Nintendo has announced a June 5 launch date for its latest gaming console, the Switch 2, which will introduce interactive chat and screen-share functions to connect gamers.
At its 60-minute Nintendo Direct presentation on Wednesday, the company revealed new information about the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware and software.
Central to its updated portable gaming console is a new “C” button on its Joy Con controller, which will launch a new “GameChat” that allows you to “communicate with friends and family while playing a game,” and let you share your game screen with other players, according to Nintendo developers who presented the new features.
A built-in microphone at the top of the system will also allow you to talk to other gamers.
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The new console will be backwards compatible — meaning able to play physical and digital Switch games — although some games may not be supported or fully compatible with the Switch 2, Nintendo said.
The company’s previous Nintendo Direct presentation on March 27 announced games would continue to be made well into 2025 for the first-generation console, which debuted in 2017.
Nintendo plans to host “Switch 2 Experience” events in several countries, where gamers can get hands-on experience with the new system. Those events are planned for cities including Los Angeles, New York, London and Paris beginning this month.
