There are many ways in which Nintendo has absolutely hit it out of the ballpark with Switch, but there are a couple of areas which could undeniably use a little more attention. Even the staunchest Nintendo devotees would be hard-pressed to defend the company's convoluted voice chat solution, and it's led to some studios taking matters into their own hands - most notably Epic with its little battle royale indie hit... we forget the name.
Using Vivox, an in-game voice chat standard, Epic circumvented Nintendo's app and made voice chat much easier, although you needed an awfully long cable to access the console's headphone jack if you were playing and chatting on the TV. Enter the Faceoff Deluxe+ Audio Wired Controller, an officially licensed pad which lets you plug your headset into its underside.
First revealed at the beginning of April, this beauty launches on 22nd July and should be a godsend for Switch owning Fortnite (that's it!) fans who prefer to play in docked mode. With a familiar layout and a D-pad which looks similar to the one found on an Xbox One pad, the controller comes in four flavours and features interchangeable faceplates, so you can decide if you're in a blue camo, purple camo, red camo or black camo mood. It seems you're fresh out of luck if you're not a fan of camo, though.
Obviously, this won't change the situation for Splatoon 2 voice chat, but with Vivox support on the way for Hi-Rez Studios' Smite and Paladins (and, we would assume, Realm Royale), fans of those games would do well to avail themselves of the Faceoff Deluxe+, its 10-foot long USB cable and that wonderfully standard audio jack hiding in its rear.
We've collected some pre-order links below if you fancy trying it out.
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Do you use voice chat on Switch? Reckon the Faceoff Deluxe+ is worth the money? Let us know below.
Comments 29
Newflash: 2001 hits Nintendo consoles
Wow a new discovery! Where did they learn this witchcraft????
I'm confused, how is it possible for a voice chat to work without having a dozen cables running all over the place and several devices including a mobile phone?
But it is wired, so I may as well use a wire from the headphone jack while using a wireless Pro Controller. If this was wireless, it might be of use. But then, it would only be of use with Fortnite. Pretty useless.
Yeah it being wired kinda negates some of its usefulness. Still have to have a wire going across your living room so doesn't really solve that problem. Though I'm sure in a few months they will have a new one that's wireless with a headphone jack.
Best option is probably to have a number of 3.5mm jack hubs installed around the room that are wired up through the house's internal infrastructure so they're not visible, terminating close to the Switch Dock.
With say, 7 or 8 of these hubs around your room all you would have to do is switch your headphones into whichever jack is closest to your seating position.
Not iPhone headphones though obviously. Unless you have an adapter. As a "just in case", I'd get 7 or 8 of those as well.
Hope this helps.
@redd214 For it to be wireless it will obviously push the cost up dramatically. If you are palying at home this is perfect, if your not then just use the consoels headphone jack with any given headset, assuming you are playing a supported game. I personally don't use anything but wired controllers.
@YANDMAN with 2 kids and 3 dogs, anything wired is an instant no go for me. But at least we all have options.
@frabbit @redd214 or just get a Bluetooth 3.5 mm adapter like this: https://www.amazon.com/TaoTronics-Bluetooth-Transmitter-Receiver-Simultaneously/dp/B01EHSX28M/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=3.5mm+bluetooth+adapter&qid=1563288947&s=gateway&smid=A2KUZVNQ9LP7N9&sr=8-3
Or just use the Nintendo app voice chat with a Bluetooth headset and your phone plugged into the wall for constant power. Seriously, we're making it way more complicated than it needs to be here.
Nintendo is such an odd beast.....how is it possible to be looking ahead so well to carve out the Switches market while also be decades behind on basic functionality?
I seriously don't know what they're thinking about sometimes thinking people actually want to have to have multiple wires and a second device for voice chat when this 3rd party controller gives more of what they actually want.
@nintendork64 lol, yeah WE are the ones making it more complicated, not nintendo right
This feel as good a place as any to say... I hate the Xbox One d-pad!
@nintendork64 But think of all those sweet sweet headphone ports that could be dotted around your room.
Whose idiot uncle at Nintendo approved of this?!
@frabbit Lol true, it would make me feel like I'm living the 90's lifestyle again #nostalgia
@redd214 right, because don't you know, Nintendo never does anything wrong lol
That's literally all Nintendo needed to add to the Pro Controller, both for the Wii U and the Switch. Not even for voice chat, but just being able to play docked while using headhones that aren't bluetooth. They couldn't even manage that, for some reason. At least these are a thing now, though it's very limited
Fortnite?
*Cringe
What other games have their own voice-chat built-in? Doesn't Warframe have it as well?
Can someone tell me how the chat works in Diablo as I'm sure on launch it was said to be via the app but it's not on there? So is it native? Or not at all!
Soooo you just need a ludicrously long controller cable now instead of one for your headset... gotcha.
I don't understand why wireless controllers are still being made at all for anyone/anything other than competitive players with cat reflexes, or super cheap bargain bin one-size-fits-all controllers. My Mega Drive has wireless controllers and that thing was released in 1988, thirty one years ago - admittedly said controllers were only released sometime in the 90s, not sure which year exactly, but still, why do these third parties always make wired controllers?
(And also: how are camo decals still a thing?)
I already use a headset and voice chat during fortnite - usb bluetooth headset - Turtle beach
works fine
what is everyone talking about?
@SmaMan you need both actually.
While I love how Ninty has figured out 20 year old tech, I can only play Fortnite with joycon gyro aiming so I'll sadly pass.
My headset actually has a long enough cable to do this already. But I struggle to be bothered with unravelling it, then tying it up after.
wow they finally decided to do this, now the fortnite players can enjoy and hear better with headphones on without plugging them in the console.
great colors!
A friendly reminder of a function that the Switch should have out of the box and one of my few complaints about the device. I don't have many but voice chat is very much one of them!
Gotta love how the price is the same as their regular Faceoff controllers.
Wait, there are still wired controllers? How does this help? Sigh.
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