Nintendo introduce Pay & Play online?

[pilonv1]

http://blog.wired.com/games/

Nintendo Will Begin Offering Downloadable Add-On Content On Wii

Wii games will soon be able to download add-on content, said Nintendo project leader Takashi Aoyama at Game Developers Conference.

DLC has been a big part of Microsoft's and Sony's online business, but Nintendo has thus far not allowed games to have downloadable add-on content on Wii. For example, the Wii version of Guitar Hero 3 doesn't currently let you download new songs.

But at his address at GDC this morning, Aoyama said that Nintendo will, in the near future, allow Wii owners to use Wii Points (purchased with a credit card transaction online or on cards in stores) to buy add-on content for games. He said that add-on contents would also be available for disc-based games as well as WiiWare downloadable titles.

The add-on contents for disc games would be purchased within the game, Aoyama said.



Nintendo To Begin Charging Money For Some Online Gaming

Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connection service has always been entirely free of charge, but the company will soon introduce a pay-to-play service for some games, it announced at Game Developers Conference.

"Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Pay And Play" will let users subscribe on a game-by-game basis to certain titles. Nintendo project leader Takashi Aoyama announced the service at GDC, but did not say what upcoming games would require payment for the service, or how much they would cost.

To avoid customer confusion, Pay-And-Play games will have a red icon on the game's box that reads Pay And Play, in place of the traditional blue Wi-Fi Connection icon, which will only be used for games that are free to play.

This is a pretty big change for Nintendo, who has always been adamant about wanting online gameplay to be free. While this might attract more developers to the service with a new revenue stream, it also might confuse consumers -- and be a hassle if the payment system isn't easy. You'll use Wii Points to pay for the online gaming, so it should be interesting to see if this extends to the DS Lite or if it's just restricted to Wii.

I guess they can make a fuckload of money in Japan by charging for stuff like Animal Crossing online. But paying for their shitty online service on a per game basis?  Xbox Live seems like a steal now.

[CajoleJuice]

Nintendo is worse than my grandparents at the internets.

[The Fake Shemp]

If this works for the wii, I bet sony starts charging a fee after home comes out.

That has been in the works for awhile.  I highly doubt that post-Home PSN will be completely free.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

or as I call it, the don't pay to don't play system

[Smooth Groove]

With their huge VC library, a subscription service like Gametap would make a lot of sense.  Nintendo's too greedy to make that happen though. 

[BlueTsunami]

Nintendo is worse than my grandparents at the internets.

Nintendo's motto for this payment scheme "SAVIN' FOR A RAINY DAY" Their fans will understand

[Eel O'Brian]

512 MB of storage, good foresight, nintendo

[AdmiralViscen]

or as I call it, the don't pay to don't play system

.

512 MB of storage, good foresight, nintendo

Oh they have that covered!

Aoyama then addressed how Nintendo is dealing with a hot topic: Storage limitations.

They'll compress the games and then expand them when you start playing them. "This step should help alleviate the problem with size limitations."

Brilliant!

[The Fake Shemp]

 

[cognititivemonster]

 
Nintendo must have some ex-Fox News employees to be dishing out that kind of spin....

[bagofeyes]

Nintendo's motto: All our customers are dumb

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

Holy fuck that's awful. 

[MoxManiac]

Ugh.

Smash Bros and Mario Kart online will still be free though, right?

[y2kev]

Nintendo's business decisions fucking suck this gen. They just flat out suck. Their games are awesome though.

[demi]

this guy's session was so fucking boring, but once he let this little bit slip, i just about died

from laughter

[Oblivion]

Ugh.

Smash Bros and Mario Kart online will still be free though, right?

I believe they're only charging for downloadable content. SSBB won't be affected with this, tho.

[demi]

sakurai's session was even worse. it came complete with distinguished mentally-challenged fellows humming the title screen. i fucking hate you nintards.

[Smooth Groove]

Nintendo's business decisions fucking suck this gen. They just flat out suck. Their games are awesome though.

I think it's the other way around.  Nintendo's making more money than ever but I care less and less about their games. 

[hyp]

sakurai's session was even worse. it came complete with distinguished mentally-challenged fellows humming the title screen. i fucking hate you nintards.

[Phoenix Dark]

Innovation!

[CurseoftheGods]

sakurai's session was even worse. it came complete with distinguished mentally-challenged fellows humming the title screen. i fucking hate you nintards.

Oh my God.

[Oblivion]

sakurai's session was even worse. it came complete with distinguished mentally-challenged fellows humming the title screen. i fucking hate you nintards.

It's people like that, that give SSB a bad name.  :'(

[demi]

the most hilarious part was where he compared Melee and Brawl models, and they are -completely- identical, since they -had- to use Nintendo assets. LULZ

also the part where Sakurai explained how he came up with all these complex animations and moves with dinky toy figures made me lol. just overall lol from nintendo.

SURPRISINGLY, they had the best expo floor. they had FF Ring of Fates (English!), Ninja Gaiden, and Spore DS there. Spore DS sucks.

i got to dork with wii fit, felt embarassed, then played brawl, and felt even more embarassed. at least i got some cool wii flashlight thing.

[DJ_Tet]

With their huge VC library, a subscription service like Gametap would make a lot of sense.  Nintendo's too greedy to make that happen though. 

That would be freaking awesome. 

This news sounds terrible though, I'm not paying to play any Nintendo games online.