Technologies
Switch 2 US Preorders Starting April 24, Price Staying at $450, Nintendo Confirms
Accessories, however, will see a little increase in price.

Two weeks after Nintendo delayed Switch 2 preorders in the US due to new tariffs instituted by President Donald Trump, the company confirmed the price and when gamers in the US can preorder the next Switch. There are, however, some items that will go up in price.
The Switch 2 will continue to start at $450, Nintendo posted on Friday on its site. Also staying the same price is the Switch 2 Mario Kart World Bundle for $500. US gamers will also be able to preorder their Switch 2 starting April 24.
Game pricing will remain the same, with Mario Kart World still at the $80 price, while Donkey Kong Bananza, which releases July 17, will be priced at $70. What will change is the price of accessories, with some increasing by $5. This includes:
- Switch 2 Pro Controller (originally $80, now $85)
- Joy-Con 2 Pair (originally $90, now $95)
- Joy-Con 2 Charging Grip (originally $35, now $40)
- Joy-Con 2 Wheel Set (originally $20, now $25)
- Nintendo Switch 2 Camera (originally $50, now $55)
- Joy-Con 2 Strap (originally $13, now $14)
- Nintendo Switch 2 Dock Set (originally $110, now $120)
- Switch 2 Carrying Case & Screen Protector (originally $35, now $40)
- Switch 2 All-in-One Carrying Case (originally $80, now $85)
- Switch 2 AC Adapter (originally $30, now $35)
Of the accessories listed, the most sought after are the Switch 2 Pro Controller and Switch 2 Camera. The Pro Controller isn’t required to play the console on the TV, but its design is more akin to the PS5 DualSense controller and Microsoft’s Xbox controller. As for the Switch 2 Camera, it will be used primarily for the console’s GameChat function. The camera will allow players to communicate with each other by video, which is a first for Nintendo.
Nintendo had a bit of a rough time winning over gamers when it revealed the Switch 2 on April 2. The Switch successor does have a big jump in power, with some analysts suggesting its graphical power is between a PS4 Pro and a PS5, but there were other concerns.
Most notable was the price of Mario Kart World. At $80, the popular kart racing game would be the highest-priced game without any extras or downloadable content. New games across all platforms cost $70. Nintendo has yet to explain why Mario Kart World warranted the higher price, but analysts suggest it could be due to the increase in costs of the storage used in Switch 2 cartridges.
To help save publishers money, Nintendo instituted what it calls Game-key cards. These cartridges will use a minimal amount of storage and will allow owners to download the entire game straight to their Switch 2. This means when someone buys a physical cartridge, there is a good chance that the entire game won’t be on that cartridge.
Another issue related to price is having to pay for a Switch 2 version of an already owned Switch game. While this did happen with previous generation PlayStation and Xbox consoles, some Switch 2 upgrades for Nintendo games will cost $10, others will cost $20, and there will be a few that are free. This lack of uniformity with pricing and the non-specifics about how much improvement there will be on the Switch 2 versions is leaving some gamers less than happy.
Tariffs and the Nintendo Switch 2 price
Many wondered if Nintendo had bumped up the Switch 2 prices in anticipation of Trump’s promised tariffs, which remains unclear, but so far the company hasn’t raised them in response to those tariffs going into effect — the ones that have remained, anyway.
Nintendo announced the Switch 2 on April 2, the same day Trump announced his new round of tariffs. After a week of confusion, many of those tariffs were rolled back and certain product categories granted exclusions, but unease remains for consumers looking to buy TVs, gadgets and cars.
Read more: Buy or Wait Guide: How Tariffs Will Change Tech Prices and What to Do Now, According to Experts
What the tariffs have done is interrupt the preorder schedule Nintendo originally set up. While third-party retailers like Best Buy said that pre-orders would begin on April 9, Nintendo soon delayed them in the US and explicitly cited the tariffs and economic conditions as the cause. The Switch 2 pre-order date in other countries did not change until Canada’s was also delayed, as Mobile Syrup reported. So far, the console’s launch date still remains on June 5.
While Nintendo hasn’t raised the price of the Switch 2 console yet due to tariffs, Sony announced that the PS5’s cheapest digital-only version would get a 25% price hike in Europe, Australia and New Zealand (the more expensive PS5 with disc drive’s prices would remain unchanged).
Much has changed since the original Nintendo Switch launched in 2017, from Nintendo’s strategy to the world of gaming. With its successor, Nintendo stuck to the console format’s strengths and didn’t experiment with new control methods. Instead, the Switch 2 developers focused on increasing its processing speed to help it become a dedicated game platform «with a strong and solid foundation» to let game developers create what they want, as Takuhiro Dohta, Nintendo senior director of entertainment planning and development, said in an official developer interview.
«Since Switch launched, I think there’s been a shift in how software developers create games. Rather than leveraging hardware features to create something unique, developers can now choose which software technologies they want to incorporate to make their games stand out,» said Dohta.
Technologies
Facebook Brings Back Local Job Listings: How to Apply
One of Facebook’s most practical features from 2022 is being revived by Meta.
On the hunt for work? A Local Jobs search is being rolled out by Meta to make it easier for people in the US to discover and apply for nearby work directly on Facebook. The feature is inside Facebook Marketplace, Groups and Pages, Meta said last week, letting employers post openings and job seekers filter roles by distance, category or employment type.
You can apply or message employers directly through Facebook Messenger, while employers can publish job listings with just a few taps — similar to how you would post items for sale on Marketplace.
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Facebook offered a Jobs feature before discontinuing it in 2022, pushing business hiring toward its other platforms. Its return suggests Meta is attempting to expand Facebook’s usefulness beyond social networking and to position it once again as a hub for community-driven opportunities.
Read more: Meta’s All In on AI Creating the Ads You See on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp
«We’ve always been about connecting with people, whether through shared interests or key life events,» the press release states. «Now, if you’re looking for entry-level, trade and service industry employment in your community, Facebook can help you connect with local people and small businesses who are hiring.»
Read more: What Is Meta AI? Everything to Know About These AI Tools
How to get started with Local Jobs on Facebook
According to Meta, Local Jobs will appear as a dedicated section in Facebook Marketplace starting this week. If you’re 18 or older, you can:
- Tap the Marketplace tab on the Facebook app or website.
- Select Jobs to browse available positions nearby.
- Use filters for job type, category and distance.
- Tap Apply or message the employer directly via Messenger.
Businesses and page admins can post jobs by creating a new listing in Marketplace or from their Facebook Page. Listings can include job details, pay range, and scheduling information and will appear in local searches automatically.
The Local Jobs feature is rolling out across the US now, with Meta saying it plans to expand it in the months ahead.
Technologies
Tesla Has a New Range of Affordable Electric Cars: How Much They Cost
The new, stripped-back versions of the Model Y and Model 3 have a more affordable starting price.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 22 #598
Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 22, No. 598.
Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one — I definitely have at least two of these in my house. Some of the answers are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.
I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.
If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.
Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far
Hint for today’s Strands puzzle
Today’s Strands theme is: Catch all.
If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: A mess of items.
Clue words to unlock in-game hints
Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:
- BATE, LICE, SLUM, CAPE, HOLE, CARE, BARE, THEN, SLAM, SAMBA, BACK
Answers for today’s Strands puzzle
These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:
- TAPE, COIN, PENCIL, BATTERY, SHOELACE, THUMBTACK
Today’s Strands spangram
Today’s Strands spangram is JUNKDRAWER. To find it, look for the J that’s five letters down on the far-left row, and wind down, over and then up.
Quick tips for Strands
#1: To get more clue words, see if you can tweak the words you’ve already found, by adding an «S» or other variants. And if you find a word like WILL, see if other letters are close enough to help you make SILL, or BILL.
#2: Once you get one theme word, look at the puzzle to see if you can spot other related words.
#3: If you’ve been given the letters for a theme word, but can’t figure it out, guess three more clue words, and the puzzle will light up each letter in order, revealing the word.
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