Wii U could connect to the Nintendo Network for free

Nintendo’s president, Satoru Iwata, announced that he doesn’t believe there should be a fee for connecting Wii U consoles to the Nintendo Network.

According to a translation of Nintendo’s annual shareholder meeting via Andriasang, Iwata said that having all users able to freely access the network will “help spread the service’s offerings through word of mouth.” His commentary suggest that this tactic is thought to lead to greater hardware and software sales.

Iwata also revealed that external developers were brought onboard with Wii U at about the same time as internal studios, which he hopes will counter lagging third-party performance. And to prove Nintendo’s renewed focus, Iwata reportedly mentioned an upcoming Namco Bandai collaboration behind the new Smash Bros. coming to Wii U and 3DS.