In a recent interview with Nikkei, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata mentioned the company has not ruled out the possibility of a free-2-play or micro transaction business model. However Iwata went on to say that Nintendo will not embrace such business models for existing franchises.
“We [as an industry] can now do distribution by digital means as well as micro-transactions, and the ways to obtain money through supporting entertainment have increased. Therefore, I have no intention of denying charged games, or the free-to-play model. If we were to talk about if Nintendo were to do that, however, I do not [have] much inclination to do that with Nintendo’s established well-known products, where people trust their interesting-ness. For example, for people who are used to Mario games costing 4,800 or 5,800 yen, we will not have a proverbial door to full enjoyment that can only be unlocked via payment.”
Iwata went on to say that Nintendo will continue its recently launched strategy of releasing extra content for full priced releases, such as paid DLC for New Super Mario Bros. 2.
Iwata added: “For new titles with no established base, if, in the process of development, we found it to suit the free-to-play model, we might follow that route, or we might do something like ‘Cheap-to-play’. Our sales methods have been freed up and I have no desire to extinguish that freedom. If we were to release something like that, it is not a betrayal but the birth of an interesting idea through our new found freedom, that’s all. I am not talking about changing how we sell Mario or Pokemon.”
*Writer’s Opinion*
Translation is a bit rough, but it looks like Nintendo will only jump on the Free-2-Play bandwagon if the game dictates it. Good job Nintendo, keep your fans happy; the micro transaction business model has yet to produce anything worth playing anyway.
