linkage

ye, i wouldnt mind this, a small fixed fee would be nice, even if we didnt get our monesy worth at first

I'm happy how it is, though isn't the 360 have a subscription doesn't it? for like... 9.99 monthly

no 360 if in uk,( like me) about 30-40 pounds.

thats like £3 odd a month, got to be worth it

That's if you get a new card every month. If you get a 12 month card (with a bonus month), you only pay 49.99. About $4 per month.

If the changes/additions are good ones then I have no problem paying for Online.

But if they are not that different or good then I won't pay, as I think the Online now for Wii is decent already.

First Pay-2-play isn't for the online service, it is for extra content like DLC, Voice chat in the future and who knows what else.
The acctual online service is still going to be free, as far as we have been told os far, it's the add on features they are charging for.

Still Nintendo has been lacking in the online setup. I think the real problem is how much they under estimated how big online would be. For most Wii gamers they use it for things like VC and the different online channels at most. They always thought online was more of a perk then anything. You can see that right in the interviews about the online service before launch.

Now they have a good group of online gamers, the Wii hardcore if you will, these are the people that are willing to drop 50-100 bucks a month for new games and downloads. Although it may only consist of about 10-15% of the overall it is the group they are getting the most extra profit from aswell. They seem to be slowly but surely improving the service on each game that comes out. Problem is you have the other hardcore systems like 360/PS3 that are marketed directly to people like this and make up a good portion of the owners so they always had it as a big part of the system.
Nintendo is now trying to play catch up in the same area because they see it is not so much a perk but a key selling point to high volume consumers. Only time will show us how well Nintendo adapts to online service, I'm willing to cut them some slack for now being most the big jumps seem to be set up for summer fall time. I will see where the online setup is at at that time. Still this is Nintendos first attempt at an online console I will cut them some slack.
They have never been the company to copy a good idea from someone else, thats always been Sonys area ha ha, They are trying to figure out a way to make online appeal to everyone and we just have to deal with the trial and error of it all.

I wouldn't mind paying 50.00 for online access.
As long as they make it worth while of course.

49 dollar payment a year for good online service?!?!



I would do that in a heart beat...

If Nintendo gets off it arse and improves the hell out of their online services (i.e. better servers, voice chat, abolishing different friend codes for every game, etc.), then I'll be more willing to pay.

I was very reluctant to pay, free online was a huge sales point for me when I bought my wii. I agree with Napalm though, if it leads to better service and much needed features, I'll pay probably.

I guess none of this matters if wezeles is right and pay2play is only for DLC.

yeah itisfor dlc for sure, and maybe voice chat in the future............

I think this article is fake or written by someone who doesnt know what they are talking about......If Nintendo advertised the Wii with having free online gaming action then they have to stick by that..otherwise that would be false advertisment and they can be sued..... And Yes....I would have a big problem paying the 50 bucks.....Companys need to start sticking to their words

They had the contract for Online service lined up years ago. I'm not sure if they took it but I thought Gamespy is the one handling the Wii online middleware, i.e. they are the ones that are hooking up the DS and Wii online world wide.

I doubt that Nintendo even has their own servers, last I heard they were locking in a contract for the console life for server support from an outside company. They just add the code for online and go with it foward any complaints to the people they pay to run it.

I think Nintendo has gotten the hint of what people want and don't want with online pretty quick out of the gate. But with how long it takes to develope and publish a game you don't notice the effcts untill a good 6-12 months later. And they didn't even have a decent amount of online games and there fore not alot of consumer input untill a short time ago.

I expect with pay-to-play and wii-ware and all the other things popping out this summer/fall area we will see alot of changes in the near future and how the Wii appeals more to the hardcore online crowd. Just remeber they have to make this stuff work for both the hardcore crowd and all these newbs picking up a console for the first time "atleast in a couple decades" so it might seem gay or corny or far to user friendly with not enough options.

But the Wii is the Ipod of the console world. It is the best seller becuase it's simple to use and appeals to alot of people because of that. We are in the minority overall compared to the casual gamers. Although I think the majority of online users have the same wish list, and we should be able to get our changes just maybe not at the level we hope. There isn't enough online games yet for me to even worry about it. If they keep things up like Mario Kart Wii with its own channel for online support from now on. Then I will be more than happy with the current free service.

It's not the service provided that people are upset about, we have some lag but it seems short lived and is fixed fairly quickly compared to the people on XBL.
We want a change to the layout not the service. They can do that without hitting hitting our pocketbooks first, I say give them a shot before you demand to throw more money at them that they don't need!

I REFUSE TO PAY.

If Nintendo starts charging for online I'll just play online on my pc and PS3 (when i get one).

I'm not one of those guys who plays online games like crazy anyway, I usually get bored with online modes pretty fast, with the exception of a handful of games.



*ooooh on second thought if they came out with an f-zero game with 30 player online it might be worth it. We'll just have to see how many good online games are available when they start charging I guess.