Wii Speak
Manufacturer | Nintendo |
---|---|
Type | Microphone |
Lifespan |
Wii Speak is a microphone accessory for
Wii Speak was announced at Nintendo's 2008
The Wii Speak accessory was succeeded by the embedded microphone on the Wii U's GamePad controller. Nevertheless, the Wii Speak hardware is still compatible with the Wii U.
Design
This section needs expansion with: Development. You can help by adding to it. (January 2011) |
According to Shigeru Miyamoto, the microphone was designed to "clearly capture many different voices being spoken in a room at the same time and convey that over the Internet."[3] Addressing concerns over background noise due to the placement of the microphone near a television set, Animal Crossing: City Folk producer Katsuya Eguchi stated that the device was designed to filter out video game sound from the audio speakers.[2] Miyamoto noted at the time that the quality of the noise filtering functionality in the Wii Speak is "very good", which may have contributed to the cost of the device.[3] An on/off switch was originally planned, but the microphone was ultimately designed to only turn on when a compatible game wants access to it.
Software
In addition to the standalone accessory, the Wii Speak was also made available as a bundle alongside Animal Crossing: City Folk. However, it was not originally Nintendo's intention to release such a bundled product.
At E3 2008, when asked why the device would not be bundled with City Folk, Nintendo senior managing director
Wii Speak Channel
Developer | Nintendo |
---|---|
Type | Online voice-only chat |
Launch date | December 5, 2008 |
Last updated | March 27, 2009 |
Platform(s) | Wii |
On October 2, 2008, Nintendo announced that Wii Speak would have its own
The Wii Speak Channel allowed one to chat with Wii Friends (who also had the Wii Speak and the Wii Speak Channel) within one of four "rooms".[5] There was no limit to the number of people that could be in each "room".[5] Each user was represented by their Mii avatar, whose mouths were lip synced to the user's spoken words. In addition, users were also able to leave audio messages on the Wii message board for other users, as well as make audio captions for their stored photos. Users could also share photo slideshows and comment on them.[5]
The Wii Speak Channel was also available via the Wii U's "Wii Mode", though it had no functional use, as the Wii U's Wii Mode has no friend codes. However, the Wii Speak peripheral itself does function on the Wii U with games that support it. The Wii Speak channel is no longer available for download due to being discontinued, and any download codes that are used result in an error message stating that the channel is no longer available.
The Wii Speak Channel ceased functionality after May 20, 2014 when the free Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service was discontinued. The Wii Speak Channel was succeeded by the Wii U Chat videochat app for the Wii U.
Compatible games
Title | Developer | Publisher | Release date N. America | Release date Japan | Release date Europe | Release date Australia |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Animal Crossing: City Folk[7] | Nintendo EAD
|
Nintendo | November 16, 2008 | November 20, 2008 | December 5, 2008 | December 4, 2008 |
Endless Ocean 2: Adventures of the Deep[8] | Arika | Nintendo | February 22, 2010 | September 17, 2009 | February 5, 2010 | February 25, 2010 |
NHL 2K10[9] | Visual Concepts | 2K Sports
|
September 15, 2009 | October 23, 2009 | ||
NHL 2K11 | Visual Concepts | 2K Sports
|
August 24, 2010 | October 8, 2010 | ||
The Conduit[10] | High Voltage Software | Sega | June 23, 2009 | |||
Uno[Note 1] | Gameloft | Gameloft | January 25, 2010 | October 20, 2009 | November 6, 2009 | |
NBA 2K10 | Visual Concepts | 2K Sports
|
November 9, 2009 | November 27, 2009 | ||
NBA 2K11 | Visual Concepts | 2K Sports
|
October 5, 2010 | October 14, 2010 | October 8, 2010 | October 8, 2010 |
Monster Hunter Tri[11] | Capcom | Capcom (NA)
Nintendo (EU) |
April 20, 2010 | August 1, 2009
(No Wii Speak support) |
April 23, 2010 | April 29, 2010 |
Tetris Party Deluxe[12] | Hudson Soft | Majesco Entertainment | June 1, 2010 | September 3, 2010 | October 14, 2010 | |
Jeopardy![13] | THQ | THQ | November 2, 2010 | |||
Wheel of Fortune[13]
|
THQ | THQ | November 2, 2010 | November 19, 2010 | ||
Mix Superstar[14][Note 1] | Digital Leisure | Digital Leisure | November 8, 2010 |
References
- ^ a b "Nintendo reveals UK dates for Wii Speak, Animal Crossing". GameSpot UK. 2008-10-07. Archived from the original on 2013-01-23. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ a b Kohler, Chris (2008-07-24). "How Nintendo's WiiSpeak Mic Works". Game|Life. Wired. Retrieved 2008-08-02.
- ^ a b c Casamassina, Matt (2008-07-15). "E3 2008: Miyamoto Talks WiiSpeak". IGN Wii. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-03-18. Retrieved 2008-08-02.
- ^ "Nintendo to offer Animal Crossing City Folk/Wii Speak bundle". GoNintendo. 2008-09-07. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
- ^ a b c d Casamassina, Matt (2008-10-02). "Interview: Cammie Dunaway". IGN Wii. IGN Entertainment. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2008-10-19. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
- ^ DeVries, Jack (2008-10-02). "WiiSpeak Gets a Dedicated Channel". IGN. Archived from the original on 2008-10-05. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
- ^ DeVries, Jack (2008-07-15). "E3 2008: Animal Crossing Coming to Wii". IGN. Archived from the original on 2008-07-18. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
- ^ "Nintendo.com description page". Retrieved 2010-02-12.
- ^ "NHL 2K10 Feature Blowout". Archived from the original on 2009-07-26. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
- ^ Klepek, Patrick (2008-10-03). "'The Conduit' Already Has 'MotionPlus' Support, WiiSpeak Too". MTV Multiplayer. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
- ^ MacDonald, Keza (2009-10-28). "Monster Hunter 3 Tri Hands On". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
- ^ Fishman, Brian (2010-07-06). "Tetris Party Deluxe Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2010-07-27.
- ^ a b "Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune to use Wii Speak". WiiNintendo. 2010-06-10. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
- ^ "Digital Leisure's Mix Superstar". NintendoLife. 2011-11-04. Retrieved 2010-11-06.