Let’s chat!
A recent patent issued by Nintendo suggests that voice chat will be more effectively integrated into the Switch 2, ultimately addressing one of our biggest grievances with the original ‘Switch’ (thanks to Wccftech).
This patent was submitted back in November 2024, and it was made public by the US Patent Application Office late last month. The primary focus of the document and accompanying illustrations seems to describe a feature akin to in-game proximity chat, or as the summary somewhat confusingly states, when “the sound heard by the user can be gradually altered from the audio captured by the previous virtual microphone to the sound obtained by the virtual microphone at the new position”. Quite detailed, right?
Proximity chat has been a staple of online gaming for many years; however, the Nintendo patent seems primarily focused on reducing the disruptive nature of “abrupt changes in sound output” for the player. While there’s a fair amount of typical complex patent language included, at its core, it’s mainly about the gradual decrease/increase of sound from two digital microphones before and after movement, as illustrated in the following diagrams:
While we haven’t spotted any specific details on how the voice chat feature will be implemented in the actual game, we’re hopeful that the notion of advancements in proximity chat technology from Nintendo indicates that the company is aiming to enhance this feature on Switch 2. The original ‘Switch’ has been decent, but we cannot help but feel incredibly frustrated when we have to switch to another call with friends to play online—let’s face it, who really uses the Nintendo Switch Online mobile app for that?
As is the case with all patents, it’s prudent to place all this speculation cautiously in the ‘Hopes and Dreams’ folder. Nintendo files for patents all the time, often for technologies they are not necessarily planning to implement, or just to establish a claim and move forward. There’s no assurance that voice chat will be significantly enhanced for Switch 2, nor that it will be effectively utilized in the final product, but that won’t stop us from dreaming about the potential of proximity chat in Mario Kart 9, all the same.
What do you think about this new patent? Do you believe we will see improved voice chat functionality on Switch 2? Share your thoughts with us!