Yesterday we brought you some information from the latest Iwata Asks, in which it was explained that Namco Bandai had stepped in to take on development duties. Naturally those in attendance spoke about a variety of topics, another of which is the fact that — if you have 1.3GB of available space (on the system or a connected hard drive) — the game will automatically download on your Wii U when it's released on 7th November.
Satoru Iwata and Takayuki Shimamura (the latter works in Nintendo's Software & Planning Department) discussed how the pricing structure was decided upon, and how the phased release of titles brought the concepts of free 24-hour trials and automated downloads to the fore.
Iwata: Instead of being a regular packaged game, Wii Sports Club will be available as download software either via a Day Pass ($1.99) which allows you to play all the available sports as much as you want for 24 hours, or a Club Pass ($9.99), which you have the option to be able to play a particular sport as long as you want. Why is that?
Shimamura: To be honest, it started from the point when we thought that since it will take some time to make all five sports and release them at once, what if we were to release them in the order they're ready. If we were to release them in a package, it would be quite some way down the road before all of them were ready.
Iwata: And besides, your president wanted to play as soon as possible. (laughs)
Shimamura Yeah! (laughs) I do think, however, that there are a lot of benefits to this approach. And this is an online game. If we were to release all five games at once, the customers would divide up into the different games. But if we put them out like an irregular periodical, people can thoroughly enjoy each individual sport.
Iwata: So first you prepared Tennis and Bowling for people play and enjoy.
Shimamura: Yes. Usually when you download software, you go to the Nintendo eShop, pay, and then download.
Iwata: Right.
Shimamura: That's incredibly easy, but there are a certain number of people who find that to be a pain. So this time, in order to reduce that hassle, if your Wii U is connected to the internet and you have at least 1.3 gigabytes of free space, Wii Sports Club comes in to your Wii U automatically through SpotPass.
Iwata: I believe those who updated their Wii U console the other day received a message upon opening their system again asking if they would like to automatically receive content via SpotPass. If you answered "OK" and have 1.3 gigabytes or more of free space, Wii Sports Club will be delivered automatically.
Shimamura: That's right. One day, you suddenly have the Wii Sports Club icon, but if you couldn't play right away without paying first, that would be a hassle too, so from the moment you start the game, you can play for the first 24 hours for free.
Iwata: First we'd like people to try it, and if there's a game they like, they can then purchase it with a Club Pass.
Shimamura: That's it.
Iwata: What is the point of the other pass, the Day Pass?
Shimamura: Suppose your grandfather is coming over to visit. This way, everyone can enjoy Bowling together for a day. The price is reasonable, so even when friends get together, I hope they will feel free to make use of it.
Iwata: So Wii Sports Club comes in automatically through SpotPass. And at first there are two sports. What about after that?
Shimamura: Even without you doing anything, one day Golf will suddenly be there.
Iwata: So the first 24 hours, you can play Tennis and Bowling for free, and later, even people who were playing other games will suddenly get Golf.
Shimamura: Right. We've decided to run a special campaign when Golf comes out. When a new sport comes in, you'll be able to play past games as well, as much as you want, for 24 hours.
Iwata: So every time there's a new release, there's a free 24 hour trial period. So you don't miss out if you start early. As a matter of fact, it's a better deal if you actually start sooner.
Shimamura: That's right.
Iwata: Including the first time, there will be at least four times that can happen. Put another way, you have four days where you get to play for free.
Shimamura: That's 96 hours! (laughs)
Makino: It would be a shame not to make use of them! (laughs)
Iwata: And if you like a specific sport, you can purchase it and play all you want.
Shimamura: Exactly.
Regular readers may also be aware that we sometimes like to highlight segments that show how light-hearted these interviews can be. Yet as well as (laughs) we now have (nodding in agreement), as Iwata-san advises us all to play safe.
Iwata: And lastly, I have a request to make of our readers. Please be sure to use the Wii Remote jacket and strap.
Everyone: (nodding in agreement)
Iwata: It's a great opportunity to have a lot of fun so I hope that everyone's experiences would stay on a positive note. But having said that, it does get exciting!
Shimamura: You were really getting into it earlier! (laughs)
Iwata: I know I don't have to swing with force, but when I get into it, I just do! (laughs) So fasten your strap, hold the Wii Remote Plus firmly, and be careful of your surroundings as you play. Thank you for today.
Everyone: Thank you!
So, are you pleased the game will be automatically downloaded to your system, assuming you've activated SpotPass? As always it's worth reading the full Iwata Asks, while the third section even includes footage of the Nintendo President in an intense tennis battle.
[source iwataasks.nintendo.com]
Comments 64
What other company has laughs? None! That's why I love them!
Awesome that it downloads through SpotPass - hopefully at midnight on day of release so it's ready for me to jump into the next morning!
I really do think this will be a big hit in my house over Christmas - sure, we've played it all before but it's just so easy for players of all skill to understand.
the free 24 hour trial periods are very welcome and a great idea
I think its a brilliant idea and I really hope it encourages more people to purchase a Wii U, I realise its not a regular system seller but I hope it means a lot of those casual gamers from the Wii will now make the jump to the new and much better (IMO) U. Would have liked it too be a little cheaper but for the number of times i'll play it it'll be much cheaper to just pay for a day pass.
Automatically on SpotPass? I wonder what happens with those that don't have enough hard drive space, but then it just probably doesn't download it.
Anyhow, it'll be cool to wake up on my birthday and have a new game installed and ready.
I'm looking forward to tennis, bowling and possibly golf. Good to hear I don't need to do anything as well!
Wow free 24 hours!
At last, a bit of a push for the Wii u. It's a good, if a little desperate move by Nintendo as they are clearly looking to form a plan b to push the sales and awareness of the console. I think the move is waaay too late but is the sort if thing that should have been done since launch to bridge the gap between gens. The fact that these are not ready yet and are being rolled out when done shows this is not something planned for long but is really needed asap. Whilst I will probably just play them when free, this will be popular for many.I LOVE the pricing model however and am really hoping it is successful so they follow it through on the vc!! A trial of a game, free use of vc for 24hrs, buy one trial another or even half an hr free on each then pay etc.... The vc would receive a surge of interest and you could 'dig through' some old classics and pay for the ones that grabbed you!
There are people who find it to much of a hassle to click on one (eshop icon) icon?
What if I don't have my Wii U connected to the internet at the time Wii Sports Club launches will I have to sit around and wait for the spotpass, I've never really paid attention to how long it takes to get a spotpass on my Wii U but on my 3DS it usually takes sometime to get a spotpass I now is out or I usually just try to force the spotpass on my 3DS?
I read the terms and conditions for spotpass (on 3DS) and all of them seem to be not what I want. (To do with advertising spam etc etc). I think it is used at a Nintendo Zone to play online but I don't really properly understand what it is unless it is a generic push type service. (Spot I thought stood for hotspot).
Download it via spotpass? Not if I start the download from eShop first! I'll probs buy it straight away too & not even wait for the end of the 24 hour trial Wii Tennis online here I come!!!!
Space or not I can see how people can be annoyed with this. Seems like a shameless plug by Nintendo to put this in youir face that way!
I will be disabling this when I buy a WiiU. I don't want a game I won't be paying for to download itself.
It's a good idea, but I'll delete it as soon as it arrives. I already have Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort, so this only adds motion-plus for tennis, baseball and boxing, and I don't care about HD.
Yea, I'm not so sure I'm happy with a 1.3GB download dropping on my system. I think it should be an option to download in the eshop and not like a system update.
Competing online should be fun. Bowling for me. It's the most realistic game in relation to the sport
Cool stuff. Full game with features instead of just a demo, only for a day but still a better way to test if you like a game.
I was going to get it anyway but this will be cool that it will be downloaded when i get back the next morning after work. If they can do this with spotpass I hope eshop preorders that will automatically download on release are in the future.
"Iwata: And besides, your president wanted to play as soon as possible. (laughs)"
AHA! Iwata is the president of Nintendo so he can play Nintendo's games first!
XD JK
After the Europe Update news - some good sales on some good games - I commented that Nintendo should look into a PS+ type service. This game offers 2 things found in PS+, automatic DLs and a timed trial (PS+ is 1 hour).
I can understand people complaining about unwanted junk taking up precious space, but considering how behind Nintendo has been at online I think this is a very big step forward for them. Not the 1 day trial, but an automatic DL is big news. Now if they could just set up a "pre-order" type system fewer people would complain.
I would recommend turning off "Spot-pass" updates for those who are concerned w/ getting unwanted DL. We are getting a weeks advance notice.
Maybe NL can offer us a quick "How to / not to" guide to Spot-pass on the Wii U before this hits next week?
Good push.
I don't like it automatically downloading, I think I turned that off. Seems kinda pushy.....
I will download tennis and bowling no question, i will most likely get the golf one too, im not too sure about the others, what i would like to see is an offer where if you buy the first 4 sports you get the last one free.
Oh and i like the auto download, for people who dont then theres the option to turn it off
During the Wii period everybody asked Nintendo to do an harcore console.
We get Zombi U, Pikmin 3 and The Wonderful 101 and people asks something that will drive Wii owners over the Wii U.
So Nintendo scractes their head and see the success of Wii Party and Wii Sports and does some refreshing on that over the Wii U.
Now that's not good either?
Well dear folk, i just Nintendo will stop listening to people because you're driving them crazy and i hope you are happy to destroy the only company that begs to listen to your desires.
Because having Infamous: Second Son as the only next-gen exclusive game that's not a racing simulator or a shooting game on both PS4 and Xbox One it's not enought of a reason to get all that excited.
@unrandomsam
Spotpass on 3DS is not really all that spammy. Every now and then you may get a notification for a new game, but it's not that often and not very intrusive. Usually they're used more to let you know about updates or goodies to games you currently own (eg. the update to Pokemon X/Y).
Also, I think for the most part you can specify what kind of Spotpass notifications you want and for which games you'd rather receive them.
@Savino Enter Pokemon Rumble U.
Well, that simplifies that release now doesn't it. Kind of nice, and perhaps now I can return the copy of Wii Sports I have been borrowing.
@Spoony_Tech
Not at all. You're asked by the Wii U if you want to enable this type of download after you perform the Fall update.
@hypercoyote
It is. Just don't enable the automatic Spotpass demo/software download feature. It'll likely be on eShop as well for people to consider downloading later.
@Savino Yeah, but he was saying Nintendo should make a Skylanders inspired game, which is basically Rumble U.
@Captain_Gonru I did forget about that. That's probably an attractive feature for a lot of people.
@hypercoyote Then turn off Spotpass on your Wii U.
I have auto-download turned off on my 3DS. If I had a Wii U I'd have it turned off there too. Downloading 1.3 GB without first asking someone if they specifically want the thing you are preparing to download is wrong. A general all-or-nothing option for auto-downloading is not sufficient.
The big news of this Iwata Asks? Wii Sports Golf a la E3 2011. Can't wait to see the lie of my ball on the ground. (For real.) (No jokes.)
I am looking forward to boxing, baseball, and tennis to a lessor extent, depends on how good the motion plus is. Will certainly check out golf and bowling but can they be much better than wii sports resort? The bowling online with leagues and such could be amazing though
Does anyone know how to check our Spotpass settings? I forget how i answered
I loved it in 2006. When it was something new.
I'm actually pretty excited about this. I was already looking to replace my badly-scratched Wii Sports disc, but an HD version is so much better!
That and it's probably the only sports game we're ever going to get for this lousy console.
I am excited for this. I'll get £8 of fun from each game and 1.3GB seems acceptable. Can't wait to find out just how bad I am at Wii Sports on a global scale.
This could be good for Nintendo but they definitely need to market it as well as they did the original Wii to make a difference.
@AVahne Okay, I didn't realize they segmented out the updates you receive on SpotPass, that's different then. Though I do still think that's a really large update to push.
@BrightBeing That's not really a feasible solution, now is it? That's like saying someone should disable their email because they don't like SPAM or cut off their cable service because they don't like adverts.
@hypercoyote
Well, it's not even an update actually; it's an automated software download. They're downloading a game to your Wii U for you, not bringing the system software to a new version.
@AVahne Yes, I use the term update fairly loosely. I actually meant software download.
@hypercoyote
Ah, alright then.
I actually like the fact that it will download automatically, as I was going to get it anyways. Though this presents the problem with this spotpass system. It's more downloadable content to clutter up your Wii U menu that should have folders already. Makes me kind of upset that they didn't implement that in the last update! LOL
@Savino
Another parent asking for a new way to have their kids drain their wallet. I will never understand that.
Anyway, those 24 trials sound awesome. I thought it would be a one time deal, but now I read that sports will be released as they are ready. Which also works since people will be more willing to put $10 per month (or so) than $50 for the whole package, specially if they won't like all 5 sports.
Finally, I won't use the spotpass as I use my Cellphone as my access point, so I decide when my Wii U is online, usually when I want to buy a new eShop game.
@Burning_Spear it also has online play.
If it does not start the 24 hour trial unil the sport is first played I will be ok with it.
Heck yeah!! SpotPass ftw!!!
@hypercoyote Yes turning off the feature on your Wii U that is only for automatically downloading software to stop it from automatically downloading software is a totally unfeasible solution. /sarcasm
(In case you were unaware, the option is actually called "Automatic software downloads" and is a separate feature from Spotpass, which is enabled on a game by game basis, not through a global system setting.)
@wombatkidd It appears, from what you wrote, that you didn't read both of the posts I was responding to. The response you are referring to was to someone who was saying I should turn off SpotPass entirely (not just software updates, which I was unaware was a separate setting until @AVahne posted a helpful response). Obviously that (turning off SpotPass altogether) is a sledgehammer approach to the problem, hence my response. So yes, what you have stated is absolutely true and makes perfect sense. However, the sarcastic joke is lost since that's not what I was saying at all and you really just look silly now. But good try.
@hypercoyote Actually I did read them, and your post made it obvious that you were completely unaware that you can't actually turn off spotpass at the global level, and because you can't what @BrightBeing obviously meant was to turn off automatic downloads, and you replied that turning off that feature would be like getting rid of your email because you don't like spam. But yeah, it's totally me who looks silly. Sure.
'rolls eyes'
@wombatkidd Sorry, did I ever make a claim that I had total knowledge of the workings of SpotPass? I don't believe I ever made that claim, in fact I believe I established that I didn't. What @BrightBeing said and what @BrightBeing meant are two totally different things. It would be obvious to someone who has knowledge of that fact, not at all obvious to someone who doesn't. I can see that this conversation is very important to you though, so I will concede and allow you have the victory. You Win!!
That's good that I have SpotPass and enough space!!!!!!! I barely have anything on my Wii U memory. All I have is 5 VC games (Kirby Super Star, Yoshi, Super Metroid, Donkey Kong and Super Mario World!!), 1 retail downloaded game (Nintendo Land with my ZombiU bundle), and some demos on my Wii U!!!!!
Is there a way to prevent auto download from happening? cause i cant remeber if i did that at all lol
Perfect solution for lazy folks such as myself! I love Nintendo. Now I can come home from work and it'll already be all set!
If you don't like it, disable the setting!
This is a great idea. I realize there might be some people who would rather have control over what takes up their precious bits-o-mega, but I'm not one of them. If you're going to let me play it free, then by all means stick it on my system so I don't have to wait.
i love you nintendo, so much. im getting the club pass for all of the things because if i ever play any one of the things more than 5 days total i'll save infinite money. its like the arcade cost theory: if you are going to buy a game, make sure you'll play it more times than it costs to play once. so if it costs a dollar to play at the arcade (DDR), and you'll play it more than 50 times, you might as well get a $50 DDR game. then after 100 plays it's like each individual play costs 50 cents. 200 plays is 25 cents, so on
I very much like this. It's such a fantastic idea!! Nintendo for life, they love the fans as much as we love them
cool. playstation does this all the time. i randomly had little big planet karting on my ps3 like 8 months before release! lol
Unwanted games filling up your storage: A great reason not to enable SpotPass.
Iwata playing tennis is just priceless! hahah, he is not so good though. I can't wait to play Wii Sports again and now with online multiplayer, the matches are going to be insane of full competition!
Whiners, delete it, everone else enjoy. Pretty simple. I know you can't make everyone happy but come on, complaining about a sales campaign that let's you play the full version of a game for 24 hours? Then you just buy it or delete it? No wonder other companies have poor opinions of Nintendo fans.
@savino
I thought disney infinity promised an endless stream of new toys and that would add up. Awesome to hear that you can buy them for your kids
Sounds absolutely expensive if you want to purchase the full game. I'd feel a lot less gouged if Nintendo would release a "season's pass" option to buy everything for the regular $49.99 - $59.99 price. At the current rates we could end up paying over $99.99 for this game.
@ThomasBW84 For the SpotPass auto-distribution it's on November 11th and not November 7th.
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