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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Wii-mic coming... huge potential?

It was sort of a no-brainer, but news on the Wii-Microphone is slowly tickling out. Mention of a Harry Potter game that involves voice/gesture recognition for spellcasting, a Nintendo branded Karaoke game, a (confirmed) Disney branded karaoke game and more: http://www.gametab.com/news/840163/ I was surprised they didn't build a mic into the Wiimote - but this makes more sense in terms of a quality product (rather than a Wii-speaker quality gimmick). I think the potential is HUGE - and could be killer-app potential on its own (Wii-chat channel - i.e. VoIP, etc). If this works out, WiiConnect24 comes into its own as well - allowing "calls" to come through when the Wii is turned off (hopefully it is capable of making a sound when in standby mode). Opinions?



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How could this have killer-app potential? As with the wiimote I don't like it. I used this with the DS and this stuff is young and has issues recognizing voices and words. Too soon to use it on a regular basis.



It could be a killer add-on for the traditional non-gamer crowd. Example, brain age and nintendogs really pushed the DS. Wii-sports, brainage, wii-karaoke, ... are all aimed at that. It all centers Wii around the party atmosphere that will sell huge to non-gamers. All part of Nintendo's blue ocean strategy that they have been preaching since last years E3. These same non-gamers could then pick up a few vc titles from their childhood, or give a newer game a try while they are in the aisle buying wii-music or wii-health.



Death2009 said: How could this have killer-app potential? As with the wiimote I don't like it. I used this with the DS and this stuff is young and has issues recognizing voices and words. Too soon to use it on a regular basis.
Death, Im not trying to have a go at you - but Ive seen a distinctly "negative" tilt to most of your posts?? Why don't you like the Wiimote? What is your gaming background?? I love the Wiimote - and its got people in my house playing games that would never have otherwise (my partners sister begged to play WarioWare yesterday, and really enjoyed it). SingStar was a huge hit for Sony - and this is leading down the same track. The Wii has plenty of power/memory to handle some reasonable voice recognition, and along with the pointer I think there are plenty of potential killer-app designs that would draw new gamers in (and add to existing games). Look at Nintendogs for instance - no voice, no game.



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To better answer your question, I'll see if I can come up with some ideas: 1/ Nintendogs sequel/ripoff Wii version 2/ Brain Training ("") 3/ English "Spoken" Training (I have found using the DS voice recognition in public places much harder than a home) 4/ Voice chat applications (in and out of games) 5/ Send/attach recorded messages to friends (part of the message system) 6/ Pokemon RPG game, where you "call out" the name of your Pokemon 7/ Various Karaoke / Sing-a-long type games 8/ Any IP that involves speech as a core part of the character (i.e. Harry Potter) 9/ A magic based RPG where you learn spells vocally, and have to say them to cast them 10/ An "Eliza" type game/simulation, where you have real conversations with a virtual character/person (long way off no doubt) Im sure Nintendo can come up with heaps more (and better) ideas than I can :)



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There is a rumor about a Harry Potter game that is suppose to use the Mic to cast spells, nice idea but how will it work? If they can do it right might be a good game.



 

  

 

Back in the day, I gave "Hey You! Pikachu" a rent, and the voice recognition wasn't *that* bad. I imagine that two generations later, it's gotten much better. For minimal stuff like spellcasting, modern day voice rec should be more than adequate... I'm more intrigued by the kareoke... does it work only based on how off-key/off-temp you are? Or does it actually detect words?



I can't understand why this isn't a standard-feature of the Wiimote.



Wii-mic? Why cant I use my wireless bluetooth headset I already have? EDIT: And i have to say. Why isnt this standard feature on the Wiimote. IT would be SO great to hold that like the mic...



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fishamaphone said: Back in the day, I gave "Hey You! Pikachu" a rent, and the voice recognition wasn't *that* bad. I imagine that two generations later, it's gotten much better. For minimal stuff like spellcasting, modern day voice rec should be more than adequate... I'm more intrigued by the kareoke... does it work only based on how off-key/off-temp you are? Or does it actually detect words?
I played the karoke on Xbox (not 360) and it only deceted pitch.