Famitsu Article Reportedly Inks Out More Splatoon Details

No online communication for a team based shooter? Really? Nintendo you have to stop being stupid.

A game that revolves around team work and communication not have voice chat in matches is a disappointment.

To be fair I never use online communication ever but I'm still really worried about the long term health of this game.

The way the translation of the voice chat bit is written 'suggests' that voice chat may be reserved for friends only. We'll hopefully know for sure once the rest of the info from the 10 page Famitsu spread has been translated and posted.

As always with Nintendo, two steps forward, one step back.

I don't care about the in match chat.....I'm more concerned with the local multiplayer and what it turns into. Hopefully they have ways of forming teams though so your set 4 can team up vs the world

No online communication is a bit if a drag,but honestly it would just be people calling other players mothers various things If my time with COD is anything to go by,hopefully you can talk to friend,and I really hope you can set up so you have the same team all the time.

@Folkloner
Regardless, I won't have seven friends with a wii u and splatoon. Most people won't. This whole "only friends" thing is quite annoying.
I never use voice chat, but I feel like this game needs it. If it doesn't have it, I'll skip it.

First off the keyword here is matched. The lack of voice chat doesn't really have to do with Nintendo being stupid or ignorant. According to part of the interview they tried implementing a system where you could give orders to your team mates but they dropped it because they found matches were too fast and hectic for it to be really useful. I would be perfectly fine with just pre made messages. This sort of feature creeping is getting annoying. People also need to remember as great of an idea vc is on paper it also opens up a big door for a lot of spam and verbal abuse which is understandably a risk Nintendo isn't willing to take. Is it really that hard to set up a skype chat anyway? Also it said clearly in the interview they tried in match communication but it didn't work out

I hope that currency can be earned in local multiplayer matches as well if I can't/won't go online.

As @Wolfgabe correctly points out, there is Skype if we want/need voice chat.

@Wolfgabe: While I understand (and fully respect) Nintendo's approach towards preventing verbal abuse on their online network, they need to find a happier medium. This asks for even more strategy than many mainstream shooters, thus having communication is drastically needed. Sure, we could put on Skype, but that's assuming we're only playing with friends. While there will always be verbal trolls, shutting out this approach limits our progress to perfecting online chatting.

I don't think voice communication is vital if you know your role and objective. This isn't a serious tactical shooter. Just paint the area, look at the gamepad (I'm sure you'll see your teammates if they are currently engaging the opposing team). The game may still have some sort of communication like by pressing the DPad you could call for back up etc.

That said, the inclusion of voice communication would have been better for some. Personally I don't want to hear some badass wannabe trash-talking while I'm playing with my kid around.

I don't think voice communication is vital if you know your role and objective. This isn't a serious tactical shooter. Just paint the area, look at the gamepad (I'm sure you'll see your teammates if they are currently engaging the opposing team. The game may still have some sort of communication like by pressing the DPad you could call for back up etc.

That said, the inclusion of voice communication would have been better for some. Personally I don't want to hear some badass wannabe trash-talking while I'm playing with my kid around.

Oh come on. Nintendo is still afraid to let players talk to each other? Let's sell our consoles on the idea of playing games together BUT NO TALKING DAMMIT.

Their new slogan should be "shut up and play."

@sinalefa Cumbersome method for some that shouldn't be needed in 2015.

@BensonUii

Yes, and it should be your choice to mute the mics while others who want to play more tactically are allowed to actually communicate with one another.

That Nintendo doesn't seem to understand the concept of a "mute" button in this day and age is absolutely mind-boggling.

@Yorumi

This is another case of Nintendo taking a step forward, followed by a bizarre bumbling stumble backwards. Making a team-based shooter like this without communication is still further evidence that Nintendo does not understand modern gaming.

This could have been as solid as Left 4 Dead, but I guess Nintendo's plan is for it to be as hectic and unfocused as Call of Duty, where most people are basically on their own, even in team matches. Call of Duty is often fun, but it is seriously lacking in strong team-focused gameplay. Left 4 Dead did it perfectly.

@Quorthon Shut Up and Play would have been a great Sega Saturn-era slogan.

Sigh...I went to my local gamestop and they have posters outside that advertise the Xone as the most advanced multiplayer console..or something to that effect...

Mean while...wiiu asks how willI U play? It's a bunch of rubbish ,they dictate how limiting our playing experiences are! It's really upsetting..and with no club Nintendo,how will the consumer voice their opinions?

@Quorthon: I get what Nintendo is trying to do, though— some kids playing on their own won't mute the mic always and they may hear things that they can't unhear [or even worse, be preyed upon]. So we go back to the age old battle of where the guilt lies: the product or the consumer. Personally, I think if Nintendo wants to create a safe environment, why not research better ways to block out or educate children from verbal spammers/predators.

@BensonUii: that's the simple version of strategy, but this game can allow for SO much more. By limiting VC, you limit the possibilities of this game.

@Vineleaf

I'm sure it's been used before. But now it suits Nintendo's online gaming concepts.

@Haiassai

It's not Nintendo's job to be your mommy and censor you from bad words. Every other developer understands this.

This is the "censoring the blood in Mortal Kombat" for the current generation.

@Quorthon: If it wasn't clear in my earlier comment, I agree... and yet Swapnote is dead. So if Nintendo wants to maintain this stance, their job is to find better ways to improve VC rather than remove it.

The single player mode have a lot of platforming? That sound promisingly fun! (no sarcasm, that shooting system plus good platforming sounds amazing )

And to everyone worried about the vocal chat, I wonder how many ever tried a demo of the game. I had the chance to play various matches at a game event and despite everyone of the team was (obviously) there, noone felt the need to communicate strategies or tactics. I was even playing with a friend and not even between us we felt the need to share any strategic comment or advice (except the many typical "how to...?" that always happen when trying a new game at a stand XD).

@NbaJunkie

Well, the Xbox One can handle 8 players at once out of the box. The Wii U can only do that with added peripherals and only in Smash Bros.

On a purely technical level, the XBO is a superior multiplayer machine. Also, both the XBO and PS4 come with headsets and microphones for online gaming. The Wii U does not.

@Quorthon Part of me thinks this is a semi-logical extension of Nintendo's history of 2D platformers. Combine that with a handheld RPG mentality, and the thought that people need to communicate in real time seems unlikely. Even more so with their notion of people playing in the same living room. I wonder if only a little bit of it is concern about verbal abuse and a whole lot of it is the cultural shift bit, where they literally don't get why we need it.

Sound brilliant, well done Nintendo

I can't believe how much people here are overreacting.

No voice chat, so what? You spawn anywhere you're teammates are. Besides, this game isn't designed to be some MLG shooter. It's aimed at groups who know each other, and single player fun.

I'm extremely excited about this game, but no voice chat is a little embarrassing this day and age Nintendo.

C'mon Nintendo, you already got me hyped and intrested in this game. Please don't push it.

@Vineleaf

I think it's probably elements of both. Nintendo has shown in the past to be e x t r e m e l y s l o w in understanding a lot of new gaming concepts due to not fully understanding them. Online gaming in general, for instance. Use of disks for media. Profile-based user account systems, etc.

At the same time, they've also had a history of extreme censorship and playing mommy to gamers (and parents) who should be trusted to make their own decisions.

@Mask0Gears

If it wasn't designed to appeal to MLG crowds, then they shouldn't have taken it to APEX.

@BakaKnight

I'm curious how many detailed strategies and advanced game playing techniques you generally develop in a few fleeting minutes of playing a game for a first time.

You know, most people didn't develop advanced techniques or strategies in Left 4 Dead in the first 30 minutes. It took a lot of time to do it.

By "most people," I mean literally everyone who ever played the game.

Eh, honestly voice chat isn't THAT important. I've played Garden Warfare and never used voice chat or chat in general. (well, unless a friend is playing with me, but that's rare)

@BakaKnight and when I played the demo at egx guess what we did communicate and the game became so much better by doing so.

@Mask0Gears: Also, it isn't meant for Single-player fun. That was added on just for people who want an alternative. This is meant to be an online battle. Why not add as many tools as possible to make this as full of an experience as possible?

Here's something I'm surprised no one has comment on yet: Ahem...

Hooray, they're working on local multiplayer!

This is ridiculous. I wouldn't use the feature myself, but the fact Nintendo is leaving VC out is stupid. If you were being offended, you could mute individuals, or even the whole lobby. Heck, you could even disable all voice chat! Although I'm a diehard Nintendo fan, this is rubbish. Why not give people the option? I'm sorry, but I'm really mad at this.

What makes this worse is the fact this game is much more tactical than other, ordinary shooters. I'm still hyped, don't get me wrong, but this is getting silly.

Also, local multiplayer confirmed! Huzzah!

@Nicolai: where's that mentioned in the article?

Single mode plays like a 3D platformer AND I get to be lazy by not having to turn off vc? This game just gets better and better.

@Tsurii897 Games with vc normally have mute functions so most of what you said isn't even an actual issue.

@Yorumi

Yeah, there are so many solutions to this that still benefit gamers that to just cut it out is foolhardy and lazy. Microsoft and Sony have systems in place to report people, and apparently the Xbox One's online system is more robust than ever.

Hell, MS and EA came up with a funny solution for Titanfall that basically forces all the cheaters and "crap people" to have to play only with each other. Who wouldn't applaud that?

@Quorthon
Again you are blowing things out of proportion. I doubt Nintendo didn't consider it let alone know about it. It's either they wanted a fun environment to play and/or their online structure (or Wii U limitations) is preventing it.

@Haiassai I guess they left it out. Click the source, it's the first on the list.

@Mask0Gears I think you might be missing the point a bit: people love to talk while they play, even more so if they are friends. In Smash or Mario Kart where split second attacks and steering are so important I can see removing voice for lag. With a shooter it makes no sense at all.

@Nicolai: thanks! That's... something this article should've mentioned.

@BensonUii Can't be a Wii U limitation when we have online games with full voice chat already.

Bah, who needs community in a fun game. Let Chaos be our host and fun our moderator, this game is not CoD and consort and neither does anyone want to be shouted by a child with the dirtiest words they can come up with. Nintendo, you did a good job with that and if someone has a problem, then follow the solution Yorumi mentioned and make a Skype or Team Speak round-up. Seriously guys and gals, team speak is not really necessary in a video game for which there are smartphones, pcs, laptops and whatever you can come up with.

@Quorthon Well, to be fair, the Game Pad does include a built in microphone. Also, it could be argued that, by not supplying a certain type of headset with the machine, Nintendo are leaving it open for each individual to use their own headset, instead of having to use either a Sony or Microsoft headset. In the event of breakage, you simply buy a cheap headset, where as you would have to buy a specific headset for the other two.

However, Nintendo going with this policy kf non-communication in multi-player games is hypocritical. They even have the Wii U Chat tool, that allows people of any age to talk to other people, again, of any age. I cannot understand that they would allow this, and it also allows video of each other, which opens a whole can of possible implications, if used in the wrong way. Nintendo need to start trusting the majority of its users to behave and act properly, as they do.

@BensonUii

The Wii U does not have those limitations, as anyone who's played Call of Duty on the machine knows.

Also, to assume that being able to talk to people online somehow creates a "not fun" environment is absolutely ridiculous.

This is either failing to live up to modern standards or understanding modern gaming, or Nintendo being the over-protective "Mortal Kombat blood is bad for you weaklings" mommy of the 80's and 90's.

There is no good reason to remove voice chat in a game designed to be a competitive and team-based online experience.

I'm tired of Nintendo living behind the times. Why do you defend it?

Lacking chat for a strongly team-based multiplayer is a little.... perplexing. But I understand Nintendo probably wants to avoid the nonsense that is the COD/Halo chat.

I don't use chat when I play online, I like having chaos without reason. But some people will be turned off by this.

@Hy8ogen You're so right. I can't believe this won't be incorporated. What were they thinking?

How will this game work with friends? Will we be able to connect with them and then go into online matches together or what? Nintendo is so backwards when it comes to online gaming it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't have this option.

Here's to the lack of an ethernet connection..the biggest flaw of the wii u in my opinion. Depending on 8 people to miraculously have great wifi probably is the reason chat was cut.

@Rezalack they saw CoD and thought "What can we do better... UH, I know." Now we have no notorious babies crying after every match end and or the FBI at the front door

@akaDv8R

Uh, well, just because the XBO and PS4 come with headsets doesn't mean you can only use those. There are tons of headsets for those systems, as I'm sure you're aware. What it does is send a message to the consumer that they don't necessarily need to spend money on extra hardware to enjoy online--that the systems are built for online right out of the box. (Yes, yes, you have to pay for the online features now, but for the new systems, there is generally a free trial to get players started if they choose. The point is, those consoles are ready for everything right away and they promote these abilities.)

I've long been confused and disappointed by Nintendo's failure to utilize the microphone in the GamePad for this stuff--with the exception of being able to say half a sentence to my friend online in Mario Kart 8. In theory, this could and perhaps should have been used as an entry point for online gaming on the console, but Nintendo failed to capitalize on it--and worse, it's the only controller that can use a headset as the Pro Controllers are missing "pro" features like a hack for headsets!

@Quorthon
I'm not defending them on this one but I could live without the VC on some games like this one. I said they either want a "fun" and safe environment (by Nintendo's definition) or there's some limitations (which you and @Jazzer94 have said it doesn't have).

@jeb_leeds: If Wi-Fi is really the problem, the game should be bundled with a USB-to-RJ45. If StarFox64 was bundled with a rumble pak as a fun peripheral, there's no reason this game shouldn't be bundled with a mandatory peripheral.

@Quorthon I was not talking of advance tactics of course XD
But seriously, matches were so fast and chaotic that even a simple " watch your back" felt pointless, by the time you say that your ally already got away safe to a completly new area or got "splatted".
I don't say Splatoon is not strategic at all, but the stage and various matches I tried in it gave the impression the game rely a lot more on the good strategies and the rapidly reacting of each single by itself then a real well planned team work.

Of course I could be fully wrong and the game could really suffering from the lack of voice chat, but that little that Nintendo showed so far gave me the complete opposite impression .

@Hy8ogen So we can deal with the raging gamers and 12 year old kids cursing at everyone right? Yeah I wonder why Nintendo is so damn stupid.

Nintendo Life users doing what Nintendo Life users do best, overreacting

@ZurrrrBlattTron: unless it has to do with potential cultural offense — then they just say "get over it."

I find this a productive reaction. Nintendo needs to get out of the Dark Ages.

@BensonUii

I don't need online voice chat myself, but it's a modern standard, but I like to have the option for the time when I find another brilliant online title like Left 4 Dead--which I had hoped could be this.

@BakaKnight

Perhaps you've seen my go-to reference for this: Left 4 Dead. Have you ever played that, or played it online? Matches can be extremely hectic, extremely fast, and furiously intense, yet communicating--even when it boiled down to screams and torment--was absolutely vital if you wanted a strong team or had friends to do it.

The point is, even in the most hectic game, a team communicating can be incredibly powerful and incredibly fun--be it slopping paint around, or trapping the survivors by the starting point and slowly picking them apart.

I played a lot of L4D online on the X360 (it sold me on paying for Live at the time), and there was extremely noticeable differences in how teams performed with or without mics. I was on a team where all four of us had mics--against a team where none of them did, and we slaughtered them mercilessly. Another time, both teams had full mics, and we were so well balanced and coordinated that it was probably the greatest 3 hours I've ever had online--we literally ended with scores that were one point different--it was something like 865 vs 864, and everybody was equally thrilled by the results because it was hard for the losing team (my team won by that slim margin) to deny that they had a boatload of fun in that regard.

Voice Chat being omitted is kinda weird, but at the same time, I also don't have to deal with obnoxious kids (which could've been achieved by an option to mute team members as well).
That said, if people REALLY want to communicate, they can resort to Skype, TeamSpeak, or many other means, so I'm generally indifferent about that.

@ZurrrrBlattTron There are some overreactions, but just as many blind defenses and even some even handed discussion as well. I don't think it's the end of the world, I'm buying the game day one as it looks spectacular, but it's certainly disappointing.

@CharlyDunst @shinokami Thing is, I don't think this game will attract too many of those kinds of people. They are too busy playing CoD. It's nice having voice chat so you do this little thing called team work.. it's hard reading peoples minds and it's even more aggravating when someone is on your team that doesn't know what they're doing. It's nice to be able to help them out with some pointers rather than have them floundering about losing the game for their team. I can't see too many people causing trouble on a Wii U voice chat. Maybe very few and Nintendo is strict when it comes to it's rules, I'm sure rule breakers would be taken care of swiftly.

I should add, yeah, it's nice not hearing whiners and sore losers, but at the cost of not being able to chat with reasonable players? That sucks. Nintendo made a mistake here.

@King47
Me too.

It's 2015 and people can't even read. @Wolfgabe even explained it.
They said that they tried to implement communication features, but it didn't work the way they wanted, so they dropped it. Would it be better to implement it just because?

@Kaze_Memaryu I for one will ironically be using party chat on my Xbox.

@Yorumi Sorry to hear so, but in Splatoon defense, I could have completly misunderstood the real heart of the game ^_^;
The only thing I can absolutely grant is that the controls felt great, it was simply too fun to play it, which is why I kept going back to the stand.
All my blabbering about strategies it's just a personal opinion and even an unsure one of course, noone here have played enough the game for really know if and how much we gonna miss the vocal chatting in it and how stategies and single/team work will really play in the final product.

Splatoon looks great, but unfortunately I'll never be able to enjoy it. Since I have satellite internet, I get huge lag and terrible ping. I really doubt that'll be fixable, so I probably won't even bother picking it up in the first place.

@Rin-go: Going back to one of Miyamoto's old sayings "When a problem can't be solved no matter what, someone's lying." If it isn't working, find a creative way to make a compromise. Granted, I'm speaking without knowing fully what's going on, but it's hard fathom why they'd nix the WHOLE idea of VC.

@potatomage7 Sorry to hear that. Looks like it will also have offline multiplayer and a solo mode though, so maybe those could give you a way to still enjoy it?

NO voice chat . . Lame. . Let us chat with our friends. . . I was going to get this game but now on the fence!!

I guess the option for VC would have been nice, but I can happily play without it. I am still really excited for this game!

@Yorumi: The fact that they held a Smash tournament at E3 and allowed Smash to be sponsored at APEX 2015, it seems that they are at least attempting a healthy balance between party and skill. Plus, I felt that was more Sakurai's approach than Nintendo's, but I could be wrong. They need to seek that middle more vigorously.

@MailOrderNinja well said, while I might not find it dissapointing because it's a feature that I never use, even with games that support it I can understand dissapointment. But with so many positives I myself find no reason to complain, I'm just happy there's a single player mode tbh

@CptStone They never said no voice chat with friends. With the way it's worded, I think it's only for random players.
I won't be using the voice chat much because I'm not fun of talking to unknown people, let alone following their orders, but I think it should be included. I think I can foresee some of the bottlenecks of VC Nintendo ware talking about, though(at least they tried it, so it's not like they were ignorant or something, people). Suppose 1 or 2 people disable chat. I don't think it will be a feasible idea to plan a strategy with the remaining two players, as it may lead to chaos against the team. Also, the lag. And thirdly, arrogant players.
However, I think the option for a mute button would be appreciated. And.... Nintendo has to confirm this with their own mouths before I jump into conclusions.

So it's not about teamplay then? That is disappointing to say the least. If this turns out to be the last word on the issue, this game just went from "most wanted" to "maybe someday". Nothing short of tragic =( But then again I managed to make due without Hyrule Warriors as well. If Nintendo insists on continuing it's crusade against online, they might just find themselves on the wrong side of history ... even worse, there is no good reason whatsoever to be on that side in the first place. Pure stubbornness.

@Yorumi

I hate that mentality.

That "everybody's equally a winner!" mentality just creates a group of equally weak and inept people. It's not human nature. Competition is human nature. Hell, it's regular nature. This BS about sparing people's feelings needs to end. You don't have the right to not be offended, and you don't have the right to not have your ass handed to you by a better player online.

This is scattering the pieces of the chessboard for everybody before anybody wins.

@Kaze_Memaryu

You can't just Skype with strangers or meet people that way. That's kind of an obnoxious thing to have to do when literally everyone else making games like this just lets you talk and use a mute button if you want.

As it is now, the game is at risk of being woefully unbalanced in favor of people playing online--who have their team sitting on the couch next to them. Otherwise known as the minority of the gaming population.

Lmao, Nintendo fans hate when other gamers call Nintendo "kiddie" but Nintendo still doesn't add voice chat into games that are based around communication. I love Nintendo but their censorship is so outdated. Get with the times already. You should have online voice chat for this game w/ the ability to turn it off if you don't want to hear people. And there should be an option for parental controls to turn it off. But at least give the OPTION to have voice chat for the majority of people that want it.

@shinokami There is a mute button. Think before you reply.

I have done a lot of gaming in both the COD and Gears Universe, and although most of the time the chat is worthless, it's all worth it when you land on a team of people communicating to win a match. Splatoon seems to be even more team based then those games so I'm a bit confused. I honestly didn't think about it prior to reading the article but after I read it I immediately started scratching my head.

My thinking was always this: If you don't like it turn it off, if you like it turn it up!

The music for this game is fantastic.

No voice chat? That's.... sad. Understandable I suppose, but sad. True, you could form a Skype group, or they could allow you to converse with friends.... but then, doesn't that create a disadvantage for the opposing team you're matched with, assuming joining a friends game is even permitted? You can now strategize and work together against the other team that for all you know might have no way to converse at all, creating a severe disadvantage. Voice chat sounds like something that should be a necessity. I know I'm going to love the heck out of this game even without it (and honestly, doubt I would use VC MYSELF anyways) but still a very strange feature not to include for those that want or need it

Looking forward to this game looks great first real shower on wii u.

@Inkling I agree. The lack of voice chat is very disappointing. It leads me to believe that the game isn't as tactical as they say, when you can play properly without team communication...

Who cares, I don't want to hear a bunch of 10 - 12 year olds raging because of they're losing. Not like you'll have to really talk to anybody that's not your friend. Just get Skype and you'll be fine. As said before, you guys overreact too much.

It's great to be able to Skype but we shouldn't have to use that anymore. Oh well, I'm still pumped for this game to come out. This will still be our Spring game purchase. Nothing has changed that.....yet.

If communication is open to "friends" we need to get some Nintendo Life matches scheduled when this gets released.

No online communication is F**king stupid. At least have the option for a keyboard to display on the game while in the lobby. But whatever, I'll let other people complain about that subject.

Can't wait to hear the other music, the main theme is fantastic! This game should be great.

I think they should let people communicate in some way. Voice would be very useful but not everyone in the world speaks the same language so maybe Nintendo thought about this and will give us pre recorded messages (voice or text) for the in-game communication.

@Hy8ogen completely agree, its a joke this is missing!, its such a vital component of a team based online shooter "Communication" I guess we will all have to be mind readers now. Glad this has a campaign mode. This might be the most dissapointed I have been in a while

Jesus Christ, all the whining. A match won't last longer than a few minutes, while ALL essential information are on your gamepad. For what exactly is voice chat needed? By the time you have discussed your tactics the match is already over, lol.

This is stupid. It's a team based video game. Specially when it's a shooter, there should be communication. Stop making incomplete games. I think Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros. would have been a lot better with game chat in middle match, at least with our friends. You can always mute chat anyway. This is sad, I thought this game would have everything ready.

I agree with @Quorthon. I don't absolutely need voice chat in a game like this but we should at least have the option.

I'm hoping that there will be in game chat for friend at least.

While I personally don't care for voice chat the decision to ommit it is stupid. Dan Aldeman explained it. Nintendo's Kyoto business based strategy is really holding them back at times. I'm willing to bet not having voice chat goss back to that, everyone having to agree.

@ericwithcheese2

If it ends up being in there for friends, at the very least, that's a good start. I can handle that.

I just need to learn to make friends, then.

@Chaozrush21 This doesn't really read "mature" either. Nobody ever suggest to force VC on you or anyone else. Being able to mute yourself, individuals or the whole team should be a given, at least it normally is ...
Also, good players in a team-based game communicate with each other. Many times it's what setting skilled players apart from good ones, knowing when to communicate what in a precise manner ...
But putting even that aside, trash talk is fun. If you dislike it, for whatever reason, you can just mute it and turn it out thereby.
Having a team-based game without any means of communication, is like having a party all by yourself. Mostly it's impossible, but really, it's just very sad =(

Meh, as long as it has a commorose, there shouldn't be that much of a problem communication wise. Lack of voice chat is disappointing, but not a deal breaker for me.

But when there's a multiplayer game that does allow VC, it says "Online interaction not rated by the ESRB." And no CPUS is a huge let down.

Can we at the very least have quick shoutouts just like Monster Hunter? It will make a decent substitute for having no voice chat.

WTF Nintendo no voice chat in a game that requires team play? Come on now. I can understand Smash and Kart to a degree but this you need voice chat in a game like this. I won't use but jeez

I would like yo know if it'll be posible to play online co-op (Like in Mario Kart 8 and many other games)

@Quorthon I'm hoping it's still in there for friends. That would keep with Nintendo's nannying, and the details only specified about random matchmaking. That leaves room for hope for in game friends chat.

I don't know if I'd use it but the option needs to be there.

@Jahir good point. Even in regional matches that might also be the case.
All this reaction... geez. X)

@Haiassai
Finding a medium never results on happiness. You always make both sides complain

@ericwithcheese2

I would definitely use it with friends. The game looks like it was built for it, which is why this report is rather disheartening.

Voice chat is waaay to scary for Miyamoto

(yes I know he is not the mind behind the game, but he is the general manager of software which means he decides what passes and whatnot and seeing how he has being very internet-scared since the Gamecube era, is obvious who is the "genius" behind this stupid reasoning.)

I don't care about the no voice chat,I don't wanna hear a bunch of people raging or calling each other a homophobic word...

Very excited to hear that the single player campaign is a 3D platformer/shooter hybrid. Not enough 3D platformers these days (just Mario and Sonic honestly, which is quite pathetic of the industry), and the fact that it's a shooter hybrid means it can add new elements to the genre.

As for the lack of voice chat online, it's a mixed bag for me. On one hand it would have been nice for those that want it, on the other hand I personally think that the game being "team based" only goes as far as the fact that you are on teams. Beyond that it's based around what you do individually for the team (though not as mindless as CoD), which doesn't require voice chat to figure out. It's not some tactical game like Rainbow Six Siege or something like that, and we all know that the number of people who would actually participate as a tactical team would be next to none, especially if the game becomes a hit.

The fact that 4v4 is the only option online is more disappointing in my opinion, though at the same time it is understandable that they don't want to split the userbase. The install base of the Wii U is very low, the actual userbase of the system is even lower, and then you have to figure that the number of people who would actually buy the game is even lower, which would certainly make the online unsatisfactory if there were multiple modes.

@JasonAnArgoNOT64: With all due respect, I find that a ridiculous mindset. Firstly, finding middle ground does not necessarily mean compromise and create a lukewarm product. I'm not saying it's easy, but it's finding something that works for both parties. As far as hampering, yeah: you'll always get people biting at you (no matter what side you pick). But if you are creating middle ground because your product needs it (rather than because people ask for it), then its your product that wins—and Nintendo products NEEDS better online action while maintaining their family friendly stature. If the product is happy, then a majority of fans and, more importantly, the developer should be happy.

I don't really use online chat, so I don't really care either way

Everyone uses CoD, Halo, etc. as references to why VC should not be implemented. They don't want to hear vulgarities and obscenities. Void of the fact that there is a mute option that a majority of people utilize, what percentage of the Nintendo fanbase reflects these kinds of gamers that would spew insane innuendos? Sure, there is the competitive Smash community that enjoys their colorful taunting, and I know my friends and I have shouted at the screen while slipping some non-Nintendo words. But I really wonder: what percentage of people that would play Splatoon reflects the personality of the Crazy German Counterstrike Kid? I beg to guess not a lot. It isn't that type of game.

@Quorthon As I said, I'm indifferent about it. Besides, VC with strangers is an annoyance in almost every case, anyway. The only people I'd play online with in the same team are already in my friends list, and I never had trouble setting up TS with them for Monster Hunter sessions, either, so I'll just stick with that.

@Haiassai The people on Miiverse say otherwise (though they could be 3DS users more so than Wii U users). Even then, it isn't necessarily just people shouting profanities about each other's mothers, it's also how many people would even use it for tactical teamwork.. So yeah, perhaps the number of people in the Wii U community who would shout those types of things is low, but would the community even use it for tactical strategy? I'm willing to bet that very few of them would use it for that reason and that it would be pretty much mindless chatter that doesn't add to the gameplay at all.

@Chaozrush21 Yeah but the sad thing is those 12 year old screaming kids,will be grown men!Which could be kind of funny.

@IceClimbers: That's a good point. Typical Nintendo purists [which is what the Wii U is currently being sold to] aren't all about strategy. I'm sadly a minority. I do wonder, though, if given the chance if a small margin of them would increase. I do, however, know many non-Wii U owners that would love this game and eat up tactics. Perhaps that would also increase the percentage of profanities...

But I still hold to the fact that VC does add to the gameplay, even if a majority of people don't use it (yet ). And even if there isn't a majority market for the VC, it's comparable to online gaming. While most Nintendo gamers prefer local multiplayer, that shouldn't stop the Big N from implementing it into their games. VC should be no different.

Hugely disappointed in Nintendo, no voice chat? I don't know if i will buy this game now.

Appearently most people didn't read the entire thing. They stated they tried implementing a form of in game communication but it wasn't working out so they cut it. By the way they worded it they seem to be referring to random matches. It really disgusts me how people are now talking down this game simply because of somethinng like voice chat. This sort of feature creeping is getting ridiculous and its a problem because it makes people judge a game based on what it does or doesn't have rather than the gameplay itself. It makes sense in a way to limit vc to friends in a way because it common knowledge that most people are more comfortable talking to people they know rather than random strangers. The whole strategy and cooridnation argument doesn't hold much water to me either because comparing Splatoon to say COD or Rainbow Six is stupid. When you look at Splatoon in general there isn't a whole lot of complex strategy involved since your objective is relatively straight forward just paint more of the map than the other team. From my expereince with online games like TF2 in many cases most people don't really use voice chat for strategy at all they use it for is to annoy people and make things miserable for the people who are actually trying to play the game trust me no other game will make you despise mic spam more

I'm just happy Nintendo's online limitations don't extend to their 3rd party partners any more. It was so bad back on Wii/DS that most 3rd parties didn't even try.

Also, I'm quite surprised by the amount of people that want random chat and not just friend chat.

@Yorumi
I know it may be an annoying loophole, but you could always briefly add people from Miiverse to your Friend List for the occasional online match.

@King47
You mean you don't use vc but won't buy this game if it doesn't have it? So you won't buy the game if it's fun due to some arbitrary standard?

I'll give my take on this.Who cares?Each match will be quick,so what's the point of VC?To hear one guy take online way too seriously?And yes i know there's a mute button in shooters.But i will say this i do like reading these comments,cause both sides make some valuable points on this subject.Still i'm hyped for this either way this one feature ain't gonna change that.

WHAT! No voice chat. THANK YOU Nintendo. No, seriously, thank you. What people type on the internet s***s me enough, I really don't want to hear them while I'm playing. Yes, I'm misanthropic and anti-social, shoot me.

@Wolfgabe: It is disappointing to hear that people are considering in not purchasing the game merely because of this feature. Though, I do see their point: if this is removed, what else from a competitive standpoint will be removed. It's a slippery slope argument, but understandable nonetheless.

But I have to disagree with you in that there's not much strategy. I see great potential. While it is a spray and pray kind of game, placement looks key in this game. Think a bottleneck should be more secure? Tell your teammate to hide in the ink for a surprise attack. Need assistance? Call a teammate over.

If they keep VC with friends, I'll be rather content. If they don't, I'll be very disappointed, but still buy this game. This looks like an awesome game, but it boils down to the idea of choice. We should have the option to mute fowl language... or let our ears sift through it to work with others. Likewise, parents should be involved with their kids lives to teach them that they should mute or sift through fowl language. It's the principle that's at hand.

Not sure why some of you are wondering why people don't want to buy the game if there's no way of communicating. It's simple. This game relies exclusively on team work, and 90% of the fun in games like these is being able to enjoy it with friends/other people. With no way to talk to them, it just feels like you're playing against bots, you have no influence on what they do, where if you could talk to them, you could plan accordingly. And this game is probably MORE strategical than Call of Duty in that you have to paint the most area of the map. In CoD most of the time you're just shooting anyone on the opposing team for the most points.

Overall, no voicechat takes away much of the fun that team based games bring to the table.

@Haiassai Oh I definitely agree that they should add it. I just don't find the lack of it a deal breaker. Especially considering it's a new IP that feels different and will still be really fun.

And yeah, I've seen a couple people bashing others for still wanting the game because buying it would "send Nintendo the message that you're okay with no voice chat in games, which is unacceptable". Wouldn't people not buying it send the message to Nintendo that we don't want new IPs? I think getting Nintendo to make new IPs is more important.

@Operative That whole argument goes out the window when the majority of people wouldn't use it for tactical strategy anyways.

@IceClimbers:

'I've seen a couple people bashing others for still wanting the game because buying it would "send Nintendo the message that you're okay with no voice chat in games, which is unacceptable".'

That's ludicrous! We can't throw the baby out with the bad bath water. There are other ways to protest.

@IceClimbers

You don't know that. Yes, there's always bound to be trolls, but that is why there exists mute buttons on every other console. Why should the people who would use it appropriately be punished for the actions of the few?

@Haiassai Agreed.

@Operative I feel as though that it's really more of a case of the few being punished by the actions of the majority.

@Yorumi Yeah I've had pretty much the opposite experience as you can probably tell.

@IceClimbers

When it comes to Nintendo, there has been no majority because they don't give us the chance or option. And with them being so terrified of the internet, we probably won't have accurate data anytime soon. All they need to do is limit it to friends, so parents who don't properly supervise their children can't blame nintendo for the random people talking to them through the TV. At least with friends there would be consent

Nintendo is so out of touch with the reality of modern home console gaming that they probably have not yet figured out why the Wii U is selling so poorly.

They cannot attract core gamers with this "kiddie" mentality. "Core gamers" apparently have standards and this ain't it, hardware or software wise.

There are those that want VC and there are those that don't. Why not please everyone and give them the option? If they don't want it because of kids or whatever disable it in parental control.

I am looking forward to this game but I don't expect immense sales.. Relatively speaking of course.

@Kaze_Memaryu Ummm no. I'm sick of everyone framing this as either/or. It doesn't have to be through the magic of options.

Want voice chat, switch the setting to on. Don't want it, set it to Off. Problem solved, everyone is catered for.

@zeldagaymer93 You hit the nail right in the head.

@Wolfgabe the saddest part is how people overlook the fact that Nintendo ORIGINALLY IMPLEMENTED VC but was cut because it didn't work out. And everyone assuming VC will also be cut while playing with friends when the article said:
"No communication between players you're matched with."
Sad.

Splatoon is my most hyped game of Q2 2015. I'm not going all "Hey! Guess what? I'm not buying Splatoon anymore because there is no Voice Chat among strangers!"

@Hy8ogen totally agreed. Its beyond being totally effed up if this doesn't have in game voice chat.

@BenAV Exactly! It's situational awareness, people. Learn it! The gamepad gives you all the info you need. You can see the ink coverage of the field, where your team mates are, their health, a way to teleport to their location if you see them getting jumped. Honestly, this is the type of info that needed to be communicated in other games but it's all replaced by the gamepad in Splatoon. There's also no safety in camping because the death cam will reveal the position of the attacker, and from what I see from videos out there, many of the skirmishes take place at extremely close range. Snipers seem to be only useful to hold a point. What happens if one of the opposing team decides to teleport behind you when they respawn? Lastly, kills only give you so many points, your overall contribution to inking the area is worth more points than kills. The only thing I would like to know is what kind of loadout my team mates have before we go in, which may not need to be verbally communicated if the game displays that info in the lobby.

http://playeressence.com/splatoon-voice-chat-update-no-way-to-communicate-in-random-matches-says-nogami/

Confirmed that this only applies to random matches I hope the auhor updates soon

Lack of chat unfortunately probably means lack of my purchase, I can't keep supporting this trend. All I know is hero's of ruin came out for 3ds a couple years ago and it had great voice chat on 3ds! You mean to tell me voice chat on Wii u isn't cutting it, get out of here with that crap.

This isn't that complicated, really. I can understand Nintendo not using voice chat in random matches. The closest product currently on the market like Splatoon is Team Fortress 2. Team Fortress 2 is miserable to play with voice chat. Nobody uses it for strategy. Everybody uses it for inane/offensive trolling. Nintendo is more likely than Valve or Microsoft to get into trouble for having offensive dialog over voice chat in random matches.

The answer is simple. Allow voice chat in non-random matches between friends. An 8 on 8 TF2 battle with all players agreeing to rules in advance and with all players taking it seriously would be a blast. I imagine the same is true of Splatoon. Especially if teams have room to communicate mid-match privately. Doesn't seem like rocket science to me.

Also, the no-AI thing is rather dumb if it means that rage-quitting ends a match. Surely Nintendo isn't that behind the times...

True on the rage-quitting, hopefully there is a solution for that so as not to disrupt other players' gaming (or a heavy penalty, if the quit was manually performed)

Per voicechat, if they don't have it, I hope they have some basic pre-set communications like 'follow me' or 'attack from left/right'. Or, a beacon that can be set on the map, one per player, in that player's ~color (assuming diff player/icon colors). If not, then the strategy will just have to be for each player to manually check the map and determine a way or know their role / standard strats. May be handy to have rewards/ways to 'compliment' good players on good teamwork, or the like, after a game completes.

@Wolfgabe
The only thing that was said is "a system whereby you can give orders to your teamates". They removed it due to matches being too hecktic. Sounds like preset phrases to me, text-based communication is the only thing that'd be too slow for a game like this. There's no way voice chat is "too slow" to be effective.

As for the strategy argument, or lack there of, basing that off looks is pretty weak sauce. Does Smash Bros. look like it offers complex strategy? How about Pokemon? I think we both know the answer. People were expecting a competitive shooter, Nintendo's answer to COD or L4D, so I'd say their disappointment at what seems like yet another party-style game is understandable.

No voice chat??

Why doesnt want nintendo want me to play with online friends/
should I play with/against my cat? LOL seriously...

I just want friend chat. I REALLY don't care about randoms. If I'm playing with randoms, I'm not playing competetively. Plus my experience with randoms usually falls into two categories: Screaming chidren, and butt-hurt elitlist man-children. And I can't stand children...of all ages

Lack of friend chat would be silly though. I actually used it in Monster Hunter with friends and it was great. It made hunting more fun and more productive.

The way some of you are acting about this makes me very glad there's no voice chat

@BenAV

Actually, anyone who has their team on their couch with them will have a strategic advantage. The game is now risks being grossly unbalanced in that regard.

@IceClimbers

Call of Duty tends to resort in a kind of "free for all" even in team play, but there are heavily team-centric modes, and some people who form hardcore teams. Usually, when we see a team show up in the lobby, though, we back out. My girlfriend and I are not that damn good at the game and we'd at least like to have some fun, rather than just being systematically slaughtered by pros.

The vibe I always had for Splatoon was closer to Left 4 Dead than CoD, and L4D practically required player communication, as I noted in some anecdotes in this article.

@Haiassai

I think the bigger problem is the lack of understanding of the importance of this is from the more "hardcore" Nintendo fans--people who have spent little to no time actually experiencing online gaming and voice chat, and they're just running with internet stereotypes of the "racist 13-year old playing Call of Duty." That's not only not the norm, but it's highly unrealistic.

Those of us who have actually played games with voice chat understand that these games pretty much always come with mute buttons and that, even if you aren't personally going to use it, it's a standard part of modern online gaming.

Personal points of "well I wouldn't use it anyway" or "it's all foul-mouthed kids" are comments made almost deliberately ignoring Nintendo's failure in this regard--suffice to say, if you want to sell an online shooter voice chat should always be an option if you want gamers to pay any attention to it at all.

I'm sure the game will still be fun, but now it's gimped. Nintendo fans complained so often about 3rd parties "gimping games on Nintendo systems." Why not be equally pissed when Nintendo gimps a game?

@MailOrderNinja If it works, why not? It is ironic, but not that bad an idea if you can get other players on the line.

@Folkloner That's what I'd prefer, as well. But it's no big loss to not have VC in Splatoon, either.

@Kaze_Memaryu Yeah, not that big a loss to you, but it clearly is to other people or there wouldn't be such a fuss over it. I thought that was self evident.

Nintendo please fix this, we need voice chat!

@Folkloner I'm not denying most people wanting VC in, but I frankly don't care. If people think they can't play without VC, they're probably doing something wrong in their gameplay approach.

The lack of voice chat certainly doesn't bother me, and was something I was half expecting given the family friendly image Splatoon has going for it, though I can see why this is troubling for many. Hopefully the 'no voice chat' rule will only apply to playing with strangers, or that their will be a quick and efficient means to communicate with others in game without voice chat.

As said though, this is a flaw that bothers me little. I'm glad to hear more on the single player mode, and I believe other articles have mentioned that their will be a local multiplayer mode, so my enthusiasm for this game still remains as my 2nd most highly anticipated game of 2015.