I need this Piranha Plant Switch 2 accessory (for taking my Zoom calls with)

Yesterday, Nintendo livestreamed its big Switch 2 Direct, where it unveiled tons of details surrounding its upcoming hybrid gaming console. Among all the new game title and hardware feature announcements, Nintendo confirmed a new built-in and system-wide voice chat function called GameChat. To coincide with this new software experience, a new USB-C camera accessory will be made available for purchase when the system launches on June 5.

As is customary, I expect to see third-party variants of Nintendo’s camera crop up from established brands like Hori, PowerA, and others. While it’s still early, a German retailer by the name of MediaMarkt has already listed what appears to be an officially licensed Switch 2 camera from accessory maker Hori. It’s unclear whether this listing was an accident, but neither Nintendo nor Hori have made any official comment or announcement on the matter.

Say hello to Piranha Plant, a USB-C webcam

Piranha Plant webcam, you have my heart

Pocket-lint / Hori / Nintendo

We’re bound to see a wave of third-party Switch 2 cameras arrive with officially licensed Nintendo themes in tow, but Hori’s decision to go with Piranha Plant here is pure genius. This staple enemy from the Super Mario series is anatomically ideal for housing a plug-and-play webcam.

Piranha Plant’s long and slender neck makes for a perfect stand. Its mouth is the right bulbous shape for optical hardware, and can even be shut closed to act as a built-in privacy filter. The listing suggests that you can yank Piranha Plant out of its pot, and plug its stem directly into the top of the Switch 2 via USB-C, too.

Piranha Plant is both endearing and clever, and despite being a superfluous €39 (roughly $43 USD) accessory, I can’t help but want him very much.

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To plug or not to plug (into my PC)

This Piranha Plant peripheral is just begging to be used for work conference calls

It might be a while before I can get my hands on a Nintendo Switch 2, but I want to purchase Hori’s Piranha Plant USB-C camera for another reason entirely: for use with my PC. This might sound utterly silly to some, but I reckon Piranha Plant would make for an excellent pop of personality in my home office setup.

Now, there’s a good chance that this accessory will be built in a proprietary fashion — in other words, Hori and Nintendo might make it so that the webcam can only interface with Switch 2 consoles, despite using the universal and open USB-C connectivity standard.

I sure hope this isn’t the case: despite the high probability of the camera resolution being rather low, I want to make use of Hori’s peripheral for Zoom, Teams, and Webex conference calls. Virtual meetings are often a drag, but a Piranha Plant webcam grinning back at me would undoubtedly brighten my day, even if just to a small degree.

C’mon Nintendo — allow Piranha Plant to live life as an open accessory, and let me plug him into whichever USB-C port or device I fancy.

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