You Can Voice-Chat On the Wii U While Gaming, But There’s a Catch

Kotaku: "The Wii U will support in-game voice chat, but you'll be forgiven if you're not sure exactly how that will work. Nintendo hasn't shown an official headset for the WIi U and the Wii U's Pro Controller—the one that looks a lot like an Xbox 360 controller—doesn't even have a port to connect one.

So how does it work?"

[Emilio_Estevez]

That seems like a very strange design choice. They'll have to come out with a pro controller with a jack on it at some point imo. At least it supports bluetooth though.

[Abash]

I wonder if it has cross game chat like 360 and PS Vita

[guitarded77]

From article:
"Nintendo hasn't shown an official headset for the WIi U and the Wii U's Pro Controller—"

Nintendo has shown no plans of making a headset in-house, but have given Turtle Beach the go ahead to make a Wii U branded headset, which is about as official as it gets. The NLa headset has a Wii U logo on it, so that's pretty official since the headset is designed for Wii U and has a Nintendo Logo on it.

http://www.turtlebeach.com/...

[dontbhatin]

Doubt it. Considering it says in the article that in-game chat is only supported for the main multiplayer games. so how can they do cross game chat if they said its that limited.

[CraigandDayDay]

Video chat would be pretty cool with that tablet. I'm sure there will be plenty of headsets available at launch.

[ShinMaster]

You can only voice chat from within games that support it? That's even worse than the PS3.
And only the Gamepad has a headset port and not the Pro Controller?

This all seems like a last minute thing. They focused on the gimmicks and left some core things as an afterthought.
You've had at least 6 years to get it right Nintendo.

[M_Prime]

I think this is Nintendo being Nintendo.

I wonder if you will need to exchange friend codes before you can chat with people.

I think its stupid that they are limiting the ingame chat to specific games and I know the PS3 doesn't have the option of cross game chat since they gave Devs more memory to work which in turn basically didn't leave enough for cross game chat to be implemented but the WII-U could have easily done that out of the box.

I know to a lot of people cross game chat seems like no big deal, but you don't notice how much you miss it until you don't have it. I also find its easier to get in a lobby with people and chat with them 'privately' then over in game chat and make everyone annoyed by our stupid conversation lol

[KidBroSweets2]

Just face it. Nintendo consoles will never be for the hardcore gamers. Just let them cater to their target audience, they seem to be fine with that so we should be fine with that too.

[Eyeco]

What's mind boggling about this is that where being informed this 1 MONTH before the consoles launch, all of this is coming off as last minute, In fact I just heard that it doesn't come with an Ethernet port wtf

[LX-General-Kaos]

Just like shown in the Nintendo direct commercial right before E3. Im sure that in game voice chat for the Nintendo Wii U entertainment system will come in the form of in game video chat. I believe the Nintendo game pad was confirmed to have a standard mic built into the touch screen controller. Allowing you to speak into the controller speaker phone style, and listen to the voices of others via speaker or headphones.

That's the impression that I got so far but we will have to wait and see I guess.

Rayed E For Everyone

[ChickeyCantor]

You're just stretching it. Video chat is just one application they will probably offer...when you're not gaming. But why would anyone want to look at your chin while you are gaming?

This article applies to CoD. And it would be very, VERY, idiotic to implement a mic into the controller that doesn't work in game.

[GameLord08]

@sidar: Actually, Miiverse has displayed the capability to video-chat using the GamePad, so it'll most likely be able to be done while gaming.

Besides, nobody's going to hold the GamePad under their chin when it has a screen they need to use.

[LX-General-Kaos]

I see a lot of doubt but that is fine. I can not blame anyone for it because the tech is advanced and not available to the consumer as of now.

I am only going by information that seams realistic, and from rumors since we all dont know the exact truth. But here is what I have to offer in that regard.

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

As of now all I can do is hope that the Nintendo Wii U entertainment system video chat functions that I have mentioned above are true. From this video, and the Nintendo Direct from E3. My claim does not seem too far off.

RaTed E For Everyone*

[FinalomegaS]

ever thought of an abriviation like the NES or SNES,N64,GCN...

it could save you some time.

NWiiUES or NWUES <<< WTF that looks wrong

maybe you can come up with one more suitable.

[KwietStorm]

What is wrong with you?

[MikeMyers]

"I see a lot of doubt but that is fine. I can not blame anyone for it because the tech is advanced and not available to the consumer as of now."

Advanced tech would not have these limitations. Not all games will support the Gamepad. Furthermore no games as of yet support more than one Gamepad. So what we have here, if these rumors are true, is a system that has no unity. Some games allow Gamepad play, some allow the Pro controller, some allow original Wii controllers. All without any indication that a wireless headset, something that isn't even advanced technology any longer, would be universal across all games or even supported. Also having video chat on the Gamepad itself while playing seems rather redundant.

[n4f]

@sidar
well i think its not that stupid having video chat or headset on the gamepad.
why?
because i recall at the e3 conference the guy was playing zombiu and was stuck and went on video chat using the game pad.
so what i mean is that you can lay the game pad and chat at the same dang time!
but at the same time i understand why people would be frustrated since x360 could do it.

[badz149]

you guys are kidding, right? there's no way the Wii U will be able to do THAT! it's kinda pointless too seeing that it will be a distraction to online gaming session as I think voice is already distracting enough, let alone video of the person you're chatting with while gaming!

and looking at the Wii U itself, there's no way Nintendo is pushing THAT hard for their next system! the thing barely runs games at 1080p!

[ChickeyCantor]

" well i think its not that stupid having video chat or headset on the gamepad.
why? "

I never mentioned a headset. I said Why would you want to have the camera on when you are gaming? You don't hold that thing infront of you trough out your game. You rest it on your lap.

The other players will just look at your chin and nostrils.

And that guy playing ZombiU did NOT do video calls during his gameplay.

@Badz,
It's not impossible, it's just impractical. There is one gig dedicated to OS and Apps. They could easily run it in the background....but Who is gonna hold the Gamepad up in a CoD game so that they can see your face?

[moparful99]

@LX-General-Kaos It helps to actually read the article instead of you know speculating
"The Wii U GamePad—the console's signature twin-stick controller that contains a 6.2-inch screen—contains a microphone and speakers, but that mic does not actually work with the voice chat."

Not to mention what is the point of VIDEO chat whenever you are staring at a tv screen?

[crazysammy]

I hope its wii speak compatible!!! /facepalm

[FamilyGuy]

I don't get the problem, headset should be blu-tooth, or connect via usb. There's definitely usb ports because you can add external drives to them, there is no issue.

Why would a headset need to connect to a controller? Just cuz 360 controllers are like that doesnt mean wii-u has to follow suit, its pro controller just looks like a 360 controller, it's not a freakin replica.

[Emilio_Estevez]

It's b/c they are expecting you to plug wired ones into the gamepad when using the pro controller.

[FamilyGuy]

It's STILL wireless, just cuz "4FT CABLE" (turtle beach specs) is wired to the gamepad doesn't means it's suddenly not wireless, the gamepad itself is wireless. So what is the point of plugging a wired headset into the gamepad?

The WiiU supports blutooth accessories, I'm sure blutooth headsets will work just fine.

The whole point of having a wired headset is the clarity of its strong connection, I get that the gamepad has a really strong connection to the system but at the end of the day it's STILL wireless.

If they force all in-game voice chatting to go through the gamepad they're idiots lol

[herbs]

Maybe you will be able to to chat with a friend or friends through the iOS in the background while playing a game? (that wouldn't be too bad) Hopefully Nintendo does a software update or something because this seems like a pretty important feature to have out of the box. (especially with the core gamers that Nintendo is trying to appeal to)

[Axecution]

Yeah Bluetooth is really all you need. Technically you could just use your PS3 headset lol. The mic jack on the controller is obviously just optional for people who want to use turtle beach headsets.

It's basically the same thing as the PS3-if the ps3 had a mic jack on the Dualshock.

[meetajhu]

Oh god this was done on PC 10 years back. Trying to make people understand that consoles are complete joke

[DivineAssault]

So u cant chat using a headset if u want to play using the pro controller?? that just doesnt make sense to me.. No bluetooth im assuming... I guess theres not going to be cross game chat with wii u.. Well, its better than the wii.. The wii only had a handfull of games that allowed chatting.. This too but its already got it beat..

That pro controller was designed for multiplayer use i suppose.. Why would they do this?

[MilkMan]

So, this is a BIG WTF!
I don't like this piece of it. I want to be able to chat with my son and buddies. Guess Big N doesn't have the infrastructure in place for all that bandwidth PLUS they want action on the MiiVerse not in private parties.

[GhostHero333]

Thats a bummer. I was really looking forward to something similar to party chat on the xbox 360. Oh well there will always be somethings that a nintendo will be left behind on I guess.

[GameLord08]

They haven't commented on whether or not you can use a wireless headset yet - and seeing as the Wii U supports wireless controllers, it should have the capacity for a wireless headset (probably a first-party item released later down the line, maybe). Or a Pro Controller with a jack, whichever's more productive.

I'm quite surprised you can't make use of the GamePad's microphone and speakers though.

[herbs]

Nintendo shits the bed again.

[PopRocks359]

Nintendo didn't design the headsets.