Something strange happened the first time I played Mario Kart 8 online. I had finally convinced my friend Francis to get a Wii U. Once his console arrived, we decided to take Mario Kart‘s online multiplayer out for a spin.
Things were going swimmingly, at first. He created a room for me to join, and the two of us debated which racers, vehicles, and tracks to go with. I was able to talk to each other simply by using the Wii U’s GamePad. I’d say something with the large tablet-sized controller on my lap, and hear his voice trail out from the speakers on my TV. It felt natural and futuristic at the same time. As we were going through the motions, we both flexed our respective Mario Kart muscles with taunts about how we’d crush one another once the race got started. Verses from rap songs were quoted. It was silly. It was fun.
Then, the race started. And suddenly both our voices cut out. There wasn’t silence, exactly — the rest of the voices in Mario Kart 8’s chorus still rang strong. But it felt like silence, coming after several minutes of playful posturing.
What the hell was that? Francis asked once we returned to the virtual waiting room our Miis sat patiently in between races. But first, I had some far less polite things to say about the way that he had smacked me with a red shell right when I was about to pass the finish line. We tried another race, but had to stop playing because of some problem with the connection.
“Let’s try later, possibly with Skype,” Francis texted me. Then, a minute later: “Not being able to talk trash is NOT next-gen.”
I chuckled and didn’t think much of it. Nintendo made it clear before the game came out that you’d only be able to chat online with friends in Mario Kart 8’s lobby area, so I didn’t expect much. But as I’ve sunk more time into the game’s online multiplayer, this dynamic has started to feel weirder in turn.
Like many other stellar Nintendo games, I started playing Mario Kart 8 with friends sitting right beside me. There’s always a lot of screaming in joy and indignation throughout a race when I play the game this way. We grit our teeth and curse at one another, but we also recognise that we’re getting into heated arguments over a bunch of cartoonish characters chucking brightly-coloured turtle shells at one another. It’s a big part of what makes Mario Kart so much fun.
Nothing about the core gameplay changes when you go online with Mario Kart 8. But this human element is strangely muted. If you step into the general Nintendo Network (either regionally or globally), the only interactions you can really have with other players outside of the actual racing, shell-throwing, and horn-honking is a series of dialogue prompts that are available in the lobby between levels. The Miis can say things like “I’ll give it my best shot!” and “I’m using tilt controls!” to one another. If you’re feeling feisty, the most aggressive response available is to ask to race again — which you’re presumably planning to do already if you’re waiting in a lobby anyway.
I’m usually terrified of facing seasoned gamers online, let alone ones who’ve developed a swagger to match their experience level. So I understand why it works this way if you’re going against any other Mario Kart player online. But does it have to be the same when I’m playing with friends? Aren’t features like in-game chat meant to serve as stand-ins for those times when you can’t gather everyone together under one roof to play?
For a while after Mario Kart came out in late May, I thought Francis and I might be the only ones who were frustrated about this. Plus, it’s not like we had many chances to sow any seeds of dissent across the Miiverse. Then yesterday, I came across a thread on Reddit full of Mario Kart 8 players who sounded similarly confused.
Much like me, the player who started the thread came to the Wii U from a background in PC gaming and was feeling confused by the sudden lack of options as a result.
“More than half the reason to use voice chat is when you are in mid game,” Reddit user Scurro wrote. “Anyways we had to resort to downloading skype on our phones and just using that for voice chat. Is there a better way?”
Many of the gamers in the thread jumped in with their own jerry-rigged solutions. Others used it as an opportunity to blast Nintendo for a number of things. Some saw the lack of mid-race chat as an “oversight” or an arbitrary, unsuccessful attempt to keep the game kid-friendly.
“Definitely not an oversight,” one person argued. “I think they’re aware that people (like me) are screaming ‘FUCK YOUR RED SHELLS, THIS IS FUCKING BULLSHIT!’ every lap. Good awareness, Nintendo.”
Others suggested it was a symptom of the company’s overall deficiencies when it comes to online multiplayer.
“Online is where Nintendo really lacks, you can’t even join worldwide with your friends in a lobby,” one person wrote.
“There’s a workaround for that: Have one friend join a worldwide, regional, or tournament game. Then everyone join that friend from the friends page,” another player responded. “Not exactly convenient, but it works. No chat option though. We just use Google hangouts on our phones.”
I don’t want to assume that all these players are concocting clever mechanisms just to be able to trash-talk one another when playing Mario Kart 8 the same way Francis and I do. But regardless of what they want to say, the fact that they’re resorting to Skype and Google Hangouts is a sign that they want to say something to each other while scooting along Rainbow Road.
I hope that Nintendo finds a way to let all of us Mario Kart fans do that.
Comments
23 responses to “Not Being Able To Talk Trash Online In Mario Kart 8 Is Strange”
So, you’re asking to be allowed and going out of your way to be a toxic player?
Also, http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2014/07/09/marxio-kart
I just say Hooray over and over and over and over again.
Your mother is a classy lady!
Enemy boat spotted!
I actually like this system!
What we can’t tell is that your original message was censored to say that comment.
Hah, I lol’d.
Specifically:
And in summary:
I actually don’t say anything in the lobbies between games. Nothing at all, regardless of whether I win or lose or whatever.
I seem to be the only one that does.
For some reason, I can’t get the voice chat to work in-game. It’s in a lobby, with friends, I press the “+” or “-” or whatever it is, the volume for the TV goes down, I inform him that I’m going to wipe my arse with his kart and that he’s a mad fuckwit, but nothing comes out on his end. It’s the same for him.
Is there a setting on the Wii U system I have to change to allow it, or am I just not getting something? It’s pretty annoying, tbh.
it’s only available in a private lobby, not the public ones.
Yeah, it’s a private room, :friends: only… and the fact that it lowers the volume and the mic symbol comes up just makes it wierd. Could be because he’s tethered to his phone, for some reason, but since there’s minimal lag during our games I don’t think it’s a bandwidth issue.
It’s just odd, is all.
Im glad they dont allow chat,
ive never been online gaming with terribly bad abuse. ive had it every now and again with TF2, but from what i understand its tame.
my main reason for swearing when i lose or get hit repeatedly, is because i feel injustice. but ultimately, losing doesnt mean im a useless human being, it just means i didnt do well or that someone did a better job, or things out of my control effected how i did in the race. so the fact that i get irate and say things that wake my wife up from the other end of the house, make me glad that its censored. for all i know there could be some really young innocent video gamers listening. i have also played MK8 locally with four players – and let me tell you, that is funny and entertaining at the same time. especially when you know the people you’re playing with and the insults all of a sudden dont come from poor mannered toxic person looking to inflict hurt or insecurity at someone, but cause the four of you to crack up laughing in good nature.
“DAMMIT @POWALEN”
I’m personally glad that you can’t hear other players in online mode. Only had a couple of goes online so far (dodgy wifi at my place) but each time was pretty brutal with spamming of power items like blue shells & lightning.
So am glad not to have my ears bleed with multilingual abuse & swearing. Whilst it may seem appealing to learn what the French say about my mother, I can do without it.
But did learn how to be very passive aggressive in the lobby with the Mii quotes. so it balances out.
If there’s one game, out of every game ever made that can cause me to become uncontrollably abusive with rage and want to crush the souls of the little f**kwit kid who hit me with that god damn blue shell right before the line and I come 7th! SEVENTH WHAT THE F******K! WHO GETS A F**KING BLUE SHELL IN SECOND YOU LITTLE…
…its Mariokart.
This system works, i understand Nintendo’s decision.
Am I to understand that the writer of this article wants Mario Kart a game most parents wouldn’t think twice about letting their kids play to become as toxic as a Halo or COD lobby?
Isn’t this a game aimed at a general audience? Why would they allow people to swear? None of your other reasons are relevant. Kids.
This is actually one of the best things about the game, no bullshit immature goons ruining the fun.
I think taking away general chat is completely understandable, but it’s strange to allow friends to talk in the lobby, but not the actual game. Why not let friends chat ingame?
my thoughts exactly.
I think mainly because it is too easy for talk to be heated in-game, but more likely to be reasonably civil in the lobby.
This is why I prefer to play my games either by myself or with friends while they are in the same room. Some friendly smack talk is fun at times, but the internet can’t give the same satisfaction face to face does.
I would like a custom lobby message – like a miiverse picture!
Um… I think most people have misinterpreted this; he’s talking about chat in-game with FRIENDS not RANDOMS on the internet.
But I for one like mic chat in games when you get nice people on games like CS:GO, and even if you get bad people you can mute them quickly 😛
Could not disagree more. Nintendo online is a haven for ppl who don’t want 14yr olds screaming abuse them Nd their children. The omission of chat in-game is nothing but a plus.
Add me ppl, I just warn people to trash talk with… Huge fan owned them all email me at seantoohey.1983@gmail.com