Nintendo to Bring Microtransactions to 3DS, Wii U

Nintendo has revealed that it will be introducing a paid item transaction system for both the 3DS and Wii U systems, with developers having access to the feature on the 3DS by the end of the year.

CEO Satoru Iwata spoke of the plans at an investor Q&A session in Tokyo, but noted that Nintendo may be selective in how it actually uses the feature. Paid item transactions became popular on the iPhone in recent years, allowing developers to charge players for additional content of varying worth.

While Nintendo is interested in "extending the life of games through added stages" and other player-requested features, Iwata said that allowing for unlock keys, stat items and other things that are prominent on iOS games not bring a long-term relationship with customers.

Free-to-play games were brought up in the investor Q&A - Iwata said that introducing such titles would devalue Nintendo's own 'premium' content. Generally, over the next three years the Nintendo e-Shop, currently only available on the 3DS, will be expanded into a bigger digital presence.

Via Andriasang