Nintendo considering Kindle-syle console connections

Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata's told the FT he's exploring the Kindle-style connection model for consoles. The model that provides free online access.

"I'm interested because it's a new business model in which the user doesn't bear the communications cost," said the exec.

Iwata added that iPhone style billing for 3G usage is a bit... expensive.

"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," he said.

"The Kindle's one-off cost would better suit Nintendo's customer base. 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."

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