When Nintendo properly unveiled the Switch 2, just a matter of weeks before the console finally went on sale, it didn't throw that many curveballs our way. After all, months of leaks had already confirmed that this would basically be the Switch, but a little bigger and a lot more powerful.
If there was a twist, though, it might have come in the form of the Nintendo Switch 2 Camera, an official accessory that Nintendo's clearly very proud of. It integrates tightly with the new GameChat feature to let you basically video call with your friends while you play, but can also be used by games to offer novel new ways to play and have fun.
Or, at least, that's how Nintendo would probably put it. The camera is an oddity, a throwback to the era of PlayStation 2's EyeToy and the Xbox Kinect in some ways, and has had plenty of people questioning it. The reality is that it's not exactly the most necessary of accessories, whichever way you look at it.
Still, I've got one for myself, and after using it a little, I've been moderately impressed. Certainly, I now appreciate it enough to imagine some very credible cases where it could be really impressive.
For one thing, I played a good few hours of Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour after first setting up my console, and it features a little showcase of the Camera's fidelity. One minigame has you mimicking the extreme facial expressions of an emoji, underlining the way it can track your face and facial features.
This shows that this isn't just a simple webcam; still, it's GameChat that confirms why some people might need the camera. Let's be clear, I don't see myself using it very much at all. However, I've always maintained that the only console parents should consider getting for their kids until they're at least teenagers should be the Switch, and now the Switch 2.
It's far safer to use, and has a huge library of genuinely great games that aren't violent or scary. Now, it has a way for kids to talk to their friends while playing together, and even to see their faces, without any external or third-party software or hardware needed. That's huge!
I'm not going to try to claim that virtual hangouts can be as good for kids as in-person ones, but this feature closes the gap impressively, and the camera is what takes it up a new level. So, if you're a parent or part of a friendship group that plays a lot of Switch together, don't rule it out yet.
