Nintendo embraces "that look of mild despair" on your friend's face as you test your friendship with items in Mario Kart World while watching them on Switch 2 GameChat

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The Switch 2's real killer app is coming for your friendships

Mario Kart World screenshot for Switch 2 showing Wario blasting ahead with a host of characters right behind him in a desert biome
(Image credit: Nintendo)

When Nintendo first revealed the Switch 2's GameChat comms feature, my first thought was, 'Welcome to 2012, Nintendo.' But now, after reading a new interview with a number of key Mario Kart World developers, I realize in hindsight that it was both silly and short-sighted to assume Nintendo didn't have much more diabolical plans for GameChat.

We all know Nintendo games can ruin friendships. To this day, I'll never forgive myself for throwing a shoe at my best friend in 2011 because he hit me with like three blue turtle shells in a row or something. That said, it's never been as explicitly clear as it is now that Nintendo likes testing friendships. Friendships aren't a hapless casualty of party game war; they're targets for Nintendo to snipe like kart racers without bananas protecting their behinds.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.

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