Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Reader Discussion: Is Nintendo's Free-To-Play Foray The Right Move?
Nintendo isn't exactly known for being on the vanguard of gaming trends, but recently the company has been experimenting with some free-to-play 3DS titles. Do you think the company is on the right track, or would you rather have Nintendo stick to its traditional price model?
During yesterday's Nintendo Direct, president Satoru Iwata announced Rusty's Real Deal Baseball, a baseball-themed minigame compilation for the 3DS. Unlike most of Nintendo's first-party offerings, the new game – which stars an ex-baseball-playing dog named Rusty Slugger – will be free to download, but users will have to purchase individual minigames for $4 apiece. Nintendo also launched its sequel to Steel Diver yesterday as a free-to-play title; players can download and play the multiplayer portion of the game without spending a dime, but must shell out cash for the full single-player experience.
I can understand Nintendo's desire to experiment in the free-to-play space, but I don't think Rusty's Real Deal Baseball and Steel Diver will give the company the results it's looking for. I'm sure more people will download the base games than if they had traditional up-front price tags, but I doubt either title is compelling enough to make players spend more cash on them. If anything, most gamers will probably play for ten minutes, feel like they've got a good idea of what the game offers, and move on to other games.
For a free-to-play approach to work, a game has to be so good you don't want to put it down. Nintendo has plenty of franchises that fit the bill – Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Pokémon to name but a few – but I wouldn't want to see microtransactions injected into any of them, and I doubt other gamers would either. In my opinion, Nintendo should stick to what it knows best: Creating games that are so much fun that fans won't think twice about paying for them before they start playing.
Do you think Nintendo should abandon its experiments with free-to-play titles, or is there a side to the argument that I'm missing? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
