- Nintendo Switch 2 GameChat will require a phone number to use
- Presumably, this will help prevent children from accessing the service without permission.
- It offers voice calls from the box or video shoes with the optional accessory of the Nintendo Switch 2 camera
The Nintendo Switch 2 GameChat function will require a mobile phone number to use.
As seen by Notebookckck, this was revealed in ‘Ask the developer Vol. 17, Gamechat – Chapter 1’ Interview on the Nintendo website.
“The registration of the mobile phone number required to use GameChat. Children must obtain the approval of a father or guardian through the Nintendo Switch Patental Controls application to use GameChat,” a small warning is read towards the top of the page.
The US Gamechat section of the site expands a little more, explaining that “as an additional safety measure, verification of text messages is required to configure Gamechat.”
This is the same phone number recorded in your Nintendo account. Presumably, those who are prohibited from using Gamechat for bad behavior could not use the same telephone number to access it in another account.
It is likely that the requirement also intends to help prevent children from accessing the service without parents’ permission, which is required for those under 16 years. It is unlikely that children that young people have access to a mobile phone, potentially calming some parents’ concerns that Gamechat could be used to communicate with strangers online.
Although it can be used through the built -in microphone of the console, Gamechat is also compatible with the Nintendo Switch 2 Chamber accessory. Sold separately, the Nintendo Switch 2 camera allows video chat functionality.
You can only start Gamechat sessions with people on your Nintendo friends list, which must be invited to the session.
The Nintendo Switch 2 is launched worldwide on June 5. The early orders of the United Kingdom and the early orders of the United States are already live.
