Customer Reviews

Nintendo DS Wi-Fi USB Controller

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm not the best at writing reviews so bare with me. This little device is a great addition to your DS. First off you need to have something more that a Dial-up connection for it to work, trust me if you've tried playing any online game with Dial-up you'll know what I mean. What it does is allow you to excess your friends or random people using a Friend Code (which you get per game I believe, I've only used it with Animal Crossing so far so I don't know about more games), you give it to your friends or post online whatever floats your boat and then you play your game with a connection open to your Wifi. In Animal Crossing people will end up coming to your town or goto your town, in Mario Kart you have races etc. I would highly suggest getting Animal Crossing: Wild World or Mario Kart with this if you don't already have it. Thanks for reading this.

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This device is a must have if you own a Nintendo DS.
The package you receive brings the device itself and an installation CD
You install it to your computer then plug it in a USB port and there you have it, you can now play ONLINE with your Nintendo DS.

Note: not any game can be played online, just games that indicate it like Mario Kart or Metroid Hunters oh and you need a CABLE or DSL internet connection to use this.

I bought one of these to use with my DS, to play Tetris online at school. Since we aren't supposed to setup wireless acess points here, I thought that this would be a good alternative. The problem? The device is Windows-only, which meant I had to boot into Windows on my Mac before I could start using it. If you don't already have Wi-Fi, but you have a Windows machine, this adapter does make getting online really easy. But you can spend about the same amount, get a wireless router, spend a few minutes setting it up, and it'll work not only with Nintendo systems, but with laptops and such too.

(why is this listed as a "game"??) In any case, a previous reviewer is correct -- mostly -- about this gadget probably not being necessary.
But there's a catch: Even if you have a wireless internet router, you may still need this, or something like it. That's because Nintendo DS is finicky about what routers it will talk to, such as the ActionTec router that came with our Verizon DSL. Check the device compatibility list carefully to see if your router, or one you intend to buy will actually work.
Better yet, I suggest you look at getting a WIFI CONNECTOR ADAPTER USB FOR NINTENDO DS & SONY PSP instead, for around $40.
Unlike the DS WiFi here, that one will also allow connections by laptops and other PC's, as well Nintendo and Sony. So what's not to like?

There are often times where the use of the internet can be a greater excitement for any video gamer to play anybody around the world. Nintendo has continued to stretch that feeling with the success of the Nintendo DS. They've just made some great games for it like New Super Mario Brothers, Tetris DS, and Brain Age. They've also taken the test of anyway you can play against anyone with the new Wi-Fi connector. This device allows you to play against anybody from all over the globe head to head on great games like Animal Crossing, the fast and furious Mario Kart DS, and many other great games. There are a couple of disadvanctages though. One of them is that you'd need high speed broadband service like a cable or DSL modem, and you must also have the Windows XP operating system to make it happen too. It is only for that one, and not the earlier ones like NT, or Windows '98. Nevertheless, it is a great buy for the die hard DS gamer in all of us. I still recommend it.

Price: B

Connectivity: B-

Overall: B 1/2-

If you own a Nintendo wifi game but don't have wi-fi, chances are you're missing out. Pokemon D/P, Digimon World DS, Final Fantasy III, Pokemon Battle Revolution, Mario Kart DS, and Animal Crossing DS are just a few online games. That doesn't mention all the great features on Wii like forecast, News, Internet, and shop channels that are wi-fi compatible with this adapter.

While this item may make getting online with your NDS pretty painless, it is far from the best option available. For this amount of money you can get a low end wireless router; add a bit more and you can get a pretty decent router. And with a wireless router you can do much more, such as share files and an internet connection between computers. If you really can't afford a router, this is an option. But Even if you think you don't need one yet, you may later on, so going the wireless router route may be a justifiable decision.

First of all, I have to say that like most people who are probably looking into this, my encryption on my wireless was deemed "too complex" for the Nintendo DSlite I was using. There are multiple ways to get around this. To start, I would downgrade my encryption on the wireless every time I wanted to use the online feature, but that was really cumbersome and really stripped my desire to play any kind of game online. It would also have the nasty side effect of screwing up the wireless settings on all the other computers in the house, which became really pointless. I read about installing an extra router dedicated solely to WEP encryption for the DS, but I plan on moving and doing more schooling soon, and that option just didn't make much sense since I would have to set that whole system up every time I went somewhere. I knew there had to be a better way.

I read about this little adaptor and thought, "why the hell is it so damn expensive!" I started looking at other similar adaptors from other brands, but the problems people were having wasn't worth the trade off in price. I have a laptop running Windows 7 Ultimate, and the nice thing about this version is that it can run programs in Windows XP compatible mode (I can't vouch for the other versions, but definitely give yours a check since that is a stellar feature). The Nintendo website clearly fixed the adaptor compatibility programs for XP and Vista but stopped working on it since they discontinued this product. I decided to take a gamble on it anyways considering my "backwards compatibility", knowing that if it didn't work, all I would have to do is return it.

I got the Adaptor and the CD, but checked the website to get the most up-to-date version of the program to install. I clicked on the program and it said it was not compatible installing with my computer since I was using Windows 7 (NOOOOO!). I clicked again just to be sure and this time it asked if I wanted to install using "recommended settings" (Whatever you say computer). I installed it this way, followed the on screen procedures for when to plug in the adaptor and unplug and restarted the computer. Works like a charm!

I've noticed one thing though: I have to have it plugged in prior to turning on the computer or it doesn't work nearly as well. Other than that, I can't believe that Nintendo stopped making these things because they are a blessing for anyone on the go who want to be able to connect the DS online as long as they have a laptop and an internet connection with the adaptor (whoever discontinued this product really wasn't thinking).

Definitely check your compatibility, but it's safe to say that for XP, Vista, and 7 Ultimate, this product does exactly as advertised and in great quality. It's expensive, but it made getting online SOOO much more convenient I can't complain. There are cheaper ways of getting around the encrytion problem, but for my unique position in life right now, this adaptor was just what I needed.

This is a small devies used for online game play it main use is to leat all that do not already have a wirless modem to play online when the DS is the only resone why you whould get any wirrless acces point! Pluse it is easy to use!First time step Plug it in intall saftaer. Anytime Steps On the DS Wi-Fi optin menu hit Use USB conneter. On the PC hit the Wi-Fi Icon (eathier on the bottem left (or bottem Right or top left depending on ther where the vare with the start botten is) or click on it as a icon found any where. In the wendow there should be you DS listed. Click on it then hit aceeped then on the DS hit OK and test connetun if secceful you can play online if not look at in the booklet for a list of resones for it failing and how to fix them!