Nintendo to charge for online gaming on Switch from next week!

[Mr Allen]

Link.

What the hell?! Most Nintendo gamers are 12 or under, therefore their Parents pay for the consoles and games, how can they afford yet another expense?

Thoughts?

 

[Butterfly88]

I think Nintendo charges enough already for systems, games, and accessories. I don't think a lot of parents will pay for it right away. If the kid really wants it they may make it a holiday gift.

 

[Mr Allen]

I think Nintendo charges enough already for systems, games, and accessories. I don't think a lot of parents will pay for it right away. If the kid really wants it they may make it a holiday gift.

Yeah, I remember about 25 years ago SNES games were going for nearly 50 quid a pop, now you can buy them in some Charity shops and second hand game shops for less than a Pound.

Only difference is that some of the rarer games are still going for a song on eBay.

 

[Misery]

It's not really any different than the other two though. All three charge for "full" online, and all three are bloody expensive in pretty much every way.

I think the big question to me is: Why do ANY of them require payment for going online? For a function that computers and all sorts of other devices can do without any additional charges (beyond paying your ISP and all, of course).

Granted I dont really use any of them online, aside from letting the PS4 download patches (which doesnt need a subscription), but still, I'm curious. The consoles charging for something that is free on other devices is something I've always found mildly confusing. Not to mention that the consoles seem bafflingly slow when connected (no, seriously, I dont understand why their download speed is always so hideous).

As for Nintendo specifically, at least it's better than it used to be. I still remember when their official stance was "customers do not want online games". That being right after Xbox Live (on the original Xbox) had REALLY taken off and had been going very strong for quite a number of months. And it took them a LONG time... a really, really long time... to even start to "get" online. Though I will say that playing PSO 2 online on the Gamecube remains some of my fondest online gaming memories. Even if the damn thing was nuttier than a box of squirrels.

As long as the horrid thing is freaking FUNCTIONAL with the Switch (which it wasnt for the original Wii) I'll be fine with it. It does occur to me that I'll probably be using it to play Smash when that comes out in December. Provided their servers dont implode (and that's almost guaranteed to happen, I do not envy what those devs are going to have to go through when release day comes).

 

[Graphin]

I think such thing is rarely ok. But it seems more like fraud than a new service to me to charge money for a previously free feature after paying for a switch and a really expensive mainly online game. They made billions in switch games revenue already, and per potential online user per game they got paid a lot already. I can't believe them they by far they would need even more money for servers.

 

[Mattymatt]

Heck, you can download emulators for your computer and find classic NES roms. I do this.

 

[Judge]

No surprise. Just look how the entertainment industry in general is attempting to expand online.

I already pay for CBS through my cable provider. Yet they are gambling that I'll pay for their "All Access" service online as well. With everyone else seeking a "piece of the action".

The economy is booming, so it's presumed that everyone has disposal income for this sort of crap. Parents too.

"I don't think so."

-Homey D. Clown

 

[balsabonbon]

I guess I'm in the minority in that I don't have a problem with online gaming being an extra charge. My younger son is an online gamer (PS4 Pro), and we paid for a year-long Playstation membership for him so he can play online with his friends. Honestly, I'm surprised that Nintendo is only just now going to start charging for that service. My thoughts are that they are providing a valuable service, and if a gamer wants to use that service, then it makes sense that he/she should pay something for it. It's not like these big companies are in it to give things out freely from the good of their hearts. They're in it to make money, and that seems as good a way as any to make it, I suppose.

Just for clarification, S2 is 11 years old, and while he does pay for his game add-ons and most of his games himself out of the allowance he receives for getting good grades, being a decent human being and doing his chores, I'm fine with paying the annual subscription myself and gifting it to him for Christmas or his birthday.

 

[Isadoorian]

It's only gonna be $20 USD for a Year, not too terrible; plus it's been known to be Paid for quite some time now

 

[Southern Discomfort]

YAR! #PCGAMINGMASTERRACE!

But seriously, if they aren't throwing in additional services like Games with Gold or the free games you get with PS+ then this is dumb.

 

[Judge]

It's only gonna be $20 USD for a Year, not too terrible

Unfortunately that's all relative to all the other bills you're paying on a continual basis.

A financial dynamic that pretty much all vendors are banking on. That you don't consider such costs collectively speaking. Works like a charm...and why so many households may actually be in debt despite having a decent income.

 

[Isadoorian]

YAR! #PCGAMINGMASTERRACE!

But seriously, if they aren't throwing in additional services like Games with Gold or the free games you get with PS+ then this is dumb.

There's gonna be Virtual Console games of sorts you can get and play for free; first 20 are gonna be NES Games

 

[Misery]

I guess I'm in the minority in that I don't have a problem with online gaming being an extra charge. My younger son is an online gamer (PS4 Pro), and we paid for a year-long Playstation membership for him so he can play online with his friends. Honestly, I'm surprised that Nintendo is only just now going to start charging for that service. My thoughts are that they are providing a valuable service, and if a gamer wants to use that service, then it makes sense that he/she should pay something for it.

To a degree this makes sense, the reason there's a problem with it is that other platforms have already proven that it's unnecessary.

I compare it to PC gaming online, for instance. A: There's zero charge, and B: the connection is DRAMATICALLY better. Like, WAY better. Example: somewhat recently No Man's Sky, available both on PC and PS4... and I have both versions... had a gigantic update. Like, seriously enormous. I updated both of them. On the PS4, the download took about 40 minutes. On PC, with the SAME CONNECTION... it took, well.. 2 minutes. Just 2. Which is my experience with my PC: I dont wait for anything at all unless it's gigantic to the point of absurdity. But look at that comparison. 2 minutes versus 40?!? That's totally ridiculous. Yet if you want to use that to do actual online gaming on the console, you then have to pay for it. Pay for what is a quite slow and frankly unreliable connection. Yet the lightning-fast and VERY reliable connection is free and always has been. This has been my experience with my iPad as well. I do alot of gaming on that thing... and no, I dont mean the stereotypical ultra-casual "mobile" crap most people think of with that, I mean the same sorts of games I play on other platforms... and it's just as fast and free as the PC. This includes both downloads, and playing games online. And then there's Steam itself. Bloody buggy, but holy frequent 80% off sales, Batman! Wheras the other guys occaisionally offer like .0001% off with added microtransactions and consider it a "deal" (at least Nintendo doesnt pull that crap though, I'll give them that).

Now, there was a time when some games on PC would charge you for using them online, however, these were always MMOs. Big ones. Like the old Everquest. It was about $11 a month, but holy heck you got SO MUCH CONTENT. Even most big modern games dont come remotely close to matching the sheer amount of STUFF you got in that game... they really made it worth the money and then some. You truly got what you paid for, and this was the norm back then. And the servers rarely acted up; the devs did their job quite well. But now? You're paying for a service that ISNT kept up well, is slow, unreliable... you get the picture. And the whole time you're using said service, these big companies will be doing every freaking thing they can to suck your funds out of your nose even more.

There's nothing stopping these guys from matching the PC experience when it comes to online stuff. There really isnt. But these guys have gotten both hyper-greedy and very lazy. For whatever reason... I've genuinely never figured out why... console gamers just sort of accept this. There's exceptions obviously, but the vast majority seem to just go with it. I dont get that. (I will say though that the whole PS+ thing KINDA makes up for it... or it would if half the games they give you werent trying to do the microtransaction crap the whole time. And the games themselves are effectively rentals, if I recall correctly... not truly free games. Wanna keep playing, you gotta keep paying).

Just... ugh. I'm sorry for ranting, but any time I compare how consoles used to be, with how they are now, it just angers me. I used to love all the consoles I had... hell, I still love the ones from older eras. But now? I freaking hate the PS4 for being a slow, screwy piece of junk, and the Switch is a bit on the "meh" side (at least Nintendo STUFFS the actual games full of quality). I didnt like the PS3 either, the 360 was freaking garbage (worst... controller... I've ever used, and the machine itself was junk... hell, it was freaking legendary for breakdowns) and the PS2... All I'll say about that thing is that it's the worst piece of electronics I"ve ever so much as looked at. There's a whole story behind that, but that's for another day. At some point, very abruptly, quality just dropped like a rock for all the consoles, and everyone just sorta rolled with it. I've never grasped that.

That's a rant for another day though.

And no, I'm not trying to do the "OMG PC MASTER RACE" thing here. Frankly I could rant for like 20 pages about Windows itself, the horrid thing. But still... the comparisons I made here stand, even against that.

There, sorry, I got that all out of my system. Bah.

 

[Mr Allen]

PC Master Race? Excuse me while I laugh my arse off at you!

I got the heck OUT of PC gaming in 2002 after 5 years of attempting to run almost anything gaming wise under Windows XP, and failing miserably, OK it may not have been popular, but at least stuff worked under Windows 98 and ME, including older DOS based games.

I know I'll get harangued for this but... Viva la Xbox!

 

[Southern Discomfort]

PC Master Race? Excuse me while I laugh my arse off at you!

I got the heck OUT of PC gaming in 2002 after 5 years of attempting to run almost anything gaming wise under Windows XP, and failing miserably, OK it may not have been popular, but at least stuff worked under Windows 98 and ME, including older DOS based games.

Haha. Yeah, I make not attempt to deny the hours I've put into getting some games to work, especially on Windows 10 but would I go back to playing on consoles solely now? Not a chance. PC gaming has moved on a lot since 2002, matey. We've got a good market places and can even raise money for charities by buying games online. Games are still £40, remember that? £40 for a brand new game? They are trying to shove the price up to £45 now though. Plus the sales are just ridiculous. Picked up Dead Island for £2 just the other day. I think the best part of PC gaming for me is that you don't have to keep rebuying old games just to play on your new system. You can get a massive hard disk drive and practically forget all about it for years until you need to cull some old games. No discs cluttering up the house.

Would I tell everyone to get a PC to game on? No. But if you're proficient at fiddling around with Windows, modding using mod manager software and know your way around a PC's hardware - like how a stereotypical nerd would, then I'd say go for it!

I know I'll get harangued for this but... Viva la Xbox!

Will you though, frien?

 

[Mr Allen]

Haha. Yeah, I make not attempt to deny the hours I've put into getting some games to work, especially on Windows 10 but would I go back to playing on consoles solely now? Not a chance. PC gaming has moved on a lot since 2002, matey. We've got a good market places and can even raise money for charities by buying games online. Games are still £40, remember that? £40 for a brand new game? They are trying to shove the price up to £45 now though. Plus the sales are just ridiculous. Picked up Dead Island for £2 just the other day. I think the best part of PC gaming for me is that you don't have to keep rebuying old games just to play on your new system. You can get a massive hard disk drive and practically forget all about it for years until you need to cull some old games. No discs cluttering up the house.

Would I tell everyone to get a PC to game on? No. But if you're proficient at fiddling around with Windows, modding using mod manager software and know your way around a PC's hardware - like how a stereotypical nerd would, then I'd say go for it!



Will you though, frien?

And don't forget (And I probably WILL get harangued for this) that you can more or less play copied games on a PC without modification to the hardware, not true of most consoles nowadays, that was one reason I got out of PC gaming, the temptation to download games from Torrent sites.

 

[Southern Discomfort]

And don't forget (And I probably WILL get harangued for this) that you can more or less play copied games on a PC without modification to the hardware, not true of most consoles nowadays, that was one reason I got out of PC gaming, the temptation to download games from Torrent sites.

Never torrent a game in my life myself personally but, with the ridiculously cheap games you can get on various sales on multiple stores like GOG or Humble Bundle and Steam through the year, why would you need to? Unless you must get that latest game and you do live on the tightly dole or something would you really need to torrent a game? And personally I don't see it's worth the risk of getting malware.

 

[Misery]

Haha. Yeah, I make not attempt to deny the hours I've put into getting some games to work, especially on Windows 10 but would I go back to playing on consoles solely now? Not a chance. PC gaming has moved on a lot since 2002, matey. We've got a good market places and can even raise money for charities by buying games online. Games are still £40, remember that? £40 for a brand new game? They are trying to shove the price up to £45 now though. Plus the sales are just ridiculous. Picked up Dead Island for £2 just the other day. I think the best part of PC gaming for me is that you don't have to keep rebuying old games just to play on your new system. You can get a massive hard disk drive and practically forget all about it for years until you need to cull some old games. No discs cluttering up the house.

Yeah, pretty much. PC gaming now is VERY different from what it used to be back in 2002. Just like console gaming is also very different. To be honest it's really quite absurd to make the comparison between now, and 16 years ago.

PC gaming way back when was... obtuse, I guess. Alot of complicated weirdness in getting anything to run. Of course, that's how PCs were in general back then, not just for gaming. Now though? Nah. I choose a game in Steam and just run the bloody thing. No discs, no dirt-slow interface (like the PS4, omigod I hate EVERYTHING about that interface... and I never liked the XBox ones either, they all freaking sucked. I dont need icons the size of cats, just condense it all, you stupid electric brick! argh). Being that I'm running on an SSD, I literally dont even have load times... on anything. Ever. Think about that, NO LOADING SCREENS for any game no matter what it is.

And of course the prices. I mean really. Those ridiculous sales are SO frequent. All the freaking time. But on the consoles? I genuinely cannot remember even one sale, not ONE, that felt significant. Not... even... one. On Steam though, good grief. I've seen games go to 90% off just because they randomly feel like it. Or then there's the summer sale, where basically everyone buys like 30 games because the prices are so low. I cant remember the last time I paid more than $30 for something (and even that's rare). Most purchases I make are under 20. WITHOUT the sales.


As for torrenting.... yeah, I've never done that either. I dont know ANYONE that does that. There's zero temptation. Not only are torrents dangerous, but 99% of them, once you have them, dont ACTUALLY work... many are just a vehicle for viruses and such. Fake, in other words. Besides, buying a game on PC is a bit different than on consoles depending on what you're getting. A huge part of PC gaming is indie stuff, and, well... I'll put it this way: When dealing with any of the big publishers like EA or Activision or Ubisoft? I say: Screw them, I dont want them to get any money, they dont deserve it. But when I'm dealing with the sorts of things I do buy? I'm happy to pay just to support the developers for making such awesome stuff. It wouldnt even occur to me to pirate something like that, because it'd mean a good developer is missing out on the money they earned.


Emulation, on the other hand, oh yes, I'll do that. For the older consoles that is. Heck, I've got every NES game ever made on this machine. And every arcade game made before 2006 (and holy heck that makes for a very large archive).

Really the only thing I dont like about PC gaming is Windows itself. But then, that's also not restricted just to gaming. If you're using a PC for ANYTHING, you're going to deal with Windows stupidity. Not that other types of computers dont have their own issues...

 

[Southern Discomfort]

But on the consoles? I genuinely cannot remember even one sale, not ONE, that felt significant. Not... even... one. On Steam though, good grief. I've seen games go to 90% off just because they randomly feel like it. Or then there's the summer sale, where basically everyone buys like 30 games because the prices are so low. I cant remember the last time I paid more than $30 for something (and even that's rare). Most purchases I make are under 20. WITHOUT the sales.

Yep. Not to mention that on the PlayStation platform the scummy bastards hike up their prices before a sale so the percentage can look good! And they think no one notices the change.

Plus whatever manufacture is ahead in the current generation they get all arrogant and big headed. Happened with Microsoft and now Sony again. Sony with their "PlayStation is the best platform and therefore we don't need to do cross platform play" BS. And Microsoft with their "if you don't have an internet connection then we have a platform for you too, it's called the Xbox 360".

 

[Mr Allen]

Yep. Not to mention that on the PlayStation platform the scummy bastards hike up their prices before a sale so the percentage can look good! And they think no one notices the change.

Plus whatever manufacture is ahead in the current generation they get all arrogant and big headed. Happened with Microsoft and now Sony again. Sony with their "PlayStation is the best platform and therefore we don't need to do cross platform play" BS. And Microsoft with their "if you don't have an internet connection then we have a platform for you too, it's called the Xbox 360".

Meh, Sony hike the prices of their exclusive gqmes and hardware, the Sony zealots still love to pay through the nose for it because of their blind devotion to the brand.