The biggest news to come out of E3 this year is undoubtedly the reveal of Nintendo's new system, the Wii U. And while many game developers and companies have gone on and on about the system's capabilities, the public's reaction hasn't been as positive. If you're one of those people still unsure as to whether or not this system is worth all the hype, you may be happy to hear one of the things the system is doing away with: friend codes.

Those who used the Wii online are all too familiar with the concept of friend codes. In order to add a friend to your system's list, you'd have to input their set of 12 numbers, and the only way it would work properly is if your friend did the same with your numbers. Even then, in some cases -- like Super Smash Bros. Brawl -- you would need to input yet another set of numbers altogether just to play that game with them. The intent was to prevent kids from talking to random, possibly threatening adults, but it seriously hurt the system's standing with hardcore gamers.

Thankfully, according to Ubisoft producer Adrian Blunt, the friend codes are pretty much dead in the water. Blunt was showcasing Ghost Recon Online for the Wii U, and was asked about the system's online capabilities, since Ghost Recon will be heavily focused on multiplayer. Blunt explained that each user of the system would be able to make their own accounts, rather than the system being the account, and that friend lists would be used. It was, naturally, compared to Xbox Live's system.

This is a definite good move by Nintendo, as having strong online capabilities is practically required for any game system today. The question is, what else will Nintendo add to the Wii U's online experience, if anything at all? Blunt seemed to hint at more, but didn't give any concrete info. When asked about the possibility of achievements, he simply said he couldn't give an answer at the moment.

Is the knowledge of a good online system enough to get you to buy the Wii U? Do you think the inclusion of achievements would be a good thing for the system? Leave any thoughts you may have in the comments below.

Stay tuned to Game Rant for more news and updates as E3 2011 continues through the week.

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Source: MTV