Author Topic: Nintendo Announces Wii Pay & Play for the Wi-Fi Connection (Read 12857 times)

Mikintosh · « **on:** February 22, 2008, 11:05:11 PM »

http://kotaku.com/359754/nintendo-announces-wii-pay--play

Y'know, I defend Nintendo's online services because they're free but...what? You don't announce something that makes your service seem less desireable and then be vague about it.

Dirk Temporo · « **Reply #1 on:** February 22, 2008, 11:08:48 PM »

THIS BETTER MEAN WE GET VOICE CHAT AND NO FRIEND CODES NINTENDO.

Bill Aurion · « **Reply #2 on:** February 22, 2008, 11:09:19 PM »

What the? This better be only for the most online-intensive games like MMORPGs or something (I'm thinking Animal Crossing, sadly)...Which would be sad, because I'd like to play Animal Crossing online but I refuse to pay for online gaming...

Smoke39 · « **Reply #3 on:** February 22, 2008, 11:12:18 PM »

I'm guessing this will only be for MMO games. If not, I just won't play online. :/

UltimatePartyBear · « **Reply #4 on:** February 22, 2008, 11:25:31 PM »

It sounds like all they announced is a new logo for games that have for-pay features.

Ceric · « **Reply #5 on:** February 22, 2008, 11:26:26 PM »

Yep I was waiting for this. Nintendo realized that they are popular enough to start jerking people around. We all know that Nintendo is not going to enhance there service to the point of XBox Live. My bet is that they won't enhance a thing. It will just be like PSN where you have to pay to play a game online. I would almost go in for a bet that Nintendo will start charging for basic Online Play. *shrug* I rarely play online anyways.

Nick DiMola · « **Reply #6 on:** February 22, 2008, 11:34:27 PM »

Ugh, what the **** is going on here. We better get some clarification on exactly what this is.

Maverick · « **Reply #7 on:** February 22, 2008, 11:39:30 PM »

I was wondering when this was going to pop up here. Perhaps this is for third parties who want to charge for online play? I would gladly pay Nintendo money for online if they would upgrade their services to the likes of Xbox Live, but as is, I feel ripped off even though it's free.

Crimm · « **Reply #8 on:** February 22, 2008, 11:54:00 PM »

Quote from: Maverick on February 22, 2008, 11:39:30 PM

I was wondering when this was going to pop up here. Perhaps this is for third parties who want to charge for online play?

DING DING DING

ShyGuy · « **Reply #9 on:** February 22, 2008, 11:58:29 PM »

I think I want to see some examples of the Pay & Play service before I condemn or defend this.

BranDonk Kong · « **Reply #10 on:** February 23, 2008, 12:19:13 AM »

I seems (at least on IGN's article) that this is for DLC and the likes. They say the Wi-Fi Service connection will remain free, but some games will have this Pay to Play stuff. I think it's a way to get revenues directly to 3rd parties, instead of using Wii Points.

DAaaMan64 · « **Reply #11 on:** February 23, 2008, 12:33:15 AM »

I love Phantasy Star Onine for gamecube. I bet this is gonna cost money, damn them. I probably won't buy it.

Maverick · « **Reply #12 on:** February 23, 2008, 12:39:55 AM »

Quote from: Crimm on February 22, 2008, 11:54:00 PM

DING DING DING

What do I win?!

Crimm · « **Reply #13 on:** February 23, 2008, 12:44:15 AM »

Quote from: Brandogg on February 23, 2008, 12:19:13 AM

I seems (at least on IGN's article) that this is for DLC and the likes. They say the Wi-Fi Service connection will remain free, but some games will have this Pay to Play stuff. I think it's a way to get revenues directly to 3rd parties, instead of using Wii Points.

No no. The DLC is a separate issue; that will be bought using Points.

Smash_Brother · « **Reply #14 on:** February 23, 2008, 12:46:47 AM »

When did we become a bunch of whiny, spoiled bitches? Oh, wait, we always were (myself included, but still...).

People, content costs money to produce and therefore someone has to pay for it. I'm guessing this will include online services which offer the ability to connect and communicate with people (ala xbox live) and that sort of thing costs money to operate and develop. Nintendo has said in the past that the online model doesn't work unless it's profitable.

If it was a pittance like 500 Wii points per month, it's not going to break the bank, really. Xbox live is $50 for 13 months, and that includes piles of free stuff which make the service more enjoyable.

It'll be fine, trust me. I'll pay for quality instead of dealing with "it's free but it sucks" any day.

vudu · « **Reply #15 on:** February 23, 2008, 12:49:39 AM »

Quote from: Smash_Brother on February 23, 2008, 12:46:47 AM

If it was a pittance like 500 Wii points per month, it's not going to break the bank, really. Xbox live is $50 for 13 months, and that includes piles of free stuff which make the service more enjoyable.

But that would make me a hypocrite for ragging on Live all these years. Don't make out to be a hypocrite, Nintendo!

Mikintosh · « **Reply #16 on:** February 23, 2008, 12:54:27 AM »

Quote from: Smash_Brother on February 23, 2008, 12:46:47 AM

When did we become a bunch of whiny, spoiled bitches? Oh, wait, we always were (myself included, but still...).

People, content costs money to produce and therefore someone has to pay for it. I'm guessing this will include online services which offer the ability to connect and communicate with people (ala xbox live) and that sort of thing costs money to operate and develop. Nintendo has said in the past that the online model doesn't work unless it's profitable.

If it was a pittance like 500 Wii points per month, it's not going to break the bank, really. Xbox live is $50 for 13 months, and that includes piles of free stuff which make the service more enjoyable.

It'll be fine, trust me. I'll pay for quality instead of dealing with "it's free but it sucks" any day.

I'm usually on the "don't overreact" side, and I don't think this is the biggest deal in the world, but I worry whenever Nintendo does something that makes it seem as "corporate" as its competitors. It sold its Wi-Fi connection on the promise that it'd be free and accessible, and by not releasing any details, people are free to speculate that they'll be converting their existing service to one you have to pay for, and while the WFC is fine for free, its very inadequate when compared to Xbox Live.

Now, I imagine that Nintendo will only have this Pay & Play for upcoming games that require special features that cost more money (like Animal Crossing), but we don't know that. Why'd they announce it this way, anyway? Did they think people would be excited about it?

ShyGuy · « **Reply #17 on:** February 23, 2008, 12:57:10 AM »

So if DLC is separate, and Wiiware is separate, and Virtual Console is seperate, that leaves...

Pay to play games online like Brawl?

Pay to play MMOs online like Animal Crossing?

Pay to play new songs on Guitar Hero? (same as DLC really)

Pay to access the Weather Channel?

UltimatePartyBear · « **Reply #18 on:** February 23, 2008, 12:59:09 AM »

Quote from: Mikintosh on February 23, 2008, 12:54:27 AM

Why'd they announce it this way, anyway? Did they think people would be excited about it?

Apparently, Nintendo has too high an opinion of its fans and didn't think there'd be a big negative reaction to non-news.

Smash_Brother · « **Reply #19 on:** February 23, 2008, 01:08:52 AM »

I'm guessing Maverick could also be right in that this is a means for 3rd parties to get their stuff out there.

In either case, I'm sure this won't be replacing the free online structure. There's no reason for it to do so when matchmaking servers are still dirt cheap. This is something bigger and thus costs money.

Bill Aurion · « **Reply #20 on:** February 23, 2008, 01:09:28 AM »

Quote from: Smash_Brother on February 23, 2008, 12:46:47 AM

It'll be fine, trust me. I'll pay for quality instead of dealing with "it's free but it sucks" any day.

Well I'm not worried about quality...It's just that I use online so rarely that paying for it just isn't worth it...

Quote from: PartyBear on February 23, 2008, 12:59:09 AM

Quote from: Mikintosh on February 23, 2008, 12:54:27 AM
Why'd they announce it this way, anyway? Did they think people would be excited about it?

Apparently, Nintendo has too high an opinion of its fans and didn't think there'd be a big negative reaction to non-news.

They didn't set up an announcement just for this, it was mentioned during the WiiWare discussion thing Ninty had today...Which makes sense from a developer standpoint, considering it's a developer conference...Would you rather them make a press release for it?

Edit: Look what I found...

Quote

'Crystal Tools' is the new name of Square Enix's company-wide 3-D game development engine, and it'll support Wii.

Quote

"Crystal Tools," Murata said, will also be used in the development of Square Enix's upcoming next-gen MMORPG.

Hmmm...

Smash_Brother · « **Reply #21 on:** February 23, 2008, 01:19:44 AM »

Quote from: Bill Aurion on February 23, 2008, 01:09:28 AM

Well I'm not worried about quality...It's just that I use online so rarely that paying for it just isn't worth it...

That's fair, but I'm sure there will still be free applications of online gaming. In fact, unless it involves a team updating content, I doubt you're going to see it cost money.

Square's MMO is a good example of why this would be needed, and rather than let Square do it, Nintendo stepped up to handle it themselves, looks like.

stevey · « **Reply #22 on:** February 23, 2008, 01:29:54 AM »

Nintendo lied to us

again....

mantidor · « **Reply #23 on:** February 23, 2008, 01:42:44 AM »

Quote from: Maverick on February 22, 2008, 11:39:30 PM

I was wondering when this was going to pop up here. Perhaps this is for third parties who want to charge for online play?

I always thought this was already possible for some reason...

Mario · « **Reply #24 on:** February 23, 2008, 02:48:19 AM »

It's not going to be for Animal Crossing, that would be suicide, the DS version of it sold 5 million in Japan alone. Paying to play it would kill what's already certain to make a lot of money. It's just for the third parties. It sounds like Nintendo still opposes the idea by the way they are going to make the pay to play games stick out like a sore thumb with the red logo on the boxes.

If they do start charging for their own games, then count me out of the online scene.

News:

Author Topic: Nintendo Announces Wii Pay & Play for the Wi-Fi Connection (Read 12857 times)