Nintendo Switch 2 Camera & GameChat

Yep, that's right, we're killing two birds with one stone in this review. We're going to be looking at not just the Nintendo Switch 2 Camera accessory but also GameChat, and the reason for that is simply that the Camera is just additional plastic without GameChat's incorporation. So, for starters, let's focus on the Camera and then talk GameChat.

Nintendo Switch 2 Camera

This is perhaps the 'gimmickiest' part of the Nintendo Switch 2 line-up. It's a flimsy and quite cheap feeling gadget that Nintendo manages to slap quite a premium price tag of £50 onto. For reference, it's a glorified webcam, and I do mean that. It's a small camera that is mounted on a metal rod, which itself is mounted on a metal base with a rubber underside. It's all in black and has a cable coming out of the back of the camera unit, stretching down the rod and being locked in place with a small cable management clip, before then extending further so you can attach the USB ending into one of the ports on your Switch 2 dock. It's not a USB-C, meaning it has to go into the dock and not a Switch 2 console port, and beyond having a little sliding outer rim around the camera lens that serves as a way to "open or close" the camera, and the option to tilt the camera head up and down, there's basically nothing else to note from a hardware and design perspective.

Again, it's a glorified webcam. I wouldn't have a problem with that if it was cheaper or offered higher quality video, as at £50 it's matched up with products like Logitech's C920, which presents Full HD 1080p visuals and a really good and wide picture. Nintendo does state that the Switch 2 Camera also delivers a 1080p picture, but my experience is that it's significantly worse, choppy, and is far from ideal video quality. And this is important because you can connect other webcams to the Switch 2 to use instead, like the aforementioned Logitech version. And if you go third-party, you don't even lose the voice support as the utilised microphone comes from the Switch 2 itself and not the Camera - even if it is poor quality and for anyone looking to speak with friends or family through GameChat, it's absolutely recommended to get a headset.

The point is, as far as fundamental useability goes, the Switch 2 Camera does its job. But are there better, less unusual looking, even cheaper alternatives? Without a doubt. So keep that in mind.

GameChat

Nintendo hasn't managed to offer up an intuitive social system yet, and while GameChat is better, it's still far away from the competition. I find this particularly frustrating because unlike the era of the Switch and before, where online gaming was popular but perhaps not as completely commonplace as today, now Nintendo has tons of inspiration and examples to refer to, be it workplace tools like Microsoft Teams and Zoom, gaming alternatives like Discord, and even console-specific setups from PlayStation and Xbox's brilliant social format, which has been the console leader for well... ever.

It's with this in mind that GameChat feels a tad insulting at times. It's almost like Nintendo doesn't want its social features to be intuitive and coherent, as it still uses design choices and styles that will make you either confused or want to rip your hair out. Like the Camera, GameChat fundamentally works, but it could - and should - be so much better. Let me explain why.

For one, Nintendo still hides its social features in a back alley. There's no clear and obvious way to get to the social features from the main menu, rather you have to go through your own profile to find the social elements that includes using archaic Friend Codes. Essentially, while on pretty much every other platform imaginable you can search and add friends using their username, here you have to redeem them by inputting a sequence of letters and numbers unique to each friend. Does it work? Yep. Does it make me wish it worked any other way? Also yep.

But hey, once you have a friend added (which typically requires sharing a Friend Code through a different social platform... bizarre, right?) you can easily view their profiles and find what they've been playing, if they're online, and all the additional jazz. No problems here on my end. Then we get to GameChat...

Pressing the C button to open GameChat works fine, whereafter you're presented with simple menus that help set up a chat. Again, no issues so far. However once you've invited friends and are in a chat, you start to realise that it lacks several very core and basic features, namely adding other friends to an existing chat, which is impossible without shutting down a chat and opening a new one. Also, because of the setup of GameChat, a lot of your screen will be overcome with the GameChat interface, which includes a massive black box around your gameplay. You can change and adjust this to a different format, but it'd be nice if there was more of an overlay effect where friend icons appeared on top of gameplay and not in an external area. I.e. basically how in-game chat works for pretty much every other game in existence.

Also, because of Nintendo's insistence to have your voice picked up by the Switch 2's microphone, the audio quality is usually not great unless the device is very near, even if the noise suppression element works well unless you're in unusually noisy environments, for example with a vacuum in operation nearby or with kids making a racket. As per the video quality, especially if you have the camera focussed solely on your face and blurring out backgrounds, it's equally terrible. If you happen to be wearing headphones, the software won't know what to do and will seriously struggle presenting a coherent picture, similar to how the generated live subtitles are a bit unreliable to say the least. It's nice being able to stream gameplay footage with friends and family, but that also feels a bit gimmicky too, so while it's a neat addition, it doesn't feel like a game changer.

Again, as far as fundamental useability goes, GameChat functions. However, it also feels like a desperate attempt to reflect alternative social systems, perhaps even best being described as a Temu Discord. Nintendo, for all its brilliance and excellence when it comes to making great console hardware and top of the line and innovative games, it cannot quite crack social and communication features, and GameChat is the latest example of this muffed effort. For Nintendo purebloods, GameChat and the Camera may feel like a great step forward, but anyone experienced with alternative solutions will know that what's being offered here is behind the times at best.