Some new details have recently come to light surrounding the online functionality of the Wii U, and it’s not all good news.  The crippled online functionality was one of the major things keeping hardcore gamers from spending much time with their Wii’s (heh heh).  If their recent reveals about the Wii U online system are any indication, that point seems a little lost on Nintendo.

The first item up on the docket is that of achievements.  Since their success on the 360, everyone has been implementing achievements nowadays.  Nintendo is no exception, as the Wii U will have an achievement system.  However, Nintendo President Reggie Fils-Aime has confirmed that the inclusion of achievements on Wii U games will be optional, and will be up to each developer as to whether or not they want to include them.  A little hint to Nintendo, optional achievements are the same thing as no achievements.  When achievements are in some games and not others, they don’t matter.

Friend codes are the biggest bane of any hardcore gamer trying to use Nintendo’s online networks.  The good news is that friend codes won’t continue to exist in the same state they’re currently in.  The bad news is that they will still continue to exist.  We don’t know in what capacity, but good ole’ Reggie claims that hardcore gamers will be ok with it.  Our skeptical minds say “we’ll see, Reggie, we’ll see”.

Next up on the “could be good or bad” docket is that you will be able to use the Wii U controller to play some games offline, without your TV…sometimes.  Like achievements, this is an optional feature that is up to the developer to decide if they want to implement.

There is some purely good news on the horizon as well.  Reggie has confirmed that all saved games and digital content purchased on the Wii will be transferable to the Wii U.  Even better, amidst the rumors of Sony and Microsoft’s next gen consoles not being capable of playing used games, Reggie says that the Wii U will not include any feature to limit or combat the sale of used games on the Wii U.

What are your thoughts on these new developments?  Good or bad?  Let us know in the comments.