Or just have it be on the fucking device you're already using ? Revolutionary idea.
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Voice chat on the Switch will consist of a paid app on "smart" devices (your phone)
- Thread starter Trojita
- Start date
SomedayTheFire
Member
This is ridiculous
Osiris
I permanently banned my 6 year old daughter from using the PS4 for mistakenly sending grief reports as it's too hard to watch or talk to her
The carnival of stupid has found a worthy ringmaster, that is some of the most ridiculous defense for a braindead decision I have seen in years.
It's not ideal, but I'm sure there's a reason for it. I agree they need to communicate better about the reasons why, but it's not nearly as big of a deal as people are making it out to be. If the Switch launched with Smash and Mario as well I'm sure the amount of crap talk the Switch is getting would be sliced in half.
Again, I'm just trying to help you guys understand how Nintendo is thinking. Not defending the decision. I'd prefer it to be on the console too for convenience.
GuitarAtomik
Member
The only reasons I can think of are:
A) Incompetence
or
B) A fundamental misunderstanding of what people want from an online service.
I already hook up my bluetooth headset to my phone. I can't connect my bluetooth headset to my XBox One, (No offense to the XB1, I love that machine, but I can't connect my headset). Anyway, I would love any option even if its a phone app to be honest.
I'm sure there's a reason for it too. Product design can be tough and the Switch is a weird fucking product, not to mention it appears to be shipping in a fairly unfinished state, software-wise. As someone who's worked in similar situations I'm maybe more sympathetic to Nintendo than others.
But come on. It's up to Nintendo to message this and to not make it sound like shit. Reggie's comments about bulky gamer headsets are disingenuous and only serve to fan the flames. Nintendo needs to communicate the value of this service, not forum posters, sight unseen.
It's definitely a big deal, especially for people without smart devices (a minority, but they exist and shouldn't have to rely on an external device for Switch functionality) and for kids who have parents' permission to use voice chat, as a poster above me just mentioned.
Really looking forward to learning more details about this because it sounds kind of insane.
VlaudTheImpaler
tl;dr
Subtervotion
Member
So what? You're going to have your phone in your pocket attached to your ear via cable?
Or as everyone's said already, a Bluetooth headset is already a solution that's existed for years.
And yeah the obvious wired solution is the same thing PS4 and Xbone have. Headphone jack on the controller. Nintendo has to make a choice there. You've got the Joy con's and the joy con thing that combines them.
So you're going to say that I instead require to have my fucking phone laid out somewhere and on loudspeaker Reggie?
Nintendo I love you when you're mental in a good way, but sometimes you just act like morons
If I'm out on the go with a Switch I can tell you you're actively harming portability and convenience by asking to use more than one device at once
Again if its optional, cool whatever, if its a be all end all requirement, fucking stupid.
GuitarAtomik
Member
Silent Chief
Member
Close.
It's most likely one of those "over the top" SIP based phone app that they are licensing and rebranding. That would cost them next to nothing, just a charge per licensed user which the Nintendo subscription will cover.
-shadow-
Member
Has this been confirmed as being used for anything other than connecting the controllers to it? Because I doubt they'll allow that connection for anything else.
It's always best to reserve judgement and wait until Nintendo officially unveil what exactly their plan is to provide a sophisticated online infrastructure akin to PSN and Xbox Live. Though, from what has been said so far, it feels disjointed having to use a smartphone for functions that can be done on 1 device such as the PS4.
GuitarAtomik
Member
I don't think so. I mean, the only reason we definitively know the headphone jack is also capable of mic stuff is because someone translated it from a Japanese spec photo lol.
Not sure if its been mentioned, but kinda going off what Reggie said about the online service in that ProJared interview. Could the online being tied to your phone imply that you will be able to do online anywhere your phone has a cellular connection? Not sure how good or even possible thatd be though. Id I suppose theyd do this to keep the Switch HW cost down.
Still doesnt excuse the reason there isn't native online for the system while its docked though.
Still doesnt excuse the reason there isn't native online for the system while its docked though.
If you're out on the go you probably wouldn't have an internet connection reliable enough to handle voice chat and online gaming without either having a phone on you that you can create a hotspot with, or a portable LTE wireless router. So in this case, your options are nothing at all, and something if you happen to have a method of connectivity.
You'd have a hard time identifying anyone in the market for a device like this that isn't also carrying a smart phone on them at all times.
There isn't a jack on the joycons, which is probably at least a small part of the reason for this, but you're absolutely right, it would be a pain to have to choose whether you're going to hear the game or the chat. integrated chat allows you to do both at the same time.
I doubt the app would be able to do that seeing as Apple already cracks down on tethering apps and apparently carriers usually charge for tethering.
Anyone with a plan that includes it can already do this.
And I've asked the question a few times in here but I have yet to hear any reason you'd need voice chat on the go anyway.
Audioboxer
Member
Damn. Haven't been in this topic since the beginning. Still think I'll revisit it and Nintendo have cleared it all up and it's a misunderstanding.
Nope.
Just more madness around what should be such a home run of a concept. Just copy Sony/MS...
Nope.
Just more madness around what should be such a home run of a concept. Just copy Sony/MS...
SomedayTheFire
Member
So 60 dollars a year? Same price as PS+ and XBL? The value is staggering.
ah yeah, true about tethering. Though highly unlikely, I wonder if Nintendo could barter some deal with carriers, maybe thats the main reason it would be paid? As that money would go to the carriers?
As for your other question, I am not sure I quite understand. You could use voice chat while playing online when on the go. On a bus or train, or anywhere where there might not be wifi, etc. if thats what you are asking.
Yes I would rather be connected to my phone in my pocket than to a Joycon. I think swinging around a joycon like a sword while it's connected to my headset sounds unpleasant, like I'll be on my head periodically.
Realistically, I would like to be able to plug into the tablet or use the smartphone app, but I think the smartphone app is a cool idea if it works well and I can use it on the couch or in handheld mode.
As for bluetooth headsets, that's not really very appealing to me. As far as I can tell, no manufacturers currently make gaming bluetooth headsets. I don't know if this is because of latency, because Xbox and PS4 don't support them, or because theres no 7.1 surround on bluetooth... but for whatever reason none of the consoles supports it afaik. In fact, with the smartphone app, the Switch will actually have the best support for bluetooth headsets.
Lastly, I'm not sure that it's 100% clear that the tablet won't support 3.5mm headsets. I noticed that PDP is producing Switch gaming headsets with mics, so I'm wondering if it does in fact support it in the tablet and Nintendo is just communicating poorly as usual.
$5 a month would be fucking insane, considering what little we know of the service.
I don't know where you live but someone using party chat next to me on the train wouldn't fly more than 30 seconds. I have trouble picturing someone going to the park or whatever and just setting up their console and using voice chat there. To me it's clearly a feature destined to be used at home.
I also have no intention of paying for something that I can already do for free, be it tethering or chatting with my friends.
PSFan
Member
SNES games cost 8 bucks.
TheXfactor
Member
it could be done on the Wii U, could be done on the 3ds, it could be done easily on the switch, they chose this, I don't get it, I understood friend codes more than this
but you cant do it for free though, online will be a paid service no matter where you use it. But yeah you have the option to not pay for it because its a pretty stupid idea.
Regardless, its not just about voicechat, its about all their online will be handled through a phone.
Voicechat in public wouldnt be much different than people using their phone to talk in public. I dont find it hard to imagine someone using voicechat in a park, on a train, sure not likely depending what kinda of train and how crowded.
Reggie has repeated on more than one occasion now that the reason its on a phone, is because Switch can be used on the go. Whatever that means at this point.
Im not trying to say this online all on their phone is a good idea, just trying to understand or figure out why they are doing it. I still think they need to natively support this on the Switch, unless voicechat and online would take up system resources they are not willing ti give up. No idea if that is a thing or not.
I can use my Vita on the go with native party chat and never worry about another device. And it's free.
are you implying you are doing this with a Vita 3G? Wasnt that intially a more expensive model, and also had data plans to pay for?
If you mean the regular wifi vita, then that doesnt really apply to my theory.
AdventureRacing
Member
Surely the switch itself is capable of this? Maybe if there is enough. Backlash Nintendo will realise how stupid this is. Hoping this is just a misinderstanding because it's nonsensical.
Spieler Eins
Member
Yes, it's called the Nintendo DS.
Why doesn't it apply ?
The theory being you could do Switch online through you phone, while not under wifi, but through cellular data.
But yeah I still think its not likely, and would quickly eat up your data plan. Unless for voicechat, they could somehow set it up like Google Voice, and have it use your minutes instead of data. Still far fetched.
I could see myself doing it in the airport when traveling or something like that.
Spiral Insanity
Banned
You can use your phone for wifi tethering.
Not sure I follow this comment. I was more theorizing about the possibility of Switch using your phone cell data, when not under wifi.
Obviously thats already mentioned in the post of mine you quoted, but otherwise, tethering has already been discussed.
killatopak
Member
Sighhhh.
Serious question, since it's been confirmed the audio jack supports microphone input AND the Switch has Bluetooth 4.1, why is these features NOT listed on the NOA website???: http://www.nintendo.com/switch/features/
But when docked at home the 3.5mm jack is 10ft away and the joycons don't have 3.5mm jacks unlike XB1/PS4. So maybe using a phone is useful even at home?
You could use bluetooth headphones then. I don´t like this solution, the most elegant thing would´ve been to integrate everything in the Switch so you don´t have to juggle 2 devices. Besides, this will mostly be used at home (you´ll need a connection to play multiplayer games) so even if I admit that the nuance at home will be minor, it´s still worse than doing everything on the Switch. The only good thing I see about this is that it allows you to organize the online stuff even when you don´t have the Switch with you, though I don´t really know if that´ll really be of any use.
Hmm. I wonder if Nintendo has looked into the coverage of contracts that allow tethering and realised that many users (perhaps disproportionately younger ones) don't have tethering plans, so hotspotting for online play wouldn't work - but using an app would.
Question there is whether they'd be allowed to bring in data from the switch and send it via the app (to enable the actual online play part).
Still seems like a relatively minor use case so should be optional and not drive the entire approach to online on the console
five a the month while using my phone for online and getting rented 20 years old games for one month are five that im not gonna pay, and i suppose alot of people too
V
Vilix
Unconfirmed Member
So what if you're not using wifi you're stuck using LTE? And if you're on Verizon you could go past your data limit?
Good times.
Good times.