There you have it folks, if there was even a shred of doubt that Nintendo might pursue the Xbox Live option of levying charges on (at least certain aspects of) online gameplay, the records been set straight by the Regginator after having spoken with USA Today. Reggie Fils-Aime let it be known that the Wii would not pursue subscription services for Wii Connect24 or online gameplay, answering that Nintendo views "online gaming as essentially an enhanced way to enjoy the gaming experience and drive more sales of hardware and software," and that Nintendo "will offer online-enabled games that the consumers will not have to pay a subscription fee for. They'll be able to enjoy that right out of the box. ... It won't have hidden fees or costs." Ok, sounds good to us, but that wasn't all. USA Today also semi-officially confirmed some details: November launch for under $250. It's semi-confirmed because they didn't exactly list a source, but hey, if USA Today sits down with Reggie we'd like to think any details they publish are as good as gold.

[Via slashdot]

Nintendo may not have revealed the details we were hoping for in their Wii press conference earlier today -- like maybe the actual date the console will ship and how it will be priced -- but the company did manage to drop a few interesting nuggets, including an impressive list of titles that will be available at launch, along with some pretty nifty uses for the Wiimote (everything from conducting a virtual orchestra to fragging your foes). One tidbit that stood out was the announcement that the Wii will always be connected to the internet, using a service called Wii Connect 24. The service will allow the Wii to download game updates and other info while the box is in standby mode. We're not really sure we want our game console to be downloading directives while we sleep, but it can't be any worse than Windows AutoUpdate, right?