The Nintendo Switch 2 arrived more than a month ago, yet securing one remains difficult and may stay that way until spring 2026. Strong global interest meets ongoing parts shortages and assembly constraints, resulting in long waiting lists and lottery-style sales events. Estimates from Toyo Securities' Hideki Yasuda and UBS's Zhai Yijia suggest about 6 million units will ship during the launch month, surpassing the debut speeds of both the original Switch and Sony's PlayStation 5. Yasuda forecasts total shipments reaching 20 million by March 31, 2026, while Zhai predicts a slightly lower figure of 18 million. Even the more modest estimate would still exceed the predecessor's pace by roughly 20% to 30%.

In Japan, Nintendo's official online store recently ran its fifth lottery for Switch 2 orders, and many participants have reported repeated disappointment. Brick-and-mortar retailers, such as Yodobashi Camera, have experimented with first-come, first-served sales restricted to store credit-card holders, yet inventory still vanishes within minutes. Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa acknowledges these hurdles, saying, "We are working to strengthen our production system so that we can flexibly respond to demand," and stressing that while the Switch 2 carries a higher price point than previous models, the company is focused on delivering experiences that justify its cost, especially for younger players. There are even some forecasts, such as those from the research firm DFC Intelligence, which predict that the Switch 2 could exceed 100 million units sold by the end of 2029, positioning it to surpass the original console's lifetime sales. Until manufacturing ramps up, however, securing Nintendo's latest flagship will remain a test of patience for many gamers.

TechPowerUp's team conducted research to find out how the market for handheld consoles performs and where its users are mostly going. The large community poll of 22,649 PC gamers, asking a simple "Do you game on a handheld console?" paints a solid picture of the customer base that a handheld console maker can expect. The majority, at 65.3% of the polled gamers, have chosen the option "No," indicating that two-thirds of PC gamers spend time on their main desktop or notebook PCs without using an additional handheld console. Among the 34.7% of respondents (7,852 votes) who game on the go, Valve's Steam Deck leads with 2,798 votes (35.6%), narrowly edging out Nintendo's Switch at 2,785 votes (35.5%).

ASUS's ROG Ally follows with 913 votes (11.6%), while "Other" devices, including Android emulators, retro‑focused units like the Analogue Pocket, and various mini‑PC handhelds, account for 810 votes (10.3%). Boutique Windows handhelds trail further behind, with the Lenovo Legion Go claiming 280 votes (3.6%) and the MSI Claw 266 votes (3.4%). Out of the entire fleet of these handhelds, only the Nintendo Switch is a real console. Others are mini portable PCs, which can serve functionality far beyond those of a console. Gamers are fond of the added functionality, which is why the Steam Deck, running Linux and Windows-based handhelds from ASUS, MSI, Lenovo, and others, are so popular.

Mere weeks after Nintendo launched the Switch 2 to international audiences, the Japanese gaming giant has announced that the original Nintendo Switch will be subject to price increases in Canada. In a press release announcing the price increase, Nintendo of Canada confirms that all original Nintendo Switch consoles, including th OLED and Lite models, physical and digital games, and Switch accessories—as well as the Amiibo and Nintendo Switch Online memberships—will be affected by the price change.

In the announcement, Nintendo blames "market conditions" for the price change and specifies that the Nintendo Switch 2 will not be affected by the price change. According to Eurogamer, the price adjustment may be related to the strained international trade relations between Canada and the United States, and the price change comes after Nintendo briefly delayed the Switch 2's launch in both the US and Canada in response to tariffs imposed by the United States. Nintendo has not announced what the price increase will look like, but it has confirmed that the price increases will take effect on August 1, whereupon Nintendo of Canada will announce the new pricing.

Despite the Nintendo Switch 2 offering rather modest specifications by today's standards, even for a handheld gaming device, it has already broken console sales records with over 3.5 million sales in its first four days on the market. The on-paper specs claim that the Nintendo Switch 2 is capable of 120 Hz, promising a sizeable upgrade over the 60 FPS display of the original Switch and Switch OLED. Recent testing by Monitors Unboxed and Digital Foundry, however, reveal that these claims may be less than honest, since the handheld console's real-world performance falls short by a fair margin.

The most noticeable issue with the Nintendo Switch 2's display is the response times. Despite having a 120 Hz display, Monitors Unboxed found in its testing that the display achieved an average response time of as high as 33 ms. While testing was conducted at 60 FPS, the response times even fall short of this low bar, with 16.67 ms being the slowest response time required for the pixels to refresh between frames such as to avoid blur or smearing. Even the original Nintendo Switch manages faster response times, with an average of 21.3 ms. This is further exemplified by the Blur Busters test conducted by Monitors Unboxed, where significant loss of detail can be seen in fast-moving objects. Brightness was better on the Switch 2 in Monitors Unboxed's testing, measuring in at around 400 nits, but contrast is less than spectacular, with contrast ratios measuring in at just 1068:1. Color performance was also good on the new Switch 2, with 97.6% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut, however HDR performance suffered from the relatively low brightness and a lack of color management, which makes Switch 1 games seem more saturated than intended.

Today, 2K and Gearbox Software announced that Borderlands 4 is now available for pre-order. The next installment in the critically and commercially-successful franchise that started a new genre of games will launch worldwide on September 12, 2025 via PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox Series X|S, and PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store. It will also be coming to Nintendo Switch 2 later in 2025.

"I've been blown away by how high the team at Gearbox have raised the bar for Borderlands 4," said David Ismailer, President of 2K. "The development team crafted a premium AAA adventure that evolves the series' gameplay and storytelling in new ways, while delivering on the quintessential Borderlands looter-shooter experience fans know and love."

In the four days following its June 5 launch, the Nintendo Switch 2 game system sold more than 3.5 million units worldwide, becoming the fastest-selling Nintendo game system ever.

Nintendo Switch 2 features a larger, vivid screen capable of full 1080p high-definition display (and 4K when connected to a compatible TV or monitor), a faster processor that allows for enhanced graphics and gameplay performance, and redesigned magnetic Joy-Con 2 controllers with mouse functionality. The system also debuts the new GameChat feature, where players can voice or video chat and share game screens with friends online, bringing the feeling of playing together in the same room even if their friends and family are miles away.

Today, Nintendo launched its first brand-new gaming platform in eight years with Nintendo Switch 2, and the latest Mario Kart game for consoles in over a decade with Mario Kart World. Nintendo Switch 2 brings to life new ways to connect and play with friends and family with new features and reimagined online capabilities such as GameChat. Mario Kart World allows players to hit the road in a vast interconnected playground where the world is their racetrack. Further, the Nintendo Switch 2 launch lineup features acclaimed titles from Nintendo's global publishing and development partners, such as Split Fiction, Street Fighter 6, Sid Meier's Civilization VII - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition and more. Together, these new experiences mark a leap forward in Nintendo's mission to deliver smiles to people the world over - All Together, Anytime, Anywhere.

Last night, Nintendo held the first-ever simultaneous launch event that took place at the newly opened Nintendo SAN FRANCISCO, and Nintendo NEW YORK with activations in Rockefeller Center. Fans that attended the coast-to-coast celebration were among the first to usher in this new chapter for Nintendo games. The event culminated when the first systems and games were purchased at 9 p.m. PT in San Francisco and 12 a.m. ET in New York. Each event featured photo ops, and gameplay for Nintendo Switch 2 launch games including Mario Kart World and titles from Nintendo's global publishing and development partners. Photos from the event are included with press materials for this announcement.

Hello, our latest update is called No Man's Sky BEACON, releasing today on June 4th, and it's a big one! Not only that but we are releasing a Nintendo Switch 2 version ready for launch of the new console tomorrow on June 5th. Players can become town mayor and take ownership of multiple settlements. You can construct buildings and upgrade each one, with new building types like jukebox bars where you can choose the music, merchants where you can build custom starships or even ponds you can chill and fish at.

One of the coolest additions in BEACON is the arrival of the robotic Autophage settlements. The most recent race introduced to No Man's Sky, these large towns are built in their own image, an identifiable robotic style, all metal and mechanics. Unique Autophage building parts can be constructed in your own base and add a very hard sci-fi style to your dwellings and constructions. For the ambitious Traveller, multiple settlements can now be owned and managed by one Overseer, so for instance you won't need to abandon your existing charges to bring these new robotic citizens under your wing.

Nintendo's Switch 2 hybrid console is due to arrive at retail tomorrow (June 5), and pre-launch marketing campaigns are in full swing. The Japanese gaming giant has called in a high profile partner—Jensen Huang—to add some surprisingly technical heft during hype festivities. At this stage in time, NVIDIA's Tegra "T239" chipset is a well known quantity—thanks to years of leaked "internal info," and disabled examples turning up for close analysis in China. Industry experts did not anticipate Nintendo's fairly frank discussions that covered Switch 2's hardware capabilities. The Nintendo "Creator's Voice" video series has featured a number of high-profile third-party software development buddies (including CD Projekt RED), but yesterday's Team Green CEO contribution received widespread press attention.

Jensen paid tribute to Satoru Iwata, a former and much missed Nintendo president. Their collaboration started during the era of OG Switch development: "he wanted to create something no one had seen before. A console powerful enough for big, cinematic games—but small enough to take anywhere. It sounded impossible. But that vision became the original Nintendo Switch. We lost Iwata-san before the launch, but his clarity, his purpose, it still inspires our work every day. Together, we poured everything into that system." As mentioned back in April, NVIDIA dedicated significant resources into making their latest "technical marvel."

The highly anticipated next-generation game console Nintendo Switch 2 is set to launch this week, ushering in a new era of gaming with revolutionary hardware upgrades, including a more powerful processor and enhanced graphics performance. This evolution promises gamers sharper visuals, faster speed, and content-rich gaming experiences. However, these benefits bring significantly larger file sizes and heightened read/write demands, posing unprecedented storage challenges.

To meet these revolutionary storage needs, the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusively utilizes the SD Express 7.1 microSD memory card. ADATA Technology, a leading memory brand, is primed with its Premier Extreme microSDXC SD Express 7.1 memory card, featuring industry-leading speeds of up to 800 MB/s read and 700 MB/s write, coupled with a generous 512 GB capacity, to deliver an unparalleled experience for gamers.

Charles Tremblay, CD Projekt RED's Technology Vice President, has been fielding questions from members of the press—regarding the forthcoming Switch 2 version of Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition. Large portions of the company's Polish and North American/Canadian teams are concentrating on next-gen projects (respectively, Witcher 4 and "Cyberpunk 2"), but a smaller group has worked on porting a current sci-fi title onto Nintendo's NVIDIA Custom SoC-powered hybrid console. Despite arriving almost five years ago, Cyberpunk 2077 has remained a firm favorite—especially as a gauge of hardware capabilities, across PC and home console platforms. Since then, the developer's in-house REDengine has been dropped from primary activities. Epic's ubiquitous Unreal Engine 5 will serve as the technological foundation for future CD Projekt RED IPs.

In an interview conducted by IGN, Tremblay outlined the challenges his team faced when dealing with REDengine 4 and Switch 2: "we have very key people in here that know exactly how to make Cyberpunk run. Cyberpunk is built for x86 with old PC architecture. So, from the beginning this was completely different. Lots of changes had to be done at the engine level, all the shaders (are in a) different language. We had to convert everything, some HLSL to GLSL. (The Switch 2 utilizes) a very, very different architecture." In another Q&A session (with NintendoLife), the Tech VP mentioned a roping in of external assistance (from Hungary and Japan): "all development is being done in-house, with support from Yigsoft when it comes to incorporating the Nintendo Switch 2 specific features, and support from Nintendo when it comes to overcoming all the fun challenges that come with creating for new hardware."

It looks as though the uphill battle that is the Nintendo Switch 2 launch is not over yet. While backwards compatibility with the original Switch game library, consisting of 122 first-party games and over 15,000 third-party games, was a major highlight for those eager for a Switch 2, it seems as though it isn't as cut-and-dry as simply loading the games onto the Switch 2. Nintendo has been testing the entire game library in order to inform Switch 2 buyers what they'll be able to play at launch. According to a recently updated Nintendo support article, the Switch 2 will ditch support for video streaming sites Crunchyroll, Hulu, Niconico, and Abema, as well as manga and comic reader, InkyPen, and the Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04 VR Kit.

While a number of other titles Nintendo tested seemingly won't work immediately like Fortnite, for which there is a Switch 2 version planned, Nintendo is drawing a line between apps that won't work at launch but will be fixed at a later date, and apps that will not work on the Switch 2. As for the aforementioned video streaming apps, Nintendo says that they "Cannot be used on Nintendo Switch 2," while the Labo VR Kit will likely need a physical design revision for the Switch 2, since the original kit was designed for hardware compatibility with the first-gen Switch. It's unclear if video streaming and other media consumption apps, like Crunchyroll and Hulu, will be blocked from the Switch 2 entirely, or if the developers and publishers could work around the new Switch 2 hardware to publish updated versions. The hybrid console form factor of the Switch and Switch 2 theoretically make Nintendo's consoles uniquely suited to video streaming, since they can be docked, and consoles like the Sony PS5 and Xbox Series X|S are both capable of operating as standalone home theater systems. It only makes sense for Nintendo to compete in the same regard, but without the apps to support such use cases, the Switch 2 cannot do that. Currently, the Switch 2 is slated to become widely available on June 5, with pre-orders already available—and largely sold out—in some regions.

Nintendo's Switch 2 hybrid console is set to arrive early next month (June 5), complete with promised launch prices. Early last month, the company's basic cost of entry for next-gen access—$450 (US)—seemed to be on tenuous ground. Nintendo and its retail partners decided to postpone their opening of pre-orders—affecting excited customers in the United States, then (days later) in Canada. Thanks to political posturing, a number of big industry players had to restrategize. Late last week, Microsoft announced their implementation of global Xbox Series price increases. In April, Sony revealed similar changes for PlayStation 5; restricted to select market territories. Nintendo has allowed a re-opening of Switch 2 pre-orders; gamers can secure core hardware at original MSRPs. Unfortunately, a compromise was made—first-party Switch 2 accessories will be more expensive, on launch day and beyond.

During a recent call with investors, Nintendo's president—Shuntaro Furukawa—confirmed that their core hardware pricing is subject to change. Launch price tags are safe (for the moment); the company will need to radiate some goodwill during their next-gen design's salad days. Commenting on a shifting political landscape, Furukawa-san stated: "at this time, the top priority is to quickly popularize the Switch 2 hardware...If the assumptions regarding tariffs change significantly, we would like to consider what price adjustments we should make, and implement them after considering various factors." Industry analysis has produced a scary projection; worst case scenarios could send tech prices up by roughly 70%. Considering the vintage of Switch 2's alleged internals, gaming hardware enthusiasts have questioned the value offered by this $450 hybrid handheld.

Late last month, Kurnal (@Kurnalsalts) shared a partial die shot of a supposed Nintendo Switch 2 chipset—this teaser image seemed to verify previous leaked claims about the forthcoming next-gen hybrid gaming console being powered by a custom NVIDIA "T239" SoC design. Two weeks after the fact, Kurnal has boasted about delivering an alleged "world's first Nintendo Switch 2 die shot." Their social media post included a couple of key specification data points: "Samsung 8N (8 nm), eight Cortex-A78C cores, (shared) 4 MB L2 cache, and 1536 CUDA/6TPC 'Ampere' GPU." Another leaker—Geekerwan—said that they acquired a "Switch 2 motherboard" via Xianyu. This Chinese equivalent to eBay seems to be a veritable treasure trove of tech curiosities.

Earlier on in 2025, black market sellers were attempting to offload complete pre-launch Switch 2 packages for big money. As reported by VideoCardz, recent acquisitions only involved the securing of non-functional motherboard + SoC units—Kurnal disclosed a 1000 RMB (~$138 USD) price point. Digital Foundry's Richard Leadbetter is a very visible advocate of the Switch 2 chipset being based on a mature 8 nm Samsung node process. His personal belief was aimed at certain critics; these opposers predicted 5 nm manufacturing origins. Older leaks suggested a larger than expected die footprint—relative to Switch 1's internal setup; almost twice the size—leading to Leadbetter's conclusion. Comparison charts—produced by Kurnal and Geekerwan—propose an occupied area of 207 mm².

NACON, a leader in premium gaming accessories and parent of the RIG audio brand, announces the new RIG 400 GEN2 Series. Successors to the best-selling camo gaming headsets, the new generation headsets are available in two soft-touch camo designs, Arctic Camo and Urban Camo, exclusively at Walmart stores and Walmart.com.

The 400 GEN2 delivers epic game audio with powerful 40 mm audio drivers and crystal-clear comms via a redesigned flip-to-mute microphone. Gamers can seamlessly connect with squad mates across platforms with a universal 3.5 mm audio jack, built to plug and play on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch 2, and more.
Designed for extended gaming sessions, the 400 GEN2 features redesigned oval earcups that form comfortably around the ear. The signature snap-fit sizing and a cushioned headband ensure a perfect fit for all head sizes, offering unmatched comfort and durability.

Nintendo has released firmware update 20.0.0 for the Switch console and it brings several exciting new features. First up are Virtual Game Cards. Every game you buy digitally, along with specific DLC and free titles, now shows up as a virtual game card in its own menu. You can load or eject these cards on up to two linked consoles and lend them to family members on your Nintendo Account or to friends outside your group for up to 14 days. When the loan period ends, the game disappears from their library, but your saved data stays safe on their system. Next is GameShare, which only a Switch 2 owner can start. Once a Switch 2 user launches a compatible game, they can invite any nearby Switch or Switch 2 player to join in over local wireless. Only the host needs to own the game, and there doesn't seem to be a limit on how many players can connect. It's a simple way to play together without everyone having to buy the same title.

There are some visual changes on the HOME Menu as well. New icons for Virtual Game Cards and GameShare have appeared. The eShop icon switched from yellow to red, and the New Features icon now appears in green. Also, every installed title, be it physical or digital, now features a small blue Game Card icon, making it clear what's in your collection. With the Switch 2 launching on June 5, Nintendo has added a "System Transfer to Nintendo Switch 2" option under System Settings. This wizard guides you through uploading all your user profiles and saving files, screenshots, videos, and system settings to Nintendo's servers. Once complete, your old Switch resets to factory settings and the new console downloads everything back.

Throughout April, Nintendo has navigated choppy waters—not long after the much-anticipated Switch 2 hybrid console's big presentation. Potential customers in the US and Canada experienced an unfortunate delay of pre-order programs—thankfully resolved, as of late last week. The Japanese multinational gaming giant has raised Switch 2 accessory prices—in reaction to "Tariffgate"—but their core next-gen hardware will sell at originally intended levels (hopefully). Despite the company being a global force, a couple of Nintendo's regional distribution networks lack clout. Yesterday, a worrying news report emerged from Costa Rica. Teletica's article outlined a complete absence of Switch 2 and related products across Central American and Caribbean markets. According to insider sources, details were confirmed during: "a private meeting between Nintendo executives and official distributors in the region on Tuesday night (April 29)...The Japanese company announced that there will be no official distribution of consoles, games, or peripherals in these markets throughout 2025." This revelation adds insult to already prominent injuries—even in better-established South American market territories, gamers have voiced concerns about the spotty supply of first-gen Switch products.

Leading gaming accessories maker Turtle Beach Corporation today revealed 16 new gaming headsets and controllers, further expanding the brand's already broad lineup of top-rated, best-selling products for gamers playing on Nintendo Switch systems, Xbox consoles, and Windows PCs.

"Our team at Turtle Beach is excited to unveil another big wave of innovative new gaming accessories that will enhance gamers' experiences," said Cris Keirn, CEO, Turtle Beach Corporation. "All of our new gaming accessories unveiled today represent a clear dedication from Turtle Beach to exceed expectations and deliver products with competitive features, affordable high-quality builds, and amazing aesthetics."

Developer ClockStone and publisher Headup are announcing their engineering puzzle and creative sandbox game Bridge Constructor Studio will be available on Steam, the Epic Games Store, GOG, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and Xbox this summer. The game originally launched on Meta Quest at the end of last year.

Bridge Constructor Studio is the latest entry in the best-selling Bridge Constructor series. Players put their engineering skills to the test as they design their own constructions in animated 3D mini-dioramas, then start the simulation to watch their creations face the ultimate stability challenge.

Take a bow! The hand-crafted world of Once Upon a Puppet takes center stage today as the game officially launches on PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam Deck. The Nintendo Switch version will be released early June 2025, giving players just a bit more time before the curtains rise on the portable stage. We will be updating you on the exact release date in the coming weeks.

Developed by Flatter Than Earth and published by Daedalic Entertainment, Once Upon a Puppet invites players into a magical theatrical realm full of danger, discovery, and unexpected transformations. Combining inventive thread-based mechanics, dual-character puzzles, and a rich, hand-animated world, the game offers a heartfelt and eerie journey through a forgotten puppet kingdom.

An alleged partial close-up capture of the Nintendo Switch 2's chipset has leaked out; courtesy of Kurnal (@Kurnalsalts). This fresh leak is being hyped up as putting an end to all online debate regarding the upcoming hybrid console's technological underpinnings. Despite late 2024/early 2025 reports pointing to a custom NVIDIA "T239" SoC design, certain voices continued to produce conjecture about a more "cutting edge" solution. Surprisingly, Team Green's PR department did issue a statement about the Switch 2 being powered by: "a custom processor featuring an NVIDIA GPU with dedicated RT Cores and Tensor Cores for stunning visuals and AI-driven enhancements."

As expected, Nintendo staffers remained guarded during recent press junkets—in-depth tech talk was deferred in NVIDIA's general direction. Kurnal's sharing of a speculative "T239" partial die shot does not provide any major new revelations or insights—as discussed on the Nintendo Switch 2 Subreddit, tech enthusiasts continue to rely on specification details from the big hack of NVIDIA repositories (three years ago). Newer speculation has focused on Nintendo's choice of foundry—Digital Foundry's Richard Leadbetter continues to express his personal belief that Nintendo has selected a Samsung 8 nm DUV foundry node. In opposition, certain critics have persisted with a 5 nm EUV node process theory.

Digital Foundry's Oliver Mackenzie and a member of the Resetera video game discussion forum have alerted the wider community to a small change within the text on several of Nintendo's Switch 2 product web presences. Mackenzie's social media post included a comparative screenshot; showing before and after conditions; Digital Foundry's Canadian correspondent provided comment: "some weird stuff going on at Nintendo. Looks like they've changed their US website to no longer mention VRR support for TV play? Only HDR and 120 Hz support get a call-out." Additional press coverage has put spotlights on Nintendo's Japan and Canada websites; both regional offices have scrubbed "VRR" (variable refresh rate) from Switch 2 promotional material. At the time of writing, Nintendo of Europe and UK's hardware feature sections still showcase an unadulterated description: "bring games to life with a larger 1080p screen—or connect to a TV and play in up to 4K resolution. Support for HDR, VRR, and frame rates up to 120 FPS let you enjoy brilliant colour, clarity, and smooth gameplay."

Video Games Chronicle and a few other news sites have reached out to Nintendo for comment regarding this confusing situation. The Switch 2 maker is notorious for its guarded stance when discussing technical details—as evidenced recently, by a top employee deflecting responsibility in NVIDIA's general direction. Mackenzie reckons that VRR support—when paired with compatible televisions and monitors—could be added post-launch (June 5). It is possible that Nintendo's engineering department has removed this feature from its day one bag of tricks. Meanwhile, the Switch 2's surprisingly capable integrated display is expected to arrive without any technological compromises.

Up until very recently, the microSD Express format was viewed as a commercial disappointment for involved manufacturers and suppliers. Potential buyers were not attracted to premium price points; as demanded by designs that can leverage (up to) 900 MB/s read speeds. Hermitage Akihabara—a Japanese electronics and computer hardware chain—has tracked an alarmingly sharp climb in demand for microSD Express products. The popular retailer documented this recent trend across several articles, with last week's investigation diving deep into units selling: "at a rate of 337.62 cards per hour!" The upcoming launch of a highly-anticipated mainstream gaming device has seemingly sharply driven up sales of a largely forgotten storage format. Hermitage Akihabara explored this unprecedented turnaround in fortunes: "Nintendo's influence is amazing. The 'microSD Express card,' which had hardly any sales due to lack of use, sold out in an instant as soon as it was announced that it would be used in the Nintendo Switch 2. It was sold out not only in (our) Akihabara shops but also on EC sites nationwide, and it caused such a stir that it was even covered in the general news."

Hermitage Akihabara expects to replenish its stock within a non-specific timeframe—but prices could remain "quite high," due to manufacturers (reportedly) being fairly conservative with production output. The store's "behind the scenes of the microSD Express card sellout" news piece outlined some compelling data points: "our mail order service received a large number of orders. According to the calculations made by the mail order staff, they were selling at a rate of 5.63 units per minute, or 337.62 units per hour, which was also a surprise. Of course, we didn't have that much stock, but it seems that we were selling as much as we had. One interesting thing is that most of the buyers ordered only one copy. At most, three copies were purchased, and more than 80% of people ordered one copy. Most of the buyers were pure users who wanted to save one to use with the Switch 2." As reported earlier in the month, Lexar has readied the world's first 1 TB microSD Express card. Their $199.99 (MSRP) 1 TB PLAY PRO microSDXC Express model is already available to purchase, months in advance of Switch 2's global launch date (June 5). Industry insiders believe that Samsung is collaborating with Nintendo on an "official" range of microSD Express cards.

Not too long after delivering its in-depth Switch 2 showcase, Nintendo of America and retail partners postponed pre-launch reservations for the forthcoming hybrid gaming console. An official announcement stated: "pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will not start April 9, 2025 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions. Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged." The vast majority of industry watchdogs reckon that company will be assessing an adjustment of launch day product MSRPs. Last week's North American presentation outlined price points of $449.99 and $499.99; for a standard package and a Mario Kart World Pack (respectively). Theorized adjustments could extend to physical copies of games, as well as accessories; e.g. the Switch 2 Pro Controller.

Gamers further north—in the neighboring nation of Canada—were relieved about last week's alert being non-applicable to their market region. Up until yesterday, pre-orders were on track at CA$629.99 (base console) and CA$699.99 (with Mario Kart World). Unfortunately, the House of Mario's Canuck branch has confirmed that recent events have had a knock-on effect for local customers. As disclosed in a statement to MobileSyrup, Nintendo of Canada explained: "pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in Canada will not start on April 9, 2025 in order to align with the timing of pre-orders to be determined in the U.S....Nintendo will provide updated information at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged." MobileSyrup's report was updated yesterday evening; with links to social media bulletins posted by the regional arms of Walmart and GameStop. Both retail outlets repeated Nintendo of Canada's disappointing message.

Following last week's jam-packed Switch 2 presentation, Nintendo staffers engaged in conversation with media outlets. To the surprise of many, a high level member of the incoming console's design team was quite comfortable with his name-dropping of NVIDIA graphics technologies. Meanwhile, Team Green was tasked with the disclosing of Switch 2's "internal" workings. Attention has turned to the much anticipated-hybrid console's bundled-in detachable Joy-Cons—in the lead up to official unveilings, online debates swirled around potential next-gen controllers being upgraded with Hall Effect joystick modules. Many owners of first-gen Switch systems have expressed frustration regarding faulty Joy-Cons—eventually, Nintendo was coerced into offering free repairs for customers affected by dreaded "stick drift" issues. Unfortunately, it seems that the House of Mario has not opted to outfit its Gen 2.0 Joy-Cons with popular "anti-drift" tech.

As reported by Nintendo Life, Nate Bihldorff—senior vice president of product development and publishing at Nintendo of America—"outright confirmed the exclusion" of Hall Effect. Up until the publication of Nintendo Life's sit down interview, other company representatives have opined that Switch 2's default control system features very "durable feeling" sticks. When asked about the reason behind "new-gen modules (feeling) so different to the original Switch's analog stick," Bihldorff responded with: "well, the Joy-Con 2's controllers have been designed from the ground up. They're not Hall Effect sticks, but they feel really good. Did you experience both the Joy-Con and the Pro Controller?" The interviewer confirmed that they had prior experience with both new models. In response, Bihldorff continued: "so, I like both, but that Pro Controller, for some reason the first time I grabbed it, I was like, 'this feels like a GameCube controller.' I was a GameCube guy. Something about it felt so familiar, but the stick on that especially. I tried to spend a lot of time making sure that it was quiet. I don't know if you tried really whacking the stick around, but it really is (quiet)...(The Switch 2 Pro Controller) is one of the quietest controllers I've ever played." Nintendo will likely not discuss the "ins and outs" of its proprietary stick design, but inevitable independent teardowns of commercial hardware could verify the provenance of underlying mechanisms. Nowadays, hardcore game controller snobs prefer third-party solutions that sport Tunneling Magnetoresistance (TMR) joysticks.