Wii U Headset Issue Further Contributes to Online Concerns

1up - When they are released for Wii U this fall, you'll be able to voice chat with other players in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Assassin's Creed III, and Mass Effect 3. This is no newsflash; voice chat has long been a staple of online multiplayer games, though you could be forgiven for wondering how it will work on Wii U. After all, as Kotaku notes, we've yet to actually see a Wii U headset of any sort. And, for that matter, we've yet to hear much about Wii U's online setup. As it turns out, there's a reason for some of that.

[PopRocks359]

While I understand why it would worry some people, I don't see why others are taking it as an opportunity to cry foul on the console as a whole. Yeah, it's an inconvenience, but we don't know everything about the online network in place here.

I've repeated it numerous times, but I still think we should wait and see what the Wii U Chat feature that was notably listed on the box of the console is.

http://gengame.net/2012/09/...

I believe that there IS universal voice chat, but only for those who are on your friends list. The problem is Kotaku decided to take this story and spin it as negatively as possible (which is honestly not out of character those click grabbing wannabe Sterlings).

[Jadedz]

People don't want another Wii scenario (in relations to sales).

[pangitkqb]

Chat does not concern me nearly as much as settings that force me to play with the equivalent of parental controls i can't turn off. I love Nintendo and always will, but see little sign that the company will enable the Wii U to function differently for adults than children.

Why not let adults be free to be adult?

I may, of course, be pleasantly surprised, but if that is the case, the time for that surprise is now. Educate the potential purchasing consumer with all that is good to boost sales. And yes, i do still plan on getting a wii u.

[ElectricKaibutsu]

I'm all for the pseudo parental controls. You mean I won't have to see a bunch of drawings of d*cks? Sign me up.

When you think about it, it's not much different from n4g. If you curse and verbally attack someone you get bubbled down and your comment gets hidden. In Miiverse Nintendo themselves will delete the comment before it even posts. In both cases immature comments get censored.

[DivineAssault]

Im very concerned about nintendos network..

[fourtwenty2009]

I never use voice chat.

[kopicha]

depends on what games you are playing really. I do not know what you actually play. but there are scenario where voice chat can be important in a game. maybe not for the games you play. but that does not mean it is not affecting others. i would really want to see more about Wii U's online capability personally. it is an interesting console of it's own no doubt about that. but then online component is almost as important in today's entertainment devices apart from games and etc. See how many 360 owners tend to bash on PS3 owners in the past in terms of XBL's offering when compared to PSN? so it does matter. i like Nintendo stuffs, but at the same time i do really hate their online components. even eShop on 3DS is extremely cumbersome when compare to other Digital shop's offering. i for one that is worry about Nintendo when comes to online functionality. because they really do not have good track record with it. but we will wait and see. it wont be long before the truth will surface.

[dennett316]

I'm with you, I rarely use it either....too distracting when I'm trying to focus on the game. People are looking for any reason to whine about the Wii U it seems, I have no idea why. Doesn't do what you want? Fine, then don't buy the thing. Don't sit looking for every little thing to nitpick the console or service offered to death.
Fact is, no-one knows how good or bad their service is until Nintendo release the damn thing, so why not wait and see rather than pissing and moaning about extremely minor issues?

[jaymart2k]

If Nintendo allowed voice chat via game pad everyone would sound like this

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

See Nintendo isn't stupid. Buy a headset, get over it.

[kopicha]

that is just your assumption really. tried gaming on Vita many times using voice chat on the build in mic with friends. they don't sound that way. no button noise or what so ever and both parties can hear each other perfectly fine.

[IWentBrokeForGaming]

voice chat only matters when you have a hardcore gaming console... for the 5 games the console is going to have that are hardcore, Im sure this won't be a problem!

[dennett316]

I know you're exaggerating in order to make a joke, but there's more than 5 "hardcore" games available at launch with more to come afterwards.

Also, this insistance on labelling games as "hardcore" or "casual" is really stupid. For a start...define "hardcore" for me. I've seen so many people define it so many different ways it's simply a meaningless term. Does it just mean "not popular" nowadays? Because I've seen Call of Duty referred to as a casual game before now despite being a fairly violent FPS. To see it lumped in with something like Angry Birds (which I'd describe as casual) just goes to show how meaningless the terms are.

2D platformers are as "hardcore" as it gets IMO by being one of the founding genres of console gaming. Bet you and others would consider Mario or Rayman as "casual" due to the visuals wouldn't you?

The terms are meaningless IMO, it's all just games. I only care if they're fun and worth the money.

[ElectricKaibutsu]

Well said, bubble up.

[dennett316]

I fail to see the problem...countless gamers are buying hugely expensive Turtle Beach headsets and throat mics and all that other guff when a standard headset works perfectly fine.
Suddenly because Nintendo require you to purchase a headset, it's an awful crime? People did it no problem for the 360 and PS3 - and it really is the easiest and best solution in terms of sound quality etc - why is it suddenly a problem now?

[CaptainN]

Does everyone forget the first trailer that was shown using voice chat on Wii-U ???? Even though the game itself has been delayed, they show everyone using their Gamepad without a headset. Even hypothetically, if you were to put the Gamepad down and play with a pro controller it should still work:

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[Gamer-Z]

If Nintendo is to succeed next gen they will need to offer a robust online service such as XBL or it will not go well for them. Maybe one of the reasons why they haven't shown anything is because it's just not ready yet, perhaps they're planing on implementing it in increments through updates. As I recall XBL wasn't much of a service when it first launched but it got better with every update and eventually becoming one of the best online gaming services ever offered.

[Deathdeliverer]

I must admit, I too am wondering how the online will turn out. I know that friend codes are gone, which is beyond great, but what new ideas if any will nintendo have? I expect good things from them despite all the radio silence. I don't really voice chat much except on team based games that greatly benefit from it. I don't see why people that WANT a Wii U, would complain about plugging the headset in the gamepad. The gamepad is the main draw of the console and shows its individuality from the competition. If you want to use the pro controller over the gamepad, why not just use a ps3 or 360?

[GameLord08]

Hey guys, remember Wii Speak?

...Exactly.

[Instigator]

I do. I got it with The Monster Hunter Tri Ultimate Pack during summer 2010. Still haven't opened it.

I'm not that big on voice chat though, unless the game let's me decide who to talk to. Skype has been the way to go for me if I wanna talk to someone while playing.