First, we pondered amongst friends about the possibility of voice chat in the upcoming racer. When we found out that this wasn't happening, it was no biggie -- while some of you, we're sure, screamed in anguish to the heavens, most of us (being the realists that we are) never actually expected such a feature in the first place.
All hope was not lost, though. Praying to the Nintendo gods, we begged for some way of communicating with friends, so that our online matches would be deeper than normal matches against the computer. After all, what's the point of online play in the first place if it doesn't feel human? Our pleas did not go unnoticed, though, and Nintendo announced text chat support for the game.
The system wouldn't be perfect. There would be no text chatting during matches (not that we'd be able to physically pull that off in the first place, having only two hands and all). However, even being given the ability to create chat rooms to talk with our opponents was something.In the end, though, we were misled. Apparently, Nintendo's definition of "text chat" is a lot different than ours. It doesn't involve "chatting," per say, so much as "choosing from a list of Nintendo's pre-determined phrases." Sounds fun, doesn't it?!? If by "fun," of course, you mean "nauseating" and "I'd rather facepalm myself, thank you very much." Oh, and in case you were wondering, there won't be a keyboard peripheral with the game -- you don't exactly need one to choose phrases like "Good luck!" and "Oh gee, this is fun!" from a list.
Egads? More like Egaggingallovermyself, amirite? And if Nintendo's primitive ways aren't enough to bother you, that last "pun" of ours surely will be.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-28-2008 @ 3:43AM
Kyle Saver said...
Im sorry nintendo but sometimes you really piss me off....
I may not buy this game now...=(
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2-28-2008 @ 4:27AM
Sonic_13 said...
You know you will...
2-28-2008 @ 10:54AM
John Rios said...
Becaue of textchat? Seriously, man.
2-28-2008 @ 3:54AM
Just_a_guy said...
when will you wake up and smell the roses nintendo. All you have to do to make us pleased is to give chat to those you have on your friend list.....
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2-28-2008 @ 4:05AM
Anticrawl said...
How hard could it be to have parental controls restricting chat of voice or text variety or just keep it for friends only? I don't see what the issue with those is if Nintendo is worried about pedo-bears. You can send messages/emails to your Wii friends so what is wrong with allowing them to do so in game? How can one possibly make friends without communicating with them? Why even have a friends system? Why don't we just stay the nameless, faceless group of online folk that we already are?
So many questions, so little answers to said obvious questions.
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2-28-2008 @ 4:25AM
Anaris82 said...
Just be glad there's an online feature. Question.. What's with the bear? Please tell me you guys see the bear.. do you? Guys?
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2-28-2008 @ 4:31AM
Anticrawl said...
That would probably be the pedobear I was referencing.
4chan.org
or you can go to the fake wikipedia site made by 4chan and look up all about said bear.
2-28-2008 @ 4:54AM
Just_a_guy said...
don't remind me of the pedobear.........
2-28-2008 @ 4:31AM
clif said...
It's called Pedobear for the 4chan fourms. He's into little kids.
I dunno what this means??!!?! I just found out what "it" from my wife oh boy!
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2-28-2008 @ 4:32AM
Anticrawl said...
You should really look into that whole "my wife visits 4chan" issue. It could be a great thing for you though, the whole freaky kink thing could spark the passion in a relationship.................................... or you could end up fleeing in horror.
2-28-2008 @ 5:16AM
Anaris82 said...
So Pedobear is the opposite of Sexual Harassment Panda, gotcha.
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2-28-2008 @ 5:26AM
koehler83 said...
You realize this is totally Fox News' fault for their Pictochat tirade. Oh yes. I blame Fox News for everything.
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2-28-2008 @ 5:49AM
David said...
Fox news? They are not to blame I blame Brass Eye
http://youtube.com/watch?v=y7jVnrfoZD8
But im not at all shocked or surprised that they have done this, Im just hoping that it wont cost us extra dosh to play Mario Kart online
http://digitalspy.com/gaming/a90224/nintendo-to-introduce-online-charges.html
Boo you Nintendo sometimes. But as long as Yoshi is still in the lineup I will be buying this straight away in the safety of knowing that no one will know about the tiraid of abuse I seem to enjoy throwing at the screen whilst playing.
http://www.yourfaceisanadvert.com/?cat=7
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2-28-2008 @ 6:08AM
Feigr said...
Why is Nintendo so damn inept at the online? Do they want it to be like this or do they just don't understand what people want?
I'm not certainly not one to accuse Nintendo of being "kiddy", but the decisions they have made for their online services in the games pretty much falls under that category.
Not even allowing something as basic as voice chat with registered friends is just sad.
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2-28-2008 @ 6:16AM
Spekkio said...
Has anyone *asked* Nintendo about their online strategy? Has anyone asked them about the rationale for these disappointing decisions?
I dunno - it just seems like something that some credentialed journalist should grill them on. The arguments about the Wii's parental control system and the friend list are very strong, and I'd love to hear what Nintendo PR has to say on the matter.
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2-28-2008 @ 8:25AM
Kye Wii60DF said...
It...
It looks like Nintendo is getting raped...
By themselves.
Oh the horrow.
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2-28-2008 @ 9:08AM
Good_Bytes said...
Some sort of petition should be made!
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2-28-2008 @ 9:10AM
nintendo1889 said...
Uhhh...what were those videos for again...? Anyways, Mario Kart looks pretty cool despite limited chat features. I just hope the AI doesn't use stupid cheap shots right as I hit the finish line...
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2-28-2008 @ 9:11AM
Dash said...
It's a question I made a million times, but still have no answer: Why does some Nintendo-made DS games HAVE FULL VOICE CHAT, but most don't.
Pokemon Pearl/Diamond has full voice chat. It needs friend codes, sure, but after that you're done. I mean, there's even an official Nintendo Headset. Hell, METROID, the game I didn't expect to have any multiplayer at all, has Voice Chat.
So, why does some games do, and some don't? Can anyone tell? Or only time (or an angry fired former Nintendo exec) will tell?
Ps: But yeah, I'll buy the game anyway. Still looks great. And when I think about it, I don't talk while gaming (mostly because of the whiners in Team Fortress 2)
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2-28-2008 @ 9:22AM
BrandonIT said...
This is absolutely stupid on Nintendo's part. I just don't understand it. Maybe it's perceived bandwidth limitations, maybe they take a lot of stock in their "kid-friendly" reputation in the States. Whatever. Somebody needs to go over to Nintendo's corporate headquarters and slap them. Hard.
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2-28-2008 @ 2:30PM
Mr Khan said...
Bandwidth limitations? No. DS can do it and more. PSO could do it and more on dial-up
2-28-2008 @ 9:50AM
Matt said...
Did you not see this coming when Brawl pretty much announced the same system? I wish I could say I didn't expect it (or more importantly that it isn't true) but I can't.
I hate Nintendo's online policy. It's the one major problem I have so far with Nintendo. But it's significant, which made me buy a PS3 in addition. Now I play online games on PS3 more than I play my Wii. Brawl is going to have to make a significant run if it wants to dethrone Call of Duty 4, Unreal Tournament 3, and Warhawk: Omega Dawn...
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2-28-2008 @ 11:19AM
Jonathan Tran said...
At least in Brawl you can write your OWN pre-set messages.
2-28-2008 @ 11:09AM
White Rose Duelist said...
Does this mean no more user icons which are crude drawings of penises? I'm sure I saw a dozen of them on Mario Kart DS.
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2-28-2008 @ 11:16AM
SnesR0X said...
This system carries an amazing supply of FAIL
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2-28-2008 @ 2:25PM
Mr Khan said...
I suppose real chat of any kind in a first-party Wii game was a bit too much to ask for.
And here i thought they were making some sort of progress. Guess not...
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2-28-2008 @ 2:41PM
Nathew said...
running bear likes to run.
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2-28-2008 @ 2:59PM
theboy said...
Nintendo's online "strategy" is comprised mainly of ignorance, paranoia, and fail. I really loved the wii in the beginning, but it seems with every announcement from nintendo I am getting more and more alienated (and pissed off) at how they're handling this thing. I REALLY HATE and would previously deny it vehemently but I really feel like they're treating ALL consumers like they're 5 years old.
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2-28-2008 @ 4:20PM
Jeff said...
this is pretty lame, but then again, i'll probably just play with my friends, and maybe i'll just use iChat or Skype or something.
(text chat would be lame anyway... especially with an on-screen keyboard. yuck.)
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2-28-2008 @ 4:52PM
Nebinator said...
I blame Bowser!!!
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2-28-2008 @ 10:03PM
Ghen said...
I won't buy it because I don't like mario cart anyway, but Nintendo's stand is seriously extreme. Its not their call to put boundries on entertainment, thats the parents.
Now, instead of allowing voice or text chat among people who trade friend numbers gamers will continue to rely on computer solutions like anonymous chat rooms (where all the slimeballs lurk anyway) and ventrillo servers.
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2-29-2008 @ 5:44AM
BDR said...
I'm almost certain that this "pay-to-play" service coming out will provide voice chat features. It would be a massive middle finger to Nintendo fans, and I beg them not to do it.
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2-29-2008 @ 7:00PM
Jammie said...
Wtf Nintendo, sending predetermined messages, that aint text text chat. we are not small children, why can I talk 2 my friends wen I play pokemon on my £99 DS BUT not on my £210 Wii, Nintendo really need to wake up and smell the coffee, WE WANT HALF DECENT ONLINE CAPABILITIES I.E FULL TEXT CHAT U KNOW WHERE THERE THE WONDERFULL INVENTION CALLER THE QWERTY KEYBOARD ANYBODY EVER HEARD OF ONE OF THOES, AND AT LEAST SOME FORM OF VOICE CHAT, the wii already has Bluetooth so when u think about it shudnt b that hard. Come on Nintendo cut the kiddie **** that’s up to parents what kids. Other gamers don’t need it were not 7.
Rant over.
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