NEW YORK (AP) — Nintendo has announced a June 5 launch date for its latest gaming console, the Switch 2, which will introduce interactive chat and screenshare functions to connect gamers. At its 60-minute Nintendo Direct presentation, the company revealed new information about the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware and software. Gamers will be able to play Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive games, as well as both physical and digital Nintendo Switch games, on the new console. Central to its updated portable gaming console is a new “C” button on its Joy Con controller, which will launch a new “GameChat” that allows you to “communicate with friends and family while playing a game,” and let you share your game screen with other players. A built-in microphone at the top of the system will also allow you to talk to other gamers. The new console will be backwards compatible — able to play physical and digital Switch games — although some may not be supported or fully compatible with the Switch 2, Nintendo said. The company’s previous Nintendo Direct on March 27 announced games would continue to be made well into 2025 for the first-generation console, which debuted in 2017. Nintendo plans to host “Switch 2 Experience” events in several countries, where gamers can get a hands-on experience with the new system. Those events are planned for cities such as Los Angeles, New York, London and Paris beginning this month. ...read more read less