Wii Pay and Play : Clever Move By Nintendo?

CantGetAWii · 02-23-2008, 05:45 PM

Quote:

This year’s Game Developer’s conference was a fairly quiet affair where Nintendo was concerned, but if there was one announcement that was going to ruffle the feathers of players, it was the confirmation that the firm would - after years of offering it for nothing - be charging players for the privilege of playing certain Wii titles online thanks to Wii Pay and Play. Although many see this as Nintendo jumping late onto a bandwagon that they surely couldn’t afford to miss, could making the decision at this point in time in particular, as well as factoring in some of the firm’s pre-existing marketing tactics, be one of the cleverest it has ever made?

There is no doubting that Microsoft’s Xbox Live service, first launched in 2002 for the original Xbox console and carried on with the Xbox 360) has set the benchmark for online gaming where home consoles are concerned. Its growth has not been without its fair share of problems, but all in all it has proven to be a massively popular and successful business practice for Microsoft, developers and gamers. Nintendo’s main console competitor at the time, the GameCube, also arrived with the possibility of online play via its Modem or BroadBand Adapter, but Nintendo never looked comfortable at the prospect and only four, third party-only games ever supported it (most notably the Phantasy Star Online franchise).

Fast forward a whole three years later to Nintendo and its intention to launch the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection for the Nintendo DS, a service that allowed gamers to experience the likes of Mario Kart DS, Tetris DS and Animal Crossing with players throughout the world - and unlike Xbox Live’s subscription service, it would all be provided free if charge. “It’s no secret that we didn’t invent the concept of online gaming, but we do intend to reinvent it,” explained Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime at 2005’s E3 Expo in anticipation of the service’s launch late that same year.

It turned out that a free Nintendo Wi-Fi service proved to have great pulling power; so much so, that by May 2007 over 5 million Nintendo DS owners had connected to it, clocking up over 200 million gameplay sessions across 65 different titles. By comparison, Xbox Live had attracted 6 million (fee paying and non-fee-paying) members by the same point in time, despite a significant head start.

With the success of online gaming in the handheld gaming sphere secured, gamers waited with baited breath to see just what Nintendo had up its sleeve with the arrival of the Nintendo Wii. The little white box launched in December 2006, but nothing (in terms of player versus player gaming) was made available until the arrival of Pokemon Battle Revolution in May 2007. Since then the likes of Mario Strikers Charged, Madden NFL 08 and Battalion Wars 2 have proven that Nintendo isn’t averse to providing a net-based multiplayer experience on Wii, but clearly nothing to the extent of what is available on rival machines. Take, for example, the omission of online play from the multi-format titles such as SEGA Superstar Tennis, Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 and Mortal Kombat Armageddon and you begin to see what we’re getting at.

Nevertheless, online gaming on Wii is still all provided for free, but disregarding the disc-based shenanigans and its really it is the Weather, News and Internet Browser Channels and, crucially, the Virtual Console that has kept a significantly large proportion of Wii owners in touch with the console’s online capabilities. Checking the latest headlines, weather forecast or exchanging pleasantries via the Wii Message Board pale in comparison to the impact of the Virtual Console, so they do.

Not only has Nintendo successfully managed to keep gamers hooked by drip-feeding them with a small selection of retrograde videogame titles each week, but the simplicity of the service (enhanced by its user-friendly layout) has buttered Wii owners up when it comes to parting with Wii Points. Call us daft, but isn’t purchasing items from the Wii Shop and Virtual Console a strangely enjoyable experience in itself, helped largely, no doubt, by the mesmerising music? We know that a lot of people agree, with Nintendo announcing in October 2007 that more than 7.8 million games had been downloaded. That equals a staggering rate of more 1,000 an hour, maths fans.

And so we come to WiiWare – Nintendo’s answer to Xbox Live Marketplace, where developers are encouraged to create original, downloadable games that be distributed at the fraction of the cost of disc-based titles. With the Virtual Console a massively successful litmus test as to how susceptible Wii owners would be to downloading content and developers flocking to WiiWare’s inviting structure for independent software houses, it seems as if it won’t have any trouble at all in getting off the ground.

Look at Super Mario Bros. (a game they may have owned in various forms in the past). If hundreds of thousands of gamers are willing to fork out for it again, the chances that they might want to own brand new content from Nintendo and an array of other developers on WiiWare is greatly increased. More importantly, gamers young and old, new and experienced, know how to do it without confusion and are happy to do so with the Wii Points currency – something that many Wii owners will testify is easier to spend than a wad of notes on a foreign holiday, where your perception of cost is somehow lost.

All which leads us to the near future and Wii Pay and Play, a service that will charge gamers to experience games online on a title-by-title basis. Many may scoff at Nintendo’s decision, but the fact of the matter is that the move - at some point or another - was inevitable. Despite the deep-set buddy-like affinity that many gamers seem to have with the firm, when push comes to shove Nintendo is a business – and a shrewd one at that. And when one business (Nintendo) sees others (Microsoft and Sony) making easy money through either online play or micro-transactions, it is only natural that they will want to follow.

The difference is that Nintendo has bided its time considerably and waited for all the groundwork to be laid by others. Whether it’s factoring in the ease at which the purchase of digital downloads - be it mp3s, on-demand television shows and the like are made - or the wider-than-ever availability of broadband Internet connections (which had to go some way to the demise of SEGA’s online-enabled Dreamcast console all those years ago), now has never been a better time for Nintendo to begin its own onslaught into the market.

During a lecture at this year’s Game Developers Conference, Nintendo’s Takashi Aoyama explained that the firm will begin to collect “fees for some services that will allow us to adapt flexibly” when referring to the upcoming project. And if Nintendo is continue to compete with the Microsoft Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, without the obvious graphical prowess, it has to match them in online offerings at the very least, something Wii Pay and Play opens avenues up to do.

The introduction of the Wii Pay and Play service and downloadable content, no doubt, going to please third party developers. To take Guitar Hero III as an example, the revenue, longevity and brand loyalty driven by the availability of extra downloadable content and online play is priceless. If this is as successful on the Wii as it has been on the PS3 and Xbox 360, it can only be a positive influence on firm’s to bring their biggest franchises back to the console year after year. A lack of third party supported helped kill off the GameCube in no time at all, and it’s not something Nintendo is likely to want to repeat again any time soon.

Aoyama stressed that many Wii games would remain free to play online and that the boxes for those that were not would be clearly marked with a red Nintendo Wi-Fi logo. Neither a pricing strategy nor which upcoming games might be affected by the changes were mentioned, but having quietly built up an army of millions of willing Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection-playing, Wii Points-spending minions over the last few years, attracting millions of new gamers to the industry and settling them in, all while the concept of playing online for a fee was still being piled upon established gamers in other quarters, could Nintendo waiting until now to unleash its latest online strategy be one extremely clever move?

Source

manufan15 · 02-23-2008, 05:59 PM

So downloadable content is confirmed?? I guess I'm late on the news although I knew about this service. And this article must have been written in Australia, because they said that MoHH2 did not have any online play.

sherwood3570 · 02-23-2008, 06:31 PM

Uhh, I'm so anti-reading right now...sooooo tired.

From what I understand Nintendo is trying to pull somewhat of an XBL. My opinion is that they haven't proven thereselves worthy of online play yet. Most of the experiences we have online with Wii are horrible compared to the other two systems.

Nintendo already has a hefty bank account. Aren't they the 3rd wealthiest company in Japan?? I think they should've given their users more content before taking a dive like this. From what I know the Gamecube had pay to play, didn't it? That didn't go so well, especially with the lack of good games online. The Wii definitely is lacking in great software. Of course Ninty wouldn't let one of their consoles go without a AAA title from Nintendo team. But what do third party have to show?

On another note..BTW, I have never complained about this before..Where do they expect us to fit all those Wii Ware titles, plus future VC games? Of course Reggie simply said that users can delete titles off of their Wii menu and easily download them when they decide to play. But doesn't that seem a little too drowning?

Idk, I have losing faith in my beloved company. I need some bad ass games and I'm just not seeing them. Sure, No More Heroes is cool but I'm not going to go out and spend $50 on a game that will look horrible on my tv. God, I feel like a graphics whore saying that. But it's certainly true.

Dkw0101 · 02-23-2008, 07:11 PM

NOOO DON'T MAKE US PAY!!!!!!!!!!

give us good online with no pay. its as simple as that.

Nookslave · 02-23-2008, 07:13 PM

There's a damn good reason why Nintendo WFC is free; It sucks. Friend Codes, lack of voice chat, and so many other things that make it's online bad is why it's free. So now they're going to start charging for online games? They had better start putting out for online features, or frankly a lot of players aren't going to pay for it. I know I wouldn't.

Dkw0101 · 02-23-2008, 07:14 PM

but isn't sony free and still pretty good?

Nookslave · 02-23-2008, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dkw0101

but isn't sony free and still pretty good?

Fair at best, but then again, they don't make the players exchange codes to play online with each other

The reason why Xbox Live charges people a monthly fee is because it's the best online capabilities of the three consoles. If the Wii starts charging, then they had better get better online.

Dkw0101 · 02-23-2008, 07:27 PM

how does charging make it the best, we don't know for sure if they are actually using the money for their online or if they're charging just get money for themselves.

WiitnessID · 02-23-2008, 07:29 PM

Still researching this one! Sounds good but I need more details.... hopefully I'll get more data later...

Nookslave · 02-23-2008, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dkw0101

how does charging make it the best, we don't know for sure if they are actually using the money for their online or if they're charging just get money for themselves.

...What? That doesn't even make sense. Charging money doesn't make it the best, the features make it the best. It's logical that they can charge money, though, because they provide such an enjoyable experience online. I've only said it 3 times now.

Trulen · 02-23-2008, 07:53 PM

You really must admit.

Nintendo knows how to make money.

Nookslave · 02-23-2008, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trulen

You really must admit.

Nintendo knows how to make money.

*Sigh* I guess so. You just know that the 60% of the younger Wii audience is going to convince their parents to pay for the online, no matter how garbage it is. And if Nintendo is smart enough to play off of that possibility, nay, inevitability, then they must be pretty damn smart.

Dkw0101 · 02-23-2008, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nookslave

...What? That doesn't even make sense. Charging money doesn't make it the best, the features make it the best. It's logical that they can charge money, though, because they provide such an enjoyable experience online. I've only said it 3 times now.

no wat your saying is "it has to be payed for so it can be good"

it doesn't have to cost money to be good.

Nookslave · 02-23-2008, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dkw0101

no wat your saying is "it has to be payed for so it can be good"

it doesn't have to cost money to be good.

That isn't what I'm saying at all. I'm saying that it's reasonable to pay for Xbox Live because it's the definitive online experience. What you're saying is that if it's being paid for, it's good. They're two completely different things.

Dkw0101 · 02-23-2008, 08:14 PM

yea but if it's good does not mean it has to be charged for, nintendo can make good online and still make the money for it from the extra money they rack up from selling games and the money they get from VC downloads.

Nookslave · 02-23-2008, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dkw0101

yea but if it's good does not mean it has to be charged for, nintendo can make good online and still make the money for it from the extra money they rack up from selling games and the money they get from VC downloads.

I never said it has to be charged for if it's good, I said that it is reasonable
for online to be charged for it it's very good online. I never said it had to be.

thas · 02-23-2008, 09:28 PM

if you people actually read the artical you would see that it has been stressed that not all games will use this new service.

also nintendo online is not bad. sure there are friendcodes, but atleast we still have random matches. you cant say the current online is bad because there is no voice chat. i guarantee that the wii will have voicechat.

the only thing that seperates the wii online and XBL is the modes online, downloadable content and friend codes. the first to will most likely change in nintendo's favour with this new service.

JENKINS · 02-23-2008, 11:22 PM

they should start using something like the gamertag instead of these codes

ShawVAuto · 02-23-2008, 11:42 PM

Nintendo is making the right move in my mind. Thing is, XBL has such rich and cool content because you pay for it. Your money goes towards building a better online community, PERIOD!! If you can play games for free online, what incentive do developers have to create new downloadable content if they will not get paid for it? It's like saying, why do they have to charge for VC games? Because it's not free for them. Try playing Madden 08 online via Wii then Madden 08 via XBL.... notice the HUGE difference? That's the difference between free and paying. We will not get headsets because headsets are not free to make. Why would they go through ALL of the hassle of creating voice chat games just so people can use it for free. It costs money to create better gaming plateau's for you gamers. You wanted headsets, they are now coming, you wanted downloadable content, they are now coming, you wanted no friend codes, they are coming. Pay to play will delete the friend codes because the free games will use them as a boost for you to go with Pay and Play. Wii's online revolution is coming but it will not be free and it can't be

.

madbeanman · 02-24-2008, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShawVAuto

Nintendo is making the right move in my mind. Thing is, XBL has such rich and cool content because you pay for it. Your money goes towards building a better online community, PERIOD!! If you can play games for free online, what incentive do developers have to create new downloadable content if they will not get paid for it? It's like saying, why do they have to charge for VC games? Because it's not free for them. Try playing Madden 08 online via Wii then Madden 08 via XBL.... notice the HUGE difference? That's the difference between free and paying. We will not get headsets because headsets are not free to make. Why would they go through ALL of the hassle of creating voice chat games just so people can use it for free. It costs money to create better gaming plateau's for you gamers. You wanted headsets, they are now coming, you wanted downloadable content, they are now coming, you wanted no friend codes, they are coming. Pay to play will delete the friend codes because the free games will use them as a boost for you to go with Pay and Play. Wii's online revolution is coming but it will not be free and it can't be

.

Number one Sony allows voice chat on its free online service. Also it is in no way a fact that this new service will eliminate friend codes or provide us with voice chat.

02-23-2008, 05:59 PM	#2
manufan15 Missing the Prime Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: USA Posts: 1,629 Friends: 8 0000-0000-0000-0000	So downloadable content is confirmed?? I guess I'm late on the news although I knew about this service. And this article must have been written in Australia, because they said that MoHH2 did not have any online play. __________________ PSWII

02-23-2008, 06:31 PM	#3
sherwood3570 infused Join Date: May 2007 Location: Michigan Posts: 807 Friends: 0 1830-2062-7374-0757	Uhh, I'm so anti-reading right now...sooooo tired. From what I understand Nintendo is trying to pull somewhat of an XBL. My opinion is that they haven't proven thereselves worthy of online play yet. Most of the experiences we have online with Wii are horrible compared to the other two systems. Nintendo already has a hefty bank account. Aren't they the 3rd wealthiest company in Japan?? I think they should've given their users more content before taking a dive like this. From what I know the Gamecube had pay to play, didn't it? That didn't go so well, especially with the lack of good games online. The Wii definitely is lacking in great software. Of course Ninty wouldn't let one of their consoles go without a AAA title from Nintendo team. But what do third party have to show? On another note..BTW, I have never complained about this before..Where do they expect us to fit all those Wii Ware titles, plus future VC games? Of course Reggie simply said that users can delete titles off of their Wii menu and easily download them when they decide to play. But doesn't that seem a little too drowning? Idk, I have losing faith in my beloved company. I need some bad ass games and I'm just not seeing them. Sure, No More Heroes is cool but I'm not going to go out and spend $50 on a game that will look horrible on my tv. God, I feel like a graphics whore saying that. But it's certainly true. __________________

02-23-2008, 07:11 PM	#4
Dkw0101 Your Savior Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 1,006 Friends: 0 3156-1824-0023-3057	NOOO DON'T MAKE US PAY!!!!!!!!!! give us good online with no pay. its as simple as that. __________________ Spoiler Alert! ~~> Founder of the Dry Bones Fan Club[DBFC]<~~ PM Myself to join Current members: Dkw0101, Turok, Nick Attack Thanks manred for the sweet avy. My SSBB code is 5284-1090-0218 name is DYXAN, please message me if I am ever added

02-23-2008, 07:14 PM	#6
Dkw0101 Your Savior Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 1,006 Friends: 0 3156-1824-0023-3057	but isn't sony free and still pretty good? __________________ Spoiler Alert! ~~> Founder of the Dry Bones Fan Club[DBFC]<~~ PM Myself to join Current members: Dkw0101, Turok, Nick Attack Thanks manred for the sweet avy. My SSBB code is 5284-1090-0218 name is DYXAN, please message me if I am ever added

02-23-2008, 07:27 PM	#8
Dkw0101 Your Savior Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 1,006 Friends: 0 3156-1824-0023-3057	how does charging make it the best, we don't know for sure if they are actually using the money for their online or if they're charging just get money for themselves. __________________ Spoiler Alert! ~~> Founder of the Dry Bones Fan Club[DBFC]<~~ PM Myself to join Current members: Dkw0101, Turok, Nick Attack Thanks manred for the sweet avy. My SSBB code is 5284-1090-0218 name is DYXAN, please message me if I am ever added


Wii News Wii Forum Wii Friend Codes Wii Groups Wii Blogs Wii Arcade

02-23-2008, 07:13 PM	#5
Nookslave WiiChat Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 196 Friends: 0	There's a damn good reason why Nintendo WFC is free; It sucks. Friend Codes, lack of voice chat, and so many other things that make it's online bad is why it's free. So now they're going to start charging for online games? They had better start putting out for online features, or frankly a lot of players aren't going to pay for it. I know I wouldn't.

02-23-2008, 07:29 PM	#9
WiitnessID WiiChat Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 453 Friends: 0	Still researching this one! Sounds good but I need more details.... hopefully I'll get more data later...

02-23-2008, 07:53 PM	#11
Trulen Super Moderator Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 1,139 Friends: 0	You really must admit. Nintendo knows how to make money. __________________ There are only two things that are infinite: Human stupidity and the universe. I'm not sure about the latter. - Albert Einstein.

02-23-2008, 08:14 PM	#15
Dkw0101 Your Savior Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 1,006 Friends: 0 3156-1824-0023-3057	yea but if it's good does not mean it has to be charged for, nintendo can make good online and still make the money for it from the extra money they rack up from selling games and the money they get from VC downloads. __________________ Spoiler Alert! ~~> Founder of the Dry Bones Fan Club[DBFC]<~~ PM Myself to join Current members: Dkw0101, Turok, Nick Attack Thanks manred for the sweet avy. My SSBB code is 5284-1090-0218 name is DYXAN, please message me if I am ever added

02-23-2008, 09:28 PM	#17
thas Canadian/Gamer for life Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 1,113 Friends: 5 4614-1471-6665-4276	if you people actually read the artical you would see that it has been stressed that not all games will use this new service. also nintendo online is not bad. sure there are friendcodes, but atleast we still have random matches. you cant say the current online is bad because there is no voice chat. i guarantee that the wii will have voicechat. the only thing that seperates the wii online and XBL is the modes online, downloadable content and friend codes. the first to will most likely change in nintendo's favour with this new service.

02-23-2008, 11:22 PM	#18
JENKINS Project 64 Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 15 Friends: 0	they should start using something like the gamertag instead of these codes __________________ Currently Playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) Call of Duty 4(360)

02-23-2008, 11:42 PM	#19
ShawVAuto WiiChat Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 213 Friends: 0	Nintendo is making the right move in my mind. Thing is, XBL has such rich and cool content because you pay for it. Your money goes towards building a better online community, PERIOD!! If you can play games for free online, what incentive do developers have to create new downloadable content if they will not get paid for it? It's like saying, why do they have to charge for VC games? Because it's not free for them. Try playing Madden 08 online via Wii then Madden 08 via XBL.... notice the HUGE difference? That's the difference between free and paying. We will not get headsets because headsets are not free to make. Why would they go through ALL of the hassle of creating voice chat games just so people can use it for free. It costs money to create better gaming plateau's for you gamers. You wanted headsets, they are now coming, you wanted downloadable content, they are now coming, you wanted no friend codes, they are coming. Pay to play will delete the friend codes because the free games will use them as a boost for you to go with Pay and Play. Wii's online revolution is coming but it will not be free and it can't be .

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