The inclusion of both Wi-Fi and a microphone on the DSI made it a favorite for rumors about phone functionality — and while we’ve seen voice chat in some games, there hasn’t been an official channel for that that I know of. But if new rumors, based on a support page mentioning a DSi Speak Channel, are true, then the most popular handheld in the world will be joining the most popular console in the world in having serious voice chat functionality.
The sentence that set off the rumor:
To redeem a Nintendo DSi Download Ticket number, such as for the Nintendo DSi Speak Channel, enter the number off the Nintendo DSi Download Ticket in “Settings and Features” off of the main Nintendo DSi Shop page, then select “Nintendo DSi Download Ticket.
Sounds pretty serious to me. And after all, Nintendo has been pushing that Wii Speak thing, though I don’t recall hearing about anybody using it ever. Probably because calling your friends on your Wii is just a little too weird. On the DSi, however, it could be really convenient. Say hello to DSiPhone.
Of course, Nintendo has responded saying it’s just a rumor — yeah, we knew that. But they didn’t deny it, so it’s probably true.
The Speak Channel is a nice bonus for those that have a use for it. I hope it’s not too restricted. Now the question is how well would the voice clarity be? Would it be of a lower quality than voices in the headset of Xbox Live/PSN? What would it be like online chat? Would we have to get like a DSi speak channel code & then give that to our friends so that they can enter our code & then we can enter theirs?
That would be really cool, the Nintendo Dsi is becoming a very multipurpose device that will lead us to the future in technological developments in handheld devices