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Forums - Gaming - Free Online (Wii U) vs Paid Online (PS4 and Xbox One)

Tamron on 25 June 2014
WolfpackN64 said:

Am I the only one that just wants to go out, buy a game (physically or digitally), own the game, and not have to bother with paying for the online service?

I don't know, I cant play any of the VC games i bought on my 3DS, on my WiiU, despite both devices being linked to the same NID, despite the games in question being available on both the 3DS and WiiU stores.

Am i the only one that buys a game that is available across multiple platforms, that expects it to still be there on a different device?, If i upgrade my phone and login to my google play account, i fully expect all my past purchases to be both there and accessible.

PlayStation does this exceptionally, most all of the compatible content is shared, accessible and playable across ps3, psp, ps4 and vita, and ps plus for online play is only required for the PS4, the other devices work fine without.

Nintendos online system is barebones, that is why it is free, if it was as fleshed out and full featured as xbox live or psn, then I fully expect Nintendo to eventually charge for that too.

To sum up, you get what you pay for, XBL has always been paid but has offered a better service for a longer time, first few years of PS3 online were quite barebones too, but eventually they introduced psplus when the service had matured enough to warrant a value in paid online so the natural progression would be to have it be a requirement for most games now the network infrastructure was established and there - PlayStation plus for online offers better value for money than Xbox Live currently, despite extremely similar offerings, because the subscription is active across the entire device family and offers monthly software for each of those devices linked to just one account.

What nintendo has right now is a barebones system that does online play, has only just moved away from friend codes to a consistent ID system, but still bears the hallmarks of a one device one account setup in how content is purchased and owned across multiple devices, beyond the bare essentials Nintendo online offers next to nothing else.

While the competition is enjoying advanced features like cross game video and voice chat and deep integration of social and sharing features, Nintendo's online system is struggling to outdo the PS2 network functionality and is still a long way from catching up to the original Xbox Live on the original Xbox.



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WolfpackN64 on 25 June 2014
radha said:

I pay ps+ for the "free" games alone, does nintendo offers free games every month? wait a minute... didnt the online suck? i have a Wii and their shop is terrible, is it the same in the Wii U? if so they cant charge for such poor service, if the Wii U has the same services as the Wii they simple cant charge because the online is terrible. But I dont have a Wii U so i dont know.

It never sucked, it was just a bit barebones



Faxanadu on 25 June 2014
jlmurph2 said:
MyCodenameIsIan said:
In my experience it tends to be younger gamers that tend to bemoan paying for online. For most adults it is 2-3 hours of work to cover a year of online gaming.

The fee leads to better technology, dedicated servers which in turn leads to a better online experience.

The problem Nintendo face is gaming seems to be heading towards an always online/persistent world future. Nintendo are already significantly behind with their online infrastructure and are not generating the revenue to convince them to invest in improving it.

Sony stepped it up by offering free games to the service which Microsoft have adopted as well. The games alone make the fee worth paying in my opinion.

I noticed that too. $35-60 a year is nothing to someone with a job. Maybe it might be to someone who has to ask their parents for money. 

Over 5 years that is 300 USD. That is a lot of money for a lot of people.

If I spend 300 USD on a console, I dont want to spend another 300 USD on hidden cost down the road.



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WolfpackN64 on 25 June 2014
NightDragon83 said:
The people who say Nintendo's "free" online is good enough are the same ones who said dial-up was good enough for them when broadband started becoming widely available.

And people seem to forget that when you're gaming online on a console, you're utilizing a network infrastructure that Sony and M$ have built from the ground up and poured hundreds of millions of dollars into over the years. Monetizing their expensive to maintain online service was a smart move on M$'s part from day one and allowed them to expand and get a leg up on the competition. Sony finally saw the writing on the wall and was forced to follow suite for PSN, although they disguised theirs with a glorified game rental program.

The reason online gaming is "free" on PC in most cases is because it's decentralized compared to consoles, often left up to gamers to set up their own servers, and for major digital distribution platforms like Steam and Origin, they make enough dough from game sales and advertising to afford making most of the online components to their games free. (Funny how you always hear complaints about all the "advertising" on XBL and now PSN, but these same folks never complain about getting bombarded with ads whenever they load up Steam or Origin.)

You can't compare Nintendo's Wifi Connection with dial up internet. It's free because it's barebones, but you get some feautures. What do you get when playing PC? Nothing, except on Steam. Why? Because it's free. (Origin doesn't count because it sucks)



Cleary397 on 25 June 2014

The only thing which annoys me about the Nintendo online system is the lack of free communication.
I get that open voice chat can be poisonous - XBL has shown this, but at least allow less complicated means of communication through friends.
MK8 introduced voice chat, but only while in a friends only lobby - but i guess this is a step in the right direction.

Nintendo will get there, will take a bit more time because the service is free, and im fine with that.



Current Game Machines: 3DS, Wii U, PC.

Currently Playing: X-Com(PC), Smash Bros(WiiU), Banner Saga(PC), Guild Wars 2(PC), Project X Zone(3DS), Luigis Mansion 2(3DS), DayZ(PC)

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fedfed on 25 June 2014
cannonballZ said:
Playing online is fine for the most part, but not being able to chat or send messages without having to go into miiverse is a pain. I really wish there was a way for them to add cross-game chat onto wii u. I want to be able to chat with buddies even if we're not playing the same game.


I don't mean to troll or anything, but by the sound of it, it looks like you are paying for a phone subscription if want you want is to chat with buddies even if palying different games!



Switch!!!

DolPhanTendo on 25 June 2014
Leadified said:
DolPhanTendo said:
I have no issues with online at all with Nintendo. I mean online chat is annoying, so do not care. Do not really go online to be chatty kathy, its to kick people's ass in games. I will say what's up now then but that's to friends.


What about team based games where you need voice chat in order to kick people's ass?


This is true. But i dont want to listen to 13 year old boys drop N***a bombs every 12 seconds and swearing worse then sailors so FPS multi player i avoid .



prayformojo on 25 June 2014

Depends on the importance you put on playing online against other people. If you only go online casually, and only expect to play straight up against other people and log off, then Wii-U is fine. But some people are addicted to FPS and only play online. Those people need more and I guess for them, paying isn't an issue.



Mr Puggsly on 25 June 2014

Well I've paid for Live for over 5 years now because it has games I genuinely enjoy playing online. Some of those titles are also exclusive to Xbox platforms. The added bonus of free games has made it more essential.

I don't do much if any online gaming on my PS3, but I have PS+ and its been worthwhile.



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Ucell on 25 June 2014
WolfpackN64 said:

Then Sony announced the PS4 and the requirement of Playstation Plus to play games online. My jaw (and my interest in the PS4) dropped considerably. I got a Wii U and I must say most people's criticism of the online component don't add up. Even on the Wii, I usually got into games just fine without many problems. My friend's Wii got quicker into a match of CoD then I got in a match of Halo.

If you had a PS3, you would've had interest in a PS4. The exclusives on the PS3 would have been enough to make you purchase a PS4 even with PS+.

Since you're a fan of Halo apparently, I'd suggest you to buy an X1 and not a PS4.