It’s been about a week since Nintendo’s Switch 2 Direct, which showcased the console, its upcoming slate of games, and (eventually) the price. Since then, the internet has been buzzing with both amazement and anger, as fans debate whether new games like Mario Kart World are really worth their higher price tags.
But Devon Pritchard, Nintendo of America’s VP of Sales, thinks games are only one part of the Switch 2 equation. During an interview with her last Thursday at the Switch 2 preview event in NYC, Pritchard repeatedly stressed that GameChat, the system’s voice- and video-chatting app, is as important as any game, and justifies the higher prices.
“The [console’s] price is commensurate with the value that the system provides,” she said when asked about the price increase. “And with these social experiences, the Nintendo Switch 2 provides value.”
Taken at face value, it seems obvious why Nintendo gave GameChat such a flashy introduction during the Direct, and why Switch 2 development director Sumikazu Ono calls it the console’s “defining feature:” It’s a new feature that could entice Switch owners to upgrade to the new console, and maybe even buy an official Nintendo webcam. It adds value to the Switch 2 beyond just its expected hardware improvements, like Pritchard says.
But you could say that about any new feature, including ones that don’t require you to (eventually) pay for an extra Nintendo Switch Online subscription on top of your console. When I asked Pritchard what an ultimately paid service like GameChat offers compared to free apps like Discord, which so many gamers are already using, she said that GameChat’s superiority comes from convenience: “You can imagine that [with third-party apps] your gaming experience starts to involve multiple devices, services, platforms. GameChat is integrated into your gameplay experience.”
GameChat is indeed integrated into the system — it’s even got its own button. By encouraging players to use their Switch 2 as a singular platform for both gaming and social interaction, Nintendo is integrating players into its ecosystem. That’s simpler to set up and use, sure, but it’s also a strategy that’s become increasingly prevalent over the last decade, as companies like Apple and Google — both of which have spent billions to build their respective ecosystems — compete for market share and users’ time. The more versatile an ecosystem is, the stickier it gets. And the stickier it is, the more money it makes, and the less its competitors do.
Until now, Nintendo has largely eschewed the ecosystem idea beyond its exclusive games. Take the Switch, which had no real social platforms, barely any streaming apps, few ways to share your screenshots; it was a gaming machine. Nintendo wants the Switch 2 to be more than that — in Pritchard’s words, the new console has “two propositions coming out of it.” It’s both a gaming machine and a potential social hub.
GameChat means more time spent with Nintendo, and less with Discord. The Nintendo Music app, as simple as it may be, means more time with Nintendo, and less with YouTube or Spotify. The Nintendo Today smartphone app means more time with Nintendo, and less with an independent news outlet.
It could also give Nintendo a brand new way to advertise its games: When asked why GameChat will succeed when Nintendo’s past attempts at integrated voice-chat — the WiiSpeak and the Wii U Chat app — didn’t, she told me that it’ll function as “word of mouth” advertising, comparing it to finding new games by watching Twitch streamers.
“For example, let’s say you show me a game on GameChat,” she said. “I’ll have the ability to find my way to the eShop to learn more about that game. And so it provides a unique way to open up the library of titles to players.”
It doesn’t hurt that once the GameChat free trial ends next March, players are actually going to start paying for those passive advertisements. It’s a win-win for Nintendo — assuming that people use the service, which isn’t a guarantee; I’m not sure how many games a low-FPS livestream can sell.
But that’s why Nintendo is pushing GameChat so hard. There’s little chance GameChat will dethrone Discord as the go-to voice-chatting app, even for Switch users. But if it does succeed, it could mean an explosion of new Nintendo Switch Online users, and a huge step forward for Nintendo’s ecosystem.
William Antonelli (he/she/they) is a tech and gaming journalist based in New York City. His work has been featured in the Guardian, Polygon, Business Insider, and more. He’s also cited on the Wikipedia page for Among Us, an honor above all others. You can follow him on Twitter @DubsRewatcher, or BlueSky @wantonelli.bsky.social.
