Switch 2 Carts Still Taste Bad, Designed Purposefully To Be Spat Out

The Switch 2 includes a number of upgrades and improvements over the original Switch, but one thing has stayed the same. The Switch 2 carts remain coated in material that tastes very bad in an effort to help prevent children or animals from accidentally eating them.

In an interview with GameSpot, Nintendo's Takuhiro Dohta confirmed that the gross-tasting coating returns for Switch 2 carts, adding that the goal was the same: "We don't want anybody to be at risk of any unwanted consumption. We have indeed made it so that if it enters your mouth, you'll spit it out."

Anyone who licks a Switch 2 cartridge won't be harmed apart from having a bad tase left in their mouth, Nintendo said. We licked the original Switch cartridges and found them to taste very gross. We have not (yet) been able to conduct the same very important scientific research for Switch 2 cartridges. Whatever the case, we're going to take Dohta at his word for now. "I do not advise that you do," he said of licking a Switch 2 cartridge.

Nintendo's Kouichi Kawamoto added: "When the Nintendo Switch was being developed, I did lick it once, but never again. I can't believe that other people are trying that."

Original Switch cartridges were coated with denatonium benzoate--this is the same material some farmers use to stop animals from eating their crops. Whether or not Nintendo sourced the same substance for Switch 2 cartridges isn't immediately clear.

The Switch 2 cartridges have a nasty-tasting coating, but what they don't have--in some cases, at least--is a copy of the game on them. Some Nintendo Switch 2 cartridges are actually Game-Key Cards that contain no game data but are required in order to play. Also new for Switch 2 is that the cartridges are faster and a different color.

The Switch 2 launches on June 5, priced at $450 for the standard system or $500 for a bundle that comes with a copy of Mario Kart World. Nintendo delayed Switch 2 preorders due to the impact of tariffs, prompting some to believe Nintendo might announce a higher price later on. Whatever the case, Nintendo has said the Switch 2 remains locked in for release on June 5.

For more, check out GameSpot's Switch 2 preorder guide.