Just this morning, I was reading an interview on one of my Google Reader feeds with Chris Kramer, Capcom USA's Senior Director of Communications and Community. The subject was Monster Hunter 3's U.S. release and how the whole online set-up would, since Japanese users pay a monthly fee to use Capcom's dedicated servers. Except it might be different here in the West:

"It's something that we're looking into at the moment and there are a few factors to consider. Firstly, Monster Hunter isn't as popular in the West, so it might put people off. Secondly, Japan doesn't have Friend Codes, so Capcom run all the servers and the monthly fee is essentially to pay for those costs."

That second part - the part about Japan not having Friend Codes and eating a monthly fee instead - got me thinking: would you, the U.S. Wii owner (all six of you who post here :p) take paying a monthly fee for online play - a la Xbox Live, but perhaps cheaper - to play games like Mario Kart Wii instead of having to use the cumbersome Friend Code system?

To me, it seems like something of an exchange, not an upgrade. I'd rather have a free system with those pesky Friend Codes than have to shell out $5/month or something like that for playing with friends online. And heck, as it is right now, most Wii games don't even have online capabilities because a lot of developers don't want to implement them or make games that can't use them.

But I don't speak for everyone who owns a Wii. So, for those of you who haven't thrown your Wii in the trash yet, as all the cool kids are doing, which of the two options is more to your liking?

And please don't start with the whole "I want no friend codes and free online!!!" thing here. That's not part of the discussion, even though that's what I'd ultimately like, too.