Nintendo Will Begin Offering Downloadable Add-On Content O..

Nintendo Will Begin Offering Downloadable Add-On Content On Wii

Wii games will soon be able to download add-on content, said Nintendo
project leader Takashi Aoyama at Game Developers Conference.

DLC has been a big part of Microsoft's and Sony's online business, but
Nintendo has thus far not allowed games to have downloadable add-on
content on Wii. For example, the Wii version of Guitar Hero 3 doesn't
currently let you download new songs.

But at his address at GDC this morning, Aoyama said that Nintendo
will, in the near future, allow Wii owners to use Wii Points
(purchased with a credit card transaction online or on cards in
stores) to buy add-on content for games. He said that add-on contents
would also be available for disc-based games as well as WiiWare
downloadable titles.

The add-on contents for disc games would be purchased within the game,
Aoyama said.



Nintendo To Begin Charging Money For Some Online Gaming

Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connection service has always been entirely free of
charge, but the company will soon introduce a pay-to-play service for
some games, it announced at Game Developers Conference.

"Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Pay And Play" will let users subscribe on a
game-by-game basis to certain titles. Nintendo project leader Takashi
Aoyama announced the service at GDC, but did not say what upcoming
games would require payment for the service, or how much they would
cost.

To avoid customer confusion, Pay-And-Play games will have a red icon
on the game's box that reads Pay And Play, in place of the traditional
blue Wi-Fi Connection icon, which will only be used for games that are
free to play.

This is a pretty big change for Nintendo, who has always been adamant
about wanting online gameplay to be free. While this might attract
more developers to the service with a new revenue stream, it also
might confuse consumers -- and be a hassle if the payment system isn't
easy. You'll use Wii Points to pay for the online gaming, so it should
be interesting to see if this extends to the DS Lite or if it's just
restricted to Wii.



http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/02/nintendo-to-beg.html

http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/02/nintendos-takas.html#more