Wii voice-to-text feature for online play

nintendo, Wii, onlineWii rumors these days are a dime a dozen, but they help the days go by as we feverishly await the announcement from Nintendo as to when we can expect to get the console. Then, when that happens we can start waiting all over again until launch day, when we will all wait in a line for 18 hours for one last stretch of time before, well, you know.

This latest rumor is interesting however. I’m going to call it the “XBOX Live idiot filter” rumor because if it’s true, then the online interaction for the Wii will be devoid of the profanity-laced knuckle dragging Neanderthal bigot banter that currently pollutes the Live forums on an hourly basis. The rumor is that Nintendo has been working on a voice-to-text conversion technology for the past few years, and that they will soon implement it into some of their first party Wii titles. The benefits of this for a company like Nintendo are obvious — the end user can filter online interaction based on keywords.

“”¦voice communication will be via wireless, head-mounted microphones”¦” […] “Many Nintendo first party games (specifically games designed for a younger audience) will feature a new system currently being developed by Nintendo called ”˜voice to text communication’.”

There’s a question in all of this, of course. That question being do you believe swearing and trash talk are necessary cogs in the machinery of online play?