With Switch 2 pre-orders finally live for the US and Canada, you now have the chance to fork over money to Nintendo for the chance to play the next generation of Switch hardware. Fun! If you want to utilize the full feature set of the Nintendo Switch 2, you’ll need to grab yourself a webcam for GameChat, and that’s where Hori has got you covered. While Nintendo is selling an “official” camera for its console, Hori also has a third-party one that is just a bit cheaper and looks a little less like a government spy camera.
Available on Amazon Japan, Hori’s USB Switch 2 camera comes in at ¥3,981, or roughly $28 USD. That is nearly half the price of the official Nintendo camera, which runs $55. That’s a pretty decent savings, but there is a catch. As the description for Hori’s camera reads, it will only output at 640×480 resolution. Nintendo’s camera does full 1080p, giving your camera extra clarity and even acting as a double for your PC if you need one.
Truth be told, you likely won’t even notice the quality drop if you’re using this on your Switch 2. GameChat segments the screen so that up to four camera feeds can be displayed at once. Even on a 4K display, that would mean each screen is given maybe 720p of display, since a border occupies a decent chunk of what’s displayed. If you’re in handheld mode, you probably couldn’t even tell the difference between 480p and 1080p.
Ultimately, these third-party cameras will not be topping the quality of Nintendo’s official one, but they should provide a cheaper means to utilize GameChat with your friends and/or family. Hori is also a reliable peripheral manufacturer, so you’re going to get a product that should last you for quite some time.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
