Do you remember the EyeToy? It was a peripheral released for thePlayStation 2with a few distinctive games which, at the time, felt like a bizarre glimpse into the future. First launched in 2003, almost a decade beforeXbox Kinectfirst burst onto the scene, this gadget plugged into your console and will immediately track your movements across a variety of different experiences. It was pretty rudimentary, but in the early noughties, it still seemed incredible.
Not only could this camera plug into our console and present a decent quality image of our surroundings back at us, it would register gestures made by our bodies and transplant them straight into the games themselves. Much like PlayStation Move, EyePet, and PSVR, Sony was being experimental with new technologies and giving developers like London Studio a level of freedom to do whatever they wanted with it. The results were fascinating.
RIP London Studio, you deserved better than to beshuttered out of nowhere.
While there were some entertaining outliers like SpyToy - which, you guessed it, put you in the shoes of a super-cool spy - and games not developed by London Studio such as Sega Superstars and Nicktoons Movin, most of the games had you waving your arms and/or head around to achieve simple objectives like hitting targets, playing instruments, or forming a shape of some sort. It was primitive and could only stretch the technology so far, but within the context of its brief time on the market, you couldn’t help but appreciate it.
I was a kid at the time, so I became absorbed in whatever game you happened to put in front of me. If that lets me become a spy in real life, consider me obsessed.
The Nintendo Switch 2 Camerafeels like a bizarre spiritual successor to the EyeToy. It isn’t trying to reach the impressive heights of the Kinect, but is definitely more advanced than what was possible on the PS2.
Like its older counterpart, you plug it into the top of the fancy new console and, just like that, you have a camera that can be used to both chat with friends with the touch of a button or used in a variety of games from Mario Kart to Mario Party. But it is also far from essential, and with its $60 price tag, is something that only hardcore players are likely to check out or care about.
And The Nintendo Switch 2 Camera Follows In Its Footsteps
During a recent hands-on event, I was able to see the camera in action while playing against a handful of other players inMario Kart World. Instead of a character icon on the menus, you will be asked to focus on your face before starting a Grand Prix or balloon battle and this will then appear, in real time, above your character. I saw the faces of players in Knockout Tour who were bursting ahead of me or the unfortunate mugs of those I destroyed in battle mode, noticing their reactions in real time as we played.
You even appear in the leaderboards, which is a perfect opportunity to make a few silly expressions if you’re with like-minded people. Or just be plain rude like I was.
Super Mario PartyJamboree appears to be more involved, but I haven’t had a chance to test out the Switch 2 version just yet. This will incorporate entire bodies of players into games as it also registers actions made with your body - exactly like EyeToy or Kinect - and once again feels like a cute gimmick rather than anything revolutionary. There’s also GameChat, which is being marketed as Nintendo’s replacement for Discord that allows you to talk with friends or share screens of whatever game you’re playing. And if you’ve got a Switch 2 camera ready to go, you may even transpose yourself into things.
Outside the games themselves, though, I was surprised at how small the camera is. It can fit in the palm of your hand easily, with its dinky frame fitting snugly alongside the Switch 2. It’s adorable, even if its actual use cases will be few and far between at launch. Yet there is potential, and if Switch 2 ends up being the huge success its predecessor was, I’m hopeful developers will take chances on the peripheral or at the very least consider optional modes and features for existing games willing to use it. I can think of so many franchises like Pikmin or Ring Fit Adventure that could take the Switch 2 camera and run with it.
