Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has told investors in Japan that the Nintendo 3DS will remain WiFi only due to the current subscription based costs from mobile operators for 3G.
“…the spread of such devices as portable Wi-Fi routers and the emerging new communication technologies such as LTE … Nintendo may be able to find a business model which does not require consumers to pay monthly communication fees, and we may be able to provide our consumers with a more convenient communication environment. In the future, when we may be able to find a different structure, we will be able to offer services to the real mass audiences.”
– Nintendo president, Satoru Iwata
So… can’t just connect to my wifi at home? I have to subscribe to something else?
So basicly it’s free and if you have a wireless hot spot phone like the sprint evo ect. You can even connect while on the go.
Thank god they are doing this because being stuck in a plan to play games is silly. Imagine only being able to get the 3ds from AT&T lol.
Imagine your phone bill when you go over your bandwidth just by gaming lol.
This was a smart move.
Becky – you have it completely backwards. You can use any WiFi network. No subscribing to a mobile plan possible. They want it to be free, basically.
@Becky, Nope. It clearly states that
”the Nintendo 3DS will remain WiFi only due to the current subscription based costs from mobile operators for 3G.”
They are not going for 3G because of the subscription costs, WiFi is free.
The 3DS will be WiFi only.
i am sorry to say this but the 3g was a major factor in my disicion to get it. i am sorry nintendo but i do not think i will get it if it does not have 3g or any mean to aquire 3g for the 3ds in the future.
What is sad is you can get a 3/4g hotspot for almost free. Then you can pay that company ungodly annouced of money and guess what you could use that same hot stop for your pso, iPad and even your laptop. Yet paying 4 online bills is much smarter and easier.
What is sad is sprint has unlimitedinternet right now. If nintendo went 3G or what ever they would have to choose. You would have no options. So you would potentially have a smart phone, Internet computer, or USB modem and your land line that you will pay all separately.
Think about that would you. There is a reason why there is a resession you know.
That seems troublesome for Nintendo. Cell phones have 3G/4G service and can be active in a lot more spots than just wi-fi. This won’t affect me much though, since I have a wi-fi signal at home. However, this could be troublesome on the road. (equally as troublesome as it is now)
that’s why i love nintendo! :)
I don’t want 3G, I got a $200 phone for a reason.
Trudat
true but recently nintendo has been coming out with somthing new because the privious one did not have somthing that it was supose to. ex. dsi with no flash player
Well, you can always buy Verizon’s MiFi! They are selling Wifi-only iPad bundled with MiFi, google it!
ok but i dont see how somthing for the ipad will work for dsi
ok the mifi thing will work for the 3ds. but it still does not exsplain. will this be the last one of the ds sieries? will this have everything its supose to or will we see another one come out in a year because they forgot to put in somthing stupid like a flash player
The DSi XL was the last of the DS systems, this is a completely new system due to the fact that 3DS games are not compatible with DS systems.
Great thinking! That really brakes the mold!
Good. 3G is too slow for games anyways. Wi-fi is the way to go.
Well, at least we don’t have to pay. I mean, who would want to pay for 3g if we all have phones? Anyway , my opinion is that wi-fi is faster than 3g. So what if 3g can go more places than wi-fi? We seem to forget that NOBODY wants lag on online games.
true that, lag is terrible
hi there i lost my internet today at my apartment soo 3G is a great option i hope they keep the 3G flot soo i can buy a 4G or wi-max card for nintendo 3DS
so it wont be like the ds on a game like mario kart where everyone has to be withing 20 ft of each other. Its like wifi on the wii correct? Wii’s wifi was great i loved it soooooo worth it.