Nintendo managed to capture gamers around the world when it launched the 2-in-1 Nintendo Switch console earlier this year. Fans loved the new system as did most critics and Nintendo won over more gamers due to the Switch’s ability to seamlessly port over to a television for large screen gameplay or to the smaller hand held display that the console offered. Barring few minor issues, the console has become hugely popular and its sales also go to show how successful it is.
Carrying forward this success and allowing Switch users more features and functionality, Nintendo said that it would launch a voice chat feature.
Voice chat would be available for multiplayer gamers on the Switch looking to communicate with each other. The company also claimed that a specially designed mobile app would allow users to use this voice chat functionality. Nintendo launched this app for iOS and Android devices on Wednesday, July 18.
Nintendo Switch Online app launched
The new app will let Switch players do a lot more and even interact with friends in social media regarding the games that they are currently playing. Currently, the app will only support the upcoming ‘Splatoon 2’ and it’s SplatNet 2, but the list of supported games will surely grow as the time passes. For now, players connected to SplatNet 2 will be able to view battle information such as rankings, stages and match results via the Nintendo Switch Online app.
Gamers can also invite their friends on Facebook and Twitter to play games together. Similarly, they can also invite Nintendo Switch friends as well. The voice chat functionality is divided into two ways depending on the kind of game being played. For ordinary games, the voice chat is available for everyone in the gamer’s room.
However, for competitive team games, voice chats can be split up in a way that only team members can hear each other.
Major issues with the app
Nintendo Switch gamers reported facing some serious issues with the app after it was launched on Wednesday. Firstly, the voice chat functionality only works if the gamers have the app open and the phone unlocked.
So, connecting to a chat and then locking the handset will not work. Secondly, the app requires gamers to connect the headsets to the phone, which means that the sounds of the game are not transmitted into the headsets, as Gamespot noted.
Some Switch users complained that Nintendo had consciously decided to use this tactic as a way of keeping chats and gameplay family friendly. Others believed that these problems arose from the fact that Nintendo is relatively new to the online multiplayer aspect of games. The app is available for free to download and use currently but will become subscription based in 2018.
