Topic: How will the chat system work?

I have no cell phone nor do i want one, not my thing. But i really enjoy the chat system on the ps4. So will i be able to add friends and start chats on nintendo or do i need some cell phone/app? i really hope not i hate cell phones. Also would be awesome to have an app on the switch that lets you join in on psn and its chats.

@ReeLongbow Then I am afraid you are out of luck. According to Reggie and others at Nintendo voice chat will be handled through a smartphone app. Not sure why but that's how it's going to be.

From what I've understood you're going to need a smartphone in order to make use of the chat functions.. it sounds like a bad solution IMO, but we'll see.

I have a Windows Phone so I guess I'm out of luck too. This is such a dumb move, Nintendo.

People keep saying this is a dumb move but I think they are under the impression that it was as simple as having it on the system.

Whilst I have no evidence to support this, I think the fact we are in this position would suggest that the console does not perform well when trying to run additional apps alongside the actual games. So probably the only solutions Nintendo had were: 1) don't have VC whatsoever and watch whilst everyone laughs at them; 2) include VC directly through the console and watch everyone get angry at how the games lag/it doesn't work properly; 3) use a peripheral device that can manage this separately from the system that works effectively if not the most entirely elegant solution.

For what it's worth, I don't really care about voice chat so it makes no difference to me, but I would hardly call this a dumb move.

There's been mixed information on this so far.

Obviously, a lot of people will keep going back to what Reggie said during his interview with Jared, and taking that as the be-all, end-all of the matter. So let's just clear this up; Reggie did not rule out that voice chat and other online features would make it onto the Switch itself. He simply advertised the smartphone app functionality because, as he put it, it's "always there with you". The idea is that your phone can act as a central hub to 'book' online matches with friends (so that they all know the day/time and can go straight to the lobby) and to provide other communication such as voice chat.

Yet on the other hand, Kimishima has stated that these services will also be available on the Switch console.

So clearly, it's not a matter of whether the app is the only way to access voice chat, but just how inept Nintendo's P.R is. Reggie would have been better off saying that more information is to come.

Who doesn't have a phone nowadays?

@dtjive Then, I would argue that having a console in 2017 not powerful enough for this kind of basic multitasking is an even dumber move.
The Switch is at least more powerful than the Wii U. So it is surely capable of this, if Nintendo is willing to play ball.

@dtjive As I said in another thread, the original Xbox was capable of doing online voice chat, and even the DS could do voice chat. If hardware issues are the bottleneck for voice chat, then they have way bigger issues than just the voice chat alone.

I for one own no smart phone because between having a pc (that i rarely use), and a land line phone (which i very rarely use), i find paying for another phone is a total waste from someone who rarely talks to people.

Why can't we just have a text messanger like the Wii had. I'd rather organize matches that way than feeling awekward talking to people that I've only met in forums.

Looks like we got possibility to use in-game chat trough the Switch with headset! Without that stupid app..

Phew, that is a big relief if that's true.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo launched their own line of smartphones in the future. Especially if the Switch was a success. Maybe a mobile phone will be the successor of the 3DS, who knows.

More and more information coming out that would suggest that voice chat is totally possible through the Switch itself. Wired and Bluetooth headset acceptance confirmed.

I'm curious as to how people are completely anti-phone. Its 2017, you know they do more than talk to people right?

The only way I could see not caring to own one is if you have no family you need to talk to when out and about, no significant other to be able to reach when separated, never have left the house and needed to look something up, never need directions without having a GPS in your pocket, never need to take photos without a camera on standby, etc.

Even if you don't talk to people, the low cost and plethora of uses makes it it unreasonable to flat out never own, other than being a hipster who dislikes them because other people have them. It doesn't have to be 'your thing'; its an incredibly cheap device that can be used anywhere in the world to make multiple aspects of your life easier.

People have lived for thousands of years without cell phones. If someone doesn't want to own one for whatever their reason is, who cares? They aren't hurting anyone, and they can manage just fine without one. I think the reason most people hated the idea of the online service being tied to your phone is the inconvenience of juggling devices, plus the fact that anyone who doesn't own a cell phone is completely screwed.

People also lived without electricity. That doesn't mean its perfectly reasonable to be without electricity in a developed country in 2017.

We're at the point where intentionally avoiding a handheld portable communication device is probably more costly than just having one. With such a low cost you're basically paying to be inconvenienced. (with the exception someone has no friends, no family, no spouse, no job outside of the home, never travels, never takes photos, and never leaves the house, etc.)

He's free to not use one, I'm just genuinely intrigued by how a phone would not benefit his life in no way whatsoever. Especially to the extent that he 'hates them'.

Edit: For clarity, the only thing I'm interested in discussing is the TC's reasoning for hating cell phones. Just a heads up in case anyone writes me a thesis on how the Zibi tribe in Eastern Africa lives without cell phones just fine therefore they're not mandatory.

Eh, who knows. Could be any number of reasons. The most common reason I hear from people is that they hate how everyone walks around like zombies staring at their phones or how people check their phones while they're talking to someone face to face, which are fair points, seeing as both of those scenarios happen pretty often, especially the former. Still, nothing wrong with owning one if you don't waste a ton of time on it or check it mid-conversation, which is just rude.

My reasons are simple. I rarely talk on the phone, and when i do i use the one at home or work. Whatever is online can wait till i get home on my pc. I have a nice camera i don't need a cell phone camera. I get really annoyed seeing people glued to phones and smart devices and ignore people around them, it disgusts me. Why pay 50-100 bucks for these things i can do at home and also avoid being a cell zombie?

Im not bothered by the app thing as long as we have this feature. One question is how will we recieve the app after we pay for the subscription. I guess it is a free app but will connect to nintendo and verify your account is paid after you log in.