You don't stay on top by doing what everybody else does, either. The mindset that Nintendo's engineers are approaching the subject of online from is very different from a typical mindset. They're not asking "how can we make this better for our customers?", they're asking "how can we make this better for our customers and profit from it too?". Voice chat, while appreciated by certain customers, is not revenue-generating or a draw into online gaming in the forms we know of it.
Whatever Nintendo comes up with to sub for it will be "good enough for most" and will be profitable for them in some way (if only in the sense that it appeals to all audiences). That may turn out to be some form of voice chat, but more than likely it will not be. And suggesting that they'll somehow be "hurt" by not having voice chat, incidentally, is ludicrous. The most vocal sorts would be willing to drop their online play "to make an example", perhaps, but most recognize that it is not in fact critical for enjoying the game. As well, a great deal of those complaining are computer-savvy enough to know how to set up a program like TeamSpeak to run simultaneously with their Wii games.
Sky Render - Sanity is for the weak.
