Tekken Producer on Wii U’s Online Network: “I Don’t Fully Understand It”

Update: Changed the headline to make Harada's statement clearer. (thanks, IFU Stone)

When Nintendo revealed the Wii U's launch details last week, a lot of people were left wondering why the company did not mention their onlie plans at all. Well, it seems we're not the only ones, as even some of the developers themselves are still left in the dark when it comes to Nintendo's online network.

Namco Bandai and Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada is one of those developers. During a roundtable interview at Namco Bandai headquarters (via Destructoid), Harada was asked how the Wii U's online infrastructure fares compared to the PS3's PSN and Microsoft's Xbox LIVE.

Not quite sure at this point. I don't fully understand it. We’re still working with Nintendo to find out about their network.

I gather, that's not the answer a lot of you were hoping for, no? Of course, compared to Sony and Microsoft's online presence, Nintendo is at its infancy. Can the Wii U's online infrastructure be good to go on November 18? I certainly hope so. Of course, I'm still hoping Nintendo moves out of the middle-ages by not having to use Friend Codes or something similar to it.

What would you want to see when it comes to the Wii U's online network? Do you think they have a shot at competing with Sony and Microsoft in this area?