Report - Wii U to ditch friend codes

At last, some good news. The Wii U looks set to dispense with Nintendo's clumsy friend code system in favour of a gamertag-like online ID.

MTV Multiplayer had the news from Ubisoft producer Adrian Blunt during a demonstration of Ghost Recon Online.

Blunt commented that the Wii U allows users to create "accounts" for online games, rather than having a single, random, difficult to remember code representing each console.

Asked if the new system is equivalent to an Xbox Live gamertag, Blunt replied "Yeah, exactly".

"Rather than using friend codes, which we've had in the past, we're able to connect players in a much easier way, which allows us to have a community that's playing together in the game," he said.

Blunt wouldn't be drawn to greater detail, or on the subject of achievements.

It's not clear whether the Wii U will be tied to a single online network identity or whether individual developers will need to launch online ID systems.