Nintendo brings video chat to gaming with Switch 2

Japanese video game company Nintendo has revealed the details of its first substantial console redesign in eight years, the Switch 2, in a presentation live-streamed today.

Set for release on 5 June, Nintendo's Switch 2 features a larger screen, redesigned Joy-Con controllers that magnetically attach to the console body, and new functionalities catered to multiplayer gaming – including the option to integrate video calls via a new camera.

Many of the Switch 2's new functions are geared around chat and group interaction, united under the name GameChat and accessible via a new "C" button on the Joy-Con that brings up a chat menu.

A microphone is built into the console, enabling optional voice chat whether in handheld or docked mode. Once turned on, the feature will activate automatically upon detecting the player's voice.

In a feature that is more unusual in gaming, the Nintendo Switch 2 will also incorporate video chatting through the addition of a camera accessory.

This will allow a live video stream of the user's friends to appear on the screen as they play – including, in the case of some specially developed games such as Super Mario Party Jamboree, integrated into the gameplay.

Nintendo's presentation showed players' video streams appearing in little speech-bubble-like windows near their characters while they played the game.

"In developing GameChat, our goal was for you to enjoy playing online with others more closely, including family and friends – almost as if you're all playing together in the same place," Ninendo Switch 2 director Takuhiro Dohta said in the presentation.

Other key features of the redesign include a new black colour and larger screen that make the Switch 2 resemble the newer Steam Deck gaming computer when in handheld mode.

The screen is 7.9 inches in size compared to the 6.2-inch LCD screen of the original Switch, released in 2017, and the 7-inch OLED screen of 2021's higher-end model.

The Joy-Con controllers – which, as usual, separate from the main body to switch the gameplay from handheld to console mode – have been given a facelift with larger sticks on both sides.

The SL and SR buttons are bigger for easier access, and they're also made of metal to enable the controllers to attach magnetically to the main body of the console.

A new functionality for the controllers is that they will be able to be used as a mouse in compatible games. For instance, with one in each hand, users can motion rolling wheelchair wheels to play a new 3v3 wheelchair basketball game, Drag x Drive.

The Switch 2 will incorporate a stand so it can sit at any angle, and will continue to support Switch games as well as original Switch 2 titles.

The Nintendo Switch has been one of the bestselling gaming consoles of all time, with over 150 million units sold.

Other Nintendo design stories covered by Dezeen include a shrine designed for its 1980s console and a device for playing old Game Boy cartridges.

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