IGN to Nintendo: Where’s the Freakin’ Headset!?
With a couple premier online Wii titles rolling down the pipe in the next six months, an IGN editorial has asked a very troubling question, where is the freakin’ Wii headset? The best part about the article is that Matt Casamassina uses examples of all the upcoming games and how disappointing they’ll be without some semblence of voice chat.
This is one of many questions Nintendo will be forced to answer in their new #1 position. Is the answer simply if you want quality online play, go somewhere else?
Endless Ocean
“More recently, I’ve been playing a lot of Endless Ocean for Wii. The scuba-diving title is already available in Japan as Forever Blue, and is set to hit Nintendo’s console in America on October 29…..Without any voice chat, one player will always need to lead and the other follow (if they are to stay together), for starters. But the bigger issue with the lack of voice communication is that there is simply no way to pass the time with a friend as the two of you explore. It’s a fundamental problem and one spotlighted in Endless Ocean, whose gameplay design emphasizes long sessions of slow-paced swimming and searching.”
Battalion Wars 2
“You need to be able to effectively communicate with your friend to plan and coordinate attacks, or maybe to retreat in unison if the situation calls for it, and you just won’t be able to do that with canned text messages assigned to the D-Pad, assuming the game even includes something like that. I would actually prefer that Nintendo and developer Kuju Entertainment delay Battalion Wars 2 if it means that it will arrive with headset support.”
The most saddening, Super Smash Brothers Brawl
“Now, all of the Smash Bros. titles have flourished as multiplayer endeavors. You sit on a couch with three friends and you beat the hell out of each other on-screen, and all the while the room is overrun with laughter, with shouting, with teasing and trash-talking, and it’s all part of what makes Nintendo’s brawler so enjoyable. Now imagine all that interaction thrown directly out the window online if Brawl ships without headset support. It can’t happen. (it already has, by the way) What of Animal Crossing and the rumored next installment in the Pikmin franchise? What about Mario Kart?”
Check out the whole article, it’s definitely worth a read.
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Matt’s been telling us about this editorial in the Wii-k in Review podcast for a while, and I’ve been looking forward to reading it. Here’s hoping we have a similar result as last time. By chance, his last editorial about Prime 3 not being promoted hit days before Nintendo launched their Prime 3 ad campaign.