - just so she could trade up for some stupid, rare fish that she could trade for a particular citrus chair or something or other that would match her incomplete collection of citrus themed furnishings.
posted by loquacious at 9:40 AM on July 1, 2006

The thing that always drives me away from AC is the letter-writing. I don't mind the completist obsession of pulling weeds and such—there's a sort of zen relaxation to such things, sometimes—but having to write out letters, on character at a time via gamepad, to stupid, uncomprehending neighbors? No! God no!
posted by cortex at 9:52 AM on July 1, 2006

Tetris: 734676857915
posted by splatta at 11:36 AM on July 1, 2006

But cortex, with the DS, letter writing is a hunt and peck snap!
posted by graventy at 1:44 PM on July 1, 2006

graventy: this fact has not escaped me, and so I fear that I will eventually spend even more money on AC. But first I will buy the almost wholly unimproved port of RE1, because I am an idiot about RE.
posted by cortex at 2:37 PM on July 1, 2006

featherboa - because I was very worried I was the only person older than 14 in the world playing AC...

May I present to you 2old2play - all gamers over age 25, and there are several of us there who play AC:WW, myself included.

(Happy birthday to me, today I'm 2old2play at 26!)
posted by IndigoRain at 3:41 PM on July 1, 2006

Putting them in threads is temporary and putting them in our user info doesn't allow us to search for other Mefites with DSes. So how about we get the ability to tag our own profiles?

We could use the tag 'MetaGame' for those of us with online games (DS, WoW, 360, etc) that we want to play with other Mefites?
posted by robocop is bleeding at 7:49 PM on July 1, 2006

I think I work harder to make money in Animal Crossing then I do in real life.
posted by visual mechanic at 8:01 PM on July 1, 2006

I know I work harder to save innocents in Phoenix Wright than I do in real life.
posted by graventy at 8:11 PM on July 1, 2006

I only have Brain Age and New Super Mario Bros, although I've played a bunch of other games over local download. What are these "Friend codes" you speak of? Are they a way to play certain games online via WiFi hotspots?

Also, I'd love a "gamer" tag. That would cover everything from DS to WoW to Xbox live (my tag's "Chatter," btw).
posted by ®@ at 7:53 AM on July 2, 2006

I've created this Friend Code List on the wiki as an interim measure.
posted by Olli at 9:55 AM on July 2, 2006 [1 favorite]

I've just put my Animal Crossing friend code in my profile. I'm really glad you brought this up (and linked to the earlier post), because I was very worried I was the only person older than 14 in the world playing AC.

Neither my router nor any of the four unsecured ones around my home seem to be capable of giving me a connection. Otherwise, I'd come visit you. If only to see something different than the same acre of land I inhabit religiously daily.

Speaking of which... must go find fossils...
posted by hoborg at 8:16 PM on July 2, 2006