'Splatoon' Overlooked Voice Chat Feature To Protect Nintendo Users From Negativity

Anyone who has spent any amount of time on Xbox with voice chat enabled will most likely have experienced random and largely unprovoked outbursts. This general unfriendliness of online multiplayer gaming seems to be the root cause behind Nintendo's decision to drop voice chat for the upcoming colourful FPS "Splatoon."

It was already known that the Nintendo Wii U exclusive "Splatoon" will not feature a voice chat implementation, but the real reason behind the decision was recently revealed to be a safeguard against bullying and gamers being generally mean to one another. Gamespot reports that the FPS game's co-director Yusuke Amano admitted to cutting off the feature due to these concerns in an interview with Edge magazine. The director recounted his own personal experience of being harassed and discouraged online as a catalyst behind dropping the crucial feature. Amano justified the decision as a means to maintain the "positive aspects" of online gaming.

"This is coming from personal experience," Amano said in the interview. "When I played online games, I didn't like the negativity I got and people telling me, 'You're crap. Go away.' So we wanted to focus on the positive aspects of online gaming."

The omission of the voice chat feature is par for the course when it comes to Nintendo products. The console maker is dedicated to maintaining a family-friendly image, which usually results in a conservative approach to games and the company going the extra mile to impose censorship. Polygon notes that a few titles such as "Pokemon Diamond and Pearl," "Pokemon X and Y," "Metroid Prime: Hunters," "Mario Kart 8," "Animal Crossing: City Folk" and "Endless Ocean 2" have supported voice chat.

Many gamers believe that a similar concession should have been made for "Splatoon" as well. This is a sound argument because it is a fairly tactical game where players are tasked with painting more areas of the map than the opposing team. The 4v4 team-based multiplayer component is the heart of the game and features several tactical gameplay elements that require strategic coordination between team members. Voice chat, therefore, is a crucial element that can enhance the experience greatly.

Gamers seem to be upset at this ham-handed approach to enforcing a forcibly sanitised multiplayer experience. It is argued that games that support voice chat provide the option of muting abusive gamers. Furthermore, the developers could have given gamers the ability to choose between switching the feature on or off. That way, those who prefer communicating with friends to improve multiplayer co-operation would at least have an option to do so.

It's no secret that a majority of the gaming community has grown tired of the toxicity prevalent in voice chat within most mainstream games. However, that reportedly still doesn't justify cutting a crucial feature in a team-based multiplayer game. Meanwhile, gamers upset with this decision see it as a case of throwing the baby out with the bath water.

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Wii U - Splatoon E3 2014 Announcement Trailer (credit: Nintendo YouTube channel)