Switch 2’s GameChat looks awful, but is FUN

The Verge

The C” button on the Nintendo Switch 2’s controller activates a new functionality called GameChat, which allows players to communicate using the console’s built-in microphone and optional USB camera. The Verge’s Andru Marino, Cameron Faulkner, Sean Hollister, Vjeran Pavic, and Jay Peters join a GameChat session at work and discuss whether or not this is the new virtual hangout spot for Nintendo users.   Further reading:  A weekend with the Nintendo Switch 2: https://www.theverge.com/nintendo/682661/nintendo-switch-2-early-hands-on-mario-kart-world   Nintendo’s Switch 2 Pro Controller is pro enough for me: https://www.theverge.com/tech/684602/nintendo-switch-2-pro-controller-review   Mario Kart World is the perfect Switch 2 launch game: https://www.theverge.com/games-review/684518/mario-kart-world-review-nintendo-switch-2   Nintendo Switch 2 webcam compatibility: it’s a wild west: https://www.theverge.com/nintendo/682008/which-webcams-work-with-nintendo-switch-2

Transcript

00:00The Nintendo Switch 2 is finally here, and with it, new games, updated graphics, new hardware,

00:08and a whole lot more. But what I think is the biggest update for the new console is this C

00:12button, which is for game chat, a feature that lets you join a video or audio call with your

00:17friends while you're playing the Switch 2. It can be a casual hangout, it could be for

00:22strategic communications, or like a template for your live stream. And I think it might change the

00:27way we use the console. So I wanted to test out the functionality of the Switch 2's game

00:31chat with some of my colleagues at The Verge, who also got a Switch 2, and see if game chat

00:36is up for the task. I'm going to start a game chat here, add Viren, Jay, Cameron, and Sean.

00:44Viren is on, and Jay.

00:46Yeah, can you hear me?

00:48Yeah. Hi, Jay.

00:50Oh my gosh, should my camera work too? Oh, this is so good.

00:53Hi. Oh, I see. Cameron, I'm going to put my webcam on. Why am I so big? Sean, can you

00:59hear us? I can hear you fine. Is my microphone coming through?

01:02I think so, yeah.

01:03Yeah.

01:04All right, let's start with everyone's setup here. We'll go clockwise in my order. Sean

01:11Hollister, what do you got set up in the Switch 2?

01:13Hey. I have a Nintendo Switch 2 docked to a Genki 2 Shadowcast Pro, something like that,

01:21for recording. Logitech C920 Ancient Webcam is what you're seeing. I can hear my finger

01:26going back and forth. I have no idea how old it is, but it is quite old. With my Arctis

01:33Pro wireless headset connected into the Switch 2 over Bluetooth, I'm just using the standard

01:38Switch 2 controllers here in the grip. That's me.

01:42All right, Jay Peters, what do you got set up?

01:44I'm running the Switch in handheld mode. I'm playing with my Pro controller here. I have

01:52my wired Apple EarPods just in the 3.5 millimeter headphone jack, and I have a Logitech webcam that

02:00I've had forever. This is actually plugged into a USB-C hub, which the camera is working

02:06through that. I'm also getting power through that.

02:09Oh, wow. Okay. That's great to know. Cameron Faulkner, what do you got set up?

02:13All right. I got my Switch 2 docked to my computer monitor. I have the Majibrio 300 that I went to Staples

02:22and got this morning, and it's working great. As far as audio goes, I have my Sony XM3s wired

02:29into the Switch Pro 2 controller. That's me.

02:33Varun Pavic, what do you got set up? What's your rig?

02:36All right. I am docked onto my monitor. I have a webcam plugged in, but it's not actually working, or we might have hit the limit of how many people can have video turned on at the same time.

02:48So it's four of us, or four of you have video right now. Mine is not showing up.

02:55I'm going to try to get my Pro Controller synced up.

02:58I'm running audio through Bluetooth. It's on AirPods, but my microphone is coming through the Switch itself.

03:05Sean is on my left, and I can hear it coming through my left earbud or AirPod. And Cameron is on my right, who was coughing, and I can hear his cough onto my right AirPod.

03:16So, that's kind of nice. I like that. No, you're good.

03:19That's awesome.

03:20I think my webcam is my microphone here. I just realized, I don't think this Arctis Pro Wireless Bluetooth is doing anything for me.

03:25Yeah, I have not gotten Bluetooth audio to work at all. I mean, only output, but not for microphone.

03:32I'm using the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller and the Nintendo Switch 2 official webcam hooked up into this dock.

03:42I guess we'll open Mario Kart and play while we chat.

03:46I'm sharing my screen right now.

03:48Oh, how did you do that, by the way?

03:49You go to the C button on the controller. You can pop up the screen sharing, and then you can also change the layout in the settings.

03:59Okay, yeah. I see Owen in the back of you. Yeah, behind you. And you can probably see me driving around as a little crap guy, right?

04:08The frame rate is like, and the preview is like so bad, but it looks fine on my main screen. And your frame rate is pretty low too, but it's not that big a deal, honestly.

04:22Yeah, I don't see, like, how to do a room ID. Let me... Oh. View room info.

04:29Okay, here you go. Do you see it on the preview? Okay, that's pretty sick, actually.

04:33Yeah, that's a good function of this.

04:35Oh, yeah, your screen. Okay.

04:36From my experience, only the USB-A webcams have worked.

04:42The Brio 300 that I'm using is plugged into the top USB-C port on the Switch.

04:47I have absolutely plugged a USB-C webcam into the Switch and had it work, but it was an endoscope.

04:54It is a $10 endoscope from Amazon that, like, I stuck it into my food disposal to show my kids what's on the inside of my food disposal.

05:03Can you plug in the endoscope to your Switch right now?

05:07I'm gonna go get the endoscope. It's in the other room. I will go back and get it. Be right back.

05:12Okay, editor's note here. We've been testing out a bunch of USB webcams with the Switch 2, and we found a lot of success with the Logitech cameras and a few other webcams listed here.

05:22I was also able to plug any HDMI output like this Sony camera or another Switch 2 into a Switch 2 using this video capture dongle.

05:31We asked a bunch of webcam manufacturers about future compatibility with the Switch 2, and we will try to keep updating on TheVerge.com.

05:38As for compatible USB microphones, we're still figuring that out as well. Some worked, some didn't.

05:44How do I sound, by the way?

05:46You sound great.

05:47Really?

05:47Pretty good?

05:48Nice to me, yeah.

05:49I am just coming from the Switch dock, which is, what, five feet away from me? Something like that? Six feet away?

05:55Yeah, there's like a little bit of kind of tinniness in it, but you're perfectly, like, I can hear you just fine.

06:02Cool, cool.

06:02You sound a little distant, but it's fine.

06:05I did find a USB-A microphone that does work with this. I'm gonna plug it in and see what you think.

06:12I got this novelty, kind of big green one. Does this sound any different?

06:18A little better.

06:19Yeah.

06:20A little better.

06:20Okay, y'all, we got the endoscope going. You ready for this?

06:23Oh my gosh.

06:24I'm not surprised, Sean.

06:26Oh my gosh.

06:28Some eyebrows. Let's see which direction we want this to go. Up through the hairline, maybe.

06:35Is there anything I can put this into that would be interesting?

06:38Put it.

06:39Cameron, did you try hooking up the DualSense controller to the Switch 2?

06:47I did. I did. The news went out just this morning that Ape of Doe was updating a lot of their controllers to support the Switch 2,

06:56and I downloaded the updater utility and updated my USB adapter. It recognized it instantly,

07:02and I was playing Metroid Prime Remastered with gyro controls, and, uh...

07:07What?

07:07I tried to plug in some headphones, and... I don't know. I was really hoping that it would support wireless audio pass-through,

07:16but it's understandable, I guess, that it doesn't allow it.

07:19The Switch Pro Controller 2 is the one you've got to get if you want that functionality.

07:23It seems like most of the things that are, like, a plug-and-play dumb kind of thing that doesn't have any firmware work, like this USB-A microphone I have, or these USB-A Logitech webcams.

07:36Oh, oh, Jay, I can see your face above you.

07:39Mm-hmm. Yeah, I teleported to you on the map just to see what happened, and I see the same... I see your face.

07:44It's the same exact preview that's in, like, the little screen share thing, but it's just right above your character.

07:50I don't need your, like, faces on the bottom of the screen. I can just have it up here.

07:54Is the webcam making this a better experience?

07:58I think so. I think so.

08:01I'm having fun seeing Jay's face in front of me.

08:04Yeah, it's very fun when it shows up on the gameplay. I have spent, like, four seconds maybe looking at the chat below me, like, the four individual streams. I did not look at it at all.

08:15I like seeing you in the ranking, like, I can see your face as you're talking.

08:20Okay, so what are people thinking about the Switch so far?

08:23I am loving Mario Kart.

08:24I played Zelda for, like, two hours yesterday, though, Breath of the Wild. It was honestly incredible.

08:29It's, like, such an improvement on already one of the best games of all time, so it's, like, this is just, like, so incredible.

08:36What's so much better?

08:37The frame rate is, as far as I can tell, like, a flat 60 FPS the whole time.

08:43It feels like you're playing an emulated, PC-emulated version, but legally. Not that I have played that.

08:49And the low times are so good. That's, like, kind of secretly the best part,

08:54because, you know, in Breath of the Wild, you're, like, fast traveling everywhere, and you have to wait for the load times,

08:58but they're just, they're just way faster in the Switch 2 edition. It's, it's really, really good.

09:04Sean, you are the Steam Deck expert. How does this compare?

09:09So I only got a little bit of time. I want to do a deep dive where I'm actually screen recording both of them.

09:15And really see, side by side, what the games that you can play on both are like.

09:19Which, for right now, is Cyberpunk. It's Witcher 3.

09:23Those are the games that are really going to push it.

09:25I think what I'm going to see, though, is that the DLSS, the NVIDIA's, you know, upscaling solution for Switch 2,

09:32it's going to make it probably look way better on a TV.

09:35Even though I think they're going to be a little bit closer handheld.

09:38Would anyone use this? Like, do you have a lot of friends who are going to be using the Switch 2,

09:42and, like, have a game, like, a Friday night game session on voice chat?

09:47Before trying this, I would have said no, but I think this is actually, like, pretty cool and seamless.

09:55I'm liking it way more than I expected.

09:58It's just fun to see the people's heads, like, above them when you're driving, you know, and see the reactions in real time.

10:03Yeah.

10:04I think the big question is that this is a free-to-access feature right now,

10:09but I'm not sure that I feel inclined.

10:13I mean, you'll need the Switch Online subscription, right, to access this, I assume?

10:17Yeah.

10:18You have to have a subscription to play all together like this,

10:22but, yeah, you can game chat with anyone for now.

10:26Absolutely none of my friends are going to buy a Switch 2 for this experience,

10:30and I think not many of them would pay for a subscription,

10:36but if they own the Switch 2 already, like, they'll definitely enjoy this.

10:42Yeah, I have a lot of friends who game on PC,

10:45and the idea that you would go through this many hoops to video chat with friends is, like,

10:51for one, video isn't really, like, even that crucial of an element with, like, PC gaming, I guess,

10:56through Discord, but it's something special.

10:59I'm going to make Viren chat with me on game chat for all our meetings now on.

11:05I think that's absolutely the right way to have meetings going forward.

11:11That's what, like, Meta wanted to do with Horizon.

11:14That's what they thought VR was going to be like.

11:17I'll just be in this virtual world together.

11:19I guess some people playing games like VRChat have done that successfully, but...

11:22Like, is this a good replacement for Discord for Nintendo?

11:25It does enough of what you need.

11:29You know, it's definitely not as full-featured, but, like,

11:32if you just want to get together with a few of your friends and play and, like,

11:36you know, see their screens and chat with them,

11:39it's a pretty good replacement.

11:41It helps that it's embedded right in the system, right?

11:43For so many people, so much of Discord is, like, the text chat, too, and, like, the...

11:47For what it lacks compared to Discord, like, it's, you know, for kids and stuff like that,

11:53it's a safe option, I guess, you know?

11:56Like, I haven't checked out the parental controls app,

11:58but I believe it lets you verify every single person who your kid is going to be chatting with.

12:04Who is that?

12:05That was the text-to-speech thing I used.

12:08Oh.

12:09You had it type out, hello, friends.

12:11The other cool thing is it has this transcription.

12:15I can pull this up, this, uh, so it's just dictating everything we're saying.

12:20Display, speech as text in the accessibility menu.

12:24And then you could also use text-to-speech.

12:27Can I curse?

12:27Do you think if I say, f***, it will show up on here?

12:29Let's go.

12:31I sincerely doubt it, but give it a shot.

12:34No way.

12:35What?

12:36It's probably because you're registered as adults,

12:39so it'll probably let you, like, say whatever you want.

12:41Adults want to cuss sometimes.

12:43I'm just going to make sure, see if I could, um,

12:45say a curse word on chat here with text-to-speech.

12:51I think that's the most important thing.

12:54I'm looking forward to this.

12:56F*** you.

13:02I'm so sorry.

13:04Like, this seems like something new and different to me

13:07because you can't really do this on the Xbox or PlayStation that easily, right?

13:12Like, I just plugged in a webcam and we're all, like, chatting with a green screen behind us.

13:17Yeah, they definitely simplify a lot of that.

13:20Yeah, it's super, super easy.

13:21And so I think I'm going to be doing this a lot,

13:24but I don't know how many friends I have that will have a switch to.

13:29Probably more than your friends, your guys' friends.

13:32What I think will happen, like, right away,

13:34what I think this needs is a good webcam

13:36that can slot right on top in handheld mode

13:39because then you just, like, plug it in the top USB-C port

13:42and, like, then you can, like, sit on the couch really easily

13:45and have it just right there for you.

13:47Once that's there, that could be really, really awesome.

13:50All right, well, thank you all for joining me.

13:53This was really fun.

13:54I think I'm going to be using this more,

13:56and if you want to have a meeting in this, I will definitely do that.

14:00Yes, all right, yes, so ready.

14:02All future virtual meetings are in Mario Kart 16 people knockout mode.

14:07That's new policy.

14:09Yes, exactly.

14:10And if you get knocked out, you have to leave the meeting.

14:13Okay, no pressure.

14:15All right, I'm going to close down the room,

14:16and I'm going to get out of here.

14:18All right, I'll see you.

14:19Cool.

14:19All right, bye.

14:21Bye.

14:27There's a lot more stuff we're writing about for the Nintendo Switch 2,

14:30so go on theverge.com to find out more.

14:33And let me know if you're going to be using Game Chat this summer.

14:35There's a lot of games coming out.

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