Miyamoto: Nintendo May Need to Rethink its Online Approach

It does need improvement but I hope it doesn't become a pay service.

The only game I ever play online is Mario Kart and I don't want to pay $ just to play one game. The other internet channels I hardly ever use, but they look decent. An online profile system where you can earn Nintendo achievements in games and such would be nice. Kinda like Metroid Prime 3, just that everyone can see.

Really, the only changes that need to be made are to abandon game-specific friend codes and just have one code per console, period. That plus the addition of some kind of Achievement/Trophy system. Mario Kart Wii (as much as I hate its rubber-banding and other problems in gameplay) got Online play right on. Easy way to find & add friends, plus an option to play anonymously without friend codes. That is, IMO, what Nintendo needs to do; and that is not so back-breaking as to necessitate a monthly fee.

Yeah it's pretty awful as is. Sure it works but compared to what it could be it's awful. A pay service doesn't surprise me because it needs a new team to be hired to work from scratch. A free service opens it up to many more casual users though.

An online service for pay would only be a competitive option if the Playstation Network was made to not be free as well. I hope that neither of these things happen. E3!

It's not THAT bad.... Considering they're still learning, sure they still have improvements to make, but that's like anything else. Glad to see they recognize they need to focus on it, though. It better remain free though...

Well, if it provides us with a better service and more options to take advantage of then I don't think I'd mind too much. Just as long as everything that is free right now remains free. Or if it can be done for free in future then it should be free. Good things cost money. There's no way around that. The question is - do you want to pay for a quality service or do you want to settle for a free average service.

A unified FC based on system and not game and a more stable platform are all I want, frankly. If I have to pay, I won't be playing online, not worth money for my tastes.

If Nintendo truly cared about online gaming they would have planned something substantial with online services/support back in 2005 before the Wii even launched. Five years later and all we have is Wii Speak, Friend Codes, and a laziness to incorporate even the simplest online features into their games. I love Nintendo but I will bash their online gaming views and strategies because they need to stop acting like online gaming doesn't matter. Microsoft, Apple, and Sony would like nothing more for Nintendo to keep living in the 1990s when it comes to online gaming.

The system could use some improvements, but I do hope that they do not make it a pay service.

It needs vast improvement, it needs to be as good as XBL for me to be happy.

people overreacts with the WFC. I have played with XBLA and PSN and the only difference is that you ony use an account. Other than that is the same old crap. People should really knock it off, they talk like if it uses 56k connections or something and is pathetic.

3 things need to be done:

1. if Nintendo is to charge they need to make it cheaper than Xbox Live. No excuses. Casuals need to be tugged enough to pay an attractive price, remember most people buy a Wii to play at home with their family/girlfriend/friends, NOT strangers. And for gamers, this is where it gets difficult. Will a Gamer who owns a Wii and 360 be willing to pay a subscription for both consoles? Believe the average college student and young gamer will have to chose one over the other. And will Nintendo's/Wii's subscription be good enough to justify the price tag?? Therefore low is the way to go.

2. Friend codes a GO-GO. Nintendo's Wii and DS systems are the most user friendly, yet their online system is enough to confuse a tech geek. Friend codes and accessibility are to blame. And honestly even the Wii Shop Channel needs to be revamped. Nintendos online approach is sometimes too confusing to even be fun.

3. Wii Speak. It needs to be supported, no one wants an extra peripheral they're only gonna use on a couple games hanging over they're TV. Without Wii Speak online play is like playing with bots. I understand why Nintendo is hesitant on using Wii Speak but some solution has to exist.

I could write an essay on things that need to be improved to make Wii online play worthwhile (Outside of select games), but the two that really hit home and summarize my feelings on the matter are: !) Ditch the friend codes 2) 360 party chat equivalent (Which includes the ability to see when friend are online and when they come online)

I know some people who use their 360 as a form of social networking, as sad as it is...But it does credit for the system of how well it allows people to communicate. If nintendo wants to step up their online game, these are the first two HUGE steps forward.

I love Miyamoto's take on the comments from those who say Nintendo are "dragging their feet" in the online field. I wouldn't like Nintendo WFC to be a paid-subscription service, but what Miyamoto described with his idea of the free service with extra paid-for benefits sounds a lot familiar (Nintendo WFC Pay & Play).

And please Nintendo, one friend code per system and a friend roster is all I need to reinstate hope in Nintendo's future online strategy.

As long as I can hook up to the Wii shop and play a few games online occasionally, I'm fine. I don't care about the friend code thing at all.

I would like them to throw away friend codes but i dont want to pay for online service. I find no reason to have to pay for internet for my computer and then for a gaming systems is just stupid.

Improve the online but for God's sake DON'T make me pay!

They could do a lot and keep the system 3 (PS3 does all of these things)

1) One friendcode per console, not game.

2) Wii Speak with friends for all games. Parental controls for allowing with everyone or just friends.

3) Friend roster.

4) Revamped Wii shop with demos.

These things can be done for free on other consoles, so what's the point of paying for them. If online is flawless, then yeah, maybe some subscription fee is worthwhile, but as long as you're not streaming HD graphics through your broadband, I think it'd be pretty hard to justify.

Ya PS3 is free so Wii online should be too... I would like achievements type system, no friend codes, updates on existing games. It's alright right now, but it could be better.

What I want most is better servers and one universal code/screen name for all games. My biggest gripe is lag (Brawl), dropping (Kart), and just trying to get on (Conduit). If this can be figured out, or done more like Monster Hunter Tri, I'd be happy. Everything else is frosting.

As long as there is no pay, its all right.

I'm not sure where to stand on this. While I do think that the Wii needs to be revamped in the downloadable department, I'd rather have it the way it is instead of a revamped service that forces you to pay to play online.

I don't think Nintendo should charge to do a job they're supposed to be doing anyway for free. I already put up with that crap from MicroSoft, who is apparently considering raising the subscription fees for adding some kind of Spike TV channel.

Look at what makes the PSN beautiful online system it is. Firstly it's free, so Nintendo has that much right. Then, it has a connected-with-your-friends feel. You can see who's online anytime playing a game, immediately send them messages, etc. No friend codes, but privacy (e.g. muting people on voice chat games). And then something Nintendo DEFINITELY lacks, a good online store. Unlike the PSN, which gives you a $5 minimum of adding funds (which is pretty much the cheapest price on the PSN, save Minis), on the Wii Shop you have to shell out TEN FRICKIN DOLLARS! Listen, I am NOT going to shell out ten bucks to buy Blaster Master which is $5. Won't do it. And of course, demos. We want demos Nintendo. 'Nuff said.

I don't think additional charge would be very mass-compatible.
Also, the Wii can gain a big plus if it has an awesome online service that stays free.

I don't wanna pay for it. The End.

A lot of my opinions have already been stated, so I will say something new. I hate any game that has online but not local multiplayer (Conduit). This is the ultimate form of stupidity (At least I think so).

If the next Ninty console offers the same online functionality as xbox live does, I would be happy to pay for it. If my 360 didn't have it's community and great online services, I'd probably sold it a long time ago. If the next console comes with a free headset and big online support as a party chat and big online game support (at least a new Mario Kart and SSB with revamped online at launch), then I wouldn't hesitate to pay 10 bucks in the month or so.

Basically, I want Nintendo to make a 360. Nintendo makes way better games then all the games that come out on the 360 so the 360's online service with the awesomesauce of Nintendo would be the perfect co-op in my book. Of course a free and a paid version would be better though, like in the free version you can find random matches but paid you get a bigger tournament modes and party chat, or something like that.

Yes, XBL is popular, but that's not because it costs money. Making people pay isn't going to make them start raving about your online system. Making the system work is what will get that. Get rid of the friend code issue and let people just play. What is someone going to learn about someone over Mario Kart Wii that will let them come rape a child? It's not about protection. The only real dangers of things like that or of losing family-friendliness comes in Wii Speak, and you could make it so that is run by Parental Controls, or on certain games even make it so that the Wii Speak is enabled only if you have the friend code. Security seems to be Ninty's biggest issue, but it's a whole lot more simple than they're making it out to be.

Nintendo's online is currently pretty terrible. I can't see anyone wanting to pay for it at all unless it vastly improves

I would refuse to pay to be able to play online games with people. I don't care how good it is. If I had to pay then I wouldn't use it. Nintendo already makes me pay enough. Almost all of the good games are $50 or so for Wii and $30 to $40 for DS, DSi is about $170 and because of the price, a lot of people I know would rather get an Itouch, wii remotes are $40 each and since it only came with 1 and there are 4 people in my family, that was 3 more of those, nunchucks are $20 and we got 1 extra of those, (you have to at least have wiimotes and nunchucks to enjoy the Wii) motion plus is $20, (well, it comes with every wiimote now, that certainly is better.) classic controllers are $20 and if you really want to use the VC well, you need them and there are countless other shells that they only give you one with the game and they make the game play better so you have to get more to use multiplayer well along with the cost of the wii itself. Nintendo doesn't need to make us pay for one more thing.

What really is ironic is Nintendo could have a really, really good online service if they got rid of friend codes. Friend codes make it so the internet often isn't the big thing so it isn't as good and they are annoying. I can see friend codes for maybe games like Animal Crossing but not for everything.

I really like my wii/DSi but I wouldn't pay for the internet. Besides, they have no problem with putting a free browser on the DSi and Wii, why do they need friend codes for games?

I disagree that we just need one FC per console. No, we need one FC per account. Really it's not an FC at all, just accounts with their own separate settings and friend lists. So my kids can have their own friend lists and my friends aren't on their lists. Just having a single FC per console is a half measure, and a rather poor one, especially given that Nintendo tries to be family friendly. They need accounts and parental controls that can be set for individual accounts. That's the answer.

Oh, and paid online sucks. And I do pay for the 360's online, but I hate it, and it really sucks if you have kids. If they want to play an online game with their account, we'd have to pay for them too, and that's not going to happen. Not to mention that if they use my account, then my friends are on there, not just there's. It's pretty aggravating/stupid. This could be avoided, though, by having the online fee be per console, though. Then I wouldn't mind paying $35 a year for online play, as long as the service was dramatically improved from what it is now, to at least be equal to the 360.

@Crunc I think you are right. That really ruins the only reason it would be useful in the first place. :/

I don't mind Nintendo keeping some sort of parental control (friend codes or something else) but I don't think it should apply to everyone. I can even see friend codes for little kid based games but it has gone too far, in my opinion. It doesn't even need to be a lobby where you can chat, just something better then friend codes, in my opinion. I think Mario Kart DS has a really good example of a good free online multiplayer.

The moment Nintendo starts making us pay to go online, I'm going to stop doing so, even if it'll be 100 times better than Xbox Live. The way it operates now is fine with me and I'm just glad it's free. People complain too much if you ask me.

I think Nintendo should have something where you can download all your VC and WiiWare titles at once, like a "download all" button in the "Titles you've downloaded" area. I also think that the Wii should be able to send Nintendo your save data automatically to back it up. I find it kinda sucks that whenever I have to format my Wii sometimes, or if I ever had to send it in for repair, I lose all of my save data that I couldn't back up on an SD card. Why are there games like that anyway? I like the online service that microsoft has on the XBox 360, however I don't like that I have to pay for it.

well, like everyone i think the wii just needs to have only an account or code, as for the achievements/trophies, i think it should better have a percentage of completition.

Capcom already nailed the Wii's online to work flawlessly with TvC and Monster Hunter Tri, so Wii's online capability is really top notch at the moment.

Nintendo does OK so far on online. They're doing better with online games and letting companies like Capcom use their own servers instead of Nintendo servers is nice too. All Nintendo has to do to improve the system is just get rid friend codes or at least make them more convenient, like what MH3 did. have a code, but let people use names to add each other

Nintendo's next system should just copy PSN. There, problem solved.

Seriously, though; it's like they really have NO IDEA just how many people LOATHE Friend Codes! The damn things don't even sync well, leaving me with 41 added people in WarioWare D.I.Y. but only fewer than 20 that are actually 100% connected and registered. And I'd have to do it all again to play a different game with the same people? Screw that!

PSN: Online accounts where the downloads aren't linked solely to the CONSOLE, easy friend adding, online experience built into the system instead of compartmentalized like on the Wii, and just generally not crappy like Wi-Fi Connection. Improve on the parental controls if you feel the need, Nintendo, but stop giving us BS and acting like we're supposed to enjoy it!

One thing which they really need to do is somehow combine Nintendo Channel with Shop Channel. It makes no sense to me whatsoever that every Monday I have to first go into the Nintendo Channel to view the videos of new games and THEN go into the Shop channel to see how many points they are and read the little description. Will somebody please explain to me why the Shop channel game description page doesn't link to the video?

Demos.

As also stated above, why must I put $10 on my credit card to buy a $5 or $8 game? If they only want to sell 2000 point cards in the store, fine, but they have a credit card system set up online - which I actually don't think they advertise enough and I never hesitate to use it when I want to buy a 1000 point game - but I won't pay $10 for a $5 or $8 game.

If they want to make money - pay subscription to VC. Not the WiiWare stuff, but all the old NES and SNES games they already own and have made millions of $ on when they were new decades ago.

@headline
this can best be summed up in two words: "no" and "s***"

I'm not gonna pay for online. Especially how it is now.

Miyamoto doesn't know what he's talking about anymore especially when it comes to online gaming.

Nintendo please don't make it a pay service, just copy what Capcom did for online gaming experience on the Wii or keep doing what you do in Mario Kart or maybe add achievements and online leader boards for every game.

NO PAYING!!! PLEASE!!! But yea i agree it does suck. (The Internet)

I can only hope Nintendo redoes the online approach to the Wii. Too many games play like crap online, boring interface and those f**king friend codes. By having the weakest online offering Nintendo is missing a chance at even more revenue and (more importantly) keeping up with the competition in this area.

"Or give an online subscription that is free of charge, but then offer something extra for people that pay, so that they get some extra value?"

I think that's the best plan of action.

i'm fine with the way online is right now. i dont wanna get yelled at by little kids...

I rarely play online, and I don't want to pay a monthly service to download games. I am already paying to download them.

If they wanted the online community to be stronger, then why aren't Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort playable online. Everyone has Wii Sports. It would be awesome to bowl with people around the world.

I think their main issue is that a large fraction of the people who own Wii's don't know it can connect and those who do (specifically families and older people) don't own any games that have a large or deep online mode, so it wouldn't make sense that they are online.
Friend codes aren't a huge problem but they are uneccessary. It's just that a large fraction of people don't have anything to do online, and they don't care.

I still want to know what the problem with friend codes is (other than being different for each game while could easily be fixed). What do the other systems use for users to locate their friends online?

The real problem is that almost every online Wii game uses the dumb and slow system of automatically searching for other players for random matches instead of using lobbies to allow people to orgainze and join games. Lobbies are also really useful in letting players easily know that nobody currently wants to play a certain kind of game instead of wasting our time at a stupid "Searching..." screen.

That said, I would really hate a mandatory non-free online system. Paying for optional features would be okay, as long as it's a one-time or at worst a once-a-year payment.

Linktothefuture said this:

"If they wanted the online community to be stronger, then why aren't Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort playable online. Everyone has Wii Sports. It would be awesome to bowl with people around the world."

I thought of that years ago. If Wii Sports was online compatible I guarantee that Nintendo Wi Fi would have been bigger than XBL. Too bad it never happened so there's no proof.

If they ask me to pay a monthly fee for online, they can count me out. It's one of the many reasons I don't have an xbox.

The xbox service is ace so if the matched that I'd pay no problem.
Will need to be new hardware to do that as far as i know.
Reggie did say that the only thing he'd take from one of the other two is XBox Live

The only online component I really care about is leaderboards, which obviously work fine as things stand. A demo service, party chat and single friend codes or accounts would all be very much appreciated, but I don't really need them. Tbh though, if a paid service is implemented I know I'll be on board unless it absolutely sucks. I don't like missing out!

The thing I'm worried about is an achievements system... The amount of money and time I spent on PSN purely for trophies :< I can't help myself

I'm surprised at all the biased flak this idea is getting.
You really think Nintendo WiFi is fine the way it is? He's suggesting an optional subscription service that would likely fix the sh**ty lag (Smash Bros), the sh**ty match making, the sh**ty lack of a cross-game friends list, the sh**ty lack of communication, and most importantly: the sh**ty lack of online support from third parties.
You may not want to cough up $8 a month for that, but I can imagine thousands of people that would.

But to be honest I can't see them pushing into the online space anymore than they did this generation. All their best sellers were primarily offline titles (with the exception of Mario Kart which does have good online) and I get the feeling that Miyamoto despises online gaming, as it goes against his social/family based gaming mantra.

I think the online is decent, but we don't need to resort to paid online subscription to improve it. I would never go online again on a Nintendo console if so.

I would be fine with paying as long as they improve it.

I say if you buy the game you should have access to all of it's capabilities, not have to pay for online multiplayer or (in some cases) extra content that was intentionally taken out of the original game so that it can be sold as "downloadable content" to make a quick buck (if the game and downloadable content were released at the same time, it should be one solid price, DC should be used to fix/add things that was thought of after the game's released).

Sure, Xbox 360 has the whole pay to play thing working out for it, but I want to see drastic improvements in Nintendo's online before they even think about charging for it.

I'm not a big fan of playing online being a paid service. The current set-up is fine by me. I enjoy MarioKart and Monster Hunter Tri as it is. The only thing I'm willing to pay for are DLC for additional characters, stages, etc.

Miyamoto is so wrong. He hates online gaming because it goes against his family/social ideas or whatever he thinks in his head. I am NOT going to pay for online in its current state. Nintendo's online service needs to be just as good as XBLA and PSN for me to even consider paying for them. I mean, this is coming from someone [Miyamoto] who refused to put online multiplayer in NSMBW, or a level editor for that matter. In the Wii 2 and 3DS, Nintendo needs to kill the friend codes, have more games with online multiplayer, and DLC. But of course, Miyamoto is slow and has backwards thinking. Just like when the N64 was a cartridge based system and Nintendo were anti-disc, Nintendo is approaching online services like it is tainted. Get with the times Nintendo and Miyamoto!

I'll pay $20 per year if Wii Speak works with all online games an dyou can talk to everyone and it doesn't take 4-5 minutes to find a match.

it does but i dont think it will. psn is the best free service!

What Stuffgamer Said!

wii owners paying for online wouldnt b good because a big percentage of ppl that own them are casuals who play it for less that an hour and maybe 1-2 times a week.

wii's online is pretty well done. monster hunter tri has the best online for now.but nintendo need more to do and see for ppl online. just want the option to pay for small extra content

Don't play online multiplayer games, absolutely loathe MMORPG's ... the only thing that matters to me as far as the Wii's online connectivity is the Wii Store. So Nintendo can do whatever they want as far as I care.

NO!! Paying for online is not my thing... which is why I'm currently leaning toward a PS3 rather than a 360 in my battle for another console. If we do eventually have to pay, give the ability to chat to people through any game and give us patching. Also, the most wanted request for Online Wii has to be get rid of the friend codes and have a username that stays the same for every game. Or at least when we register a friend code, make it consistent across every game so we don't have to register the same person a ton of times for every game we have! Jeeze.

The service of Xbox Live is really great so an extra fee is absolutely justified. Nintendo should have to improve Wii's online service before they are even allowed to think about charging money for it. First step: Get rid of those friend codes!

Nintendo should take a good look at the Steam community.

It will take way more than what the Wii has to justify me paying to get hit by a blue shell in Mario Kart.

I think the statements made that its against Miyamotos family gaming mantra is spot on. I'm ready to see him retire myself.

if they do attempt to start charging, i doubt it'd be for the Wii. that kind of radical overhaul sounds more like something they'd attempt to usher in along with whatever next-gen console they've got in the works.

@tbd.... oh yeah for sure it will have to be next system. Basically what I meant is if I'm paying there will have to be more than just a few big online games available. I just can't see a Nintendo system as my primary console that I pay for online service and I'm not paying for two systems unless they are both well worth it.

You get what you pay for. I am into online gaming big time. I would happily pay Nintendo £30 a year for a better online service. Get rid of friend codes. Have more games with online play. Every game should have online leaderboards.

Nintendo do have some fantastic online games this gen. My favourite being Mario Kart Wii, MH3, Bomberman Blast, MOHH2. Alot of the WiiWare games have online components. The Wii beats the Gamecube hands down for online gaming.

I am sure Nintendo will get it right on there next console.

Paying the online service is not a solution, for the PSN is free AND superior (sorry) to WFC (the XBLA has to be payed because it belongs to Microsoft and all that... do you copy??). It is the quality of the service what must be improved; if they ask for a fee after being a free service, it will only force the users to consider the other options more seriously...

C'mon guys, it will be like $1.99 a month knowing Nintendo's competitive pricing. I can't see them charging more than $24.99/year.

It will most likely stay free after a 1 time fee or something.

@SuperNintendo.... The real question is why does Nintendo need the money to make a better online sevice anyways? Its a well know fact that Nintendo is the LARGEST game company in the market with internet service that is bested by Data Phones. Nintendo made in the Billions last year, why do they need a small service fee to have a good online when Sony doesnt make near as much and can do it Free!

Looks to me like the photo above with Miyamoto and all this Nintendo friends should be $100 Dollar Bills! This is what it would take MINIMUM to get my money....

1. Free limited time access to ALL WiiWare and VC games as a Try Before You Buy.
2. Robust Internet gameplay with great bandwith to stop all the lag.
3. More FPS Shooters that are comparable to Modern Warfare, MAG, etc
4. NO FRIEND CODES AT ALL!
5. Headset Voice Service with Cross Game Chat instead of being limited to Wii Speak.
6. Weekly updates of upcoming Game Videos and Demos for Wii, WiiWare, VC, DS and DSi.
7. Ability to play DSiWare games on Wii that are compatible.
8. No Blue Shell gimmicks to let kids (ex.) win Online Multiplayer Games. If you want to be competive online, get good at the games!
9. Full 3rd Party Support, wich means Nintendo will have to reach out to them to develop great games and stop the shovelware releases on Nintendo systems by whatever means they have to implement.
10. More Fisrt Party Nintendo Releases in a Years Time with Competive/Multiplayer Online Gameplay!
11. Game Achievment system that is comparable to Microsoft/ Sonys sytems!

.... That is a bare minimum that I would give Nintendo maybe $5 USD a month for! All of that list with exception to #1 and #5 Cross Game Chat, is available RIGHT NOW on PS3 for FREE! You can play the PSP Minis on the PS3!

I want to see two specific Nintendo based MMORPG's First:Pokemon & Golden Sun.

I think this is how N's online should work. The Wii is N's 1st console to be more computer-like. As such, plenty of mistakes are bound to be made (by Nintendo,) as it could be well argued they are relatively new to online gaming, (except a few titles prior to the Wii's release), & they are even more new to having a console that operates more computer-like, than just/only/simply game console-like. I suggest N revamp their online strategy. @ bare minimum:

1. Have a(n) (master) account tied-to/for all my d/ls, dlcs, purchases etc., rather than have my console itself be the umbrella under which all I just mentioned above falls, & is secured. This way, buying/replacing/etc. (for whatever reasons) a console w/ a new model, would not be difficult. It would be easy to move all data(including game saves, preferences of hardware setup, different types of lists, including friends, etc ). Such an account however, would mainly be used for carrying my "registered" console's unique whatever(probably a serial number, followed by a unique number of sorts).

2.If N's issue is truly privacy/online safety, enable a master/main account, & sub-accounts for one console. each sub tied to, & at the discretion of the main/administer account, in the very same vein of Windows XP. The master account allows what the subs can do, & their limitations. The master, & subs would also appear in the account my console (, & everything that is tied to my console) would be listed under. Further on the subject of child safety, a 4-digit pin code(that Wii systems currently use for settings) could easily be cracked, by anyone who realizes only 0-9 are on the virtual keypad, & since the pin can only be 4 digits long, that makes 40 possible codes to find just one that works.

3. N should consider allowing people to use their computers for online access, as in: the console/handheld system(s) siphon off internet use/access directly from the computer(, possibly via pc software that helps non-computer types set up such a system). I know this is sorta being done already, to a certain degree, but I am talking more mainstream use of this technique. For example, I can get my pc, & even my Nintendo Wii online. However, I still haven't played any online, or local wi-fi DS games yet, & I've owned a DS ever since 04! N needs to do all they can to make their machines able to access the net, & do enough so that it's made 1-2-3-type of easy.

4. if they start charging for access(which I sincerely hope they don't), they should still allow for free basic services that provide, @ the bare minimum, what they are providing now. However, stronger connections(fewer drops/lags/etc) should not be exclusively for paying customers only. The fee-included price option(s) should include non-essential optional extras only, & not stuff that would/should be considered standard necessity for 100% basic, And still-100% functionality online.

Ditch the friend codes and give me demos and that will do for me. I don't need another monthly bloody payment streching my overdraft

@slapshot82

Dude you're nuts. You're trying to solve all the problems the Wii has (and that are not directly related to their online service) for a measly $5 bucks a month.

You sound like a four year old asking dad to solve all of your "needs" (i.e. turn my room into Toys R Us) and fantasies (buy me a cape so I can fly around) without stopping to think if what your asking is possible for your dad.

Anywhoo, I would want things to remain free. However, Nintendo should offer more services (or improved services already available for free) and anyone that wants said services, obviously has to pay for them. I would depending on those services.

Please don't do this...