Yes, it'd be different if you had to pay for ALL online games, like Xbox Live.
You don't, and CLEARLY this is just for MMO-type games...of which Nintendo apparently doesn't even have in production.
And yes, this actually helps third parties. If they want to make an MMO-type game and use their own servers...they're not going to do it for free...this pay-to-play system using Wii Points will solve that problem easily.
The only problem I see is that right now half of you are confused and think this will be for most regular online games.
LEFT4DEAD411.COM
Bet with disolitude: Left4Dead will have a higher Metacritic rating than Project Origin, 3 months after the second game's release. (hasn't been 3 months but it looks like I won :-p )