Looking to play your Nintendo Switch on the go with high-fidelity audio and a little bit of flair? Manufacturer Astro will soon have you covered with its new headsets, and the company has partnered with Nintendo to add some extra style from your favorite game franchises.
Arriving this holiday season, the Astro Gaming Nintendo Switch headset will feature characters and designs from The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario series, as well as other unannounced Nintendo properties.
“Astro Gaming believes in delivering players unsurpassed audio fidelity with premium products that enhance immersive gaming experiences,” said Astro head of licensing and partnerships Cris Lee in a press release. “Astro is delighted to team up with Nintendo to create innovative products that ignite nostalgia and passion for gaming, featuring beloved characters and franchises for fans to collect and enjoy.”
Though the official headset won’t be out until later this year, Astro is releasing three different speaker tags — from The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros, and Super Mario Bros. 3 — designed to go on its A40 headsets. Most of these headsets are already compatible with Nintendo Switch, and the different models sell for between $150 and $250.
The speaker tags are magnetic rather than stickers, so you’ll be able to swap them out as you see fit. Though Astro hasn’t announced a Kirby tag yet, we’d wear it proudly when roaming the streets with our Switch system in tow. If a Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. speaker tag somehow gets made, however, we’d be too embarrassed to let anyone else see it.
High-quality as the audio may be in the official Astro Nintendo Switch headsets, there will still be one major limitation: Voice chat. As of right now, the Switch still requires the use of a special smartphone app in order to talk with other players. Certain headsets are compatible, but most require an adapter and several different cables in order to function. You also must be right next to the Switch in order for this to work with wired headsets, or with Bluetooth headsets that can only connect to one wireless source at a time, so you can’t play it on your television unless you get a little creative. While this has made it difficult to chat with friends online, it has rendered Switch online games remarkably nontoxic.
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