It would be helpful for all games, if I could communicate with random people online. What if I find someone I enjoy playing with while playing Mario Kart...I'll never see that person again because the game doesn't give me any information on his/her friend code!!

If Nintendo could just change its ways....maybe if I find someone I like playing against when I play the random modes...maybe...just maybe...I can add him to my friends list FROM the game itself!!

And not only that, it would give us something to do while waiting for a game to start if we could write text messages to each other before the race. And if we finish the race early, we can cheer one of our friends on by writing "Go _____!!" There doesn't need to be live voice chat for me, as I'm a bit shy with my voice to be honest, but letting us at least write text messages to random people would go a long way.

Yeah, there really should be an option to request a person as a friend while you're playing with them online.

The Conduit will include voice chat. I hope it works well because I agree with you...

Like their online is pretty barebones haha

It woucd be nice to see nintendo do that, thing is I doult they will since that media spin on Pictochat a few years back.

I appreciated the compromise approach in Dr. Mario, actually. Having preset phrases is a nice way to ensure and encourage safe, friendly conversation. Yes, it's very, very simplified conversation, but what else do you need from a random person you don't know?

How do you expect to get competitive without communication in team games?

No. People annoy me, talking to people annoys me even more. Why would I want to be annoyed whilst playing a game?

It should be an option. Voice chat should be an option. Writing text should be an option. And there should be a mute option or block text option for those that don't want either. More people want communication than those that don't want it.

Nintendo is gonna stick with the FCs for awhile... Unless they start a premium pay-service like XBL.

this. surely they could build in a way to opt out of communications entirely if they're going to go through the trouble of going back and putting them in at all (not that it'll probably ever happen).

The Conduit will also apparently allow you to add people as friends from random match-ups; I'll be interested to see how that works as it seems like a good feature.

Well, not on the Wii, ever. Maybe the next console though.

I know they said you can add "friends of friends," but the random match-up thing is slightly different from friends. I think it'd be more like a Rivals list from Metroid Prime Hunters where you can add them to play like friends but won't be able to communicate with them like friends, which I thought was a beautiful compromise.

I don't need to trash talk to be competitive. I always bring my A game, and that is enough.

Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I certainly hate communication in games. Believe it or not, my ideal experience is for the other player(s) to be indistinguishable from AI players except for greatly increased strategic skills and intelligence. I love, for instance, playing the Battle Mode on Phantom Hourglass, an no AI could ever be as interesting to play against as real people, but the fact that all you can do is cheer or boo at the end of a level or game is a huge plus; anything more would just annoy me.

I agree completely, Wario. I liked the cheering and booing in PH. Systems like that and the Dr. Mario preset phrases are a very nice touch and make up the extent of communication I want with random people. Voice chat is nice for friends, but that's all. If Spirit Tracks doesn't have that versus mode, I will cry.

Oh, it will surely have it -- ON A TRAIN.

As someone who runs an internet chat service for the DSi (ShoutBox on DSiCade), I hope to God that Nintendo NEVER allows chat with random people. The last thing I need is Yet Another 12 Year Old(TM) thinking he's soooo clever by shouting out names for parts of the male and female anatomy. Not to mention the ones that swear like drunken sailors!

Many people ask me why I don't create an app like Pictochat. I tell them that I have a hard enough time keeping a lid on idiocy in text form. Just wait until said 12 year old decides to draw previously mentioned anatomy. Haha. I'm laughing on the inside. Really. (Dear God in heaven, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEEEEEASE save me from stupid 12 year olds.)

Just wait until said 12 year old decides to draw previously mentioned anatomy.

Pfft, if they really want to be clever, they'll find a way to arrange force gems or Dr. Mario pills into the aforementioned illicit shapes. No need to make it easy on them.

They might but people are still missing the big picture. Just be happy that they enabled SOME chat functions period.
I'd be ticked off if they did. I do not want to hear people swearing at me or uttering questionable remarks.

Trust me, even with the lack of VC, I see my share of "immature gamers".... People who just stop playing and start working to piss you off. Especially in games like COD, Onslaught, and MoH:H2. Any FPS on the Wii is pretty bad for it... Especially MoH:H2, because it has a "quick chat" function where you can say stuff like "follow me" or "enemy spotted"... And 90% of the time someone will spam a phrase the WHOLE F-ING MATCH!!! And I can't turn that $#it off.

@warioswoods
Trust me, I've seen it before!