Gaming Is Starting 2023 With The Most Absurd Device

2023 is officially underway, and in terms of technology, 2023 will likely be chock full of innovations and breakthroughs. However, not all of them will be conventional — some of them may even be goofy in a way. Already, not two weeks into this new calendar year, we may have seen one such invention that is honestly quite hilarious to look at.

On January 5, Shiftall Inc — a tech company — posted a video to its YouTube page showing off the Mutalk. Designed in the fashion of a muzzle, the Mutalk is a Bluetooth suppression microphone meant to both lower the decibel count of your voice in a room as well muffle out any outside noise that could drown out your voice when speaking. According to its official product page, the Mutalk is marketed towards loud gamers who don't wish to disturb the people around them, as well as businesspeople who may have to do conference calls in crowded or otherwise non-ideal areas. According to Shiftall's research, the Mutalk can reduce the noise of one yelling by -30 decibels to the people around them when wearing the device.

It's a novel idea, for sure. However, it's impossible not to notice the funny optics of someone putting a muzzle on their face when either gaming or participating in a conference call, and in turn, the internet was sure to get its digs in.

In theory, the Mutalk may seem like a decent idea. Who wouldn't want a way to mitigate the worst gamer rage or drown out loud people around you? But at the end of the day, it's definitely not what many would consider to be an aesthetically pleasing accessory. As such, many of the reactions to the Mutalk are mostly tongue-in-cheek. One comment on the original YouTube video for the product suggested that the Mutalk was designed by the evil surgeon in notorious horror film "The Human Centipede." Another YouTube commenter made a similar "Human Centipede" comparison, with their comment demanding consumers do a list of actions in an affected German accent.

Others said that it was a decent idea, despite its odd and potentially dystopian design. One even said that it's an unironically useful device that can help with those who struggle to keep their voices down when in a gaming setting. The Mutalk is currently scheduled for a release at some point in 2023.