At least we know the world of Wii is going to look at lot different by the end of 2008. Since, up until now, the Wii has been largely unchanged since launch... barring the odd Wii Channel dropoff, most of which have just been slot-filling time-killers.
We know that WiiWare games are finally coming, and that Nintendo is already rather aggressive about it. Eternity's Child and LostWinds sound and look pretty damn amazing. And I'm still ultra-curious about that Pokemon Ranch game, plus I know I'll get Dr. Mario. Although, crazily, there were no announcements about a memory expansion! Why do they have to be so hard-assed about this? Hopefully the participating third-parties will be smarter than Nintendo and allow their WiiWare games to be shifted to an SD card and playable off that SD card.
We know that Everyone's Nintendo Channel is coming this Spring. This is the one that guys like me have been begging for since launch... with downloadable DS demos and game promo videos. It's going to be a focused hype Channel, perhaps even more advertorial than the sort-of-randomly posted game videos you find on PSN. I do wish they change the name before launch; "Everyone's Nintendo Channel" has got to be the worst Channel name yet.
And now Nintendo has revealed a new "Pay and Play" system, where certain future games could now support monthly fees or add-on DLC packs.
Why would they debut that - which is not the kind of announcement that's likely to gain any fans - and then not back it up with the games that will benefit from it?
If the games are great, no one will mind the fee. Well, almost no one. Monthly fees generally indicate MMOs in this modern era, although I'll wager Nintendo has something else in mind... mainly because Nintendo always has something else in mind. This could be a very big deal should the new Animal Crossing - which has been radio-silent for years - arrive under this kind of plan.
Another viable option could be that Nintendo plans to open up their online service to get past the Friend Code thing... but only if you're paying for it. That would be a very clean way to add voice chat, add live friend status, and other enhancements that they feel are problematic for kids on a free, always-on service. It would be tough for parents to ignore THE DANGERS OF THE INTARNETS if they're ponying a monthly bill. Although not impossible, of course. If this is the case, the day it launches we'll all have to endure another round of obnoxious know-nothing media outlets packing sweeps pieces about Nintendo "toys" letting pedophiles into your home.
On the face of it, I'm not exceptionally leery of Pay and Play. Assuming the content shows up and is worth it. But I'm annoyed that they couldn't bother to name some games that will use this service. They didn't even bring up Guitar Hero III, which would have been a HUGE announcement. I'll bet two-thirds of the Wii Guitar Hero audience do not even know that you can buy new songs on the PS3 and 360 versions. I wonder if you'll ever be able to download songs on the Wii version.
Name the games, Nintendo. Name the games.
