Iwata: Players Must Quit Games to Start Wii U Chat

Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata recently sat down with the brains behind the upcoming Wii U chat application.

After demonstrating the world's first Wii U voice and video call last week, Iwata spoke to Fumihito Tamiya and Atsushi Watanabe on the concepts and technical hurdles behind the new app. Nintendo had been toying with the idea of over-the-internet video chat when working on the Nintendo 64, around 15 years ago to work alongside Shigeru Miyamoto's "caricature" idea.

Since then the caricature concept evolved into Miis and now TV phone has become a reality with the Wii U chat functionality.

Nintendo opted to work with two US companies - Vidyo and NTD, which provide conferencing systems for business. Together they aired out potential network issues, where the Wii U chat app automatically adjusts quality based on connection speed to try and avoid "block noise".

...when there's a problem with the network, the resolution is lowered slightly, but you can still watch the video without noticing much of a difference. I think that's a huge thing.

Watanabe also notes that chat sessions will run on P2P once established, where users will communicate directly rather than a server as the "middle man" to avoid costs to the Wii U player.

Accessing chat is also simple: load the app, select a Mii and call - the recpient's GamePad home button will light up as a notification. There's no way of ordering friend lists in the chat app however, they'll show by how often you chat to them instead.

I want this to be a console that brings a family happiness - Takeda

Finally, Tamiya confirms that if there's an incoming call and the recipient is playing a game, it will have to be ended before the call can take place. Likewise, if the Wii U is switched off or not logged in, a message can be left in Wii U chat and also on the Miiverse system.

Despite the drawbacks for being able to video chat during a game, Iwata hopes it's an "area that we can improve on in the future".