Pay And Play, Nintendo’s first step to the dark side

Mike Bantick
Monday, 25 February 2008 06:06

Opinion and Analysis

But the Nintendo online service is just not that mature, then there is the fact that Sony charge nothing for the PlayStation Network, an offering that feels slick whilst not rising to the same level as that of Microsoft.

Nintendo’s use of Friend codes and a less of an online emphasis with most titles than their competitors, this is one area that Nintendo will be playing catch-up.

Where Nintendo’s strength lies is in its out-of-the-box thinking and status quo surprising ideas.  I suspect this announcement, rather than the obvious scrape for cash it seems, is a foundation for the announcement to come.

Nintendo could create a MMO with distinct Nintendo appeal, away from the serious fantasy worlds of traditional offerings. 

I cannot seeing this going too bad for Nintendo, with their profile lifted, not only within, but in the expanded “gaming community” a silly move like bringing tolls into the existing sphere of online play, or imposing unrealistic (especially when compared to Nintendo’s peers) costs to future online experiences would undo a lot of good work to now.

Expect Nintendo to follow up with some software announcements around this, and furthermore, once details become clearer, expect third-party software companies to jump onto this as a way of boosting their own Nintendo based revenue streams - at last.