Nintendo Switch 2 game cartridges taste absolutely disgusting again – here's why
Denatonium benzoate comes to the rescue once again
Update: Our new Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order guide has the latest information on the officially confirmed date and time in the US for April 24, 2025.
✋ Nintendo has advised folks not to attempt to consume Switch 2 cartridges, as a safety precaution
🤢 The cartridges come covered in denatonium benzoate, the same substance used in in polishes such as those to deter kids from biting their nails
👉 Nintendo staff have explained that the presence of the coating is designed to provoke a reaction of spitting the cartridge out – the substance itself isn't harmful
👍 This is the same practice that Nintendo used on the original Switch
Nintendo has confirmed that, just like the game cartridges for the original Switch, the ones for the new Switch 2 console also taste dreadful. This is due to them being coated in denatonium benzoate, a 'bitter-tasting substance' according to Nintendo's own support page.
It's purely a safety precaution to stop children, or anyone really, from eating the small-sized cartridges. The substance isn't harmful, and is the same kind that's designed to stop people biting nails – it really is a horrible tasting item.
Nintendo Switch 2 director Takuhiro Dohta explained to GameSpot that this was intentional as a safety precaution, with the natural reaction being to spit the cartridge out due to its horrible taste, and advised that folks shouldn't even attempt a test lick, as it were.
On the game front, the Switch 2's game sizes may be smaller than you think for some titles – which you probably don’t need to rush out and buy one of the best Nintendo Switch 2 microSD Express cards. there are also quite a lot of Nintendo Switch 2 launch games coming from both Nintendo themselves, and from third-party developers, so there will be plenty to play on day one.
The console launches on June 5, although Nintendo has currently delayed pre-orders in the USA, owing to President Trump's tariffs – the current $450 price tag had nothing to do with tariffs, according to Nintendo.
Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.