Nintendo vaguely announces “Pay and Play”
Monday, February 25th, 2008 at 6:00pm by Derek
On Friday, the final day of this year’s Game Developers Conference, Nintendo’s Takashi Aoyama dropped a proverbial “megaton” when he revealed plans to implement a “pay and play” online program for Wii.
In frustratingly ambiguous fashion, Aoyama announced Nintendo will soon introduce a new service for online Wii gaming requiring players to “pay and play.” Users will subscribe to the service on a game-by-game basis using Wii Points purchased in the Wii Shop Channel. But he did not discuss which titles will utilize the service or how many Wii Points a subscription will cost.
Aoyama offered little explanation for the introduction of “pay and play,” but he stated Nintendo hopes it will alleviate the costs of future online services and Wii channels. According to Aoyama, Nintendo will place a red “pay and play” logo on the boxes of games requiring the subscription service in order to avoid consumer confusion.
But will the service be used only for downloadable content? Will it foster premium online services, such as potential MMO offerings like Animal Crossing? Will games that use the “pay and play” service also have Nintendo’s traditional, free online options? Unfortunately, Aoyama left Wii owners with more questions than answers.
In a solitary piece of specific, positive news, Aoyama also announced the games-focused Nintendo Channel, which launched in Japan last year, will come to the U.S. and Europe “in the coming months.”
Aoyama joined Nintendo in 2000 as a member of its Corporate Planning Division. He moved to the Integrated Research & Development Division in 2002, contributing to the creation of GameCube hardware. In 2005, Aoyama was made a team leader on the company-wide Wii Menu development project.
For more on the “pay and play” service, as well as the Wii Menu and the philosophies behind its creation, check out Chris Kohler’s comprehensive coverage of the Aoyama keynote over at Wired.
February 25th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Wow. Talk about vague. This is leaving us hanging in the Dark about the entire service, its cost, its implications…everything really.
I would like to know MORE about this ” Pay and play”, especially the details such as pricing. The Big N has thus far priced its VC games a little higher than they should have and I am afraid that they will do the same, yet again, with this ” Pay and play” service.
It is a early to do anything other than speculate, and details are scarce, but one thing is for certain. Nintendo’s online service, AS IT IS NOW, is weak compared to X-box Live. This has always been justified because it was entirely FREE. So now what ?
With this announcement , Nintendo needs to REALLY make an effort in its online services if they are to actually charge for it. It doesn’t stand a chance compared to X-box live as it currently is.
WHO HERE WANTS TO PAY FOR FRIEND CODES? Or menu systems and online services that are as weak as the Wii currently has them?
A poor FREE service is acceptable. Lets hope that the big N makes this ” pay and play” a much better service and not priced it to high.
I hope to learn more soon…
February 25th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
we hates it!
‘Users will subscribe to the service on a game-by-game’??? i can’t imagine live working like this: subscribe to halo3, cod4, r6…. individually? and i dislike live to boot- online costs suck.
steam! show us all the way!!!
February 25th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Makes sense.
Want us to be more flexible with online? Pay to Play.
No complaints here. Of course, I have no problem with the current model.
February 25th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
I do not think that online play will be payed. I guess this service will be more useful for content download, like the one required for rock band.
I think (and hope) that online multiplayer will be free as it has always been.
Best!
February 25th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
I really don’t mind paying for online service,
but if nintendo wants us to pay, drop the friends codes and let us play with whomever we feal like playing with from our neighbors who live down the street to random people over in england and japan.
As well why not just have one fee like Live, none of this per game.
February 26th, 2008 at 1:17 am
I hardly care about online play but this is really going against their word. They advertised the Wii with free online play and now that they have an established user base, it’s time to bait and switch the deal. Nice job guys. I’ve been a Nintendo fan for over 20 years, never owning anything but a Nintendo console. But, with this last generation, I’ve had 2 broken Wiis, all over heating, their customer service is really lacking now and this is just a slap in the face. It’s trash like this that makes loyal customers go to XBOX 360. If I were to pay, I’d get an uncensored, awesome online gaming program like Live…not the Disney On Ice version. I seriously hope someone from Nintendo reads this blog, because customers aren’t going to respond well to their making up the rules as they go along, bait and switch online strategy. Maybe Nintendo should focus it’s efforts on making some more DS games for us who own one (or two) DS’s instead of trying to rip off loyal customers. Keep it up Nintendo, I can still Ebay my Wii for more than I paid, never again touch a Nintendo IP (licensed game) and buy a fancy XBOX360 with High Def and the same pay to play and probably not have it overheat like the last two Wiis that you’ve shafted me with.
February 26th, 2008 at 1:51 am
I saw this one coming a mile away… Really, a free online gaming system is not a sustainable business model.
But a per-game subscription is going to kill online gaming on the Wii! Better to use an Xbox LIVE model with two types of subscription, one free and one with a single yearly charge… and no Friend Codes! (I’d pay for that!)
February 26th, 2008 at 3:33 am
Heres my views on the “pay and play” system.
Like what Scott said in the previous podcast, Nintendo have been giving away a free online service for ages and all of a sudden changing that will makes things really weird. Do they charge for DS games aswell or is it just Wii? Which Wii games?
Then I was thinking, one possibility may be that ALL Nintendo games, SSBB, Animal Crossing, Kart will stay free and Friend Codes stay (really people they’re just numbers).
EA and other publishers wanting to not use Friend Codes, will have their online games, like the next MoH, Maddens as a paying service, but Friend Codes are removed.
But because you are using EAs own server rather then the Nintendo WiFi Connection service, EA will want paying for that.
I mean take EAs recent MoH:Heroes 2. I play that online quite a bit. I always see loads of people on their too. EA think they are doing us a favour by removing Friend Codes, but they have to use their own servers. And as Nintendo wifi is free they arent being paid for the maintenance of these servers. And now they want paying.
I think it makes sense myself.
So hopefully all the high quality Nintendo games will stay free and other money grabbing publishers will see that there option isn’t working as well.
February 26th, 2008 at 4:34 am
Of course friends codes will go when yuo have toi pay. friends codes were created to protect kids, and since kids can not pay to play….
And Nintendo isn’t gonig to go live style, mostly because the casual market does not need to pay for online gaming, just one or two games…so in the end it’ll come out cheaper for them…and as you know, they are more important then us.
February 26th, 2008 at 5:08 am
The fact that it’s going to be paid for in Wii points and will be on a game by game basis suggests to me that ‘pay to play’ will be ‘pay for downloadable content’. Remember, DLC isn’t currently available on Wii. The only DLC so far has been user created content in Elebits and Smash Bros. Brawl. Nintendo need to establish a way of paying for content, and of making clear to consumers that a game has DLC aspects. This is the answer.
It’s no coincidence that the news of ‘pay to play’ has come out at exactly the same time as another Nintendo exec (can’t remember who) said that DLC will soon be available on Wii.
February 26th, 2008 at 6:31 am
Doc-R if yo ufollow the link posted in the article it explains that Nintendo have announced two new services, first is downloadable content and second is pay to play.
Pay to play is different from DLC. The two are seperate.
Unfortunately it looks like Nintendo will be asking us to pay for certain games. Although I really do hope its only games that do not use Nintendo’s own servers we will b easked to pay for and leaving the future Karts, Brawls and Crossings free to all.
February 26th, 2008 at 9:28 am
totally ridiculus JEJUS CHRIST!!!!!!!!!! no nintendos best intrests would be to have it freeee!!!!! if they make the am mmo sure charge but even no it cost ten bucks for some games!!!!!!! imagin a little 7 year old buys a game and then cant play it !
February 26th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
That’s disappointing. I really don’t like paying for things that used to be free.
February 26th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
I agree with Rob nintendo will keep free services and still have friend codes but maybe with pay to play they will have the ability to have user communication. I base this theory on the new wii menu update. If you look at one of the bloking options in parental controls it says “Restrict online user-to-user communication and the exchange of user generated content”. Unless Brawl is suppose to have chat, then my theories out the window.
February 27th, 2008 at 3:59 am
I think my theory is out of the window too. After listening to the IGN Wiik in review, apparently one of the first Pay to Play games will be Animal Crossing.
I really enjoyed Animal Crossing, the missus plays it lots, infact she was playing it yesterday despite having owned the game for about a year. But if they want me to pay for play for Animal Crossign they really need to provide a better and more varied service then regular online games. And I don’t mean by excluding Friend Codes. They’d have to make the Animal Crossing World always evolving.
It would be nice to hear some details about pricing soon too.