Darwinianevolution said:
Why on Earth would you want multiplayer under a paywall? Wouldn't make more sense keeping the multiplayer free, as something that people that loves multiplayer but hates the subscription fees could rely on and get them on Nintendo systems? Imagine all the people that like CoD on consoles, but now they have to pay two times (the game and the online fees), hear about this Nintendo system that will get their shooters and don't need to pay for online multiplayer. Not only you get them, they'll try to convince their friends so they can play with them. |
Nope, it wouldn't make more sense. We already saw it, to some extent, with Wii U. Free multiplayer, but no one wanted to play COD on the system because it was an inferior experience on an inferior system. 2 COD's came and went and no one was telling their friends to try it. Except maybe me, lol.
I hate paid multiplayer, but there's no denying it's become accepted. And since it is accepted, the extra revenue has allowed MS and Sony to offere superior console experiences at a reasonable entry price. With the extra revenue stream from a new Nintendo Network, Nintendo could sell a system at $399 even at a slight loss but recoup the cost and turn a profit through subsriptions. $400 in 2017 could probably get you a pretty fabulous piece of hardware. An amazing piece of hardware is far more likely to lure in new buyers than free online.
Further, while I once hated paid online, after subscribing to Gold with my new One at Christmas, I've practically filled my hard drive with content at super cheap prices. Games like Fifa, Titanfall and others selling for half price or sometiems like $8 for fairly new, AAA content. And lots of indie games for free.
If Nintendo offered full access to old games and discounts on the newish stuff it could actually be a cool experience. I can imagine sitting down with my NX, clicking a Mario icon through a slick new interface and deciding to play SMB3 or M64 or any other classic title I'm in the mood for.
