A while back, Nintendo announced that they would be working on a way to improve StreetPass capability for the West. The reason for this was because the Western regions have their populations more spread out than Japan – where the population is more condensed, allowing for more StreetPasses. Today, via a Nintendo Direct Mini, Nintendo has revealed how the new StreetPass functionality will work.
Nintendo will be using the existing Nintendo Zone hot spots (over 29,000 in the US; over 25,000 in Europe). These hotspots are in places such as Best Buy, Future Shop, Boingo hotspots at major U.S. airports, and AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots at places like McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Barnes & Noble.
Here’s how it works: When you go to one of these Nintendo Zone hot spots, you will collect the StreetPass data from the previous person. Your data will then be held for the next person to collect. Nintendo is calling this a “StreetPass Relay” as data gets picked up and dropped off by everyone involved. So, for those wondering since the initial announcement about how your data would be held and how long for, here is your answer.
 |
 |
| Receiving Data | Leaving Data |
No specific information was given as to when this will be implemented. However, they did say that it will be part of a 3DS update that will be coming in the next few weeks.
