Wii-Phone?

[Acert93]

Wii-Phone?

The Nintendo controller will feature a microphone and will store a user phonebook/address book while it will be used as a VoIP phone and will help gamers communicate while online without the need for a headset.

Nintendo's controller surprises keep coming in and as the details are revealed so is an underlying theme to the company's plan for the device. The new details mention a microphone built-in to the headset which will allow the controller to be used as a straight-forward VoIP phone. The news also mentions that users will be able to use the phone for video calls although it does not clarify exactly how a camera will come into play in the setup. The interesting news however, relates to the phone/address book details which will be stored on the controller suggesting that Nintendo expects each user of the Wii in the household to own their own Wiimote.

And what good is the Wii-mote without a Wii-channel to go to?

Just when you think Nintendo has no more Wii related mysteries the company hits you with another one and this time it is the addition of Wiichannel.com to the list of Nintendo owned domains. Rumors of a Wii dedicated interactive channel that will carry animations, games and game trailers, TV shows and other audio/visual content have already started doing the rounds but as most of us have found the hard way, Nintendo is not playing by the book on this one; so expect nothing and anticipate everything.

 

[expletive]

Well, VOIP aside, seems like the microphone is back in play. IIRC it was a no-show at E3. If theyre going for alternate gaming experiences, i think the mic is important as theres a few titles on the DS that make decent use of it.

 

[Urian]

If you have a speaker isn´t hard to put a microphone in the controller.

 

[pc999]

Last EGM (?) confirmed a micro in the remote, or at least some sites reported it (there is even a thread with it).

 

[Bobbler]

Seems sort of pointless as a full fledged VOIP box. The remote shouldn't need to actually have any sort of phone book, as it wouldn't make any sense (it doesn't have access to the internet and you're not connecting it to a PBX) -- if anything you're friends list would act as your "phone book" and that assuredly wouldn't be stored in the remote. There's also no feasible way to dial any numbers from the remote without the console (making the comments about it being a phone sort of goofy -- forgetting stuff like the lack of an echo cancellor or anything like that on the remote, which would make it impossible to use on it's own with the way it's set up).

It seems like these guys are getting a bit overexcited about the possibility simple voice chat which has been around for quite a while (XB Live? should be in PS3's online service too). It also reeks of nonsensical overcomplication for the sake of making it sound important.

 

[Teasy]

Of course the controller has access to the internet, it has access through the console. Wii will be connected to the net at all times even when its switched off.

 

[Bobbler]

Of course the controller has access to the internet, it has access through the console. Wii will be connected to the net at all times even when its switched off.

That's part of what I'm saying, the remote alone is not going to have any sort of functionality like that simply because on it's own it can't do anything. It's not like you'll be able to walk down the street and talk to your friends on your remote. There's no reason for it to have a phone book in it, since you'll need to have access to the console to use it anyways, and there isn't a real way to dial with just the remote (without seeing something on the tv -- at least no way without being frustrating or unintuitive).

Assuming there is a microphone in the controller (which all hints by the nintendo guys point against), the implementation in this rumor is rather silly.

 

[silhouette]

If you have a speaker isn´t hard to put a microphone in the controller.

They need to use a decent acoustic echo canceller and a noise reduction algorithm to go along with that.. A lot of companies provide these solutions so I do not think it will be a problem (unless of course they put mic right next to speaker which would be a killer to both of those algorithms I mention above).

 

[silhouette]

The biggest thing I miss in games in terms of interactivity is speech recognition. If Nintendo can do it even with very limited vocabulary that would be a killer application. Imagine you can talk in Half-Life 2 instead of NPCs crtizing you for not talking, or select the response in a conversation with your own voice in a game like Mass Effect. Now, thats immersion.

 

[Fox5]

They need to use a decent acoustic echo canceller and a noise reduction algorithm to go along with that.. A lot of companies provide these solutions so I do not think it will be a problem (unless of course they put mic right next to speaker which would be a killer to both of those algorithms I mention above).

Considering the Wii is net aware even when switched off, that probably means its cpu is always working. Since a 90nm sub 1 ghz cpu should barely use any power at all, it seems reasonably that they might not even downclock it. However, how would you choose who you're dialing to with the TV turned off?

 

[Guden Oden]

Is it such a biggie to switch on the TV to make a VoIP call? Nobody complains you have to have your PC monitor on to use skype.

If you wanna complain, fine. At least find a decent excuse to do so!

That said, I'm not convinced there even is a mic in the wiimote. Nintendo hasn't announced its existence, nor do any of the recently publicized pics show one. If one was conspiratiorionally inclined, one might think that since previous pics didn't show the speaker the most recent ones won't show the mic, but that does not only sound far-fetched, it would also look a bit disorganized to keep announcing new features time and time again. Nintendo's slicker than that.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I mic in the Wiimote for in-game talk? While waving the controller around? Probably won't make for the best communication quality. The mic will either need to be able to pick up your voice at a wide range of distances, which means picking up background noise too, or you'll be fading in and out. Doesn't sound such a hot solution, for in game comms. For just a telephone replacement, apart from looking silly talking into a remote control it's an okay idea.

 

[Clashman]

You could have a voice-activated phonebook that wouldn't need the TV turned on to use. Several phones out there already have that option built into them.

 

[pc999]

The biggest thing I miss in games in terms of interactivity is speech recognition. If Nintendo can do it even with very limited vocabulary that would be a killer application. Imagine you can talk in Half-Life 2 instead of NPCs crtizing you for not talking, or select the response in a conversation with your own voice in a game like Mass Effect. Now, thats immersion.

Completely agree, that would be really good.

Assuming there is a microphone in the controller (which all hints by the nintendo guys point against), the implementation in this rumor is rather silly.

Which hints?

If one was conspiratiorionally inclined, one might think that since previous pics didn't show the speaker the most recent ones won't show the mic, but that does not only sound far-fetched, it would also look a bit disorganized to keep announcing new features time and time again. Nintendo's slicker than that.

I agree with the pic comments but keep revealing features is a good way to keep hype.

 

[Fox5]

Couldn't a speaker and a mic port look the same, and even be the same? I know all my microphones on my computer are capable of outputting sound as well, should I uncheck the "Mute" option within windows on sound output. Any VOIP stuff could be set up like a radio, it is either transmitting or receiving but not both at the same time.

 

[NANOTEC]

If you have a speaker isn´t hard to put a microphone in the controller.

No..a telephone is essentially the same thing (speaker+mic).

That's part of what I'm saying, the remote alone is not going to have any sort of functionality like that simply because on it's own it can't do anything. It's not like you'll be able to walk down the street and talk to your friends on your remote. There's no reason for it to have a phone book in it, since you'll need to have access to the console to use it anyways, and there isn't a real way to dial with just the remote (without seeing something on the tv -- at least no way without being frustrating or unintuitive).

Assuming there is a microphone in the controller (which all hints by the nintendo guys point against), the implementation in this rumor is rather silly.

You're not getting it. You can implement a phone book with voice dialing. You don't need a display. Also it makes sense that each Wiimote has it's own phonebook so that each member of the family can use their own Wiiphone. Finally only a moron will walk down the street with a "home" phone. What do you think cellphones are for?


What people don't get is this will be THE mainstream VIDEOPHONE and it's FREE!
All they need is a cheap USB camera.

 

[Acert93]

I don't get the silly comments. Ok, it is a remote... but most Cell phones look like remotes too (or little clamshell like peepers).

But sticking it up to your head, like a phone, and doing chat before a game or with friends is cool. It it not a perfect replacement for a headset, but on the other hand I am not sure that is the purpose. And this will be standard, whereas getting people to use headsets online...

 

[NANOTEC]

I don't get the silly comments. Ok, it is a remote... but most Cell phones look like remotes too (or little clamshell like peepers).

But sticking it up to your head, like a phone, and doing chat before a game or with friends is cool. It it not a perfect replacement for a headset, but on the other hand I am not sure that is the purpose. And this will be standard, whereas getting people to use headsets online...

Exactly, it will likely function as a speaker phone. :smile:

 

[Shifty Geezer]

What people don't get is this will be THE mainstream VIDEOPHONE and it's FREE!

The mainstream videophone between Wii owners, who have their console on. They'll also need alerts too so if someone calls them and they're not online, they can pick up, otherwise it's not really a proper phone. The same with EyeToy chat really. You have to either be online already (like Messenger) or prearrange a meeting. I had a video conference with family at Christmas where I phoned and arranged them to set it up. Until a system can be used like a phone with video, call them, they answer, and you're there, it's not really THE mainstream VIDEOPHONE. Nice idea and all, but let's not ignore the limitations and suggest it's something it's not - it's not a replacement for the ordinary telephone giving free phone calls.

 

[NANOTEC]

The mainstream videophone between Wii owners, who have their console on. They'll also need alerts too so if someone calls them and they're not online, they can pick up, otherwise it's not really a proper phone. The same with EyeToy chat really. You have to either be online already (like Messenger) or prearrange a meeting. I had a video conference with family at Christmas where I phoned and arranged them to set it up. Until a system can be used like a phone with video, call them, they answer, and you're there, it's not really THE mainstream VIDEOPHONE. Nice idea and all, but let's not ignore the limitations and suggest it's something it's not - it's not a replacement for the ordinary telephone giving free phone calls.

For a videophone it will be THE mainstream model considering Wii will be online 24/7.

Nobody said it will replace the home phone at $200 per unit and broadband requirements. Oh and lets not inject Eyetoy into this discussion when it falls short on so many levels as a VoIP phone wannabe. It's like comparing DS3 to Wiimote. Finally using a DSLite with Wii and VoIP gives rise to all kinds of uses.