It's getting close to the launch date of the Wii U, and details on its internet services are finally coming in. After Iwata gave an overview of account management in his special unboxing video a week ago, we also had the WaraWara Plaza explained in English, and now a new video tells us about Nintendo Network, the Miiverse, and the internet browser included with the Wii U.
This video makes clearer the distinction between your user account and your Nintendo Network ID. The user account is your log-in to the system, identified by your Mii, and will allow you to have separate save games and browser bookmarks from others who use the console. The Nintendo Network ID is like your friend code, a unique identification that allows you to connect with other Wii Us and shop on the online store. No one has said specifically whether you can have multiple Nintendo Network IDs per console, but we have been told that games bought on the online store will be playable by all user accounts on the system, so it looks like it could be just one ID per system.
Questions have also been raised about the Miiverse, and how a system that encourages discussion between players about the games they're playing will be able to prevent spoilers. From the video, it seems like it'll be mostly user-managed. Those who post spoilers should mark them as such, and if they don't, others can come along and flag them; when enough flags have been raised, an automated system will step in to mark the post as a spoiler. It doesn't sound foolproof, but we won't know until we see it in action.
The Wii U comes out on the 18th in the US and the 30th in the UK. Will you be picking one up?