Is “Mario Kart Wii” the next big step in Wii online gaming?

Maybe not.

Not if Majesco – yes, the “Cooking Mama” people — pull off their plans for a little-discussed Wii game coming May 6.

“Kart” mostly does what Wii games like “Smash Bros.” already did. Majesco’s game does things that you usually only hear in reference to projects like “Spore” or “Little Big Planet.”

The game? “Blast Works: Build, Fuse & Destroy,” a Budcat-developed remake of the “Tumiki Fighters” side-scrolling shoot-em-up created by cult favorite Japanese bedroom programmer Kenta Cho.

This is the big leap? Stay with me, folks.

“Blast Works” will let gamers create their own content, trade it, even go to a website to browse anything other people have created and then, with just a mouse click, send that content to their Wii.

And it does all of this without friend codes!

Majesco’s Chief Technology Officer recently told me how Majesco got away with innovating with the Wii’s online capabilities, how Nintendo reacted, and why the Wii has at least one online advantage over the Xbox 360.

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I just got back from the New York Comic Con where many comics were being hyped, Grant Morrison was being interviewed by me in a skybox and “Metal Gear Online” was making its American playable debut.

Fitting, right?

Well… no.

Why “MGO” was at the Con is beyond me. But I don’t mind. I was able to continue a late-week personal “Metal Gear” festival that began with five minutes of hands-on with “Metal Gear Solid 4” on Thursday evening.

A Konami representative told me that the “MGO” build on the Comic Con show floor was a simplified version of the closed beta that will launch this coming Monday. There were two multiplayer maps, though the beta may have a full three.

If you’re like me and didn’t really understand what “MGO” is, it’s basically multiplayer “Metal Gear Solid” set in the world of “MGS4.” And it’s not a separate game. Not really. It will ship with “MGS4″ and is in fact going to be on the same Blu-Ray disc, according to the Konami rep who played “MGO” with me at the convention. The game will be amplified with later expansions.

Like any other “Metal Gear” game, “MGO” has a mix of the conventional and the absurd.

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Research group NPD published a 2008 report on online gaming earlier this week, announcing that 72 percent of the total U.S. population ages 6-44 plays video games.

One of the items in the release:

Among those who use a video game system for online gaming, Xbox 360 is the top system used, with 50 percent stating they play games online via that system. On average, Xbox 360 owners spend the most time per week using their 360s to play games online, followed by PC and PS3 owners using these respective systems for online game play.

That squares with what I’ve long assumed: Xbox users seem to be much more into online gaming than the norm. I contacted NPD to find out more about online usage of the other consoles, and was provided with some additional info. This new detail doesn’t describe how heavily people who own a given console use it for online. But it does indicate which consoles get people online, something that is surely a reflection of the installed base:

Among those who use a video game system for online gaming, Xbox 360 (50%), PlayStation 2 (22%) and Nintendo Wii (18%) are the top three systems used, with Xbox360 continuing to command a dominant lead.

I’m curious again… Are you a Nintendo Wii owner?

Were you an early adopter? Someone who studied the game’s unusual online configuration and anticipated the service the company calls WiiConnect24?

Have you been to the official Nintendo web site and read that “WiiConnect24 enables Wii to stay online 24/7 and download updates - even on standby”?

Have you checked out the WiiConnect24 description on Nintendo of Europe’s website? The description that states that “WiiConnect24 delivers new content even while users are sleeping or not at home, presenting ‘new experiences that anyone can enjoy every day,’ and laying the foundation for a lifestyle in which everyone in the family can relate to Wii on a daily basis.”

Did you ever read a May 2006 interview with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata back and see his comments on WiiConnect24?

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“Burnout Paradise” fans gaming with an Xbox 360 Core or Arcade system have found themselves pulling on the short end of the stick this week when it comes to online multiplayer.

While Multiplayer was researching how online retailers handled informing consumers about the hard drive requirement, Criterion Games issued a response to address gamer chatter. In doing so, we noticed they seemed to reveal a new approach to distributing downloadable content. We were right.

Publisher Electronic Arts confirmed to Multiplayer today that “Burnout Paradise”’s additional content allows gamers who choose to opt out of engaging with new content to still see the new content in-game while playing online. Additionally, EA says the content will be a combination of pay-to-play and free.

On Monday, Criterion Games released a statement that explained technical reasons “Burnout Paradise” required the hard drive online. After explaining issues related to data streaming without the add-on, the studio said this:

“Crucially we also didn’t want to split the playing community between those that have updated data and those that don’t. We saw this as vital in maintaining simplicity to all online users; different players having different content packages wouldn’t be able to play online with each other.”

As we said before, note the bold. It appears Criterion’s post-release strategy relies heavily on diversifying the universe with downloadable content. Our question, then, was how Criterion and EA would manage this expansion when downloadable content has always an optional upgrade for the consumer, not a requirement.

“It’s our intention to extend the life of Burnout with additional DLC in the near future. As mentioned, we don’t want to split the online community between those that have content and those that don’t. Our intention is to offer both free and paid for DLC in a way that enables everyone to ’see’ the content, even if they have not paid for it,” said an EA representative in an e-mailed statement.

EA wouldn’t elaborate on how they intend to execute this approach to downloadable content distribution, but we’re anxious to see it revealed. Their intentions come at the cost of a percentage of Xbox 360’s user base, however. Do you think it was worth it?

“…I’m talking about my Xbox 360, and I solved it, I need to buy a TWO HUNDRED ******* DOLLAR HARD DRIVE! SO I CAN PAY TO GO ONLINE TO PLAY WITH ******** TWELVE YEAR-OLDS! So I’m prolly going to return my 360 and do something more useful with my money, like throwing it off a bridge”

– gamer LordD2, posting on Electronic Arts’ support forums for “Burnout Paradise“

Xbox 360 Core or Arcade unit owners who picked up “Burnout Paradise” last week found a surprise waiting for them upon connecting to Xbox Live, if they weren’t careful enough to scope the back of the box ahead of time.

You know that streaming, seamless, revolutionary open-world gameplay that’s one of “Burnout Paradise”’s biggest bullet points?

Access denied; without a hard drive, “Burnout Paradise’s” online play is crippled. Players without the extra hardware can compare high scores, but they can’t share the roads of Paradise City for online Freeburn play.

Technically, this is mentioned on the box. But, is a note on the back of the box enough? We’ve reached out to both Microsoft and Electronic Arts for some additional commentary. When we hear back, we’ll let you know.

But first we’ve got some stuff to show you, facts to consider before anyone else starts pointing fingers and who the “Burnout” bad guy is.

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