I've personally desired a headset for Nintendo's online titles for some time—Endless Ocean, I recall, really frustrated me with its limited potential due to this problem. Along with the announcement of Animal Crossing: City Folk (for which we have information and new screens and art), Nintendo unveiled this:
The WiiSpeak fits rather well with Wii's modus operandi. Instead of a personal headset, you've got yourself a mic that everyone playing in the room can use, literally changing the game up from someone sitting in a chair talking to unseen opponents to everyone taking part.
Unfortunately, based on City Folk's fact sheet, it seems Nintendo really won't be taking advantage of this sea change with that particular game. Only one person can be playing Animal Crossing on a single Wii at one time. Actually, on the whole, City Folk doesn't look like all that much of a rethinking of the franchise and directions it can expand in, just an incremental upgrade. When previews and such come in, we'll know more.
The WiiSpeak fits rather well with Wii's modus operandi. Instead of a personal headset, you've got yourself a mic that everyone playing in the room can use, literally changing the game up from someone sitting in a chair talking to unseen opponents to everyone taking part.
Unfortunately, based on City Folk's fact sheet, it seems Nintendo really won't be taking advantage of this sea change with that particular game. Only one person can be playing Animal Crossing on a single Wii at one time. Actually, on the whole, City Folk doesn't look like all that much of a rethinking of the franchise and directions it can expand in, just an incremental upgrade. When previews and such come in, we'll know more.