The recent Nintendo leak has revealed the reason why Nintendo chose to use Friend Codes in its plans from Wii onwards. The company's details, in the form of a Powerpoint presentation, reveal that in the early days they thought that signing up for a Gamer Tag would confuse the audience and that if they couldn't find the name they wanted the user would keep frustration. That's where the Wii launched, but it's clear that they've found the Friendship Code option to be the best of the day, as that's the switchch you use.
