Technologies

Price of Switch 2 Might Increase Soon Because of Tariffs

Industry analysts offered their thoughts on the console’s potential new price once tariffs hit.

It’s been more than a month since Switch 2 came out. As Nintendo’s most expensive console, at $450, it has yet to see a price jump because of President Donald Trump’s new tariffs, but that can still change.

Trump first announced his plans for tariffs on April 2, the same day that the Switch 2 was revealed. The tariffs targeted two countries important to Nintendo: Japan, where the company is based, and Vietnam, where some of its products are manufactured. He did declare soon after the announcement that the tariffs are on pause for Japan and Vietnam for 90 days. Time appears to have run out as the tariffs are set to officially start on Aug. 1.

As for how much Nintendo would need to jack up prices to compensate for the tariffs, that’s a complicated answer.

How much is the Switch 2 after tariffs?

Wedbush Securities Analyst Michael Pachter believes that after the pause happens and tariffs are applied to products made in Vietnam and sold by Japan, like the Switch 2, he expects Nintendo of Japan to ship the consoles to Nintendo of America at the bare minimum cost of the console to pay the lowest tariffs possible.

«I think it will be $75 to $100 additional on price, maybe a tad more,» Pachter said. This would put the price of Switch 2 after tariffs in the $525 to $550 range.

Piers Harding-Rolls, Ampere Analysis research director, gave a similar price range in his opinion about the Switch 2.

«This is a pretty fluid situation, after all. Nintendo will not want to change the price but I think everything is on the table now and an increase of at least $50 to $100 for the base console is realistic to offset some of the additional costs,» Harding-Rolls said. «Alternatively, Nintendo might conclude that the US market is too important to the company and that it will swallow the additional cost and make up the margin on digital games sales instead.»

DFC Intelligence CEO David Cole has a similar take on the price. He told Forbes in April that he expects the price to increase but not that much, as he believes the starting price of $450 already has baked into it a percentage to cover possible tariffs.

«It is not likely Nintendo will raise the price, and if they do, we don’t expect it to be 20%,» Cole told Forbes. A 20% increase would put the price of the console after tariffs at about $540.

The Switch 2 is already expensive

When Nintendo revealed the Switch 2 on April 2, the stream for the show ended without revealing the price. Instead, everyone interested had to visit the site and see the starting price of $450 and the bundle with Mario Kart World for $500.

This price would make the Switch 2 the most expensive Nintendo console at launch when not factoring in inflation. Like Cole, some assumed the higher price tag included a premium for a possible tariff but that doesn’t appear to be the case, according to Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser.

«Put [the April 2 announcement] aside. Any previous tariffs were not factored into the price itself,» Bowser told The Verge after the reveal.

Read more: Rising Cost of Nintendo Switch 2 Games: Are Trump’s Tariffs to Blame?

In an interview with CBC in April, Bowser defended the $450 price tag, saying it was appropriate for the machine’s value.

«We recognize there are some people that may not be able to afford [the Switch 2’s] price point,» he told 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 the value, if you will, in whatever rung of the platform they come in.»

Nintendo cleared a major hurdle by releasing its latest console at the announced launch price, although some accessories did go up in cost. The company may still need to raise the price of the Switch 2 in the future, like Microsoft did, and what many speculate Sony will have to do soon on its PS5.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, Dec. 24

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Dec. 24.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? I’m Irish-American, but yet 6-Down, which involves Ireland, stumped me at first. Read on for all the answers.. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Wordle or Boggle
Answer: GAME

5A clue: Big Newton
Answer: ISAAC

7A clue: Specialized vocabulary
Answer: LINGO

8A clue: «See you in a bit!»
Answer: LATER

9A clue: Tone of many internet comments
Answer: SNARK

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Sharks use them to breathe
Answer: GILLS

2D clue: From Singapore or South Korea, say
Answer: ASIAN

3D clue: Large ocean ray
Answer: MANTA

4D clue: ___ beaver
Answer: EAGER

6D clue: Second-largest city in the Republic of Ireland, after Dublin
Answer: CORK

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Quadrantids Is a Short but Sweet Meteor Shower Just After New Year’s. How to See It

This meteor shower has one of the most active peaks, but it doesn’t last for very long.

The Quadrantids has the potential to be one of the most active meteor showers of the year, and skygazers won’t have long to wait to see it. The annual shower is predicted to reach maximum intensity on Jan. 3. And with a display that can rival Perseids, Quadrantids could be worth braving the cold to see it.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

The show officially begins on Dec. 28 and lasts until Jan. 12, according to the American Meteor Society. Quadrantids is scheduled to peak on Jan. 2-3, when it may produce upwards of 125 meteors per hour. This matches Perseids and other larger meteor showers on a per-hour rate, but Quadrantids also has one of the shortest peaks at just 6 hours, so it rarely produces as many meteors overall as the other big ones.

The meteor shower comes to Earth courtesy of the 2003 EH1 asteroid, which is notable because most meteor showers are fed from comets, not asteroids. Per NASA, 2003 EH1 is a near-Earth asteroid that orbits the sun once every five and a half years. Science posits that 2003 EH1 was a comet in a past life, but too many trips around the sun stripped it of its ice, leaving only its rocky core. The Earth runs through EH1’s orbital debris every January, which results in the Quadrantids meteor shower.

How and where to see Quadrantids

Quadrantids is named for the constellation where its meteors appear to originate, a point known as the radiant. This presents another oddity, as the shower originates from the constellation Quadrans Muralis. This constellation ceased to be recognized as an official constellation in the 1920s and isn’t available on most publicly accessible sky maps.

For the modern skygazer, you’ll instead need to find the Bootes and Draco constellations, both of which contain stars that were once a part of the Quadrans Muralis. Draco will be easier to find after sunset on the evening of Jan. 2, and will be just above the horizon in the northern sky. Bootes orbits around Draco, but will remain under the horizon until just after 1 a.m. local time in the northeastern sky. From that point forward, both will sit in the northeastern part of the sky until sunrise. You’ll want to point your chair in that direction and stay there to see meteors.

As the American Meteor Society notes, Quadrantids has a short but active peak, lasting around 6 hours. The peak is expected to start around 4 p.m. ET and last well into the evening. NASA predicts the meteor shower to start one day later on Jan. 3-4, so if you don’t see any on the evening of Jan. 2, try again on Jan. 3.

To get the best results, the standard space viewing tips apply. You’ll want to get as far away from the city and suburbs as possible to reduce light pollution. Since it’ll be so cold outside, dress warmly and abstain from alcoholic beverages, as they can affect your body temperature. You won’t need any binoculars or telescopes, and the reduced field of view may actually impact your ability to see meteors.

The bad news is that either way, the Quadrantids meteor shower coincides almost perfectly with January’s Wolf Moon, which also happens to be a supermoon. This will introduce quite a lot of light pollution, which will likely drown out all but the brightest meteors. So, while it may have a peak of over 100 meteors per hour, both NASA and the AMS agree that the more realistic expectation is 10 or so bright meteors per hour.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Dec. 24, #1649

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Dec. 24, No. 1,649.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle is a little tricky, with a double letter that could confuse players. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.