You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here
The Nintendo Switch 2 has officially been smashed open with new pricing details, a huge list of games, new features and more.
Amidst the Joy-Con mouse reveals, silky smooth Metroid Prime 4 Beyond 4K gameplay and return of GameCube games, Nintendo also announced GameChat. Essentially, it’s Nintendo’s version of Discord, and it actually looks great.
Why Nintendo Switch 2 GameChat is actually awesome
One of the first features shown off for Nintendo’s next-generation handheld was the addition of GameChat. Available by a click of the new C-Button on the right Joy-Con, this feature allows players to use the Nintendo Switch 2 microphone – thankfully with noise cancellation features – the chat and game at the same time.
After the horrid voice chat setup for the first-gen Switch including a mess of wires and a phone app, anything would be an improvement, but Nintendo has cleverly looked to Discord for inspiration on its new service. With the new GameChat service, players can chat, share their screen and watch others play while they game.
If someone decides to fork out extra for the Nintendo Switch 2 camera – which does have some gameplay functions in the updated version of Super Mario Party Jamboree – they can even join in via video chat. In fact, the Switch 2 will even dynamically cut them out of the background to make them appear like a little Twitch streamer in the corner of their footage. Nothing here is actually special or unique, but it’s all done in a Nintendo way.
I’m someone who loves online gaming. I play with friends on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles and I’ve now become familiar with the quirks of every system’s voice chat setup. However, with the growing rise of cross-platform games and interconnectivity, I’ve also used Discord on Xbox and PlayStation a fair bit… and it kind of stinks.
Nintendo Switch 2 GameChat combines everything I want from Discord’s side with the easy-to-use, closed garden approach of a typical console online experience. Players don’t need to scrolls through all the servers they’ve joined for gacha game reward codes or video game news to join a voice channel, they don’t have to remember if this is the console that supports screen sharing via Discord or not, it just works… hopefully.
Of course, there are some glaring issues we can see just from the trailer already. For some reason, GameChat screen sharing between multiple people results in extremely low framerates which Nintendo is worryingly proud to show off. However, the added functionality is just great, and it’ll hopefully improve as the generation goes on.
Now if only they brought back themes. Maybe for Switch 3?
About the Author
