Nintendo wants your money for online "Pay & Play" gaming?

Nintendo couldn't have been more obtuse in its announcement last week at GDC, but from the looks of it you won't be enjoying that totally free Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection play forever. Nintendo is busting out a new Pay & Play service for certain games, which seems to refer to both downloadable content for some titles, and online multiplayer for others. It's really hard to tell, but it doesn't sound like Nintendo has any intention of going the Xbox Live route. There will be red stickers on games with Pay & Play features so you can spot them in the store, and if you do end up paying for online multiplayer, it looks like it'll be on a per-title basis. Other than that Nintendo isn't spilling much -- we have no idea what titles will cost money to play, and how much it'll be -- but given the fact that Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart are just about to make online play on the Wii actually interesting, this isn't exactly an encouraging sign.

[Via Register Hardware]

[sentient.exe @ Feb 26th 2008 2:42PM]

Balls.

[Christy McGrory @ Feb 26th 2008 2:52PM]

SHROOMS FTW

[monkfishbandana @ Feb 26th 2008 4:04PM]

Could NOT have put it better myself. Nintendo, I know you're listening, so grab a pen or a pencil and a piece of paper. Ready?

Free service > Monthly fee service > Pay-per-play service

In conclusion: free; cheap monthly payments; cheap yearly payments - Nintendo: take your pick, or several hundreds of millions of people and I will take our business elsewhere.

Hmph.

[Nubaeus @ Feb 26th 2008 4:30PM]

Nono it's B.A.W.L.S

[Ray @ Feb 26th 2008 5:01PM]

WAAT?
Free-ness was the only thing Nintendo got right with online so far. Unless they get some downloadable content and ditch the friend code stuff for Profiles, nothing, NOTHING! justifies this move.

[Shawn @ Feb 26th 2008 2:44PM]

do they accepte de coinz?

oh nevermind. luigi! lets find some shrooms

[Corazu @ Feb 26th 2008 2:45PM]

Well, if it's not a subscription model, then that's not a bad bad thing. Paying extra to get WiFi for my SSBB isn't something I'd dislike too much, and it's a good idea for nintendo seeing as quite a few people mod their Wii's and don't buy the game.

[DaveH @ Feb 26th 2008 2:46PM]

I bet Smash Bros and Mario Kart are still free to play. I can see this for being the Animal Crossing MMO and downloadable content (again, Animal Crossing, and hopefully Rock Band)

[dudeInAmerica @ Feb 26th 2008 2:47PM]

We need homebrew to the rescue!

[Eric @ Feb 26th 2008 2:47PM]

So, now we have:
XBL: $4 a month
Nintendo: Free now, $? for unknown features in the future
Sony: Free, but hopes to make lots of money with people wandering around in VR land

[Jon @ Feb 26th 2008 2:56PM]

You forgot PS3's online is free because it is worthless , Im not a hater i have them all , but it is pretty horrible

[prateeko @ Feb 26th 2008 3:33PM]

PSN may be bad, but it's miles beyond Nintendo's current WiFi nonsense.

Friend codes? Screw that, I'll just bring friends over and play with them. It's much easier and we can (*gasp*) talk to each other!!

(yes, I know SOME games let you talk to each other, still not good enough)

[John @ Feb 26th 2008 3:40PM]

PS3's online is not 'worthless' at all... it's just far, far behind XBL.

[Steve Childs @ Feb 26th 2008 7:18PM]

Personally, I find PSN fine - sure it may not have all the bells and whistles of XBL, but so what! It lets me play Warhawk online for free and its quick and easy to use.

At the end of the day, online services should be FREE in my book, you shouldn't have to pay anything in order to play online. You've already bought the game, why the hell should you pay extra to kill other people online! ;)

[Riley @ Feb 27th 2008 10:21AM]

because somebody has to pay for servers

[Scott @ Feb 27th 2008 1:39PM]

"because somebody has to pay for servers"

This argument is always trotted out, but it fails to hold water. I don't pay engadget to read their site, yet they have servers. I've never payed extra to play any of the "id" PC games or Valve PC games online. It's always been buy the product, then you play online, unlimited forever. You can also host your own servers for free. This seems to be the norm for PC gaming, except for MMORPGs, in which case you're paying for dynamic content and a persistent world.

[fanman @ Feb 26th 2008 2:49PM]

FAIL

[sinai @ Feb 26th 2008 2:56PM]

i got a new super 88 system. swear to god, got it at chonky's for two dollares.

[sentient.exe @ Feb 26th 2008 3:02PM]

You like that huh, idioth?

[Patuxentbball @ Feb 26th 2008 3:13PM]

i got it, you don't. shutop.

[vulgardaclown @ Feb 26th 2008 3:37PM]

I want to play it!

[Alexander @ Feb 26th 2008 4:01PM]

It has new game. And I want to play it. It is called Mario Twins. Goddamn. They look both the same. I ask one of them if they want ice cream cone, both of them say yes. How in the hell!

[Rainier @ Feb 26th 2008 4:18PM]

Hahaha, Mario Twins...one of my faves! :)

"Uh-Oh, you found the princess"

*WRONG!* She's in another castle.

"Wut in da Hell she's doing?"

[sinai @ Feb 27th 2008 1:58AM]

vote ups for all!

[sockatume @ Feb 26th 2008 2:57PM]

Actually, Nintendo's sole press release on the subject doesn't refer to online play or downloadable content at all, just "some services". Please, if you're going to report on a story, don't report somebody else's speculation.

[jodosh @ Feb 26th 2008 6:06PM]

you have a link to that press release?

[Backlin @ Feb 26th 2008 3:04PM]

Per game? That may add up fast.

[ZeroCorpse @ Feb 26th 2008 6:21PM]

Ahh, grasshopper... You are wise to understand the secret Nintendo plan.

Yes, they are going to nickel & dime players to death. It LOOKS less expensive ("Oh, only $15 to play!") but then you find out that you're doing it for every other game, all the time, and in the end you'd have been better off just paying the subscription fees offered by others.

But having been in a business where I worked with Nintendo reps during the 8-bit and 16-bit days, I know how sneaky, aggressive, and downright nasty they can be as a company. They have this nice, cuddly-wuddly image, but they're really this damn-near emotionless beast that sees children and gamers (which they've only recently learned to separate, BTW) as addicts, and the big-N see themselves as the pusher.

"Hey kid! You want a little Metroid? I got some right here. Try it out. First one's free.
Pretty cool, huh?
Oh, you want more? That will cost you $25 a pop, and you'll have to wait because it's rare and hard to keep in stock and we just don't have enough to satisfy everyone. Maybe later. Of course, by then it might cost you a little more..."

[jason w @ Feb 26th 2008 3:05PM]

With only friend code chat in these games I have no intrest in online play for my WII. I only have 3 games for it to start with and havent even finished Mario.
Now I wanted Mario Kart and Smash Bros online but if they ask me to pay per month each game online then no way. I barely play it to start with. Always playing the 360 and PS3.

[phanbouy @ Feb 26th 2008 4:33PM]

engadget, please ban this Derbeste guy. freakin a.

[phanbouy @ Feb 26th 2008 7:44PM]

i guess my wish was granted. funny place for my post to end up though!

[kal326 @ Feb 26th 2008 3:07PM]

So let me get this right, we may end up having to pay per title for online play of some games? Xbox Live is a pretty decent system, but your paying for the privilege of its use FOR ALL XBOX games that support it.

Granted free online gaming on the console isn't all so great either, I haven't played online with a PS3, but PS2 online play was a joke rampant cheating and hacking made some games unplayable and left a taste in your mouth a whole bottle of scope couldn't fix.

Atleast free PC gaming usually has some software built in to curb most cheating and hacking.

[HadrianM @ Feb 26th 2008 3:08PM]

I liked this better the first time when it was called Divx.

[Mt @ Feb 26th 2008 3:09PM]

My guess is that they know the online play needs to be flawless for smash bros brawl and mario kart to really really sell well for the Wii. So, maybe they're using the money to provide better online play.

Like xbox 360, I don't mind paying for xbox live because the online play is very good.

Well hopefully that's what their thinking.

[steedums @ Feb 26th 2008 3:13PM]

I like how its in order of importance, PAY, and then maybe play

[tiuk @ Feb 26th 2008 3:18PM]

Careful, Nintendo, I'm about *this* close to ditching my Wii and not looking back.

[Marvin Quach @ Feb 26th 2008 4:45PM]

I whole heartedly second this comment. As soon as I saw this news, I literally said out loud "If you make me pay for this, I'm going to drop you so fast, your grandma's head is gonna spin!!!"

I mean really though, I barely play this system enough as it is... and if they're making us pay, I'm getting a Blu-Ray playe- err, a PS3 at this rate...

[Peter R. @ Feb 26th 2008 3:19PM]

The only way Nintendo will get my monies for online multi-player, is if its a MMO game with standard player to player communication. Other than that, I don't see a reason to pay for online multi-player in Wii games. Online features in Wii games are already dangerously close to being an "EPIC FAIL" as it is( SSBB could have had better online), to charge for less than adequate online service would be very stupid indeed.

[Hax Or @ Feb 26th 2008 3:22PM]

I play NFS ProStreet on the Nintendo DS.

At night, there are rarely enough for a 4-person race. Usually there's just 1 or 2 that want to race at any given time.

I don't think they'll start charging for it unless people are actually using it. In this case, ProStreet multiplayer would not exist if people had to pay (just to find that no one else is online).

Must be for the Pokemon type games?

[Blaktornado @ Feb 26th 2008 3:35PM]

HOW CAN THIS BE!?

[Tim @ Feb 26th 2008 3:38PM]

Servers cost money, people...

[ArcticFox @ Feb 28th 2008 2:45AM]

They dont host servers, like everything other console game bar mmorpgs they are all player hosted.

[Phonixfire @ Feb 26th 2008 3:42PM]

Although this is stated as "for other services" I sure won't be paying for online play. The service is lacking (to put it nicely), and unless it's updated with universal voice chat, a compatible headset, and an easy way to find games of the type you want to play (a lobby?) I refuse to pay.

Even so, can't wait for SSBB and Mario Kart Wii to come out in the UK, although I probably won't be able to afford them (here's to birthdays!).

[TVGenius @ Feb 26th 2008 3:43PM]

I'd say that this news comes too late for the Kart game, but then again, there's still no release date set here...

[Yoshi @ Feb 26th 2008 3:49PM]

I think that nintendo will change their minds eventually, although it's not entirely a bad idea. Why not charge for the games that are most popular? It's a way for them to (hopefully) improve gameplay and make the experience better. But they might change their way of thinking.

[Alex R @ Feb 26th 2008 3:51PM]

ARSES!
Ahem.

[Bob @ Feb 26th 2008 4:26PM]

I went and read the article and here's the tasty bit:

"The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection "Pay&Play" content will include games that are not free to play online. The icon is the same, but orange and surrounded with a rectangle with a "Pay&Play" label. This content would use Wii Points and would include both WiiWare and disc games. No specifics (of course!) but Guitar Hero III DLC seems like a possibility."

So, basically, you're paying for DLC, either in the form of new songs for Rock Band / GH3 or possibly for WiiWare or disc games. I don't really see how it's any different than buying current VC titles. If you get a game that has DLC, you pay for it, or when in the WiiWare, you'll see a full game that you can "Pay" and "Play".

There's no mention of a monthly service or MMO anywhere in the article.

[John P @ Feb 26th 2008 4:34PM]

This is a good point. "Services" could mean anything, but downloadable content isnt free anywhere, so this is a big possibility. I don't think that Nintendo is so dull that they would make their online system even harder to use.

[kal326 @ Feb 26th 2008 5:09PM]

@John P
There are quite a few bits of DLC that are free on Xbox Live. Some from the get go, while others are free after some initial time frame because they are map packs or some other add on used in multiplayer. However, there is some DLC that is never free like add ons for single player only parts of games or GH3/RB songs.

Also you can use Xbox Live for free, you just get the watered down version with a lot of limitations.

[The Purveyor of Justice @ Feb 26th 2008 4:36PM]

All I can say is, with the amount of money they're raking in with the Wii, they can afford to keep the online play free. If they start charging, I will be seriously pissed. I mean come on, they've been making literally billions on the Wii.

Nintendo, don't you dare!