The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom upgrade packs are expected to be $10 each, according to an IGN interview with a top Nintendo executive. $20 for both is a pleasant surprise given gamer’s concerns over the rest of the current Nintendo Switch 2 pricing structure.
IGN interviewed Bill Trinen, Nintendo of America’s Vice President of Product and Player Experience, to get his insights into the Nintendo Switch 2 announcement and some more details on what to expect. In the interview, Trinen revealed the pricing of several games (including the Switch 2 Welcome Tour: $9.99, digital only.)
He also gave details on how the pricing was determined. “What I would say is that we just look at each individual game and we look at the content and the value of that game, and then we say, ‘what is the right price for the value of this entertainment?'” Trinen said. “For somebody who has bought Tears of the Kingdom or Breath of the Wild, the upgrade packs for those are $9.99. And if you happen to be a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack member, both of the Zelda upgrade packs are inclusive within that membership. So there’s no additional charge for those. But I think overall, our general approach is really just focus on what’s the content, what’s the value, and what’s an appropriate price based on that.”
The inclusion of the upgrade packs in the Nintendo Switch Online membership raises the value proposition for the service, especially if you’re a die-hard Legend of Zelda fan. However, the base price for both games has gone up. If you don’t already own Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom, the Nintendo Switch 2 editions are $70 and $80, respectively.
The price is determined by the original cost of the game plus the upgrade pack price. If you’ve been interested in playing these two classic Switch titles but haven’t taken the plunge yet — and you’re a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscriber — now’s the time. You’ll be able to save $10 per title if you already own it, but there doesn’t seem to be any discount for NSO subscribers if you’re buying the games new.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.