The Wii U GamePad has a built-in speaker and microphone…but…One will not be able to use the microphone for in-game chatting. A Nintendo rep has told Kotaku that the only way a in-game chat can be conducted is by plugging, into the GamePad, a licensed stereo headset like Turtle Beach or Mad Catz. This is a little disappointing and strengthens my $160 headphone purchase of a few months ago.  IGN.com received an official statement from Nintendo regarding the in-game voice chat.  This is what Nintendo had to say.

“Wii U will have in-game chat functionality for select games, including, but not limited to, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Assassin’s Creed III and Mass Effect 3. This feature will be supported by licensed stereo headsets that plug directly into the headphone port of the Game Pad.  Licensed headsets are available from Turtle Beach and TRITTON.”

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