Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Nintendo DS Is a WiFi Monster?

I don't know about the rest of you, but I have been underwhelmed by reports about the upcoming Nintendo DS gaming system. The new system looks pretty silly, looks bulky, and the big selling point is multiple screens, as though the big problem with the Gameoys or GameBoy Advance systems has been not enough screen real estaste. (The real problem - as any GBA user can tell you - is not enough horsepower!) But Engadget has up an interesting article which claims the Nintendo may have one killer new feature: WiFi Repeating. This new system would use the WiFi standard for networked gaming (WiFi = 802.11b = Apple Airport) but instead of just looking for a base station, the DS itself would act as a hub and repeater. This means, supposing the DS reached 100 feet, that not only can I play with any user within 100 feet of me, but with any user within 100 feet of any user within 100 feet of me! Imagine the kind of network parties and impromptu sessions that could be held in Malls or Airports where literally hundreds of users could be bouncing around the signals of their peers. If true, this could actually give users a real reason to upgrade!

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