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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
They probably wouldn't do it because Nintendo really is stuck in Japan. For instance, Mario Run needing a constant internet connection is no problem in Japan, as trains and subways have full coverage on all networks.
Tethering for internet connectivity is probably not a thought of theirs because all carriers in Japan have free tethering. The 'needs' of western gamers such as needing the best graphics, wanting to play at home on a 4K TV, or wanting to listen profanities over voice chat are beyond imagination. The needs and requests of the Japanese majority will be heard first and foremost.
tkscz
Member
C) Not enough RAM to run a lobby with chat while the game is running. If the rumor that 3.2 of it's 4GBs of RAM are used for games is true, then .8 gigs of RAM wouldn't be able to run a good lobby and communication system.
That cant be right, would it really take that much? I really have no idea. How much RAM foes online MP + Voicechat typically use?
Not much. A potato can run it.
From what I remember, even the psp had voice chat in several games. I can't imagine it will take that much to run.
EhrgeizVII
Member
I've used voice chat and party countless of times on my Vita without any hickups whatsoever. Can't use that much resources...
exmachina64
Banned
Maybe if we give them 640KB of RAM, they will work miracles.
R_thanatos
Member
it doesn't.
You just have to design your console that way from the start.
It's only difficult if you want to do this afterwards.
You'd think nintendo would have understood how voice chat was important in this day and age and used that when designing the switch , but no.
Yes and no because even my Vita can do that, a device from 2011
test_account
XP-39C²
Sure, i just mean that you dont have to use your phone itself to talk into
I hope this is a joke post.
Stormhammer
Member
so i haven't read through the thread, but
what if the app is on phones because if it were on the switch the battery for the switch would die in like an hour if you used the voice chat while mobile
what if the app is on phones because if it were on the switch the battery for the switch would die in like an hour if you used the voice chat while mobile
The PS2 had voice chat
March of the Crabs
Member
N64 had voice chat too (if you count young me yelling at Pikachu as voice chat).
But seriously, I think even some DS/3DS Pokemon games had voice chat?
Spieler Eins
Member
DS had voice chat.
SystemUser
Member
You forgot the slash s at the end right? The 360 had .5 gigs for all RAM. The 360 can play a game and run a voice lobby with that much RAM due to software not hardware. The voice party was added way later and did not seem to be part of the original vision. They had to patch the Xbox 360 to allow for the patch that allowed for voice chat parties. Halo 2 had an awesome party system with an eighth of a gig of RAM.
Ninja Scooter
Member
Quick someone add a laptop to the Goro pic...or is he all out of arms already?
Remember not too long ago when to ask their fans Nintendo was the only manufacturer that got online right because it was free? Fast forward a couple of years and it's "just download an android emulator on your PC so that you can use the features for the online service that you are now required to pay for. What's the big deal?"
So the solution is to drain 2 batteries instead of one ? Thanks Nintendo.
If you want your console to last longer just... don't use voice chat ? or online at all tbh.
It's a solution to kill your phone battery faster (wireless + bluetooth + screen lit often) to make Switch's battery look better. /jk
SafeinSound
Member
People need to stop trying to come up with a logical reason for this to exist. There is none.
They want to make sure people on the switch are using their phone app so they can advertise their phone games and viceversa.
Their phone games will most likely connect to this app also.
Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew
Banned
Is this Bargaining or Acceptance stage?
Wait, this was a Sonic Meme...
thecouncil
Banned
i laughed. some people get upset about having to buy a $30 ac adapter for a product they bought. you're suggesting someone just goes and buys a smartphone. that's awesome.
Has this been debunked or clarified yet? I genuinely, literally don't believe that a smartphone is REQUIRED for voice chat and matchmaking. I assume this is just us misunderstanding a non clarified statement, right?
There's presumably at least deprecated MM and voice without the phone?
There's presumably at least deprecated MM and voice without the phone?
Pokemaniac
Member
Unless there's new information that came up (that thread is moving way too fast), it sounds like the smartphone is for system-wide voice chat and matchmaking, while games are most likely free to implement those features for themselves.
$5 a month is $60 a year.
I'm not sure how that helps. The competitors are charging the same with better service.
Reggie confirmed it in a recent interview.
This is what he said :
instead of having some sort of bulky gamer headset, you'll be able to do it right off your smartphone, put in your earbuds that you use for your standard mobile device. We think that's a pretty sweet solution. That's part of the overall opportunity that we see in a subscription service.
http://nintendoeverything.com/reggi...assic-games-supply-concerns-3ds-here-to-stay/
DS's 4096 KILOBYTES of ram was enough for in game group chat
voice chat is usually UDP, there's no handshake and authentication and integrity verification going on, the devices broadcast whatever they get out and move on without asking if they got it and resending bits they didnt. It's why voice chat can be spotty in skype but you can send an mp3 of you talking over it just fine, the file transfer has built in error checking and makes sure it's 100% intact. Voice is just mindless broadcasting with no cpu overhead worrying about how the other person got it.
There is compression running and other things but no excuses if the anemic DS could pull it off.
Crayon
Member
I can see requiring it for chat but not matchmaking. I expect you can initiate matchmaking and find a game directly thru most any game.
Everyone's flipping the fuck out tho, so theories abound.
Interestingly, the Nintendo.co.jp Switch specification page says this about the audio jack -
' Please connect regular headphone, mic, or a mic with a headphone '
So the Switch unit can accept incoming audio.
I mean, gaming headsets are being made for it.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N5PB7VV/?tag=neogaf0e-20
I emailed that PDP company who are making a few different headsets / earbuds for launch and asked if I could use chat directly with the Switch unit, but they refused to answer any questions on 'future hardware'.
Get some of thw guys in Redmond to head over to NOA and check.
GuitarAtomik
Member
I would put that either in the "incompetence" column for designing a system in this day and age without the sufficient RAM to do it despite the fact that other handhelds like the Vita can manage it, or the "fundamental misunderstanding" column for purposely deprioritizing it so much that they have to offload it to another device.
DeuceGamer
Member
Yea, I can't imagine that was the reason. If it is true it seems like an intentional decision. PS3 and Xbox 360 had significantly less RAM and significantly more features, from what we know.
Mihos
Gold Member
I play my mobile devices all the time on the go... wifi is everywhere, from playing at home on the deck, to my hotel room, to my transatlantic flight..... I can voice chat on my vita, gpd win, and tablet without need a second device. Mobile devices don't need a second device for comms, a mobile/home crossover console sure as hell shouldn't. Telling people what the don't need/want instead of providing it is the most bullshit of applogistic arguments.... and I sure as hell am not buying an 8 year old grandkid an ipad just so they can voice chat with grandpa while playing Mario kart.
There are potential advantages to this method.
For example, you get an invite from a friend. You click yes and voila, your console starts up and you are put into the game with your friend.
On top of it I can see business reasons for this direction:
1) It really separates the kids from the adults. For a kid to voice chat on a Nintendo console they'd have to have a smartphone which means Mom or Dad would have to have ok'd it. A parent can still safely by a Nintendo console and not worry that the kid is hearing things they shouldn't.
2) They also have a mobile business starting to crank out games. A mobile friend's list/voice chat app lets them kill 2 birds with 1 stone.
For example, you get an invite from a friend. You click yes and voila, your console starts up and you are put into the game with your friend.
On top of it I can see business reasons for this direction:
1) It really separates the kids from the adults. For a kid to voice chat on a Nintendo console they'd have to have a smartphone which means Mom or Dad would have to have ok'd it. A parent can still safely by a Nintendo console and not worry that the kid is hearing things they shouldn't.
2) They also have a mobile business starting to crank out games. A mobile friend's list/voice chat app lets them kill 2 birds with 1 stone.
Now it dies in two hours and also kills your phone.
None of those are reasons why it should only be on a mobile device. Parental controls have existed for years and Nintendo's mobile efforts are far from stellar so far.
I'm not sure why this offers any advantage. If I'm playing the system, I shouldn't need to use my phone to accept an invite.
And if I'm not playing, then I might be busy, in which case I'd want a friend to text me.
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
That is no benefit over a Switch's parental controls, remember the Bowser video?
How is that a benefit for the Switch owner?
Don't see how this is any better, it's just introducing complexity and multiple points of failure. My phone is probably more likely to run out of battery cause I use it constantly all day.
brochiller
Member
Well the Wii U needed 1 GB of RAM for its bare bones OS so who knows.
orthodoxy1095
Banned
Night Angel
Member
Benefits for Nintendo's bottom line ARE benefits for TRUE Nintendo fans, silly.