Microsoft may have pioneered the “charge gamers for things that should be free” scheme, but none of the other platform holders have taken to the idea. As Nintendo prepares to meet Sony and Microsoft head-on with the Wii U, it has confirmed that it, too, will be eschewing the Xbox Live model.
CEO Satoru Iwata was asked about online pricing during Nintendo’s annual shareholder meeting, where he confirmed that charging a subscription fee would be inappropriate. He doesn’t think online subs are inherently bad, but prefers the idea of Nintendo fans accessing services like Miiverse for free so that it can become popular through word-of-mouth — leading to greater hardware and software sales.
Pretty good news. I mean, provided Nintendo doesn’t just stick to local co-op for its games because online is too hard.
Bits From Nintendo’s Annual Shareholder’s Meeting [andriasang]
