McDonald’s cancels free wi-fi for Nintendo DS players

June 3rd, 2008, 12:00 pm · 1 Comment · posted by Nancy Luna, Staff Writer

Attention teens and tweens: McDonald’s is no longer providing free wi-fi to Nintendo DS players — ending two years of unlimited access at restaurants.

News of the “game over” decision by McDonald’s is making the rounds in the blogosphere — including popular fast food blogs like Hamburger Today. The program started in 2005 as a partnership between McDonald’s and Nintendo.

Free access allowed users to essentially chow on a Big Mac while playing against other wi-fi connected Nintendo DS players. The freebie was never intended to last forever, McDonald’s said this week.

“The contract expired per the terms of the agreement,” said McDonald’s spokeswoman Danya Proud. “The relationship was mutually beneficial to both parties and we continue to discuss this and other opportunities with Nintendo.”

According to Knowzy.com, a site that provides personal technology tips, “Wi-Fi seeking Nintendo DS owners now need special hardware to get online at McDonald’s.” To learn more, read Knowzy.com.

Also, the Register’s Gadgetress reports that McDonald’s and Starbucks do offer free access to certain AT&T customers. To learn more read the Gadgetress blog.

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Jeff Lawlor says:

June 3, 2008 at 1:26 pm

Thank you Nancy for passing on the news.

I’m amazed that I was the first to break this story at the end of April- more than five months after the agreement ended in November 2007.

Nintendo didn’t announce it. Their hotspot locator for Nintendo DS customers still claims “over 6,000 partner hotspots” (in reality, they have 0).

Gamers were left confused, wondering why their DS simply refused to connect to McDonald’s Wi-Fi.

Thanks for helping clear up the confusion. If it wasn’t for you and other bloggers, this story might have remained a footnote in a magazine that few people read!

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