HORI Piranha Plant Camera – a Switch 2 webcam that bites

By Ricardo de Jong ·

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Two HORI Piranha Plant Cameras in green Warp Pipe bases, one with its mouth open showing the lens and one with its mouth closed

I have died to more Piranha Plants than Bowsers. You jump over a pipe, the thing pops out, and you’re back at the start. Rude.

So of course Nintendo licensed one to stare at you while you play. The HORI Piranha Plant Camera is a Switch 2 webcam shaped like a Piranha Plant: the lens sits inside its mouth, and when you close the jaws, the camera is covered. It’s the dumbest privacy shutter I’ve ever seen, and I mean that as a compliment.

Is it a good camera? No. Is it a great thing to have next to your Switch 2? Kind of, yes.

HORI Piranha Plant Camera with its mouth open, sitting in its green Warp Pipe base

What is the Piranha Plant Camera?

It’s a USB-C camera for the Nintendo Switch 2, made by the Japanese accessory maker HORI and officially licensed by Nintendo. It came out in June 2025, alongside the console. You use it for GameChat, the Switch 2’s video chat, and for games that put your face on screen.

The head sits on a flexible stem, so you can bend it toward your face. Open mouth: camera on. Closed mouth: nobody sees you eating cereal at 2 a.m.

How does it work?

HORI gives you three ways to set it up:

  • Stand: plug the plant into the Warp Pipe base and connect the base to the Switch 2 dock. Put it next to the TV.
  • TV: a clip on the bottom of the pipe lets you mount it on top of your TV.
  • Console: pull the plant out of the pipe and plug it straight into the USB-C port on top of the Switch 2 in handheld mode.

That last one is the clever bit. In the box you get the camera unit, the base, a USB-C to USB-C cable and a 3.5mm right-angle adapter, so you can still plug in headphones while the plant is in the top port. HORI lists the specs as 640 x 480 at 30fps with an 85-degree view angle. GameChat needs Nintendo Switch Online, which you pay for separately.

The good and the not-so-good

What I like:

  • The design. It’s a real Piranha Plant on a real Warp Pipe, and it looks good on a shelf even when it’s switched off.
  • The mouth shutter. Gavin Lane at Nintendo Life liked it better than the twisty shutter on Nintendo’s own camera. On paper, I agree.
  • Handheld mode. Lane called the top-port plug one of its biggest advantages, and one early buyer on Amazon uses it as a selfie cam for Mario Kart.
  • Lane also found it light and sturdy enough for rough play, which matters if kids are involved.

What could be better:

  • The picture. 640 x 480 is not a typo. Nintendo Life described the image as something that would have been fine in 1997, and TechRadar and Pocket Tactics both slammed the video quality. Nintendo’s own camera does 1080p.
  • The TV clip. Lane found the grip a little wobbly on thin screens.
  • Not many Switch 2 games use a camera yet.

Who is the Piranha Plant Camera for?

Switch 2 families with kids who play in handheld mode. Mario fans who want a TV-stand conversation piece. And anyone who uses GameChat in a small window, where the low resolution matters less.

Skip it if you care about how you look on camera. Nintendo’s own Switch 2 Camera is the sharper choice, and reviewers recommend it for exactly that reason. If you’re more into Nintendo things that sit on your nightstand, the Nintendo Alarmo is the other weird Nintendo gadget I can’t stop looking at. The Game & Watch: Legend of Zelda is another good one for the shelf.

Where can I buy the Piranha Plant Camera?

HORI sells it on Amazon. It launched at $59.99, and at the time of writing (October 2026) it’s about 30 bucks on Amazon US. At that price, it’s a licensed Mario collectible that happens to do video chat.

Just don’t jump over it. You know what happens.