The Switch 2’s GameChat is my new meeting room
Nintendo introduced a new hardware button to the Switch 2 specifically for chatting with your friends, and it's undoubtedly my favorite feature on the console. Instead of using a smartphone app like the original Switch, Switch 2 users can open up a communications channel at any time with the "C" button and chat with friends, […]
Nintendo introduced a new hardware button to the Switch 2 specifically for chatting with your friends, and it's undoubtedly my favorite feature on the console. Instead of using a smartphone app like the original Switch, Switch 2 users can open up a communications channel at any time with the "C" button and chat with friends, whether they're playing the same game or something else.
That idea sounds a little outdated with the popularity of Discord, but Nintendo makes the process seamless enough that I can imagine a lot of people will end up using it. Last Friday, a few of my colleagues and I hopped into a GameChat session together and played Mario Kart World online - all of us communicating through the built-in microphone on our consoles and various USB webcams, with our likeness displayed on the bottom of the screen.
The noise reduction and compression processing on the Switch 2's mic was surprisingly impressive: my audio was clear and easy to understand without any background noise, even when sitting 5-10 feet away from the console. The Switch 2's face detection and background removal with its camera works well, too, and it was hilariously useful when a cutout of our faces showe …
