News Wii won't allow online fees

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2006/08/16/Wii_wont_allow_online_fees/

 

Well thats pretty cool, but I'm sure it won't be as good as the Live sevice microsoft have, MS really went to town with it when they made the 360.

Integrated Wi-fi is also a big bonus, the wireless magiger for the 360 is awfully expensive.

 

If the price point really comes out to where someone could get a Wii and 360 for the price of a PS3 then Sony's going to get it straight up the backside this holiday season.

Sony's losses are about to skyrocket me thinks.

 

Will the Wii be compatible with WPA though...

One thing that concerns me.
With the likes of BF2 on the PC, the servers are often clan servers that clans pay for out of their own pockets.
With Live you pay a subscription which I assume covers the cost of servers?
I'm not a live user so I have no idea tbh.

How are Nintendo planning to subsidise the cost of servers and bandwidth?

 

While you may say the wifi connection for the 360 costs, you will have to pay for a wired adapter for the Wii so in my mind the argument over the wifi not being included with the 360 is rendered mute.

Kimbie

 

That's a good question, but I'd say probably not (seeing as the DS isn't).

I gotta say, the Wii is looking better and better with each news article I read...I can't wait!

Apparently, the Wii online service will operate in a similar fashion to the DS...ie, very basic, but it does the job.

 

I couldn't agree more. You pay for what you get, and if the 360 is going to be the only one where you can have a paid-for service, then I can just assume that it'll have the best online package.

 

Exactly. Not everyone has a WIFI network at home so those with wired networks miss out on the WII online gaming and forced to replace their wired kit for WIFI.

To be honest I hate WIFI. The conection drops all the time and lots of crap interfears with it and im currently buying new cable to sell my WIFI crap.

 

Ditto, since we have a 16-port switch sat under the TV, I'd rather be using wired.

1) Nintendo develop device capable of acting as both Wired and Wireless NIC.
2) ...

3) Profit!
4) Online service successfully subsidised and therefore continually developed

If only! But, I do wonder where they'll be funding it from. They can't be making anything on the hardware, even if it is relatively cheap stuff. I guess it could be down to individuals hosting games, eg. just offer up something simple like the old MPlayer service; buddy list, game chat rooms, ability to start/join servers etc.

Would limit on the scale of games due to processing power, I guess. Unless you could dedicate a second Wii to serving full-time

 

I do hope it has an ethernet port as I have no wireless gear. Although I would rather have to buy wifi than pay a subscription for a service that is free on my pc.

*if the WII is going to be as awsome as I suspect there should be some pretty wild lan play.

 

1.) I thought the Nintendo fanboys always touted the fact that Nintendo products are gaming minded and that the usual frills one gets from products like the 360 or PS3 just drive up the price? ( in reference to the online store differences between Wii and 360)



2.) I've had a b/g WiFi network in my house for +2yrs and I've had ZERO problems with connectivity or security. The problems that a majority of people scream about I just don't experience. Personally I could never go back to being wired down and I'm not sure how others still do.

 

There probably will be a wired option with the console. Besides, how freaking much is a wi-fi AP? Troll the flea and get one for ten bucks.

Ninty might allow for invidual users to host games on their Wii units. That would work, no? Plus, when i play a game online, i'm not there to do 30,000,000 other things. Im just there to game.

 

or maybe host games from a computer.... dedicated wii server software that would be sweet.

 

Depends on the game.
From all accounts, the hardware isn't that powerful so having a Wii playing a game and serving it for several other would put a fair strain on it.

Not to mention the inevitable lag from using an ADSL connection to host a server.

I was thinking that too.
Would make sense but would likely still suffer from lag issues related to limited upload speeds on most DSL lines.

I guess we'll have to wait and see.
I'd assume Nintendo would have thought of these issues already and made moves to address them.

 

That is really cool that they are making gaming online free. Most people cant justify spending money to play a game online in addition to paying for internet access access. I really want to know how they are going to set this all up though.

 

Doesn't anybody ever think to go over to Nintendo's site?

I went over there and they have it listed that they will be selling a USB device that you can plug into your wired PC and then use that to link your Wii up to the net through its wireless adapter.

They also said that the Wii will have Component, Composite, and S-Video output.

 

In all territories though?

I fear us Europeans will get shafted again seeing as they're not supporting HD.

 

As much as I like the Live service I'm still not entirely in agreement with forking out to play the games online - PC gamers have enjoyed no-fee gaming for years now...Because I'm such a cheap skate I would have preferred a model that allowed for free online gaming, then an upgrade package to get the (glorified) friends list.

Smart move by Nintendo in not charging, especially if Sony decide to go the way of Live.

 

I think it's a great thing to know, but somehow the idea of online console gaming has always seemed a bit odd to me. Go figure.

Anyways, I'm always a bit curious when I read that microsoft quote - surely Ninty is as much a competitor as Sony, right?