Surfing Internet Not Free On Nintendo Wii?

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Ben-Nice

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Apparently they will start charging in 2007

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3153671

Amidst the flurry of announcements today, one of overlooked details was Nintendo's decision to charge money for the ability to browse the Internet on Wii. According to the official wording by Nintendo:

Internet Channel: This channel dramatically changes the relationship between a user's home, the television and the Internet. Users download the Opera browser with Wii points. Then they can surf the Internet right from the comfort of their couch. They can do quick research while watching a television program ("What was that actor's name again?"). Or book travel plans and shop during commercials. The service is compatible with Macromedia Flash.

Keep in mind, however, the browser will be free for some time after Wii's released worldwide; Nintendo will not start charging until June of next year. What the motivation is behind such a specific date, however, is a complete mystery to us, and we wonder why the clarification wasn't made during the US conference.

Will Nintendo offer the service for free overseas, but not here? That would be some bizarre logic, but we currently don't have confirmation one way or the other. Nintendo of America would only confirm to 1UP that the Opera browser will cost Wii points, and couldn't delve into price specifics.

Now, on the one hand, Nintendo also charged for an Opera browser on Nintendo DS, but realistically, they had to. The dual-screen portable doesn't have enough internal memory to keep the program that saved, and DS cartridges, while cheaper to produce than GBA ones, aren't free. With PSP, however, Sony developed a web browser gamers could download, saved forever via Memory Stick.

In this case, Wii has the on-board memory capable of storing Virtual Console games, other downloadable content and a web browser simultaneously.

The Opera browser in its original incarnation is freely available on the Internet itself, but if they can charge for it and people will pay, why not? Just make sure you don't miss the deadline.
 
Maybe its one price to have it enabled? and not subscription based. like a 5 dollar fee and you download the browser "channel" to the Wii. Kinda weird if true though considering the competition even has a free browser on their handheld :LOL:, not to mention a free browser on the console counterpart as well.
 
Bad_Boy said:
Maybe its one price to have it enabled? and not subscription based. like a 5 dollar fee and you download the browser "channel" to the Wii. Kinda weird if true though considering the competition even has a free browser on their handheld :LOL:, not to mention a free browser on the console counterpart as well.
Click to expand...

I'd bet on a one time purchase. Ten bucks... why not? Nintendo wrote the book on nickel and diming. =)

Nintendo hurts me because Nintendo loves me.
 
1up mixed some things up, which makes the opera issue so confusing: First of all, different things have been said in Japan and the US.

In the US conference Fils-Aime said that the opera browser is available for Wii points, thus it is effectively not free, as Wii Points so far are purchased by CC or the pre paid cards. Although Nintendo could bundle a few WiiPoints with games just like the Nintendo VIP service in Europe, but that's my speculation.

In Japan, both Famitsu and Game-Watch report that the opera browser is a free download until the end of June 2007. Afterwards you got to pay for the download.

So it seems that the Opera browser is indeed handled different from region to region until we hear different from Nintendo.
 
Presumably, Nintendo have to pay opera for browsing abilities, and as they don't know that every Wii owner will want that, would rather not pay for features if not needed to. Thus you offer it as an optional one-off purchase. There was nothing there about paying per use or what-have-you, so it's almost certainly a single purchase. In the first few months though, you want to generate interest which means taking a small cut per box, paying Opera for their software, and getting it out there, so later Wii buyers have experienced how great browsing is on friends' machines and are happy to pay a few bucks for it. $5 for 10 million owners, Opera won't be complaining!
 
Actually, what I heard was that the Opera browser won't be available at all until the Summer. Oh well, I'll just wait until the dust clears. ;)
 
Bad_Boy said:
Maybe its one price to have it enabled? and not subscription based. like a 5 dollar fee and you download the browser "channel" to the Wii. Kinda weird if true though considering the competition even has a free browser on their handheld :LOL:, not to mention a free browser on the console counterpart as well.
Click to expand...

Opera already sells itself that way for cell phones and pdas, something like an $8 one time purchase.
What's the free browser on PSP and Ps3? I thought the PSP one was a hack?
 
Fox5 said:
Opera already sells itself that way for cell phones and pdas, something like an $8 one time purchase.
What's the free browser on PSP and Ps3? I thought the PSP one was a hack?
Click to expand...

For a handheld it works fairly well, and gets what needs to be done, done. I havent had any problems with the PSP browser after optimizing the options for minimal loading. After they fixed some early bugs I'd say it's not too bad. Of course its not perfect, but I wouldnt consider it a hack. The PS3 browser should be much better all things considered, not to mention its probably much more pratical than the PSP browser.
 
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After getting opera free for my phone (and seeing it on the DS), I'd gladly pay $5-10 one time fee... The opera guys seem to really know how to make browsers practical in a limited memory/resolution environment. It has made internet usage on my phone quite practical and handy (works wonders when sites are blocked at work).

If it is a one time fee, I wouldn't mind paying (although I wouldn't be using it ever on Wii... computer and hopefully PS3 should satisfy web browsing needs).
 
Bad_Boy said:
For a handheld it works fairly well, and gets what needs to be done, done. I havent had any problems with the PSP browser after optimizing the options for minimal loading. After they fixed some early bugs I'd say it's not too bad. Of course its not perfect, but I wouldnt consider it a hack. The PS3 browser should be much better all things considered, not to mention its probably much more pratical than the PSP browser.
Click to expand...

I mean a hack as in not officially sony sanctioned, wasn't it included with a game and people figured out how to use it?
 
Fox5 said:
I mean a hack as in not officially sony sanctioned, wasn't it included with a game and people figured out how to use it?
Click to expand...
Oh in that case...

That was in the beginning, there was a way to web browse through Wipeout Pure, somebody figured out how to use it as a web browser as you said. But later Sony released an official browser (for free) that was miles ahead of that Wipeout hack via firmware upgrade.

Sorry I guess I misunderstood your initial post. But yeah, I was refering to the official web browser on the psp. The Wipeout hack wasnt practical at all.
 
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