Ever since Nintendo announced the existence of Wii Speak back at E3 we’ve been waiting on more info about the creation. Aside from hearing that it would be bundled with Animal Crossing: City Folk, we really didn’t have any other details about the new peripheral. While we still don’t understand the device’s full capacity, Nintendo has leaked out a few more details on the soon-to-be-launched device.

First up, we have official confirmation that Wii Speak will be available both bundled with Animal Crossing: City Folk and as a standalone product, avialable on November 16. Those wishing to buy the device by itself can expect to shell out $29.99 for the privilege. As far as the actual purpose of Wii Speak, Nintendo has revealed that by situating the peripheral on top of the television, users can freely chat with other gamers without the need of a headset or other equipment. The catch is, that like anything else that deals with the words "Nintendo" and "online," you can only chat with people who you have exchanged Friend Codes with, so no creepy Internet stalking.

The press release also states that Nintendo is planning to launch the Wii Speak channel sometime in December, allowing friends and family to chat with each other via the Wii. Of course, you could just do the same thing via telephone call, email, Skype, or instant messaging, but this way there are Miis involved, so it’s way better!

So what’s the word? Who out there is looking forward to Wii Speak? I’m personally a little wary myself, wondering how the mic sitting atop the TV will effectively broadcast my voice without picking up a lot of interference from ambient sources like, oh, I don’t know, the television it is sitting on top of. Am I going to need to mute my games to utilize Wii Speak? Because that seems kind of weak. I guess we’ll all know soon since the device launches in less than a week’s time. Anyone who gets their hands on one, let us know what you think. I’m dying to know if it’s worth it to put yet another Wii peripheral in my living room.