wiiugo.com has received a tip from someone who claims to be friends with a network engineer at Nintendo saying that the Wii U will supposedly offer video- and voice-communication support, leader boards, and a friend lists that shows what they are up to.
The source, who wants to remain anonymous, states that:
Many publishers are happy with Xbox Live’s features, but they aren’t happy with how strict Microsoft’s guidelines are. Nintendo went with an open flexible approach with online because when Nintendo asked developers/publishers what they wanted in an online service, that was the number one thing they asked for.
EA, however, is said to be in talks with Nintendo, “aggressively persuading Nintendo to go Origins exclusive with Wii U’s online so they can gain a competitive advantage over Steam” who also wants to have their platform be major part of the Wii U’s online strategy.
Truth or total bullshit, it’s likely that an online component is going to be major part of Nintendo’s next console release.