[Source: AP]

Nintendo has announced a June 5 launch date and $449.99 price tag for its latest gaming console, the Switch 2, which will introduce interactive chat and screenshare functions to connect gamers.

In its 60-minute Nintendo Direct presentation on Wednesday, the company revealed a more vibrant display on the Switch 2, a larger screen and several games that will launch with the console.

Central to its updated system is a new “C” button on its Joy-Con controller, which will launch a “GameChat” feature that requires a subscription to Nintendo’s Switch online service.

It allows players to “communicate with friends and family while playing a game,” and lets them share their game screen with others. A built-in microphone will also allow chatting with other gamers.

“When you think about some of the biggest titles on (the Nintendo Switch), it’s like Mario Kart, Super Mario Jamboree, even though that’s quite a new title, has cracked the top 10 of most played games on the console. So, it does make a lot of sense that the sort of headline feature is geared primarily towards that sort of use,” said Hannah Cowton-Barnes, a London-based video game industry expert for Tech Advisor.

Perhaps the most contemporary function yet for the Switch 2 is the ability to use the Joy-Con controllers like a computer mouse. The developer displayed multiple ways to use the new function, such as angling a club in a golf game.

The new portable console features a 7.9 inch LCD screen that displays in 1080p. Nintendo also revealed in the live stream that, when docked, the system will be able to support 4K resolution for compatible games.

The presentation started with an extended look at Mario Kart World — the console’s launch bundle game — which adds a bit of flair to the series with a knockout game mode and the ability to grind on rails skateboard-style while racing.

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