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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."
Didn't Sony talk about charging for online access, too?
Actually no - from the start they taked about match play being free.
After all, the PS3 is way too cheap, right?
No, it's kind of expensive, $500 is a lot for a console. But including free match play makes the price more palatable. I really hate recurring payments which is one reason I never got an XBOx or a 360, because most of the interesting stuff involved Live and I didn't want a recurring charge.
I never really minded the lack of good online play with the PS2 because I am a very casual online gamer, I just like to play online every now and then. I'm fond of a model that lets me have all the benefits of Live without having to pay extra just to maintain a gamer tag I might not use for a month or two.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley