Nintendo is working on a pilot project for creating an interactive fan network at Seattle’s Safeco Field. Nintendo, owner of the Seattle Mariners, has launched this project with the intent of getting people to bring everyone’s favourite portable, the DS Lite, to the ballpark. The idea is to use the DS and it’s Wi-Fi capabilities as a way of simplifying the process of ordering food and beverages, as well as for viewing replays and highlights from the game. This idea definitely seems like it could be a winner. The problem with it is the cost. At $5 per game for this service it seems tremendously steep, if not unnecessary.

The concept itself is great, but once you factor this cost onto what is already an expensive day at the ballpark it comes off like they are nickel and diming you to death. The biggest challenge they face is perception. Nintendo has built its whole online structure for their venerable portable on the foundation of free online play. Charging a fee to access this service seems to run counter to many of their online philosophies. Asking gamers who are accustomed to free will be a tough sell.

The service itself seems like it could be very valuable to a certain amount of people, but only as a free, value added perk for coming to a game. By the time you walk through that turnstile you’ve already paid a fair amount for a ticket. The food and beverages you would be ordering through this service already carries a significant markup. The system also includes a gratuity, which essentially works as a delivery fee for anything that is brought to you at your seat. Having the ability to view replays and out of town scores seems novel, but then again these are things that newer generations of cell phones can do already. Again this seems like it should just be a value added perk of coming to the ballpark instead of a premium service.

If they didn’t charge a fee to use it, what benefit would Nintendo, the team and MLB be getting by providing this service? Nintendo gets further name recognition and makes more strides towards being entirely ubiquitous with regards to the handheld gaming market. They could also see increased sales due to non-gamers buying the device for use at the ballpark. To me I think Nintendo would much rather see $129.99 in their pockets then splitting $5 3-ways. The team would be offering a value-added perk to bring people to the ballpark. The infrastructure to pull this off is pretty minimal, requiring a couple of download stations throughout the ballpark, a Wi-Fi network, a system in place to handle incoming orders and devoted staff to handle delivery. The team is the one that directly benefits from the sales of the food and beverages. The biggest benefit I can see out of all this goes to Major League Baseball. While there are many different demographics who own a DS, the most valuable to MLB are children. Baseball can be inherently boring at times. The game just doesn’t move at a pace that the kids of today are accustomed to. Being able to bring a level of interactivity to the game that appeals to a younger demographic is key. Add in trivia and other engaging elements. Getting kids to the ballpark and hooked on the experience of baseball is what is valuable to MLB. If they can make a lifelong fan out of an 8 year old that will pay off 100-fold for MLB, making $5 really seem insignificant in the long run.