Entertainment

It turns out you can use your iPhone (and likely Android phone) as a webcam for the Switch 2 if you connect them via a USB-C to HDMI cable and HDMI converter cable — total cost about $30. No need to buy a dedicated webcam for the console, which are typically worse than the cameras on modern phones anyway.

That’s exactly a year after its initial release in 2024 on PS5 and PC. I haven’t played the game myself, but my colleague Ash Parrish did last year.

Nintendo made the original Switch’s game cards taste terrible, coating them in a bitter chemical called denatonium benzoate. So we had to know... do Nintendo Switch 2 cartridges taste better? Time for a taste test! And while we’re at it, why not add a button battery coated in the same stuff, a Nintendo DS cartridge, and a 3DS cartridge too? Don’t try this at home, kids.

Have a look: we tested load times on three Nintendo Switch games on the Switch 2, and they’re noticeably faster. So is the eShop.

We aren’t having great luck, and Reddit’s seeing mixed results too. Though Nintendo assured the public that “you can use... any compatible USB-C camera you’d like,” our USB-C toting Logitech Brio 4K, Opal Tadpole and DJI OP3 aren’t working, even while a nine-year-old Logitech C922 with USB-A does when docked.

Pokémon Home has become the centerpiece of Nintendo’s larger Pokémon ecosystem, and the company announced this week that the cloud storage service is getting a new feature called Wonder Cards that will make it easier to receive event pokémon and special item giveaways.

Nintendo has acknowledged an issue with Ultimate when a match is played online between people on Switch and Switch 2 and one of them is Mii Fighter, IGN reports. An update is in the works.

Staples (the retailer) is selling the Switch 2 today, but some people getting the console at Gamestop say they had staples (the office equipment) on the front of their console boxes that damaged the screens on their Switch 2s. IGN covered some of the reports.

The tower defense game is headed to Apple Arcade on July 3rd, along with the spinoff Angry Birds Bounce, which swaps the classic slingshot gameplay for arcade-style brick-breaking.

A Reddit user opened up one of Nintendo’s reissued GameCube controllers for Switch Online members and discovered the D-pad internals are redesigned. They note the original controller’s D-pad sat further from the board, requiring a shaft to accommodate the gap. The new model’s main board is closer to the surface, which they claim improves accuracy.

I drove by Best Buy last night, saw the line, and bailed. But this morning, the Target two doors down just had a bunch of them in stock! I got the second-to-last Mario Kart World bundle, but there was a shelf full of consoles left, and the staff said it hadn’t even been overly busy this morning. Anyone else having a shockingly easy time getting a Switch 2, or am I just having a good day?

Nintendo Japan’s support site has shared how much it’s going to cost to fix the Switch 2 and, not surprisingly, repairs and replacement parts are more expensive. Replacing the Switch 2’s mainboard costs 27,500 yen (~$192) compared to 14,300 yen (~$100) for the original Switch.

As most Switch 2 owners eagerly dive into Mario Kart World, some are instead dissecting their consoles to reveal its secrets. Following the first teardown yesterday, someone on Reddit has disassembled the new Joy-Cons, as spotted by Nintendo Life.

Happy Switch 2 launch day to all who celebrate. If you’re in the UK the console is surprisingly easy to purchase, and is available at a number of retailers today. Smyths has plenty of stock both for delivery and collection at local stores, as does Argos. Even Amazon UK will ship the Switch 2 and Mario Kart World bundle to you for delivery by 10PM today.

I got in line shortly after 9pm, and finished shortly after 11. The very last customers in line are about to check out now. Unfortunately, I couldn’t tack on a camera or gamepad to my order: Best Buy had plenty of the former, but its system wouldn’t let them sell any cams until tomorrow... and the latter sold out.

Employees have been nothing but friendly and gracious, but it’s a little odd to see many preorder customers could have gotten home 30-45 minutes ago if they’d gotten in the other line by 9pm. Only preorders are still waiting.

My small-town Best Buy line is now just 300 people long, down from 400 an hour ago, as buyers trickle out with the Switch 2. Employees are dressed up in Charizard and Yoshi costumes.

We’re covering this launch live... and it looks like I’ll be here a while, even though I live in a city with (checks notes) a population of just over 65,000 people!

If you’re not in the first wave of buyers but are willing to spend the $449.99 or more to get a Switch 2 soon, it could be tricky. Bloomberg asked retail execs, with a Best Buy senior VP saying it could be days or weeks before Nintendo sends more systems, assuming they sell out of their current stock tonight as expected, while GameStop reportedly expects to restock weekly.

They are at my local Best Buy, which has a whole wall full of the console behind the Order Pickup desk. (Check out my photos below.) But there’s no line at my local Walmart or Target, and I was surprised to find my local GameStop is gone entirely. Guess that store location closed for good when I wasn’t looking.

The SF Bay Area used to have lots of PC stores. Most got wiped out! But Micro Center has returned to Santa Clara, CA, and it’s a joy to browse. (Yes, the store reportedly sold dozens of GPUs that turned out to be backpacks; the company hasn’t yet answered my questions.)

I can’t get enough Astro Bot which is a very good thing because PlayStation keeps giving him to us. During today’s summer State of Play, the good folks at Team Asobi announced they are releasing a new slate of Astro Bot levels.

Here’s the equation for a new fighting game. (Marvel vs. Capcom - Capcom) + Arc Systems Works = Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls. The developers of the Guilty Gear series have teamed up with Marvel to make a 4v4 tag team fighting game that harkens to the good ol’ days of Marvel vs. Capcom.

We already knew that Ghost of Yōtei — the sequel to Ghost of Tsushima — was launching on October 2nd. And ahead of that debut, we got one more trailer showing off its samurai world. Meanwhile, a deeper look at the gameplay is coming in July.

This minigame / explainer for the Switch 2’s features costs $9.99, but Nintendo’s video shows off a lot of the experience without costing anything extra, which could be good after the $449.99-plus charge hits buyers’ accounts.

As part of PlayStation’s Summer State of Play presentation, Digital Eclipse have a new documentary game project to share. The Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is the most komprehensive kollection of Mortal Kombat games to date. Play the klassic titles including MK 1, 2, and 3, their arcade, console, and even handheld editions. And because it’s Digital Eclipse, expect a ton of behind the scenes archival footage from the game’s earliest days in development.

The Thief series is coming to VR with a new game called Legacy of Shadow. It looks to be exactly what it sounds like: an attempt to bring the stealth gameplay into a new level of immersion. It’s launching later this year on PSVR 2