Nintendo is ramping up production on the Nintendo Switch amid widespread shortages of the in-demand console, according to a report published in the Nikkei Asian Review.
“The Kyoto-based game developer says it expects to produce about 10% more units of the Switch series in 2020, up from around 20 million last year, according to parts suppliers informed of the plans,” the report said. “The company does not make the device itself, but has asked multiple suppliers and contract assemblers to prepare for additional production in the April-June quarter.”
That’s welcome news for people who’ve been wanting to buy a Switch while trapped in quarantine.
As we reported back in February, the outbreak of COVID-19 (also known as coronavirus) in China was wreaking havoc on the world’s electronics production, much of which happens in China.
Since then, much of the world has gone into social isolation and the Nintendo Switch has been in short supply, leading to rampant price gouging online. Even with Switches being hard to find, Nintendo still posted a banner month in March, with its hit game Animal Crossing: New Horizons dominating the sales charts. Nintendo Switch sales also doubled from last year to become the bestselling console ever in March.
Speaking to Nikkei, Nintendo explained that the company hopes parts suppliers “will be responsive to the production increase, but for procurement of some parts, the outlook remains uncertain, and we can’t forecast exactly how many Switches can be supplied.”
Digital Trends reached out to Nintendo to confirm its plans to make more Switches. We will update this story when we hear back.
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 One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it.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.