The chat capabilities for the Nintendo Switch are limited at best, but it’s easy to forget just how weird they’re going to be in the future. And this new Splatoon 2 headset just highlights that.
In case you’ve forgotten – which we often try to – you’ll need to use the upcoming Nintendo Switch smartphone app in order to chat with your pals online as you game. You’ll have to plug your headset directly into your phone in order to chat to them though, but if you want the game audio too, it’s going to get a little bit… complicated.
Take this official Splatoon 2 headset for example, which just appeared on the Japanese Splatoon Twitter feed. It’s technically being made by third-party company Hori, but you wouldn’t know that from the amount of official branding on the box.
そんなフォーリマのギアをかたどった「ステレオヘッドセット エンペラフックHDP for Nintendo Switch」が、ホリさんから発売されることが決定した！
着脱可能なフレキシブルマイクが付属し、当たり前だが、実際にヘッドセットやヘッドフォンとして使用できるぞ！ pic.twitter.com/KYTxdfJfEv— Splatoon（スプラトゥーン） (@SplatoonJP) June 1, 2017
It all looks great right? Interesting design, good colour scheme including swappable ear plates and a themed audio control box on the cabling.
But it’s just that cabling that’s the biggest problem. In order to use the upcoming Splatoon 2 headset you’ll need to plug the mic into that audio box, and then have two cables running from your phone and your Nintendo Switch respectively. Apparently, this gets you “better quality audio input”, but to us, it looks like an unnecessary mass of wires.
It’s not clear whether this headset will be made available outside of Japan, but it could be a sign of things to come when it relates to audio peripherals for the Switch.
Splatoon 2 launches exclusively on Switch on July 21, 2017 along with a brand new set of themed amiibo for the game.