Nintendo Partners With free-hotspot.com For Free 3DS WiFi Access Across Europe

Matt Burns

Matt is a Senior Editor at TechCrunch. Matt Burns is a family man first and attempts to be a writer second. Born and raised in the heart of the automotive world, only cars eclipse his love of gadgets. He previously wrote for Engadget and EngadgetHD before moving into the party house that is TechCrunch. He learned the retail side of... → Learn More

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
Model poses with Nintendo Co Ltd's new 3DS handheld game console in Chiba

The Nintendo 3DS just got a bit more connected. The gaming company has teamed with free-hotspot.com to provide 5,000 access points to 3DS owners throughout 22 European companies. 3DSs can now hop online while abroad at various locations including McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Subway, Ibis Hotels and Etap Hotels.

US gamers have enjoyed free hotspot access for sometime now. Nintendo partnered with AT&T to allow access at their hotspots and then late last year, Nintendo struck with Boingo in late 2011 that opened access at various airports.

“Our extensive network of Wi-Fi hotspots across Europe will provide Nintendo 3DS users with a high-speed, reliable service to help them make the most of their time while away from home. We are delighted to work with Nintendo and to announce this important partnership.” stated Joseph Brunoli, Managing Director of Anacapa Holdings, Ltd., operators of the free-hotspot.com network.

The 3DS lacks a 3G radio but features many connected functions that are left meaningless without Internet access. The same thing can be said for the 3DS screen and lack of good games, too.

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