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Nintendo Confirms Free Online Play For Wii
Via Gamasutra, an interview in USA Today with Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime confirms that the Wii's online component will be free to play. The outspoken Nintendo advocate says "We 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. The Wii console is going to be Wi-Fi enabled, so essentially, you'll be able to plug it in and go. It won't have hidden fees or costs."
This seals the deal for me! I wans't quite sure I wanted to buy a next-gen console, but this, the wi-mote, the 27-game lineup, the non-evil practices, I'm sold!
For me, the Xbox was much more fun online than the PS2 due to the fact that they actively maintained the network. While I could play SOCOM and deal with the abundance of hacks and online Pro Action Replay users, it just wasn't fun compared to any time I'd sit and play Rainbow Six 3 or even Halo2. And while I credit MS for not regarding its online game system as something that could police itself, I also understand that they wouldn't have done so if it weren't for the monthly fee.
On the end-user side, the presence of a monthly fee also helps cut down on people who would not otherwise regard their online gaming as a privilege. Sure, you have brats and cheaters, but not near the amount that were on the free PS2 connection.
Here's to hoping that the improvements in the online capability of the DS (compare Mario Kart DS to Metroid Prime Hunters) will carry on to the Wii, and continue to get better.
::fingers crossed:: And maybe my dream will come true. What are the chances of Nintendo buying all companies responsible for creating Pro Action Replay and like devices, and only releasing them for competing systems? I would love to see that =)
Nintendo is really trying to emphasize the ease with which one can do just about everything with a Wii: input is intuitive, online play is free and wifi is automatically enabled, etc.
However, all this ease of use can be a bad thing if it limits how we can use the system. The DS' online play, for example, was designed to be easy and straightforward, but in doing so it severely restricts the experience. In-game chat is nonexistant, friend codes are a pain in actual practice and it doesn't support WPA encryption. I see the same problems potentially popping up for the Wii. What if I don't want my box connected to the Internet when I'm not playing games? What if I want to be able to play online with random people, and not have to use a site for swapping friend codes? What if I want to use something stronger than WEP encryption?
Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to the Wii, because I trust Nintendo to deliver straightforward, fun games that Just Work. They have a good track record on that. What they don't have is a good record on online gaming.
I just hope they don't go so far in trying to make online gaming cheap, easy, and safe that it ends up being a royal pain to play. Then again, I suppose there are far worse things to be afraid of.
I really, really hope the Wii doesn't only support WEP like the DS does. It's bad enough having to run my wireless network in degraded security mode. Maybe they will go with WPA2 and somehow upgrade the DS in the future?