I was thinking, since Microsoft has now rolled out their Games for Gold program indefinitely as competition to PS+, Nintendo's the odd one out here again.

They're sticking to their free online, so from here, any subscription-based service would be purely for the games. And they would need to do something to make it stand out from the competition.

So here's the idea.

(1) You'd pay your monthly fee and you would get automatic access to ANY downloadable game in the eShop. It could be simple as that - you stay subscribed, you get unlimited access. OR:

(2) To increase accessibility, they could do it simply as rentals - each game would be worth a certain amount to rent. Could do straight dollar amounts, or include a "credit" program, in which each month you're paying for, say, 5, 10, 20, or 50 credits. You can set it up for a one-time credit purchase, or monthly renewal (and this would mean your credits would build up if you don't use them). Each game would be worth a certain number of credits (a $10 game could be 1 credit, a $50 game would be 5, etc).  When you rent a game, that rental would be valid for a month. You'd have to renew your rental (from your credit wallet) to continue playing the game after that month.

So, my question is, what do you think of the two systems, and which do you think is more viable? Do you have any ideas to improve it? Also, how much would you be willing to pay for this kind of service?

I already get free games and other stuff via Club Nintendo for simply buying games I would be buying anyways.

I hope Nintendo doesn't step into the online paywall setup. Though I'm betting by next-gen they will.

As for your specific scenarios... Nintendo would do neither. They give too much. At best you'll see something smilar to PS+ where you get an older game or three for free so long as you remain subscribed.

this.

How would it not work out for publishers? Obviously, Nintendo would keep track of which games are being rented the most and a portion of the proceeds would be calculated out for each respective publisher. If it's too big a problem, they could put an age limit that any game offered would have to be six months old or something first (or perhaps each individual publisher would decide on the age).

A multitude of publishers have jumped on the Humble Bundle bandwagon, many of which have offered games less than a year old. The publishers are making practically nothing off of these bundles. Rather, it's a PR thing.

From a business standpoint, there is enormous potential here if pieced together properly. Obviously some kinks would need to be worked out, but you're being incredibly shortsighted if you just straight-out dismiss the concepts altogether. The biggest factor that needs to be considered is simply the price point. The rest is cake.

I hope it's more like Games for Gold, cause I would definitely not be jealous of the games you would get

Nintendo Club

Yep I'm fine with Nintendo CLub being as is.  

You get points for buying games and/or systems.  THese points can be used for t-shirts, toys, games, ect.

Oh and free online gaming and everythign related to online.  

NO need to change that. 

The only way I see Nintendo doing something like a subscription fee work, is if it links to a cloud type storage that can be accessed on different devices or if it gives you exclusive access to reduced pricing for short period digital sales.

The free game approach Sony is doing, sort of devalues their games, people know if it sales bad enough or they just wait most if not all Sony titles will hit PS+ so why go out and buy it? Also as someone has already mentioned, Nintendo via Club Nintendo and other promotions already does offer free games although it is usually Virtual Console titles.

I can see Nintendo setting up a subscription program, they just need the right hook that won't shift how they make money or how people enjoy their titles.

I thought they had something like this already. Nintendo Network Premium

Does the Deluxe Promotion for the wiiU owners not count as this but for free?

https://p.nintendo.net/deluxe/

You basically get 10% eshop credit for every game you purchase in which you can exchange to get ANY games for free from the eshop...

So $60 basically = $5.50 in eshop credit and unlike ps+ and Xbox Gold, its free and you can keep the games forever plus its any game so its not just the ones that MS and Sony selects for you...