Chinese Whispers
Microsoft unveils voice communication functions on Xbox controller
In a recent interview with Ed Frieds and J Allard, Gamespot uncovered some information about the mysterious black and white buttons in awkward positions on the top of the Xbox controller's right hand side. According to Allard, these control the voice communication functions of the system, useful in online multiplayer battles. Black is for broadcast and white is for whisper. Broadcasting is presumably the equivalent of "say X" in current multiplayer games, while whisper sounds like the Xbox version of "say_team X". Sounds useful, although it will probably encourage rather a lot of smack talk. At least, that's what the B&W buttons could mean. Alternatively, there could be some sort of proximity system, where people within a certain range can hear you whisper, while everyone on the map can hear you broadcast over an open frequency. Useful if you ever get to play as a Predator online. Imagine sneaking up on some hapless human, whispering "any time" then wiping them out. Bliss. Built-in voice communication systems for PC games are virtually non-existent, but the one in Tribes 2 works quite well, and external programs like Roger Wilco are all the rage. In my opinion, voice communication built into online games is A Good Thing™ Related Feature - Out-boxed?