Next Nintendo Handheld May Come With Free 3G Wireless
Nintendo is considering taking a page from the Kindle playbook and offering free 3G wireless web access with its next handheld console (next gen, not yet another DS version), according to company president Satoru Iwata.
The move, if it did happen, would clearly be a response to the surging popularity of iPhone gaming.
“Only people who can pay thousands of yen a month [in mobile phone subscriptions] can be iPhone customers. That doesn’t fit Nintendo customers because we make amusement products,” Mr Iwata said.
The Kindle’s one-off cost would better suit Nintendo’s customer base, he said. “In reality, if we did this it would increase the cost of the hardware, and customers would complain about Nintendo putting prices up, but it is one option for the future.”
Interesting! Would you pay more up front for free lifetime wireless access on a new handheld from Nintendo? [Financial Times via Electronista]
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definately. free wireless access on any system is a brilliant idea. though i imagine nintendo would have to work pretty hard at making the system hack proof otherwise, it’d just leave the flood gates open for turning the system into a free torrent client with no bandwidth restrictions.