With Switch 2's $450 price tag, some have expressed that it's unaffordable. Well, Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser agrees, saying that those who can't afford it can still play the original Switch. Due to the recent Trump tariffs, it's also possible that Switch 2 could become more expensive in the US.

"We recognize there are some people that may not be able to afford [the Switch 2's] price point," Bowser explained in an interview with CBC. That's why we wanted to make the other Switch platforms available, so [people] still have an opportunity to come into our gaming universe, be a part of these characters in these worlds, and see value, if you will, in whatever rung of the platform they come in."

Nintendo has defended Switch 2's price point, saying that the cost of everything goes up, and also that its new features justified it. Nintendo has also previously stated that Trump's tariffs were not factored into the price itself. Preorders of Switch 2 were delayed in the US as Nintendo reconsiders tariffs and market conditions, so some have theorized that the system might actually end up becoming more expensive.

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Star Wars Revenge of the Sith: Deluxe Edition Novel

$60 | Releases October 14

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This year marks the 20th anniversary of Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, and if you're looking to celebrate, you can grab the film's novelization in a new and deluxe package. The book is currently priced at $60 ahead of its October 14 release, but it's possible this price will come down before then. As a reminder, Amazon offers a preorder price guarantee, so you'll only be charged for the book when it actually ships out. If the price does come down--which often happens with Amazon preorders--then you'll pay the lower amount. For now, think of this preorder as booking your spot in line, just in case the book sells out.

Star Wars Revenge of the Sith: Deluxe Edition Novel $60 | Releases October 14

The Star Wars Revenge of the Sith: Deluxe Edition Novel features new hardcover binding with an illustrated wrap-around cover, an acetate jacket featuring a foil-stamped silhouette of Darth Vader, and a red satin ribbon bookmark. The pages feature foiled and ink-stamped edges that create an iconic quote from the film when the book is closed. Within the book, you'll find a new introduction by author Matthew Stover, over 170 annotations with insights on how this adaptation was written, and two illustrated endpapers depicting two of the most pivotal scenes from the story.

Widely considered to be one of the best Star Wars novelizations, the literary adaptation of Revenge of the Sith improves on the feature film's story by diving into each character's internal thoughts, providing more insight into their motivations and actions. The added context makes for a holistic version of the plot and adds a Shakespearian quality to the story, mixing tragedy with a painful lesson about always having the upper hand.

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If you're curious about the other Star Wars novelizations, all eleven Star Wars feature films--including Episodes 1-9, Rogue One, and Solo--have received official book adaptations, and the Prequel Trilogy novels are particularly of note. Not only are they all considered elevated versions of their film source material, but all three are written by acclaimed sci-fi and fantasy writers. As mentioned above, Revenge of the Sith is written by Matt Stover, who has also written a long list of other official Star Wars extended universe books, while The Phantom Menage was written by Sword of Shannara creator Terry Brooks, and Attack of the Clones was written by R.A. Salvatore, best known for the Legend of Drizzt series of fantasy novels. If you want to check out all three, you can pick up the Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy Novelization for $18 at Amazon (was $25). The rest of the Star Wars novelization series is also available at Amazon.

See all Star Wars Novelizations at Amazon

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Sean Connery is often cited as the best actor to ever step into the shoes of James Bond. However, his films have never been released on 4K Blu-ray--only Daniel Craig's turn as Bond has received the 4K treatment. That's about to change, as the 007: James Bond Sean Connery 6-Film Collection (4K Blu-ray) is officially up for preorder ahead of its June 10 release date. If you're looking for a premium way to store and display the collection, a Limited Edition Steelbook Box Set is also launching the same day for $140. The collection comes with a giant steelbook box containing six steelbook cases.

Preorder Limited Edition at Amazon

Sean Connery 6-Film Limited Edition Steelbook Collection

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One research company has lowered its sales forecast for the Switch 2, due in part to "pricing" concerns surrounding the impact of tariffs. DFC Intelligence is downgraded its global Switch 2 sales forecast for 2025 from 17 million to 15 million units. Even at 15 million in 2025, the Switch 2 would be the "fastest-selling console system ever," DFC said.

The original Switch, along with the Wii and the PS4, took a year or more to reach 15 million in sales. DFC is predicting the Switch 2 will reach that mark from the June 5 launch to the end of 2025, or about 7 months.

DFC said its downgraded forecast is tied to "supply and pricing."

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Season 2 of HBO's The Last of Us premieres this weekend, with fans bracing for the worst heartache and emotional trauma. Season 1 changed bits of the narrative to sprinkle in even more disaster for Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), and it looks like Season 2 will be no different, as one of the scripts actually had Ramsey crying.

Talking to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, the actor was asked how they react to scripts that they know are going to be "juicy," as Fallon put it. Ramsey confessed that there was a moment during script reads when they broke down crying.

"I actually cried reading one of the scripts this season. I've never cried reading a piece of writing before, but I did. And, yeah, I'm excited for those scenes. Those are the ones, like, I'm thrilled about. Whenever there's something dark and intense, I'm into it," they said. They even joked that they don't cry a lot outside of work in their normal life and that's "probably unhealthy."

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While it's cuter than the official Nintendo accessory, the Piranha Plant camera for Switch 2 won't offer the same image quality. The peripheral from Hori will only offer 480p resolution, according to Nintendo UK's website. That's not even true HD.

Meanwhile, VGC points out that the Nintendo Switch 2 Camera boasts the capability for 1080p resolution on Nintendo UK's website. That could be one major reason for the cost difference, at least in the UK market. Hori's Piranha Plant camera is retailing for £34, while the Nintendo camera will cost £50. Both will be available at launch on June 5 for Switch 2.

The Piranha Plant camera for Switch 2 does have some other things going for it, however. For instance, instead of looking like a run-of-the-mill peripheral, the accessory resembles its Super Mario Bros. enemy namesake. Additionally, it can fit inside the warp pipe or not, as well as close the mouth over the camera to block it when not in use.

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After Microsoft revealed how its AI Copilot can help players beat games, the tech giant released a demo of a Quake II level that was created entirely by AI. The response among fans has ranged from disdain to anger, but the demonstration had a prominent defender: John Carmack, one of the programmers and co-creators of the original Quake.

The Game Awards' Geoff Keighley shared the demo on X, largely to negative responses. Carmack then came to the defense of the demo. He went on to argue that "AI tools will allow the best to reach even greater heights, while enabling smaller teams to accomplish more, and bring in some completely new creator demographics. Yes, we will get to a world where you can get an interactive game (or novel, or movie) out of a prompt, but there will be far better exemplars of the medium still created by dedicated teams of passionate developers. The world will be vastly wealthier in terms of the content available at any given cost."

Microsoft has created an AI-generated replica of Quake II that you can play in browser.
"Every frame is created on the fly by an AI world model."
Play it here:https://t.co/WGQymDOmsj pic.twitter.com/35MX5aHPbF

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) April 5, 2025

I think you are misunderstanding what this tech demo actually is, but I will engage with what I think your gripe is — AI tooling trivializing the skillsets of programmers, artists, and designers.
My first games involved hand assembling machine code and turning graph paper…

— John Carmack (@ID_AA_Carmack) April 7, 2025

Carmack acknowledged that AI may lead to fewer jobs for game developers before suggesting "it could go the way of farming, where labor-saving technology allow a tiny fraction of the previous workforce to satisfy everyone." He went to address anti-AI sentiment by stating that "'don't use power tools because they take people’s jobs' is not a winning strategy."

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One of the games revealed during the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct was Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, a paid game that introduces players to the new features of the system through minigames, tutorials, and quizzes. To many, it felt like it should be a free pack-in game. However, it's $10.

Nintendo's Bill Trinen told IGN that Welcome Tour is an "interesting product" from his perspective, going on to call the game "a pretty robust piece of software."

"For some people, I think there are people who are particularly interested in the tech and the specs of the system and things like that, for them I think it's going to be a great product," he said. "It's really for people that want more information about the system rather than necessarily a quick intro to everything it does."

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One day, a girl is suddenly robbed of everything. Her hometown, her father... And what she got instead was "power". The sword she grabbed to protect herself and her loved ones was a "cursed magic sword" that contained her great power. A girl who has obtained "power" that could shake the state of the nation, she has no choice but to make the battlefield a place to live. She will be placed in the supranational military school Nirvana. There is a unique school where boys and girls who are good at fighting gather and compete for their skills, regardless of nation or race. She meets various people there and deepens their bonds. And she finds her own place that she should have lost. The story of such a girl. And the story of the "talking magic sword" that was with her.