Japan's Nintendo fans test Switch 2 ahead of launch amid tariff worries
CHIBA, Japan - Nintendo fans were given a chance to try out the company's new Switch 2 gaming device at an event near Tokyo on April 26, ahead of a release that some worry could be overshadowed by tariffs driving up prices.
'Since Mr Trump became president, tariffs have gone up, so I am concerned about a price hike not just for the game console but for accessories too,' said Mr Hidenori Tanaka, 55, a real estate company employee, who attended the event.
Consumers around the world could face higher prices for electronic devices as tariffs imposed by United States President Donald Trump's administration on trading partners, including China, raise costs for companies operating global supply chains.
While Mr Trump has rolled back some tariffs, the threat of a damaging trade war still looms.
Gamers at the pre-launch event began lining up outside the Makuhari Messe convention centre near Tokyo from mid-morning to play Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bonanza, and other titles on the Switch 2.
An attendee plays Mario Kart World by Nintendo Switch 2 during the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience at the ExCeL London international exhibition and convention centre in London on April 11.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Despite the possibility of higher prices, there are early indicators of robust consumer demand for the successor to the Switch, which has sold more than 150 million units since 2017 and transformed Nintendo's fortunes.
The Kyoto-based gaming company said on April 23 it had received 2.2 million applications in the lottery for Switch 2 in Japan and could not fulfil all the demand.
'Honestly, I didn't think I had a shot. Everyone on social media was saying they missed out, so I figured I would too,' said Mr Hyuma Hashiguchi, 28, who won the lottery to be among the first to buy the Switch 2.
Nintendo is holding hands-on events around the world including in New York, Berlin and Hong Kong.
The Switch 2 will sell for 49,980 yen (S$460) for a Japanese-language-only version. In the US, Nintendo initially paused pre-orders due to tariff concerns but later said it would maintain pricing at US$449.99 (S$590). REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
14 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Lebanon's Aoun tells top Iranian official: only state holds arms, no outside interference
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani meets with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, in this handout image released on August 13, 2025. Lebanese Presidency Press Office/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo BEIRUT - No group in Lebanon is permitted to bear arms or rely on foreign backing, President Joseph Aoun told a senior Iranian official on Wednesday, days after the cabinet approved the objectives of a U.S.-backed roadmap to disarm the Iran-aligned Hezbollah group. During a meeting in Beirut with Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's top security body, Aoun warned against foreign interference in Lebanon's internal affairs, saying the country was open to cooperation with Iran but only within the bounds of national sovereignty and mutual respect. "The friendship we seek with Iran must be with all Lebanese, not through one sect or component alone," Aoun said, according to a statement from his office. He added that recent language used by some Iranian officials had not been helpful, and reaffirmed that the Lebanese state and its armed forces were solely responsible for safeguarding all citizens. REUTERS
Straits Times
41 minutes ago
- Straits Times
123 killed as Israel pounds Gaza City and ceasefire talks grind on
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Smoke rises after an Israeli air strike in north Gaza, as seen from Israel's border with Gaza, Israel August 12, 2025. REUTERS/Ammar Awad JERUSALEM – Israel's military pounded Gaza City on June 13 prior to a planned takeover, with 123 more people killed in the last day, as the Palestinian militant group Hamas held further talks with Egyptian mediators. The 24-hour death toll was the worst in a week and added to the massive fatalities from the nearly two-year war that has shattered the enclave housing more than 2 million Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated an idea – also enthusiastically floated by US President Donald Trump – that Palestinians should simply leave. 'They're not being pushed out. They'll be allowed to exit,' he told Israeli television channel i24NEWS. 'All those who are concerned for the Palestinians and say they want to help the Palestinians should open their gates and stop lecturing us.' Arabs and many world leaders are aghast at the idea of displacing the Gaza population, which Palestinians say would be like another 'Nakba' (catastrophe) when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced out during a 1948 war. Israel's planned re-seizure of Gaza City, which it took in the early days of the war before withdrawing, is probably weeks away, officials say. That means a ceasefire is still possible, though talks have been floundering and conflict still rages. Israeli planes and tanks bombed eastern areas of Gaza City heavily, residents said, with many homes destroyed in the Zeitoun and Shejaia neighbourhoods overnight. Al-Ahli hospital said 12 people were killed in an airstrike on a home in Zeitoun. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore NEL, SPLRT disruption: Electricity surge shut down backup power switchboard, says LTA Singapore At least 1 dead after fire in Jalan Bukit Merah flat, about 60 evacuated Singapore HSA seeks Kpod investigators to arrest abusers, conduct anti-trafficking ops Opinion The 30s are heavy: Understanding suicide among Singapore's young adults Singapore Lawyer who sent misleading letters to 22 doctors fails in bid to quash $18,000 penalty Singapore Jail, caning for recalcitrant drug offender who assaulted 2 cops with stun device Singapore 4 taken to hospital after accident near Sports Hub, including 2 rescued with hydraulic tools Singapore SG60: Many hands behind Singapore's success story Tanks also destroyed several houses in the east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza too, while in the centre Israeli gunfire killed nine aid-seekers in two separate incidents, Palestinian medics said. Eight more people, including three children, have died of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza in the past 24 hours, the territory's Health Ministry said. That took the total to 235, including 106 children, since the war began. Hamas chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya's meetings with Egyptian officials in Cairo on Aug 13 were to focus on stopping the war, delivering aid and 'ending the suffering of our people in Gaza', Hamas official Taher al-Nono said in a statement. Ceasefire possibilities Egyptian security sources said the talks would also discuss the possibility of a comprehensive ceasefire that would see Hamas relinquish governance in Gaza and concede its weapons. A Hamas official told Reuters the group was open to all ideas if Israel ends the war and pulls out. However, 'laying down arms before the occupation is dismissed is impossible', the official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. Mr Netanyahu's plan to expand military control over Gaza, which Israeli sources said could be launched in October, has heightened global outcry over the widespread devastation, displacement and hunger in the enclave. About half of Gaza's residents live in the Gaza City area. Foreign ministers of 24 countries, including Britain, Canada, Australia, France and Japan, said this week the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached 'unimaginable levels' and urged Israel to allow unrestricted aid. Israel denies responsibility for hunger, accusing Hamas of stealing aid. It says it has taken steps to increase deliveries, including daily combat pauses in some areas and protected routes for aid convoys. The Israeli military on Aug 13 said nearly 320 trucks entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings, and that a further nearly 320 trucks were collected and distributed by the UN and international organisations in the past 24 hours along with three tankers of fuel and 97 pallets of air-dropped aid. The United Nations and Palestinians say aid entering Gaza remains far from sufficient. The war began on Oct 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza since then has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. REUTERS
Straits Times
44 minutes ago
- Straits Times
France, Germany, UK willing to reinstate sanctions on Iran
France's President Emmanuel Macron and Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer meet with Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz (not pictured) on the sidelines of the two-day NATO's Heads of State and Government summit, in The Hague, Netherlands June 24, 2025. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo PARIS - France, Germany and Britain have written to the United Nations to say they are ready to reinstate sanctions on Iran if it does not return to negotiations with the international community over its nuclear programme. The foreign ministers of the so-called E3 group wrote to the U.N. on Tuesday to raise the possibility of "snapback" sanctions unless Iran takes action, according to a letter shared by the French foreign ministry. The letter was first reported by the Financial Times and France's Le Monde newspaper. "We have made it clear that if Iran is not willing to reach a diplomatic solution before the end of August 2025, or does not seize the opportunity of an extension, E3 are prepared to trigger the snapback mechanism," the ministers said in the letter. They added that they had offered Iran a limited expansion to allow for direct negotiations between the United States and Iran, but that the offer had remained unanswered by Iran so far. The three European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to a 2015 nuclear deal reached with Iran - from which the United States withdrew in 2018 - that lifted sanctions on the Middle Eastern country in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme. The E3's warning comes after "serious, frank and detailed" talks with Iran in Istanbul last month, the first face-to-face meeting since Israeli and U.S. strikes on the country's nuclear sites in June. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore NEL, SPLRT disruption: Electricity surge shut down backup power switchboard, says LTA Singapore HSA seeks Kpod investigators to arrest abusers, conduct anti-trafficking ops Opinion The 30s are heavy: Understanding suicide among Singapore's young adults Singapore Jail for man who scammed at least 5 people over illegal cross-border taxi services Singapore Lawyer who sent misleading letters to 22 doctors fails in bid to quash $18,000 penalty Singapore 4 taken to hospital after accident near Sports Hub, including 2 rescued with hydraulic tools Asia Malaysia's anti-graft agency busts arms smuggling ring masterminded by senior military officers Singapore SG60: Many hands behind Singapore's success story Iranian lawmaker Manouchehr Mottaki, who served as foreign minister from 2005 to 2010, said Iran's parliament "has its finger on the trigger to withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)" if international sanctions were reimposed after any E3 invocation of the snapback mechanism. Mottaki told Iran's semi-official Defa Press that parliament would approve a bill to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal within 24 hours if the E3 invoked the snapback mechanism. During its 12-day war with Israel in June, Tehran said its lawmakers were preparing a bill that could push it towards exiting the treaty, ratified by Tehran in 1970. The treaty guarantees countries the right to pursue civilian nuclear power in return for requiring them to forego atomic weapons and cooperate with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the IAEA. REUTERS
