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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Voice Chat Dropped from Splatoon Over Toxicity Concerns

Mr Khan said:
Mummelmann said:
"having a friendly in-game environment was more important than being able to plan and coordinate with teammates using voice chat."

That really says a lot, and this is part of the reason why these IP's will never live up to the biggest franchises in more mainstream genres. There are plenty of reasons for all sorts of censorship and/or protection in games but this is taking it too far; there are several other ways of doing it, some which have already been mentioned in this thread.

The key is if you design the game with this in mind. If 343i decided to drop voice chat from Halo 5 at the last minute, the game would be an inferior experience for lacking it. If you build it with the idea that you were never going to have it, however...

Well, we'll see how well it works.


My main gripe with that idea would be that it would appear that they intend to make a multiplayer shooter which makes it difficult to coordinate; which is a key element to most strategies in all shooters with competitive elements. If I play Battlefield on my PC, I can simply write to my squad in the chat when I use my K & M controls but this is not a luxury that console gamers usually have so you would either need to implement a map system which sort of negates the purpose of strategy if it reveals anything significant on the enemy's position or make the game is such a way that the actual competition part of the gameplay has less focus. Either way; it could potentially harm the game's appeal as an online shooter with a possible audience of any size.

To me, it looks like they're trying to sell this game to people who aren't otherwise very interested in online shooters, which is okay for what it is but I think it might end up as something less than it could be if they go this route and I don't think that this is the best demographic for them to aim at.
Options for voice chat, or even a "safe mode" would be better solutions, wouldn't even be hard to develop; the normal and hardcore modes of Battlefield games are quite different from one another but contain all the same base mechanics.

Heck; I think that this is what I'd do as the head of a project like this with some potential; a softer mode for younger players and a more competitive mode.



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Mummelmann said:
Mr Khan said:
Mummelmann said:
"having a friendly in-game environment was more important than being able to plan and coordinate with teammates using voice chat."

That really says a lot, and this is part of the reason why these IP's will never live up to the biggest franchises in more mainstream genres. There are plenty of reasons for all sorts of censorship and/or protection in games but this is taking it too far; there are several other ways of doing it, some which have already been mentioned in this thread.

The key is if you design the game with this in mind. If 343i decided to drop voice chat from Halo 5 at the last minute, the game would be an inferior experience for lacking it. If you build it with the idea that you were never going to have it, however...

Well, we'll see how well it works.


My main gripe with that idea would be that it would appear that they intend to make a multiplayer shooter which makes it difficult to coordinate; which is a key element to most strategies in all shooters with competitive elements. If I play Battlefield on my PC, I can simply write to my squad in the chat when I use my K & M controls but this is not a luxury that console gamers usually have so you would either need to implement a map system which sort of negates the purpose of strategy if it reveals anything significant on the enemy's position or make the game is such a way that the actual competition part of the gameplay has less focus. Either way; it could potentially harm the game's appeal as an online shooter with a possible audience of any size.

To me, it looks like they're trying to sell this game to people who aren't otherwise very interested in online shooters, which is okay for what it is but I think it might end up as something less than it could be if they go this route and I don't think that this is the best demographic for them to aim at.
Options for voice chat, or even a "safe mode" would be better solutions, wouldn't even be hard to develop; the normal and hardcore modes of Battlefield games are quite different from one another but contain all the same base mechanics.

Heck; I think that this is what I'd do as the head of a project like this with some potential; a softer mode for younger players and a more competitive mode.

The objective is painting the territory: knowing where your enemies are is not going to give you an advantage. The game actually has a warp mechanic: tap the gamepad and you can go anywhere that your paint already covers.

You can kill your foes, but it only works as a momentary inconvenience to stop them from painting and does not alter your score.



Monster Hunter: pissing me off since 2010.

Mr Khan said:

The objective is painting the territory: knowing where your enemies are is not going to give you an advantage. The game actually has a warp mechanic: tap the gamepad and you can go anywhere that your paint already covers.

You can kill your foes, but it only works as a momentary inconvenience to stop them from painting and does not alter your score.


Hmm, see I didn't even know that, guess I'm not in the demographic...

Technically, the most popular modes in many shooters aren't primarily about killing your enemies either, Capture the Flag and Conquest modes are extremely popular. I suppose it could work.

Now, my question has turned more towards this; why are they expecting this game to attract such negative, cursing and unsuited elements for younger gamers to begin with? Seems like a flimsy argument to exclude voice chat, I can't imagine the brats from Call of Duty going on there to shout profanity into others players' ears.



Snesboy said:
Einsam_Delphin said:


Are you telling me you buy games without knowing anything about them lol?



Yup. Read: No More Heroes, it's sequel, The Conduit, Red Steel, Hyrule Warriors, The Last Story. Just to name a few.


You're purposely keeping yourself in the dark, unnecessarily risking disappointment, time, n money? In that case it makes no sense for you to say "how am I supposed to know that?" like it's Nintendo's fault when the information is readily available to you so the only thing stopping you from being informed is you yourself.



That sounds like the crappiest excuse ever. Just have mute options and you are set.



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Mummelmann said:

Hmm, see I didn't even know that, guess I'm not in the demographic...

Technically, the most popular modes in many shooters aren't primarily about killing your enemies either, Capture the Flag and Conquest modes are extremely popular. I suppose it could work.

Now, my question has turned more towards this; why are they expecting this game to attract such negative, cursing and unsuited elements for younger gamers to begin with? Seems like a flimsy argument to exclude voice chat, I can't imagine the brats from Call of Duty going on there to shout profanity into others players' ears.


Not justifying their decision as there is no justification for it, but every game has jerk faces playing them. Mario Kart, Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Smash, you name it, they're there.



Mute button? Mute all option? Not that hard.

Despite sometimes finding toxic players, it's not hard to find nice players that are helpful. Playing Shadow Fall and TLOU I actually added a lot of people on PSN.



There is such a thing as a mute button. There could also be parental controls set in place for certain accounts. Nintendo needs to stop sheltering kids and realize it is up to the parents to make decisions. Nintendo just loves pulling any old excuse in the book to being out of touch with gaming.



Lifetime Sales Predictions 

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"Let go your earthly tether, enter the void, empty and become wind." - Guru Laghima

I've never seen anyone use voice chat to co-ordinate strategy. NEVER. I have, however, seen it used to play shitty music, troll, and be a general nuisance, which is why I just mute the handful of people I meet who neglect to turn it off (after they start being a nuisance with it, of course). Five years ago I would have scolded Nintendo for this, but at this point? I just don't care. It's not as if the majority of gamers use it responsibly. If you're so hardcore that you want voice chat, just bring up some friends on Skype.



Voice chat was the worst thing to happen to online gaming for me haha.

I'm actually pleased with this decision...



RIP Dad 25/11/51 - 13/12/13. You will be missed but never forgotten.