Using voice chat on the Nintendo Switch won’t be as easy as just plugging a headset into the system and talking to your friends. Instead, Nintendo will soon release a dedicated smartphone app that must be used alongside its games. When you add a device like the official Splatoon 2 headset into the equation, the entire setup looks a little ridiculous.
Launching alongside Splatoon 2 in Japan on July 21, the headset from HORI uses a mess of cords that could make PlayStation VR blush. The first cord extends from the headset itself into an adorable splitter that is shaped like one of Splatoon 2‘s squids. From there, one cord goes into your phone’s audio jack (Hope you still have one of those!) while a second is plugged into the top of the Switch itself.
We’re not entirely sure who the target demographic is for a dedicated Switch headset, either. Console multiplayer matches have become notoriously quiet over the last few years, and if you’re going to be chatting with anyone while you’re playing Splatoon 2, it’s likely someone that you already know. Just loading up Skype or calling them on the phone should give you similar audio quality without needing to cover your lap in a Frankenstein’s monster of cords and adapters, and it’ll cost less money.
The design of the headset is nice enough, with its molding bending back to mimic the tentacles on the games’ Inkling characters, though its mostly black design seems a little at odds with the bright, neon colors for which the series is known. If pricing between Japan and the United States — should the headset make it overseas — remains similar, it’ll cost about $30.
Splatoon 2 is out on July 21 exclusively for Nintendo Switch. We’ll have to wait and see if the squid-kids are any chattier this time around than they were with the original game.
