Though Xbox Live has found a great deal of success with its subscription-based, online model, Nintendo doesn’t think charging its users to play Wii U games online is the right choice.
During a recent shareholders meeting, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata was asked if Nintendo had any plans to charge users for accessing the “Miiverse.” According to Andriasang, Iwata essentially told the crowd that a fee would only stunt the growth of the Wii U’s strong online potential, and with plans to connect other devices to the service, making it free will be the smartest option.
This would leave the Xbox as the only console charging for online play. Once again, the quality and breath of content on Live makes it worth a certain amount of money, but the average consumer may not see this value right away when two other, free services are being marketed in similar fashions.
Do you think this is the right move? Would you actually pay to use the “Miiverse”? Let us know what you think in the comments below!