Some very focused Nintendo fans have been combing through a lot of details about Switch 2 ahead of its release on June 5, with a few of them noticing an interesting nugget of information regarding the built-in GameChat feature that allows you to talk with friends on the system using the Switch 2 camera.
In the terms and conditions, Nintendo fans found that, in addition to needing an internet connection and a paid Nintendo Switch online membership to use GameChat, you’ll also need to use your mobile phone number to register on GameChat to access the service.
Children must also get approval from parents or guardians via the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app to use GameChat, but that shouldn’t be all that surprising.
This makes a lot of sense to me and the vast majority of people reading about it today. While it can feel like a headache, it’s there to offer some form of protection when using a camera with potential strangers, even though you need to be Nintendo Switch friends to use the camera with one another—not that it’ll stop YouTube click farmers from complaining about this and every other feature in some fashion.
It’s also fairly typical for social media companies where it might be possible for kids to communicate with one another to input a phone number as an extra layer of protection. Not saying GameChat is a new wave of social media, but these protections have to exist for a reason. Even if children need to get approval through a Parental Controls app, these extra layers of protection are there to stop the worst situations from happening, especially for a company like Nintendo, which has a family-friendly image to keep.
The potential for GameChat to be misused is there, so I’m all for putting as many limitations as possible to prevent the worst from unfolding. But what do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
