Nintendo recently announced a new communication function 'GameChat' in the process of unveiling the Switch 2. On the surface this looks close to voice chat and party function enhancement. However, looking at the actually announced functions, rather than simply adding a chat system, it shows a change in Nintendo's very perspective on game communication.
An important point is that Nintendo solved this problem not by creating an entirely new social service, but by utilizing their strongest asset — character IP.
In the platform industry now, two flows are appearing simultaneously. One is that platforms are changing beyond simple content sales spaces into spaces where user relationships persist. The other is that users are increasingly familiar with expressing themselves through characters rather than real faces. Through this GameChat, Nintendo has begun positioning their characters at the intersection where these two flows meet.
So the scene of Fox McCloud appearing in a chat window carries significance beyond simple presentation. Because Nintendo's characters have begun to be used not just as objects of play within games but as means of social expression for players. If this expands further, one can fully imagine scenes where Link becomes an avatar and Splatoon's Inklings function like a player's 'face.'
Of course, this change may not immediately change the overall character of the Nintendo platform. However, this GameChat announcement can sufficiently be viewed as a case showing that Nintendo has also begun to be conscious of the trend that the importance of relationship and interaction is increasingly growing in the era when maintaining platforms with content alone was sufficient.
Characters Becoming Interfaces
Once game characters were objects players moved. Press a button and they run, tilt a joystick and they change direction. Characters were tools executing player intent, and disappeared off-screen when the game ended. The relationship between player and character was relatively clear. The one who operates and the one being operated.
That relationship is gradually changing.
Characters have begun not remaining only within games. They are expanding into interfaces that become the player's face, express emotions in their stead, and reveal themselves in social relationships. VTubers relate to millions through characters, and VRChat users maintain friendships for years as avatars. And now Nintendo has also begun positioning their characters within that flow.
This is also why Switch 2's GameChat is important. Not simply because voice chat functionality was added. It is closer to the point that the company possessing the most powerful character assets in game history has begun utilizing those characters as means of social expression for players.
The center of platform competition is now moving beyond simple content sales to how long user relationships and interactions can be maintained. At the same time, users are also increasingly familiar with expressing themselves and forming relationships through characters. Through this GameChat, Nintendo has begun placing their strongest asset at the junction of that change.
Game characters are no longer simply objects of play. They are increasingly becoming another face that exists in relationships in place of people.
