EA games on Wii U to require Origin

Nintendo has been cagey about its online plans for the Wii U, so aside from a few details about voice chat and vague statements about relying on publishers, we've been left almost entirely in the dark. A policy document from Electronic Arts is shedding a little more light on how publishers will apparently get involved: by requiring their own proprietary online accounts.

GameSpot reports that an updated EA privacy policy confirms that EA games on the Wii U will require an Origin account. You'll also have to agree to allow EA to collect your e-mail address, Mii information, friend list, country, language, and date of birth. This is similar to the online requirement for online play in EA's games on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, which are generally simply linked once to your PSN ID or Xbox Gamertag.

The document also mentions a "Nintendo Network ID," which may be the company's new name for Friend Codes. If so, we can only hope that the Origin requirement will be a one-time link like its other current-gen counterparts, to make the bizarre Friend Code requirements somewhat easier. Somewhat.