The microphone, which is designed to pick up sounds from a room of people instead of being strapped to a single player, will be released in the US from Nov 16. The Microphone can either be bought bundled with Animal Crossing City Folk for $69.99, or sold separately for $29.99.
Players will be able to use Wii Speak through City Folk from the day the game ships but, if Nintendo’s press release is accurate, there’s no real use for the Wii Speak microphone outside of Animal Crossing until December, when the Speak Channel launches separately.
In line with all of Nintendo’s online communication services, chat is only possible for players who have exchanged and accepted each other’s friend codes.
“The Wii Speak accessory comes with a code that lets users download the Wii Speak Channel from the Wii Shop Channel at no charge,” says the release, casting slight concerns on whether the service will be free for all. If not, it would give Nintendo some influence over future pre-owned sales as well as potential third-party offerings.
Update: Nintendo has confirmed the the Wii Speak units will come with a one-time activation code that will not be replaced. Meaning that the item will be, in most cases, useless on the preowned market. It also means that, unless Nintendo changes its policy, third-party microphones cannot be used with the Wii Speak channel.