A Wireless game adapter is a device that, once connected to a

video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally placed i ...

handheld A mobile device (or handheld computer) is a computer small enough to hold and operate in the hand. Mobile devices typically have a flat LCD or OLED screen, a touchscreen interface, and digital or physical buttons. They may also have a physical ...

, enables

internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

and\or

multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

access.

Consoles

Xbox 360

The Wireless Network Adapter for the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

is a device that is plugged into the system's rear USB port, allowing for access to the internet via a wireless router.

Wii

While the Wii has built-in wireless capabilities, it is not compatible with every wireless router. For this reason Nintendo released the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector peripheral that a Wii can connect wirelessly to via an internet enabled computer, wireless or otherwise.

Handhelds

Game Boy Color

The Mobile GB Adaptor was a Japan-only device that attached to the EXT port on a

Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...

. The other end was connected to a

cell phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

, allowing for access to the internet. It was primarily used for trading and battling on ''

Pokémon Crystal is a role-playing video game developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Color. It is the third version of second generation games after ''Pokémon Gold'' and ''Silver'', and it is also the final ''Pokémon'' game to be ...

''.

Game Boy Advance

The

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...

and its two redesigns, the

Game Boy Advance SP The Game Boy Advance SP (GBA SP), released in Japan on February 14, 2003, is a sixth-generation handheld game console developed, released, and marketed by Nintendo that served as an upgraded version of the original Game Boy Advance. The "SP" in ...

and the

Game Boy Micro The Game Boy Micro is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on September 13, 2005 as a smaller, lighter redesign of the Game Boy Advance. The system is the last console in the Game Boy lin ...

all had wireless adapters that were meant to replace the link cable used for

local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

multiplayer. It is not compatible with any game released prior to the adapter's release, and afterwards was only compatible with a select few games.

Nintendo DS

Much like the Wii, the Nintendo DS has built-in wireless capabilities and is similarly not compatible with all wireless routers. Another hindrance is that the DS does not support certain levels of wi-fi encryption (e.g.

WPA WPA may refer to: Computing *Wi-Fi Protected Access, a wireless encryption standard *Windows Product Activation, in Microsoft software licensing * Wireless Public Alerting (Alert Ready), emergency alerts over LTE in Canada * Windows Performance An ...

), thus necessitating the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wireless Game Adapter Wireless networking