Gamers try out latest Nintendo Switch 2 console in New York

Nintendo has announced a June 5 launch date and a $449.99 price tag for its latest gaming console, the Switch 2, which will introduce interactive chat and screen share functions to connect gamers. The company revealed a more vibrant display on the Switch 2, a larger screen and several games that will launch with the console. A select group of gamers got their hands on the latest Nintendo Switch console at an event in New York. Central to its updated system is a new “C” button on its Joy-Con controller, which will launch a new “GameChat” feature that requires a subscription to Nintendo's Switch Online service. It allows players to “communicate with friends and family while playing a game,” and lets them share their game screen with others. A built-in microphone will also allow chatting with other gamers. Perhaps the most contemporary function yet for the Switch 2 is the ability to use the Joy-Con controllers like a computer mouse. The developer displayed multiple ways to use the new function, such as angling a club in a golf game. “Be able to see your friends, hear your friends play with them all on the same screen. Being able to use the Joy-Cons as a computer mouse, which is pretty cool. Shoot a basketball, cast spells in Hogwarts Legacy, all sorts of fun new things with that computer mouse," says Ryan Kryska, a reporter for The Associated Press. The new console will be backward compatible—able to play physical and digital Switch games—but users will need to purchase a microSD express memory card for the Switch 2. The presentation revealed that normal microSD cards will not be compatible with the system. However, data from the original Switch can be transferred to the new console. The Switch 2's launch price is significantly higher than the original Switch’s $299 price tag. The Trump administration’s tariffs have hit the video game console industry at a fragile moment, analysts say. The tariffs impact game hardware because console devices are manufactured and shipped from China and that region at large. This article was provided by The Associated Press.