Kids Cost $0.50 on Wii U

[Karloff]

Kids Cost $0.50 on Wii U

The Nintendo Network credit card charge applies to children aged twelve or under.

In an effort to keep itself current with US child protection legislation, Nintendo is charging $0.50 when parents request access for their child on the Nintendo Network. The fee is only charged once, and after that as many kids as the parent chooses can be set up on the system; the Parental Control PIN is all that's needed.

The credit card charge is to keep Nintendo compliant with the here. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/80100-Texas-Attorney-General-Announces-ESRB-Public-Awareness-Campaign]

Of course, tricks like these can only work so long as kids don't have cards of their own, a situation that may not last that much longer. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/nov/15/debit-card-children] In the meantime, parents should get their cards out; Nintendo Network isn't precisely free, but $0.50 shouldn't strain your budget.

Source: Game Informer [http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/11/18/it-costs-0-50-to-register-a-minor-on-the-wii-u.aspx]


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[Ranorak]

So, before anyone jumps on the ZOMG NINTENDO IS GREEDY bandwagon, this is something they have to do because of a law, right?

Most likely this will not even be an issue for us European, for as far as I know, no such law exists.

 

[Yopaz]

So, before anyone jumps on the ZOMG NINTENDO IS GREEDY bandwagon, this is something they have to do because of a law, right?

Most likely this will not even be an issue for us European, for as far as I know, no such law exists.

PayPal got this too if I remember correctly, though they refund it to you... however if you're really that cheap and complain about the price after shelling out for a Wii U I don't know what to tell you. It's for safety to prevent abuse, I don't mind it.

Now am I the only one who find it slightly amusing that the acronym spells COPPA?

 

[josemlopes]

They could add those 0.50$ to the account to spend on the market (if it even has one, I dont know) but even then its just 0.50$ so who cares.

 

[frobalt]

I wonder how many parents would simply set-up accounts for their kids as over 12 rather than pay the fee.

I mean, the fee itself is pretty cheap, but having to put in a credit card could be too much hassle to some people.

 

[Ranorak]

So, before anyone jumps on the ZOMG NINTENDO IS GREEDY bandwagon, this is something they have to do because of a law, right?

Most likely this will not even be an issue for us European, for as far as I know, no such law exists.

PayPal got this too if I remember correctly, though they refund it to you... however if you're really that cheap and complain about the price after shelling out for a Wii U I don't know what to tell you. It's for safety to prevent abuse, I don't mind it.

Now am I the only one who find it slightly amusing that the acronym spells COPPA?

Oh I don't mind at all, but my guess is that people will find a way to turn this into something nintendo did because they're evil, or something.

 

[Reyalsfeihc]

Pfft they're losing money from this endeavor anyway. The online card processing fees that Nintendo's going to accrue from all of these 50 cent charges will far outweigh the money they'll make from parents registering their children.

 

[Yopaz]

So, before anyone jumps on the ZOMG NINTENDO IS GREEDY bandwagon, this is something they have to do because of a law, right?

Most likely this will not even be an issue for us European, for as far as I know, no such law exists.

PayPal got this too if I remember correctly, though they refund it to you... however if you're really that cheap and complain about the price after shelling out for a Wii U I don't know what to tell you. It's for safety to prevent abuse, I don't mind it.

Now am I the only one who find it slightly amusing that the acronym spells COPPA?

Oh I don't mind at all, but my guess is that people will find a way to turn this into something nintendo did because they're evil, or something.

Anything Nintendo does is done in either greed, evil or both so I don't disagree with you. The fact that the law forces them to do a thing like this makes no difference. I remember the Bethesda - Mojang lawsuit where they actually had to sue, it was repeated a million times and only the minority seemed to be aware of it.

 

[TilMorrow]

Well it looks like Credit card info won't be the only thing not stored on the Wii-U.

Hmm... The Pun isn't that funny this time. In fact I think your recent puns might have gone down in quality a bit. :Sadface:

OT: I don't quite understand why there's a need for a Credit Card charge to activate what's essentially child protection on the Online Store. I mean haven't previous consoles had the whole parental rules/account that protects the child's account online? (I know the Xbox 360 did, not sure about the PS3) It just seems a little wrong to go "Hey pay for your child's safety" but then again it is 50 cents. Well just looks like another layer of annoyance for those already having troubles with their WiiUs.

 

[IronMit]

is this method the law on HOW to do it? sounds like some credit card lobbyists had a clever idea

 

[Guffe]

As everyone else have already mentioned, there's a law that makes them do this... Wonder how pissed of Nintendo are about this law since it might make them actually seem bad in some peoples' eyes.

 

[Pandalisk]

For under 12? raise that higher, under 15 surely?

 

[Mr.Mattress]

Thank goodness I'm not 12 or under. While this seems pretty dumb, it's sadly the law, so the one thing I could complain about Nintendo, wouldn't be fair to complain about.

 

[Beautiful End]

OH, SNAP! 50 CENTS?! WHOA, WHOA, WHOA!

Look, I understand why Nintendo is doing it. And I congratulate them because they're being smart, for once. But a kid can still do that without their parents confirmation. Most people won't notice a charge of 50 cents to their account and if they do, they might not even care because it's 50 cents.

I'm not accusing Nintendo of being greedy or anything this time around. The law requires them to do it and, quite honestly, there are ways to avoid that charge. For example, can't they buy Nintendo Points at a retail store? Then they wouldn't be charged anything extra (Correct me if I'm wrong). And the parent would still be buying the points but it would be safer in so many ways.

If anything, they should be charging them more BUT make it refundable. You know, like 5 bucks so that at least it raises a flag on the parent's head when they see their credit card statement.
...
*Anti flame shield on*

 

[TimeCruiserMike]

if I were a parent I'd just set my kids up with accounts that lie about their age.

 

[schmulki]

Yea, um, why tell the truth?