One of the smaller demonstrations in today's Wii U Nintendo Direct was that for Wii U Chat, the feature briefly shown prior to E3. Using the GamePad stand — though simply holding the controller is an option — Satoru Iwata called up Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime for a chat. Reggie did even say a few lines in Japanese, even if the producers felt the need to provide a translation of his efforts for the local viewers.
After a relatively slick boot-up, Wii U Chat worked exactly as you'd expect, though with modest quality due to the low resolution camera in the GamePad. One neat extra touch was that it was possible for both sides to draw and write on the screen as the video ran; in this case Reggie drew a heart while Satoru Iwata wrote about having a good launch of Wii U. Simple stuff, but it could be fun and, in the wrong hands, ripe for some abuse between Wii U buddies.
Wii U Chat can only be used between registered friends, which makes sense, while it was confirmed that it'll be possible to use chat exclusively on the GamePad screen, allowing the TV to be used for other things. It'll be included for free on the system but, as we previously reported, a day one update will need to be downloaded and installed first.
Do you think you'll use this regularly to keep in touch with friends? You can check out the video below to see it for yourself.
Comments 29
You could give people mustache's then...
Looks like fun.
I'll probably use it with some friends if it works as well as it did there.
Looks neat.
I'll probably never use it though, sadly.
@TinyChatPeeps You know what this means...
@Avi Wangheads are go
I'm crying on the inside here thinking of all the horrible things those poor gamepads are going to be subjected to... The horrors!
Rocket ships.........Rocket ships everywhere.
sounds fun but sadly i doubt i will be using it.
Love the fact I will be able to watch a movie or a boxing match WITH my friends without having them over - using the chat! THAT is epic.
I will probably never use this but I bet my nephew and nieces harass me on it daily
Don't really get the point of this and I have horrible handwriting anyway.
Perfect idea for Teenage boys Nintendo.
Their hormones thank you,from the bottom of their hormone heart.
So will we be able to run Wii U Chat to talk to friends while playing a game?
EDIT: Nevermind, I see how it works now. Neat to see that you'll get a notification when you have a call. Would be cool if the Home button would flash other colors, too, to show of types of notifications like 3DS's LED notification light.
I've said from the beginning that this should be the best selling point for grandparents and grandkids for upgrading from a Wii who may not be tech savy enough to use Skype. "It's Skype, on your tv." I know some tv's have this built in, and the Xbox and PS3 have Videochat, but the Wii got the casuals into videogames and I think the WiiU can get them to upgrade with this.
MUSTACHES AND MONOCLES FOR EVERYONE!!
I hope Tinychat-esque chats with more people are also possible. It would be great on the TV screen.
Especially if the Wii also supports any USB keyboard so you don't have to type with the Gamepad.
Forget you, Tinychat.
...
I would probably use it with some of my 3DS pals. But not on the TV. Just the GamePad.
Oh Reggie, always a card. I'm wondering, is that music that accompanies this demonstration actually in the Wii U Chat software?
Japanese ladies in kimonos are GO!
Reggie's Japanese is KAWAII!!!!!! ♥♥♥♥♥ Go, go Reggie-sama!!!!
Cool, I can annoy people even more in these chats. (Scribble all over the screen so no one can see or something similar.)
lol yeah just the bad though of how this can be badly used xDD wait for those weird youtube vids too
Cool Feature!!
I'm so excited about this feature!! The Chat feature really sealed the deal when they demoed it at E3. What I'm looking forward to most about the chat feature is being able to video chat with my family who live on the other side of the country and they can finally meet my dog, even if its only digitally.
For those who say you don't see yourself using the Chat feature, I think you will. Once your MiiVerse and friend list expands you'll be able to video chat with people all over the world.
You'll be able to Chat with commenters from Nintendo Life — please wear clothing !!!
The only thing that bothered me with the Video Chat was the time-lag. The time-lag seemed to be 2-3 seconds, which may not seem like much, but having an hour long conversation it might be frustrating.
This looks pretty cool. I might use it but I probably won't use it that much.
now this is pretty cool.....but i can see people use it more when they get more people on their friends' list.
hee hee hee, can't wait to draw random stuff on people's faces X"D
Looks really fun! I think it was a great idea to add a camera.
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