Ok, I'm a little bit confused.

1) How does all this relate to Nintendo's previous Nintendo Direct broadcast event on June 3rd, 2012?

2) Can we still video chat, using Wii U?

i don't see a reason not to have it,its a choice a you can choose to use isn't it

@ bold - for me, it would depend on the game I'm playing.  Something story-driven like a JRPG?  Definitely wouldn't engage in cross-game chat (unless I'm grinding levels).  Something simple like a platformer or racing game?  I probably would use cross-game chat if one of my friends was around.

As for the rest of the stuff - that's great.  I'm certainly not saying that it's an essential feature of a console - like I mentioned, I get by on PS3 fine without it.  But having options on what you can do with something is never a bad thing.  

In the 1990's, I could never have imagined having a phone with a camera in.  What use would that feature be - I owned a camera already?  Times changed, and now I use my camera phone more than an actual camera.  It's just convinent.  And in the same way here - having cross game chat is just more convinent.  If you prefer doing things using your phone/not talking to anyone during games, that's cool too, but having the option to do it in-game for free is no bad thing.

Again, I'm not saying it's a game breaking deal.  I'll get a Wii-U whether or not it has the feature once the first-party games I like come.  But including the ability to have cross-game chat - especially with the power that Wii-U has - just seems like a bit of an oversight.

The lack of a headphone jack in the pro controller is the strangest choice. I would certainly want that for games like Black Ops 2.

Some odd choices here by Nintendo. I certainly didn't care when Nintendo announced that achievements wouldn't be mandatory -- since, for me, they only distract from the experience -- but voice chat often enhances the experience.

Justified rant. (not being sarcastic)

You remember in that other thread how I said Nintendo would improve their online infrastructure significantly over the next two years. This is one reason why

I hear there's going to be blue tooth available. If that's the case, we've been whining over nothing. Yeah, that means that it will be like the PS3 where lots of people won't have mics but I already have a blue tooth headset so I'm good to go.

I think they can always add that functionality in the future considering they are reserving like 1GB for the OS which is more than enough to make it happen while using very low amount of CPU power.

Have they not payed attention to how much shit Sony gets for not having x-game chat this gen!?

Granted, this is Nintendo's first true foray into a dedicated universal online system, and just like Sony before them, there are going to be missteps.

Ridiculous. Nintendo's slogan should be one step forward two steps back.