IGN: Splatoon's lack of voice chat is "cheap and lazy"

Yes, but Nintendo's official stance is not to do that. If someone shares a friendcode with a stranger Nintendo will not accept any responsibility for it. It's why they will ban you for doing it on Miiverse.

Nintendo will ban you if you give out your friend code? Friend codes still exist? Holy fuck.
 
I think that has more to do with Nintendo's reputation in that Nintendo still wants to appear child friendly even when most of that market has left them in the dust.

Yep, and as a reminder for people. There have been people parroting that there are 12 year olds in games like CoD and Battlefield, a game with voice chat. Splatoon doesn't, for a system comprised of mostly adults.
 
And this is completely wrong because many opinions shared in this thread has been about this decision and why most don't agree, while disagreeing with those who do agree with the decision visa versa.

Which always seems suspect as majority of the people who are ok with it, are always hand in hand with Nintendo's other backwards decisions that make it hard to support them; because of it.

Now you have people saying, immaturity is wanting options. I mean, it really gets no better than that.

Every company has their group on this site, no doubts about it, but you guys aren't being profound or anything by drawing attention to the same cluster of posters. The thread's lost its purpose really, and now it's turning into people (including you) quoting Gonzo's post and adding the oh-so-insightful "This", "Yup", or any other variant.

You either fall into the camps of agree, disagree, or indifference. Let the ridiculous sides of each respective camp display themselves, there's no need to devolve into just calling people out and patting like-minded posters on the back for further derailment and fuckery.
 
Nintendo is stuck in the past. Always been with online. No voice chat is just another proof of that. They'd need someone who actually understands the gaming industry at the top.
 
I'm not sure why "protecting kids" is being parroted, given the best demographic view we have on Wii U owners is a very significent amount of people being 18 or older (granted it was eshop stuff but still).

It's not really a surprise that kids aren't buying games on eshop with their non-existent credit cards. Considering eShop sales for retail titles are usually <20% of the total sales (right? that's what I remember from various NPD threads anyway) I don't think those demographics can be extrapolated to all Wii U owners.

That said, the director of this game has already explained the reason for not including voice chat. Not because it is "cheap", "lazy", "bandwidth" or "protects kids" or any of the other things said in this thread, but because he wants to completely avoid online toxicity and attract those who had bad experiences in other games that had voice chat. This was stated in an official interview with Edge:
Edge magazine says &#8220;Splatoon has no voice chat and never will&#8221;. Amano says: &#8220;This is coming from personal experience. When I played online games, I didn&#8217;t like the negativity I got and people telling me &#8216;You&#8217;re crap. Go away&#8217;. So we wanted to focus on the positive aspects of online gaming&#8221;. Amano says he&#8217;s not saying that chat in an online game can&#8217;t contribute to fun but they want to grab new players.

Also I don't think IGN's article added anything to this thread, as opposed to the 2 or 3 previous threads we had after the Edge interview. This has basically been the same thread and same discussion over and over again. I don't think any new information will happen to change this discussion until nintendo reveals more details about the August update and we find out if there are any communication options for the Custom Teams 4 or 8 man party system (Edit: or nintendo reveals a party chat system as a surprise at e3 or something. we can hope, right?).
 
are people disappointed because of expectations or because this game would lend itself really well to voice chat?

Little bit of both. The jury's still out on the latter, I've seen just as many people say they think it would as others who've said it wouldn't. Personally, I think it would be great with friends if only because what games with friends don't get more fun when you banter?

I still think one of the major takeaways about it in the context of this game in particular is that it probably wouldn't have had this much of a profound reaction if people didn't legitimately care about this game and it's lasting qualities.
 
are people disappointed because of expectations or because this game would lend itself really well to voice chat?
Expectations I think. The dominant argument seems to be it's 2015 and every other shooter imaginable that includes a competitive multiplayer HAS to include voice chat. No excuses as they would say.
 
Expectations I think. The dominant argument seems to be it's 2015 and every other shooter imaginable that includes a competitive multiplayer HAS to include voice chat. No excuses as they would say.
Better coordination and not having to resort to external devices for VC. Read the thread.
 
Was thinking of posting an angry post, I won't. Only one thing: IGN (and bad journalism in general) is one of the odds the good, healthy part of this industry, which still cares about refined game design and about quality, has to fight.
You can think whatever you want about the decision, but calling it "lazy and cheap" is stupid and insulting, given how much the developer care about the game. Everyone who has truly followed SPlatoon knows that it has nothing to do whit lazy game design, knows how much effort the team put on every single detail. Not acknowledging that is stupid and, imo, damages the whole industry.
Maybe Nintendo forced them to omit voice chat, maybe it's a gameplay choice for real. Anyways one thing it's certain: it wasn't a superficial decision, nor was it "lazy".
 
Yes, but Nintendo's official stance is not to do that. If someone shares a friendcode with a stranger Nintendo will not accept any responsibility for it. It's why they will ban you for doing it on Miiverse.

Okay, but now explain Wii U Chat.

Kids can add any random person on Miiverse as their "friend" correct? They can add strangers as their friends without parents knowing. Which means, any stranger can contact your kids through Wii U Chat.

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What is the difference between strangers requesting a video chat with your kids through "Wii U Chat" and strangers chatting with you during Splatoon? Because let's be honest here... kids are going to meet strangers on Miiverse, and they will add them as friends.

If you can set up parental controls for Wii U video Chat, then why aren't there parental controls for in-game voice chat?
 
Yeah, that's fine, but I think the thing here is if your notion gels with nintendo's philosophy. You're used to something as a customer because you've gotten it a lot, Nintendo isn't meeting that expectation and you don't think it's justified, but they think it is because of their philosophy of design.



Well that's fine. I'm not defending their lack of voice chat or attacking it. I'm stating valid reasons why they wouldn't approach it. Maybe their netgame simply isn't up to par and they felt that if they included it, it would detract from the game. That would be a justified reason for leaving it out.



Again, that's fine you think that way, but you're not designing the game. You're free to criticize or not buy it, but their games sell, so I don't know that it's true that they're behind the times. I think the admission or omission of a small feature like this wouldn't indicate whether they're trendy or not.



This is assuming that you are the opinion that they are looking for. You can only deem it acceptable enough to buy it, not to make it. I'm not saying they don't do studies or tests of what people want in games like these, I'm saying its only up to them to weigh and consider it for development. Money talks, so if you don't like it, don't buy it until they add it in. As far as complaining and annoyance, I don't care that you do so (all of my posts have been very neutral). What bothers me in topics like these are when people think that there was no care or consideration when designing these things. As someone with a creative background, it's pretty offensive and I don't believe that spouting ones ignorance from an ivory tower (specifically about making design decisions, mind you) will make someone bend to your position.

When I don't like something, I don't buy it. I don't call the people who make it lazy and cheap. I can understand yours and others frustration in this thread, but I think there's such a high level of emotional attachment and pleading that conversations like this do more to put people off your side than to build an empathetic connection with them.
I don't really care about bending people to my position. People defending this are already far too illogical for me to care about changing their opinion. Neither Nintendo, nor anyone in this thread has come up with a good reason for this feature to be left out.

Literally all of the complaints about harassment and privacy have been taken care of on other consoles, so to use it as a reason here is pointless. And other opinions like "The action is too fast paced for voice chat." are so laughably illogical that it's not worth trying to reason with those people.
 
Lack of voicechat is a bonus in my eyes. Last thing I want is to be in an arena putting up with the bullshit on a nintendo shooter that I would in a Call of Duty game. Keeps the aesthetic from being tainted by folks having too much fun by acting like assholes on the microphone because they have a small degree of anonymity.

Nintendo still thinks of themselves as a toy company...in this instance where they have a very 90's Nickelodeon style game I think its a good thing they did something like not having voice chat so that folks can't ruin that feeling of childish fun by calling each other the N word and swearing every two seconds.
 
It's not really a surprise that kids aren't buying games on eshop with their non-existent credit cards. Considering eShop sales for retail titles are usually <20% of the total sales (right? that's what I remember from various NPD threads anyway) I don't think those demographics can be extrapolated to all Wii U owners.

That said, the director of this game has already explained the reason for not including voice chat. Not because it is "cheap", "lazy", "bandwidth" or "protects kids" or any of the other things said in this thread, but because he wants to completely avoid online toxicity and attract those who had bad experiences in other games that had voice chat. This was stated in an official interview with Edge:


Also I don't think IGN's article added anything to this thread, as opposed to the 2 or 3 previous threads we had after the Edge interview. This has basically been the same thread and same discussion over and over again. I don't think any new information will happen to change this discussion until nintendo reveals more details about the August update and we find out if there are any communication options for the Custom Teams 4 or 8 man party system (Edit: or nintendo reveals a party chat system as a surprise at e3 or something. we can hope, right?).

A conscious and intentional design decision you say? Can't be. That's just covering up for his incompetence and all of nintendo's
 
Yeah. You could say that too. It's part of being in 2015. Isn't it natural to just assume these things as part of what comes with "voice chat"?
Good to know that you realize it's self explanatory then as to why people want VC.

Lack of voicechat is a bonus in my eyes. Last thing I want is to be in an arena putting up with the bullshit on a nintendo shooter that I would in a Call of Duty game. Keeps the aesthetic from being tainted by folks having too much fun by acting like assholes on the microphone because they have a small degree of anonymity.

Nintendo still thinks of themselves as a toy company...in this instance where they have a very 90's Nickelodeon style game I think its a good thing they did something like not having voice chat so that folks can't ruin that feeling of childish fun by calling each other the N word and swearing every two seconds.
Can you not just turn 'mute all' on?
 
Lack of voicechat is a bonus in my eyes. Last thing I want is to be in an arena putting up with the bullshit on a nintendo shooter that I would in a Call of Duty game. Keeps the aesthetic from being tainted by folks having too much fun by acting like assholes on the microphone because they have a small degree of anonymity.

Nintendo still thinks of themselves as a toy company...in this instance where they have a very 90's Nickelodeon style game I think its a good thing they did something like not having voice chat so that folks can't ruin that feeling of childish fun by calling each other the N word and swearing every two seconds.

What if the voice chat was locked to friends only?
 
Better coordination and not having to resort to external devices for VC. Read the thread.

The best excuse is keeping the people with bad ping from having even more connection issues because they also insist on voice chatting.

Seriously, we know that Nintendo CAN do voice chat (lobbies in MK8), that it works fine being friend-only, and that they have always chosen to keep voice chat out of the game while actively playing it.

That just screams wanting to keep the gameplay smooth.
 
Okay, but now explain Wii U Chat.

Kids can add any random person on Miiverse as their "friend" correct? They can add strangers as their friends without parents knowing. Which means, any stranger can contact your kids through Wii U Chat.
No stop, we just got them to take away friend codes. If they realize their error we'll go back to the dark ages.
 
I don't really care about bending people to my position. People defending this are already far too illogical for me to care about changing their opinion. Neither Nintendo, nor anyone in this thread has come up with a good reason for this feature to be left out.

Literally all of the complaints about harassment and privacy have been taken care of on other consoles, so to use it as a reason here is pointless. And other opinions like "The action is too fast paced for voice chat." are so laughably illogical that it's not worth trying to reason with those people.


Because the game was built from the ground up not to need it. It is completely unnecessaty, there is no intelligence you can disseminate that isnt already given to every player, faster, and more accurately.

Literally the ONLY thing vo would bring to the table is the ability for you to tell other people how YOU want THEM to play, and that is what this shit fest is about.
 
I don't really care about bending people to my position. People defending this are already far too illogical for me to care about changing their opinion. Neither Nintendo, nor anyone in this thread has come up with a good reason for this feature to be left out.

Literally all of the complaints about harassment and privacy have been taken care of on other consoles, so to use it as a reason here is pointless. And other opinions like "The action is too fast paced for voice chat." are so laughably illogical that it's not worth trying to reason with those people.

Sure, but if that's the case, I'm not sure why you're addressing me? My point is if the devs don't want it, they won't put it in. I already said you can justify either side, but it's up to the dev in the end. Do you disagree with that?
 
I don't really care about bending people to my position. People defending this are already far too illogical for me to care about changing their opinion. Neither Nintendo, nor anyone in this thread has come up with a good reason for this feature to be left out.

Literally all of the complaints about harassment and privacy have been taken care of on other consoles, so to use it as a reason here is pointless. And other opinions like "The action is too fast paced for voice chat." are so laughably illogical that it's not worth trying to reason with those people.

There's nothing illogical about having a differing opinion. There are some people who are a bit weird and go a bit far in their defense but to brand anyone who disagrees with you as some outlandish cult is borderline harassment. Some people just don't want or care about voice chat. This shouldn't be a massive point of debate or argument yet quite a few of the usual suspects decided to show up and use another thread as an opportunity to remind everyone that they hate Nintendo's "backwards policies," that anyone who disagrees with them are part of some "defense force," listing Wii U sales, etc. Hell I'm surprised Gonzo didn't just make a new thread about this like he usually does.

If you want to have a good discussion about something, you need to can the fucking hostility and tribalist bullshit. This has gone on too far and needs to stop.
 
Because the game was built from the ground up not to need it. It is completely unnecessaty, there is no intelligence you can disseminate that isnt already given to every player, faster, and more accurately.

Literally the ONLY thing vo would bring to the table is the ability for you to tell other people how YOU want THEM to play, and that is what this shit fest is about.
Again. Your mistake is assuming that the only reason people voice chat is for strategic purposes. I like voice chat because I like bullshitting with my friends while playing video games, and there is zero reason to leave the feature out, even if it's not something that YOU would personally use.
 
Lack of voicechat is a bonus in my eyes. Last thing I want is to be in an arena putting up with the bullshit on a nintendo shooter that I would in a Call of Duty game. Keeps the aesthetic from being tainted by folks having too much fun by acting like assholes on the microphone because they have a small degree of anonymity.

Nintendo still thinks of themselves as a toy company...in this instance where they have a very 90's Nickelodeon style game I think its a good thing they did something like not having voice chat so that folks can't ruin that feeling of childish fun by calling each other the N word and swearing every two seconds.

I feel like you've never even played Call of Duty but are one of those people that feels the need to constantly complain about it. Most of the time you don't hear people talking because they are in party chat with their friends, and even if you do run into an annoying person, it's very simple to mute them. I am blown away that you seem to think removing options is a good thing when there are multiple easy ways to alleviate the problems (excuses in my eyes) that people raise when voice chat is brought up in Nintendo games. Did the thought even cross your mind that restricting communication to people on your friends list could avoid the issues you bring up or are you still in full blown "think of the children" mode?
 
Again. Your mistake is assuming that the only reason people voice chat is for strategic purposes. I like voice chat because I like bullshitting with my friends while playing video games, and there is zero reason to leave the feature out, even if it's not something that YOU would personally use.

I think he addresses it that way since that is what a lot of people bring up as being lost.

The real loss is the friendly banter with friends, which should be an OS level option.

got to protect those 18-34 year olds

Those are unreliable and you know it. The source is biased towards showing parents and their information rather than the kids under said parents. There is a very large children's demographic on the WiiU, that's why the kids games are still being made (LEGO) and why they keep selling well in spite of every other third party title being abysmal.

For shame!
 
There's nothing illogical about having a differing opinion. There are some people who are a bit weird and go a bit far in their defense but to brand anyone who disagrees with you as some outlandish cult is borderline harassment. Some people just don't want or care about voice chat. This shouldn't be a massive point of debate or argument yet quite of the usual suspects decided to show up and use another thread as an opportunity to remind everyone that they hate Nintendo's "backwards policies," that anyone who disagrees with them are part of some "defense force," listing Wii U sales, etc. Hell I'm surprised Gonzo didn't just make a new thread about this like he usually does.
.

The issue people keep having is you don't have to like it. You include the option, allow people to turn it off. Everyone can have their preference. No one loses, except parents who are too incompetent to actually parent.

The weirdness keeps coming in why people are defending not even having the OPTION, as if the mere fact the option exists would somehow infringe on their ability not to use/like said option.
 
If Nintendo added a console-wide Xbox styled party chat option I'd be so happy. actually, just an Xbox style party system would be awesome. Inviting friends to games, and chatting with friends would be enough for me, I don't like having to mute kids on halo
 
Because the game was built from the ground up not to need it. It is completely unnecessaty, there is no intelligence you can disseminate that isnt already given to every player, faster, and more accurately.

Literally the ONLY thing vo would bring to the table is the ability for you to tell other people how YOU want THEM to play, and that is what this shit fest is about.

When people talk to each other online they usually do more than just talk strategy. If this game was built from the ground up to alienate the very audience it's targeting then they've done a bang up job.
 
What if the voice chat was locked to friends only?

This is reasonable, but perhaps would encourage everyone to feel like they needed to 'party up' and friend everyone in order to be as competitive as those with voice chat. Voice chat for friends outside of the arena should be there like Mario Kart though. (No excuse)

I'm not sure this decision will be the most profitable, but I think they are trying to set the game in its own territory. They will need mega marketing to attract the crowd offended by current console shooters though. My guess is with the Wii U failing and their track record of marketing that the game doesn't find its place as the most causal friendly shooter on the market.
 
The best excuse is keeping the people with bad ping from having even more connection issues because they also insist on voice chatting.

Seriously, we know that Nintendo CAN do voice chat (lobbies in MK8), that it works fine being friend-only, and that they have always chosen to keep voice chat out of the game while actively playing it.

That just screams wanting to keep the gameplay smooth.
People with good connections will use VC and those without will turn off VC to reduce latency. Isn't that how it works?
 
The issue people keep having is you don't have to like it. You include the option, allow people to turn it off. Everyone can have their preference. No one loses, except parents who are too incompetent to actually parent.

The weirdness keeps coming in why people are defending not even having the OPTION, as if the mere fact the option exists would somehow infringe on their ability not to use/like said option.

Welcome back, Ami.

Amen.
 
The issue people keep having is you don't have to like it. You include the option, allow people to turn it off. Everyone can have their preference. No one loses, except parents who are too incompetent to actually parent.

The weirdness keeps coming in why people are defending not even having the OPTION, as if the mere fact the option exists would somehow infringe on their ability not to use/like said option.

Just give it up, nothing will change their opinion. You have no power here, etc.
 
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