Nintendo: Mario Kart Wii’s text chat feature only consists of predetermined chat messages

Excited at the prospect of telling off a particularly-annoying item spammer in Mario Kart Wii via the game’s chat function in-game and off-game? Then prepare to rethink your fantasies as the myth about free chat in a Nintendo game gets busted yet again. Check out the entire details after the jump.

It seems that Nintendo is still not letting up on its strict rules about communication with other players in-game. While we’ve been teased with the announcement that Mario Kart Wii will have text chat support in and out of races, the truth is that you will only be able to communicate with your friends with pre-determined messages – something that completely flies in the face of all the news about freely making your own chat messages in Mario Kart Wii. Ouch.

This news has been confirmed via a hands-on session of the game. As we quote:

Something else we forgot to mention is the chatroom function in the online play. Nintendo haven’t given players the freedom to chat freely, but players can choose from a selection of phrases that best fits their mood. “I’m happy”, “I’m sad”, that kind of thing.

What gives, Nintendo? We can appreciate the protection, but with Friend Codes pretty much making sure that no unwanted party can register you on their list without you registering them as well, making a crippled version of in-game chat can be considered as overkill. Here’s hoping that Mario Kart Wii doesn’t meet the same fate as Super Smash Bros. Brawl – an otherwise perfect game marred by such a tiny, yet glaring flaw.