Wii Speak

Wii Speak is a microphone accessory for Nintendo's Wii video game console. Connected to the console via USB, the device can be placed near the video display, allowing voice chat to be conducted with the entire room. The device features an LED to indicate when the microphone is active. Wii Speak was announced at Nintendo's 2008 E3 media briefing and became available separately or bundled with Animal Crossing: City Folk on November 16, 2008 in North America and will be available on December 5, 2008 in Europe.

According to Miyamoto, the microphone is designed to "clearly capture many different voices being spoken in a room at the same time and convey that over the Internet." Addressing concerns over background noise due to the placement of the microphone near a television set, Animal Crossing: City Folk producer Katsuya Eguchi states that the device is designed to filter out video game sound from the audio speakers. Miyamoto notes that the quality of the noise filtering functionality in the Wii Speak is "very good", which may be contributing to the cost of the device. In an IGN product interview, the microphone was rated excellent.

At E3, when asked why the device would not be bundled with City Folk, Nintendo senior managing director Shigeru Miyamoto replied that cost was the factor behind the decision, adding that some users may prefer playing the game without a microphone, and that others may want to use Wii Speak who are not interested in buying City Folk. In contrast with previous statements, Nintendo later revealed that a bundle of Wii Speak and City Folk would also be released. The bundle will be a limited edition, released the same day as the standalone products.

On October 2, 2008, Nintendo announced that Wii Speak will have its own Wii Channel. The Wii Speak Channel is unlocked for download by a 16-digit Wii Download Ticket, included with the Wii Speak package upon purchase. The Wii Speak Channel will launch in December 2008.

The channel allows users to chat in one of four rooms with Wii Friends using Wii Speak online. There is no limit to the number of people that can be in each room. Each user will be represented by their Mii, which will lip sync to their spoken words. In addition, users will also be able to leave audio messages on the Wii message board for other users, as well as make audio captions for their stored photos. Users can also share photo slideshows and comment on them.


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