Splatoon, as mush as it doesn’t look like it, is actually a pretty serious shooter. You’ve got weapon classes for different situations, coupled with the standard player progression system that has kept games like Call of Duty ticking for all these years. It’s just wrapped up in a cute, childish package, which is meant to attract a new audience to the world of online gaming. A world which Nintendo is restricting, so that its true colours aren’t shown.
Despite being a heavily focused online shooter, Splatoon won’t have voice chat. We’ve known that for a while, but it’s been the most confusing piece of the Splatoon puzzle. According to co-director Yusuke Amano, the decision was made fairly early on into development as well. He, and the rest of the Splatoon team, want to make an online game without all the inherent nastiness – so they’re limiting it as much as they can.
“This is coming from personal experience. 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,”
Anyone who’s ever played an online game (ever) will know that this is the sad reality of it all. Online anonymity brings out the absolute worst in some people, and I’ve also personally stopped playing some games purely because of the toxic community. I do, however, think that it’s an issue that can’t really be avoided, so stripping an important feature from an online game might not be the best way to combat it.
Splatoon is marketed for a younger audience, so it’s commendable that Nintendo want to create a safe, relatively happy environment online for them to play in. But for players who really want to play the game seriously online, having no voice chat puts a massive dent in proceedings. It might have been better to make it an optional setting – and one that was maybe tied to family settings on the console itself.
The rest of the interview didn’t reveal anything new, but Amano did explain that each of the recently revealed Amiibo for the game will have “5 rare piece of gear” embedded into them. So if you want to really bling out your Inkling next month, you’ll need to cough up a little extra.
Last Updated: April 9, 2015
Kensei Seraph
April 9, 2015 at 09:42
Reading the title and looking at the header my second thought was “that you could only play as red or blue?”
I really enjoyed being able to play as red, blue, green or gold in Unreal Tournament and I was disappointed that they only allow red or blue in almost every other game.
Foul_Walker
April 9, 2015 at 09:52
How about Gold or Dark blue ??
Thinus Swart
April 9, 2015 at 10:12
What about Gold and white?
Admiral Chief asked for this
April 9, 2015 at 09:42
Hence why I like Planetside 2 so much, barely bile, and if the section of the map you are in has some toxic players, just respawn on another section of the map, problem solved in 15 seconds
Hammersteyn
April 9, 2015 at 09:45
Only FPS online game I know of that only has four maps. Maps the size of GTA or Just Cause!
Hammersteyn
April 9, 2015 at 09:43
What they plan :
COD – For people older than 21
Splatoon – For people aged 6 – 21
What really happens :
COD – For people aged 6 – 21
Splatoon – For people older than 21
Admiral Chief asked for this
April 9, 2015 at 09:55
XDXDXDXD
Kensei Seraph
April 9, 2015 at 09:44
“It might have been better to make it an optional setting – and one that was maybe tied to family settings on the console itself.”
And make it off by default and they would have to jump through a few minor hoops to enable it.
RinceThis
April 9, 2015 at 09:51
An optimal extra? You be listening to some dick head swearing if the chance was there.
Ranting Raptor
April 9, 2015 at 09:58
Isn’t there a background app one can install for voice?
RinceThis
April 9, 2015 at 10:01
Yeah, it’s called a cell phone 😛
Ranting Raptor
April 9, 2015 at 10:02
huehuehuehuehuehuehuehuehuehuehuehuehuehuehuehuehuehuehuehuehuehue
Admiral Chief asked for this
April 9, 2015 at 10:08
Oh snap
Deceased
April 9, 2015 at 10:32
“… stopped playing some games purely because of the toxic community”
Your phrasings make me thinks you’re referencings the DotA?
If I’m rights, we’re askings yous to come back
( been watching too much Metalocalypse and Skwisgaar’s accent is stuck in my head 😐 )
Fnuik
April 9, 2015 at 10:33
I never use ingame voice chat. If I want to play with friends we create a party for chat. Then none of the ingame chat works so nobody, except my friends, wants to sleep with my mother etc.
Kromas is drunk with power!
April 9, 2015 at 11:34
I currently run a 7 Days to Die dedicated server and for once in my life I can actually say I love the South African community in that game. Everyone is helpful and only 1 or two nasty incidents have come up so far. Chat is active and everyone is friendly.
That being said this is the exception as every other online game I play have some really shitty people on it.