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IGN staffer says Splatoon's lack of voice chat is 'cheap and lazy'

by rawmeatcowboy
10 May 2015
GN Version 5.0

Not that long ago, we found out that Splatoon isn't going to offer any form of voice chat. If you plan on talking to friends while you play, you'll have to figure out another way to do it outside of the game/Wii U. This decision ruffled quite a few feathers, with many believing voice chat was crucial to the experience.

Shortly after that, Nintendo stepped forward to explain the decision. According to the Big N, voice chat wasn't included in the game due to the nature of how a decent-sized group of people use it. How many times have you been online with voice chat, only to be bombarded by racial slurs, cursing and other vile content? Nintendo's devs have experienced it and they didn't like it one bit. The air of negativity that online chat breeds was enough to keep Nintendo from including that feature in Splatoon.

Was it the right decision to make? There's no right or wrong answer here. Some people see where Nintendo is coming from. Others thing they should have included an option for friends to talk. Many suggested that voice chat should be age restricted/blocked via parental settings. All viable options for sure. I've even seen some people change their opinion on the lack of voice chat after playing the global testfire demo. A feature they thought was sorely needed ended up being not missed at all once the demos kicked off.

Again, all valid discussion to have, but Fran Mirabella over at IGN has taken a different approach. He believes the lack of voice chat comes down to Nintendo being "cheap and lazy". I have to say, that is one option I never considered at all. I just don't know Nintendo to operate that way, since I consider almost all their games to be representations of the company's pride and prowess. Fran goes on to say that "Nintendo's lack of online experience and fear of unknown profanity is taking priority over the gameplay." Fear of unknown profanity I'll certainly give you, but lack of online experience doesn't really make sense. If Nintendo's own lack of experience with online was enough to keep them from voice chat, then wouldn't they stay away from developing online games at all? Last time I checked, online play was arguably the focus of Splatoon!

What do you think? Is Mr. Mirabella right in calling Nintendo's decision cheap and lazy? Do you find it to be a bit of an overreaction? Shoot us a comment/tweet and let us know!

[IGN]