Wii Speak Channel only available if you buy the microphone new

Pre-Order Animal Crossing: City Folk with Wii Speak Microphone for WiiWii Speak is Nintendo’s upcoming microphone accessory that will be available either bundled with Animal Crossing: City Folk (which releases on November 16th, 2008) or purchased separately.

The microphone will allow you to chat with up to four other “rooms” of people (the microphone is built to pick-up voices in the entire room) in games like Animal Crossing, as well as via the new “Wii Speak Channel“, which is essentially a vocal chat room channel that allows friends to talk with each other over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

However, MTV Multiplayer has reported that the Wii Speak Channel will only be available to those who purchase a brand new Wii Speak microphone. The reason for this is due to a code that comes packed in with the device. It is that code that allows you to download the Wii Speak Channel. The channel won’t be available to download or purchase from the Wii Shop. Therefore, if you buy the Wii Speak microphone used, then you will not get the code, and thus also won’t have access to the channel.

As of this time Nintendo has not responded as to whether they will offer a solution for gamers who buy the peripheral used. But I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Personally I think that this is a mistake, once again Nintendo seems to be making things more difficult than they need to be by not simply having the Wii Speak Channel up for download on the Wii Shop like they do with all their other channels.