Nintendo to Add Pay and Play to Wi-Fi

By Shawn White / Saturday, 23 February 2008

Nintendo Project Leader Takashi Aoyama revealed the company's intention to add a Pay and Play service to future Wi-Fi-enabled Wii games during this year's Game Developers Conference.

Online-enabled Wii games have all been free of charge thus far. With "Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Pay And Play", however, users will be able to subscribe on a game-by-game basis to certain online titles.

Pay and Play titles will come with a red "Pay and Play" icon on the box instead of the traditional blue Wi-Fi Connection icon. Games marked with the regular Wi-Fi icon will still feature free online play.

Wii Points will be used for payment, although Aoyama did not detail the extent of the cost. The software expected to require payment is also unknown.

Will an extra cost bolster the quality of online play, and how will consumers respond? Stay with The Wiire to find out.