No voice or text chat in Mario Kart Wii

By Ellie Gibson Published 28 February, 2008

And no communication during races.

Nintendo has revealed there will be no option for communicating via voice chat in Mario Kart Wii.

So what are the options? According to IGN Nintendo of Europe initially stated, "You can create rooms for friends to join and even text chat while you're waiting for other racers."

However Nintendo of America has since clarified the situation and it seems "text chat" might be a bit strong. In fact, you will only be able to communicate by choosing from a selection of predetermined phrases. Probably things like "I won" and "Good luck" and "I'm touching myself ". Probably not the last one.

And there will be no communication while the action's happening - you can only send and receive messages in between races. That's a shame. At least we've got a release date now - Mario Kart Wii is out in Europe on April 11th. Screenshots, videos, news stories - you want 'em, we got 'em.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (51) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • DDevil #1 4 years ago

    Nintendo: Sucking the fun out of online multiplayer since 2007

  • CordableTuna #2 4 years ago

    Finally, player to player communication in a competitive game done right. (Compare to Halo)

  • pikemon #3 4 years ago

    laptop & teamspeak/skype then :/

    voice chat = awesome with friends, sucks with strangers

  • Nylkran #4 4 years ago

    @ DDevil so a game is only fun online if you can communicate with others?

  • erp #5 4 years ago

    There's never been any fun in online multiplayer.

  • BraveArse #6 4 years ago

    ah well - skype on my PSP will actually get used then :(

    and Nylkran - yes... if you intend on playing against your mates ( some of us have them ) then not being able to talk to them does suck some of the fun out of the whole endeavour.

  • rashes #7 4 years ago

    @Nylkran

    Well its kind of part of team based games?? Especially if playing with mates...
    Edited by 1 at 28/02/08 @ 09:20

  • pikemon #8 4 years ago

    > Nintendo: Sucking the fun out of online multiplayer since 2007

    considering the level of my play in mario strikers charged, i'm not sure if i WANT to hear the person in the other end speak. unless it's someone i know personally.

    i've had huge amounts of fun online with strikers. i've cursed irritating halo morons too many times to count. lack of voice chat certainly doesn't kill a game.

    edit:

    definitely our crew is setting up skype or teamspeak for mario kart wii. MK Wii online might sneakily become one of the gaming phenomena of the year... but of course its too early to tell. strikers only let u play 1-on-1 and was very skill based, so it didn't become as popular among my wii owning friends. not to mention the REGION LOCK (stupid nintendo!).
    Edited by 1 at 28/02/08 @ 09:23

  • Nylkran #9 4 years ago

    @ BraveArse

    It may detract from the fun a bit, my point is that DDevil made it sound that only if you can communicate in a online game, would the game be fun.

    @ rashes

    Yes, but MK is hardly a tema based game.

  • Jontacular #10 4 years ago

    "Probably not the last one."

    Hoho :-)

  • redlander #11 4 years ago

    "I'm touching myself "

    That really made me laugh.

  • nickthegun #12 4 years ago

    We want to expand the social gaming experience....as long as you are all in the same room....

  • Baronen #13 4 years ago

    How can anyone even try to defend shit like this? I mean, if hearing the other players are annoying, every other platform has the ability to mute either some or all players (360 even has really intricate options, automatically muting people not on your friends list, etc), trying to justify not having the option at all is just pathetic. Way to go, Nintendo.

  • Wyrm #14 4 years ago

    They're terrified of paedophiles. Simple as that.

  • Nylkran #15 4 years ago

    Wow, online gaming must really be bad if the only way to enjoy it, is to chat with other people.

    Edit: spelling mistakes
    Edited by 1 at 28/02/08 @ 09:34

  • nickthegun #16 4 years ago

    No. People are complaining because it has been a standard feature for a dogs age and a lot of people enjoy it.

  • Nylkran #17 4 years ago

    @ nickthegun

    But the game hasnt changed, if online play on a game is so flimsy that it is so much more enjoyable when you play and chat, then the games are bad, I am not saying having chat is a bad thing, I am simply saying not having it shouldnt in anyway affect the game. (unless it is a game were communication is key like Team based).

    Edit: Rewording for clarification
    Edited by 1 at 28/02/08 @ 09:44

  • morriss #18 4 years ago

    "I'm holding it now." perhaps?

  • jiveguy #19 4 years ago

    I want to swear at children and make them cry :(

  • dadrester #20 4 years ago

    it's because nintendo hate europe...

    ... i heard in the jap version they are doing a hologram feature where it literally 'projects' the other players images into the room with you.

  • gal2319 #21 4 years ago

    at all the "who cares about voice chat anyway":

    you don't have any friends, therefore article is irrelevant to you.
    let the ones who have friends comment in peace.

    :p

  • LetsGo #22 4 years ago

    No communication? Might as well be bots then...

  • Steroyd #23 4 years ago

    @fluffytucker

    But they're your mates... try getting a random 10 year old off the street, you couldn't get them to shut up enough.

  • Hughes. #24 4 years ago

    A survey of American gamers to decide which predetermined phrases to include in the game.

    "Faggot!"
    "You suck!"
    "You suck, faggot"
    "You beat me! Faggot!"
    "Stop using banana skins, faggot!"
    "A spiced ball of pork and onion in gravy, FAGGOT!"

    Probably not the last one.

  • FooAtari #25 4 years ago

    Stupid.

  • speedjack #26 4 years ago

    Don't really see what the fuss is - did anyone really think there would be ?

  • kangarootoo #27 4 years ago

    @Steroyd

    I play online against/with friends. I pretty never play against strangers. Whether someone is a friend or a stranger has nothing to do with the matter. If the people you are playing with are in the same room then you can talk to them directly, and if they are on other side of the country online voice chat allows the same general gaming experience to take place.

    I don't think anyone is saying that voice chat is the only good thing about online gaming, or that its absence rids the world of all good. Its just that, well, its pretty much a basic requirement these days. All online games should include voice chat for those that wish to use it, end of story. Any game that does not is sub-standard in comparison to its peers.

    This is not the 80s for crying out loud.
    Edited by 1 at 28/02/08 @ 10:09

  • jack_klugman #28 4 years ago

    Thank goodness for that.

    Finally, player to player communication in a competitive game done right.

    Amen!

  • FooAtari #29 4 years ago

    What the hell, as with some other im confused why people are defending this.

    Like someone said try sitting there with friends and not talking. Boring at the best of the times, even more so in a game like Mario Kart. True often times you will hear nothing but foul language when playing with randoms but it's great when playing with friends.

    As for text chat, its the dreamcast all over again. Reminds me of Phantasy Start Universe, if you didnt have the keyboard talking in that was a pain in the ass.

    I must admit I don't really understand why the Wii sells so much better than the other two consoles. I guess it because a percentage of owners see nothing more than a Wii Sports machine and of course it cheap. But their online service is far inferior to the other gaming platforms and it doesn't have any more AAA games imo. Then again I never understood why the PS sold so much better than the Xbox or GC either.

  • Pac-man-ate-my-wife #30 4 years ago

    Can't see why they can't impliment a limited system that let's you talk to friends while not allowing it with strangers. Seems a missed opportunity to me.

  • FooAtari #31 4 years ago

    I don't think anyone is saying that voice chat is the only good thing about online gaming, or that its absence rids the world of all good. Its just that, well, its pretty much a basic requirement these days. All online games should include voice chat for those that wish to use it, end of story. Any game that does not is sub-standard in comparison to its peers.

    This is not the 80s for crying out loud.

    Well said as usual Kang. I rarely talk or play with randoms either. Sometimes getting 3 or 4 friends online at the same time is less hassle than getting everyone round to the same house at the same time and as you said provides much the same experience. Or it allows you to play with friends who don't live nearby. IMO it's an essential requirement for online gaming now.

  • FooAtari #32 4 years ago

    More better games though Fluffy. True the GC was lacking, I don't think I bought more than 10 games for mine. The PS2 was clever marketing though as it didn't have more games to begin with and I suppose the Xbox was to late to market to catch up.

  • LiamK #33 4 years ago

    "Who the fuck plays online games with randoms? Whenever I do play on Live! I just play with Egers and without voice chat nobody would bother."

    Clearly thought, lot's of people do. Whether it's because the random nature of humans makes them more fun to play against than the computer (regardlesss of whether you know them or not), or because they want to climb a leaderboard to see how good they are against the world, or because it's hard organising 16 people for a big Team Deathmatch session in COD, lot's of people play against strangers.

    Online services would suffer a lot more if they lost strangers playing against each other rather than if they lost Egers. Although I am sure he is lovely.

  • FooAtari #34 4 years ago

    I don't think Fluffy has a problem with people palying with Randoms as such. He was just responding to people saying that there was no need for voice chat because randoms are quite often abusive online. If im playing random games I often unplug my headset though.

  • jlaakso #35 4 years ago

    Well, that's just stupid.

  • stevencole7 #36 4 years ago

    Sums Nintendo up! How shite is that company now......... STOP BEING EVERYONES MUM!
    Edited by 1 at 28/02/08 @ 10:52

  • Xerx3s #37 4 years ago

    A MP game without communication is just a SP game with very smart/dumb (remove what isn't applicable) AI.

  • Xerx3s #38 4 years ago

    "@ DDevil so a game is only fun online if you can communicate with others? "

    Yes. In whatever basic way there is, online for me (and a lot of others) has always been about community and communication. Even in the prehistoric games where only textbased chat was possible.

    "They're terrified of paedophiles. Simple as that. "

    What a terrible excuse. If they seriously wanted to do something about that, they should take a look at what live/psn does to create a safe voice environment (before you start: Just because you're too lazy to configure the profile doesn't mean that the system doesn't work). And what about paedo chat on the ds (not that it ever get's used as it is just about the shittiest integration available?

    There are reasons that they don't have it but it certainly isn't the fear of child abuse.
    Edited by 1 at 28/02/08 @ 11:04

  • SBfistfun #39 4 years ago

    Jesus, come on Nintendo, pull you freaking thumb out

  • ZeroAX #40 4 years ago

    "voice chat = awesome with friends, sucks with strangers"


    agreed. no really 100% agreed

  • Rash' #41 4 years ago

    So no homophobic, racist banter then...

  • Rash' #42 4 years ago

    I think the issue with voice chat is there is no good method of policing the activity which just breeds an unwelcoming environment to meet and make new gaming friends.

  • ZeroAX #43 4 years ago

    "We want to expand the social gaming experience....as long as you are all in the same room.."


    wait so you say internet communication is social interaction? um......

  • aldo_14 #44 4 years ago

    Given that my sole gaming interaction tends to be typing 'gg' at the end of a COD4 session, I'm not too bothered about this. It would be nice if they used those parental controls on the Wii for something, though.

  • NewbieZilla #45 4 years ago

    I've loved Nintendo since forever, but with online, they have dropped the ball.

  • hybridial #46 4 years ago

    I don't care.

    I spend most of my online time playing GGPO online King of Fighters 98 and Streetfighter Alpha 3. They don't have voice chat, but unlike Halo or CoD4, they are actually fun. I think that's a lot more important.

  • Ikari2001 #47 4 years ago

    "And what the hell have some of you got against strangers!!! Are you five years old or something.

    The best laugh you can have on Xbox Live is randomly abusing Americans. "

    There I think, is your reason for this. Uncle Ninty tends to like to stay away from such words as "abuse" :p

  • FooAtari #48 4 years ago

    @lavalnt

    "T-shirt says 'I'm no1, so why try harder' and Nintendo are wearing it."

    I agree, already they appear to be very much resting on their laurels. The Wii = NES. History will re-write itself just you wait.

  • bdc #49 4 years ago

    Nintendo: MULTIPLAYER GOES WHERE?

  • smelly #50 4 years ago

    Oh come on guys.

    Nintendo currently have the "family friendly" image.

    Can you imagine the shit storm something like the daily mail would kick up if you could speak to people online?

    Remember the ds? Paedos can talk to your kids while they're sat in your car.. etc etc.

    Imagine what the headline would be if the wii is in your kids bedroom.

  • smelly #51 4 years ago

    >What, and kids don't have internet in their bedroom to chat to paedos?

    Look.. you know it's stupid, i know it's stupid.

    But that wont stop the tabloids running a "shock horror" story about it and nuking nintendos image (regardless of how much common sense/parental controls/etc are added).

    Dont tell me there wont.. just look at the shit about the mass effect cut scene and other such bollocks

    The press would have a field day with "we set up a match against gary glitter and 5 ten year olds, and found that he was able to talk to them throughout! Ban this sick filth!"