Fan backlash to Nintendo’s over-the-top Switch 2 gaming pricing has been immediate and extensive, and some retailers have already begun to ignore the suggested MSRP of games. Jon Cartwright reports on Bluesky that certain EU retailers are pricing games at 60 Euros instead of the recommended 80 Euros, listing both Donkey Kong Bonanza and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Switch 2 Edition as examples.
It’s easy to forget that MSRP stands for “manufacturer suggested retail price” and isn’t a guideline that has to be followed under all circumstances. It’s rare that retailers vary from this structure except during sales events. After fans spammed the phrase “drop the price” in a live Nintendo stream, however, someone clearly decided the starting price was just too high.
It’s unknown whether or not retailers in the United States and the rest of the world might follow suit. Other reports say that retailers in countries like Spain and Italy are sticking to Nintendo’s suggested pricing, but there’s a chance public sentiment could influence local retailers or even Nintendo itself.
The recently announced titles are less expensive when purchased digitally versus physically. While that offers some money-saving benefits, it also makes it harder for fans who prefer physical titles to afford the same product. However, this could be a non issue, as recent reports indicate certain Switch 2 physical game carts are empty — even after inserting the cart, the game must still be downloaded from the cloud.
Physical media feels like it’s dying a slow, prolonged death, and this recent development only adds to that sense. However, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. If your physical games are stolen, they’re lost — but if the physical cart contained only a code to unlock the game, then you will still have access to the content through your Nintendo account.
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.