Less than 24 hours ago, I stated in my Developers Spotlight for Nintendo that Splatoon was an incredibly important upcoming title for the Mario Machine not only because it was a new IP but also for the fact that it would “force Nintendo to push the envelope on the one area they still stand to improve – online functionality.”
Today, a ten-page spread in this week's Famitsu magazine appeared focusing on Nintendo's upcoming paintballing-with-squid-kids title, and in it, the developers mention that there will be “no communication with players you are matched with.” Whether that means simply with players one is matched with in a 4v4 game who are not on your friends list or all players in general remains to be seen. One way or another, no voice chat stands to be a crippling mark against the upcoming third-person shooter.
The Famitsu article also states that CPU fighters will not be used in online games, and the match will only start once eight human players are matched. Gamers have already begun fearing for the lifespan of the title in light of this news, but it is also noteworthy to remember that the Wii U entries in the Call of Duty series, Black Ops II and Ghosts, still see thousands of gamers matchmaking online.
The article was not all doom and gloom, however; developers mention that Splatoon will have a single player campaign known as Hero Mode, which has been teased as a 3D platformer with heavy emphasis on the ability to flip between kid and squid. Developers are also working on adding local multiplayer in addition to online 4v4 and Hero Mode. Also, fans of video game soundtracks should be pleased by the news that Toru Minegishi, who formerly worked on scores for games such as The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Super Mario 3D World, has written much of the game's music.
One more note from the article: the developers could have specifically gone with Bloopers instead of just squid, but didn't, primarily because they forgot they existed.
