Mario Kart Wii "Chat" - Surprised?
February 27th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Details are in on Mario Kart Wii’s communication methods, which will allow online players to “communicate” with each other. If you haven’t heard about this already, take a wild guess about what sort of chat you’d like to see. Then think about, given Nintendo’s track record for totally awesome-and-by-awesome-I-mean-backwards online decisions, what it’ll actually be.
Chances are you just thought of two very different things, but even your imagination might be a little further ahead of Nintendo’s plans. Mario Kart Wii will allow for text chat, which is already a step back from the console standard. Now let’s take another 10 steps back as Nintendo has stated you won’t even be able to enter your own text. Instead it’ll be a collection of pre-set words or phrases that you can send before matches in the game’s online lobby.
Yep. That sounds exactly right for the company that brought you the friend code.
I certainly understand and respect Nintendo’s desire to keep a tight control on its games by not letting any 11-year-old racist/homophobe with a USB headset strap on and force his singing voice onto the other players, but at some point you err so far on that side of safety that you’re releasing products that, features-wise, are so behind that curve that they make me think of Dreamcast games.
Except that Phantasy Star Online had full text chat to go along with the symbol chat and auto-translated text that this makes me think of.
Ultimately, I can’t get too frustrated by this, because it’s totally expected at this point. This is just Nintendo being Nintendo. They don’t need voice chat to make money on the Wii. And even though some people will complain up a storm, they’ll all buy the game anyway. Nintendo wins regardless. Also, I can’t really say that I’m too interested in mascot-based kart racing games at this point, so it could have Morse code chat for all I care.
But this is the same mentality that keeps Nintendo from delivering a fully-featured massively-multiplayer Animal Crossing game. And that’s when I get a little depressed about the company’s unwavering stance.
February 27th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
The only Mario Kart worth purchasing is the original Super Mario Kart for the SNES. I think I just said what everyone else already knows…
February 27th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
I have nothing to add that Michael has not already covered.
February 27th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
You know I wonder if Japanese gamers are as much penis drawing prone and in-chat cursing as we are in the West. Somehow I doubt it. I always believed they were more polite. Which makes me wonder why they still implement backwards online features in their games.
February 27th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
I’ve never benefited from voice chat while racing, but if I play ANYTHING online with friends I want voice chat. The Wii is all about fun with friends, but it’s always limited to the same physical space. I care about this problem, but I don’t care enough to make a stink about it.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
I have given up expecting any improvement from Nintendo. I have my PC for all my internet gaming needs and i see the Wii as what it is, a toy i enjoy casually.
But i dont understand why the DS is ahead the wii, offering some games featuring voice chat.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
It is the same as the Super Smash Bros. chat system…terrible. It is like Japan doesn’t get the whole internet thing that started to boom last decade. Are they worried that if they invest in it that they will get more money? Because you know I’d be worried about that too…(sarcasm). I mean seriously, they are all “worried about the children” well most of their audience are older players, and furthermore they want voice-chat with friends. If Nintendo continue to go down this road of living in 1995 they are just going to alienate their oldest audience, which is their largest consumer of software. Sure they will always have the hardcore fanatics, but people are getting sick and tired of this nonsense.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
I love Nintendo for what it is: pure gaming fun! If I want to scream obscenities at random people on the Internet I play 1st person shooters on the PC or on the PS3. Nintendo’s decision is fair, as they aim a general audience.
Jeff, I have a question for you for Points! or the podcast:
Back in the days when I was a kid, me and my friends were playing 2 games on our PCs: Duke Nukem 3D& Quake 1
We had a lot of arguments on which one is THE game. I played the crap out of both, and I loved Duke 3D, but my choice was always Quake. Back then, which was your favourite and why? I’m talking JUST about the PC versions.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
You know i’m really not interested in buying a Wii anymore… I was so pumped for them around the launch and I just got an elite for christmas. Once I get a PS3 I think that will be all I’ll need. I can deal with not playing nintendo exclusives.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
What I don’t understand is why Nintendo continues to alienate the audience it has had since the NES era. They have grown up and live in a world where online has voicechat. Seriously, they may be getting sales on hardware due to casual players, but these aren’t the people that are going to purchase software. The old ladies at the retirement home and the stay at home moms aren’t going to play Mario Kart or Super Smash Bros. It is going to be the people that have been playing these games for years. And these people also demand things that make interacting with friends for long distances easier. I mean the kid in the NES era are in college or adults now. But they still want to play games with their friends who may be in other states. To have voicechat in games makes it easier for them. To alienate this demographic is absolutely looney toons crazy.
If they want to avoid that they should have the option to let you talk to friends only. I mean seriously, if they don’t think that people are exposed daily to the same type of trash in television, movies, and magazines, then they need to get out once in a while.
Oh and Micheal, the first topic commenter is right.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
First of all, to correct previous posters, Mario Kart DS is the current standard-bearer for Mario Kart games.
Secondly, I don’t really like having to talk to people. I’d much rather push a button that lets me say “Fuck you, dickwad” than have to say “Fuck you, dickwad” out loud, so I see this as a good thing.
There will be a “Fuck you, dickwad” button, right?
February 27th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
lol as jeff said, “this is nintendo being nintendo”
that is all.
February 28th, 2008 at 12:05 am
“Good game”
February 28th, 2008 at 12:16 am
I’ll be honest; I prefer minimalist communication in online games anyway. I can’t stand voice chat, unless its with good friends.
February 28th, 2008 at 12:56 am
Tbh its really a none issue for me i don’t want to talk with complete stranger while playing i just wanna talk with my friends so we’ll just use Xbox live chat while playing or use our Vent channel.
February 28th, 2008 at 1:01 am
The advantage is that it allows communications reguardless of what language a player speaks.
February 28th, 2008 at 1:01 am
Content aside (and I agree) - nice writing here.
I hope you find a way to do keep your work going and of course someone who will pay the bills
February 28th, 2008 at 1:17 am
I had no idea you were an Animal Crossing fan - AC is the bomb. Bring on that awesome massively-multiplayer Animal Crossing game! With Nintendo’s progress, we can probably expect it around 2021!
February 28th, 2008 at 2:58 am
In all fairness, I’m one of those very mute players on xbox live, mainly because I don’t like getting into arguements about the sometimes near cheating methods some people tend to go for, and mostly because I don’t give a damn what they think/have to say about anything lol.
(unless of course I’m playing with my friends)
But, this is getting a little pathetic, chosing from preset words before a match is going to be like what? “win this race shall I”
…pathetic
February 28th, 2008 at 3:08 am
That’s the reason why I did stop playing COD4 online
Your post is just perfect !
Regards from Italy
**********************************
11-year-old racist/homophobe with a USB headset strap on and force his singing voice onto the other players
February 28th, 2008 at 3:15 am
Why do Japanese games companies think preset online text communication is a good idea? They use a similiar sounding system in Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Winnig Eleven in the US) in which i you choose from a set number of options to communicate with your opponent, all which are totally meaningless and not worth the effort. PES2008 at least has voice chat also for those of you who can stand facing 15minutes talking to your stranger of an opponent, it’s oddly intimate - not sure if i like it.
February 28th, 2008 at 4:14 am
Nintendo really pulled a 180 on me this gen. I played the Gamecube A LOT last gen. This gen, I’ve been spoiled by HD and Xbox Live that I hardly ever turn my Wii on.
I will definitely buy Mario Kart, but the text chat thing is really lame.
February 28th, 2008 at 4:23 am
I have to say, I respect Nintendo’s decision. Although voice chat has become industry standard, I think there’s something to be said about having a safe online racing experience. 9 year olds will be playing this game, and they don’t need their heads filled with ignorant mess while they innocently try to have Yoshi vie for first place. When they’re older, they can drive a porn laden car in Forza and scream all the colorful language they want.
I love voice chat, don’t get me wrong. But to make a comparison, just because we have realistic blood and gore computer effects in movies doesn’t mean that Finding Nemo should have had an elaborate disemboweling scene.
February 28th, 2008 at 4:42 am
Completely unreleated to the psot above, but ive been listening to a mix on radio one called the breezeblock. Well i always hear you talking about music, and i guess you might not have heard some of the music/genres within .. but its a really cool uk scene and if your kicking around wanting something to listen to, this mix will give you a brief musical top up.. mixed by a band called ‘Autechre’.. two guys and insane music making equipment, abstracted deep facked up electronica. if you dont know about these guys go find out!
This mix though is total hip, beats and a sound u gotta hear.
Why am i plugging this to you? i have no idea.
PEACE!!!!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/maryannehobbs/index.shtml
February 28th, 2008 at 5:16 am
‘Coming to Brawl, Nintendo allows for full communcation with other players via Smoke Signals!’
February 28th, 2008 at 5:27 am
I do hope that nintendo at least starts allowing match making for more games cuz i don’t ever play online due to everyones plays 360 around my town
February 28th, 2008 at 5:36 am
Actually, when you asked me to guess I guessed correctly. Nintendo is always thinking of the kids. In their situation you almost have to, because as soon as some A-hole starts trying to court a child everyone will blame Nintendo instead of the parents.
February 28th, 2008 at 5:58 am
Well if you system can’t muster up anything better than 480p, why bother with communication technology from the 21st century?
This is why I don’t bother with anything Nintendo online. Why suffer the frustration?
February 28th, 2008 at 6:04 am
Yeah, not a surprising move by Nintendo…but at the same time, somebody’s gotta be the family friendly company. What kind of reputation would video games have now if Nintendo wasn’t around to offset the balance? I think it’s hard for people who play games to accept because, unlike Disney, who makes movies guys like us don’t care if we see, Nintendo makes games that we want to play…and there’s something to be said about that.
February 28th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Animal Crossing MMO would be so addicting! o_0
February 28th, 2008 at 8:38 am
I actually dont think I will ever care for communicating in a Nintendoproduct unless the person is sitting next to me and in that case its not a problem.
February 28th, 2008 at 8:54 am
WOW. When prompted to imagine what Nintendo was going to do, I was thinking of in-game text chat using only the wii remote to type and laughing to myself. The failure of my imagination boggles my mind.
I just can’t understand this. Why not just text chat? Surely, word filters are advanced enough these days to be fine. But I guess you can’t really expect that from Nintendo.
February 28th, 2008 at 9:03 am
I have to be honest that I’ve seen this exact same rant so many times it’s hard to even take it seriously.
“I certainly understand and respect Nintendo’s desire to keep a tight control on its games by not letting any 11-year-old racist/homophobe with a USB headset strap on and force his singing voice onto the other players, but at some point you err so far on that side of safety”
Do you? I dunno man. What alternative could they possibly take? I know you’ve been on xbox live playing Halo and other such competitive games - it’s nothing but 11-year old racist/homophobes screaming at you.
So if their goal is to avoid that - and by doing so they are going about it in this fashion, which you claim to understand. What could they do different that would appease you?
February 28th, 2008 at 9:08 am
Good call on Animal Crossing. They going to make an AC for the Wii, or are they still being cagey about it?
February 28th, 2008 at 9:10 am
@MoreVespeneGas:
“What alternative could they possibly take?”
Allowing voice chat in friends-only games seemed like a decent middle ground on the DS. Offering clear parental controls that would let parents block all voice chat is another option.
Believe me, I’m not saying that voice chat is without its own set of issues, but those are conquered fairly easily when you give parents the proper tools.
February 28th, 2008 at 9:18 am
As Pearl form “The Landlord” would say, “I’m tired of this crap!!”
(A bit of a cross blog reference for you guys there!)
February 28th, 2008 at 9:52 am
The friends-only would be a good idea, but honestly if it’s online multiplayer then I don’t give two shits about talking to them.
I just want the game to set me up with another few dudes so we can race. Time’s proven that most people on the other end don’t have anything terribly interesting or smart to say. And if they’re my friends then I’m already rapping with them on MSN or something, I don’t need some shoddy in-game text feature to talk to them.
I’m not singing Nintendo praise with this, at least I’m not trying to. I can see the appeal of chat or voice chat in-game, but I just couldn’t care less, and the guys I game with are the same way.
February 28th, 2008 at 11:10 am
I don’t own a Wii, but even the friends I have that do own one don’t care at all about this form of chatting. They would just as soon not talk at all. I do like the idea of parental controls and being able to talk amongst friends though, that seems like a very logical middle ground.
February 28th, 2008 at 11:41 am
Nintendo is worrying about the kiddies more than allowing people to have fun. It’s just sad. Oh well, screw them.
February 28th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Hmmm, yeah, I couldn’t really care less about this to be honest. My occasional forays into the world of on-line cnsokle chatting have been rather awkward and unremarkable affairs, with me vainly attempting to make small-talk with strange Americans people who just laugh whenever I say anything in my Scottish accent. So yeah, bring on the antiquated chat-free Mario Kart!
February 28th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
This same spasmatic chat system is employed in Pro Evolution Soccer. I just want to be able to tell people their black and gay! Is that too much to ask?!!
February 28th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Actually now that I think of it, this reminds me of Windows Internet Spades. I always wanted to talk freely to the people I was playing against but it always relegated me to using those stupid pre-typed comments like “Great Move!” etc.
February 28th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Cool! You and I touched on a hot topic in a very similar way.
I can honestly say that I am proud to have cranked out something remotely similar to what an industry vet such as yourself, or dare I say it, a role model has done.
- As for the topic. Horrible. Microsoft Games has that “feature” in the “online” games that come with XP and Vista. You can select preselected lines.
What is the point? The Nintendo Online experience is like playing with bots riddled with lag.
February 28th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
So very lame. Nintendo needs to get with a god-damn program. Though I admit, I’m not sure I want to talk to the people playing Mario Kart Wii online.
February 28th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Yeah, it really sucks but like you said it’s to be expected now.
We’ll just have to use the 360’s voice chat feature when playing against friends online. :/
February 28th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
I couldn’t agree more on Animal Crossing. The Wii version could be intensely awesome but they’ll screw it up somehow. I believe Alex Navarro once proposed a simple solution: you choose whether or not to opt in or out of the friend code for Animal Crossing. That way if some jerk destroys your town you have yourself to blame, but then you can go roaming around towns belonging to people not on your friends list. Which would be awesome.
February 28th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
I find it hilarious that everyone is all up in arms about this. Who really gives a shit that a KART RACER doesn’t have voice chat? Nintendo will make shitloads with the game so why bother.
I’m not just saying comments on here, but everywhere else. Here I thought people up in arms about Sundin saying he wants to stay in Toronto was bad. :-p
February 28th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
Desmond, you miss the point completely. It’s not that MARIO KART doesn’t have voice chat, but rather all Nintendo Wii games seem to be following this trend. Hell, we don’t even get real text chat.
It should be expected, but at the same time even Pokemon on the DS has voice chat. That’s a bit ridiculous if you think about it.
February 29th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
I really don’t care about Voice Chat. At this point I’d just settle for an alternative to Friend Codes (Lobbies, User Name etc.) and a fix for the “Snaking” exploit.
What good is online if you can’t choose who you play against?
What fun is a racing game where you execute the same combo over and over through it.