logo
Nintendo delays Switch 2 pre-orders in US due to Trump tariffs

Nintendo delays Switch 2 pre-orders in US due to Trump tariffs

Express Tribune04-04-2025

Switch 2 comes equipped with 256 GB of internal storage—eight times the capacity of the original Switch—along with the ability to add more storage via microSD Express cards. PHOTO: YAHOO NEWS
Listen to article
American fans of Nintendo's upcoming Switch 2 console will have to wait longer to secure their orders, as the Japanese gaming giant has postponed pre-orders in the United States due to concerns over newly introduced tariffs.
Nintendo confirmed on Friday that US pre-orders, which were scheduled to open on 9 April, will be delayed while the company evaluates 'the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions.'
'Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the US will not start April 9, 2025 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs,' the company said in a statement. 'Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of 5 June 2025 remains unchanged.'
The delay comes just days after President Donald Trump announced a fresh wave of tariffs on foreign goods, with a particular focus on imports from Asia – a critical hub for global tech manufacturing, including Nintendo's supply chain.
The Nintendo Switch, which debuted in 2017, is currently the world's third-bestselling console. Its successor, the Switch 2, aims to push the boundaries of hybrid gaming with its redesigned Joy-Con 2 controllers that double as precision mice for compatible games.
The Switch 2 is priced at $449.99 in the US and promises a new era of portable and home gaming with upgraded hardware and an extensive lineup of upcoming titles.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Google rejects app store age verification for online content
Google rejects app store age verification for online content

Business Recorder

time27 minutes ago

  • Business Recorder

Google rejects app store age verification for online content

PARIS: American tech heavyweight Google on Friday reiterated its opposition to verifying the age of a device's user through the app stores built into operating systems, calling a proposal from Facebook and Instagram parent Meta 'ineffective'. Limiting access to age-restricted content online is a live issue in Europe, with France battling pornography sites over its newly-introduced requirement that they check users' ages. Paris is also one of several capitals pressing Brussels to introduce Europe-wide regulations cutting off access to social networks for under-15s over concerns including addiction, cyberbullying and hate speech. Basing age verification on details from a device's app store 'would require the sharing of granular age band data with millions of developers… who don't need it', such as producers of uncontroversial apps like flashlights, Google wrote in a blog post. 'We have strong concerns about the risks this 'solution' would pose to children,' it added. The search giant's Play Store is a part of the Android operating system, by far the most widely-used around the globe. Google said that using app store data to verify ages would also leave major ways people access content online unprotected for the underage, such as desktop computers or shared family devices. Google says to buy cybersecurity company Wiz for $32bn Apple – whose own App Store is loaded on every device running its iOS operating system, such as iPhones and iPads – has also pushed back against Meta's proposal. 'The right place to address the dangers of age-restricted content online is the limited set of websites and apps that host that content,' the iPhone maker said in a February document. 'Implementing age verification at the operating system or app store level will help ensure that we create an ecosystem that's safe for teens,' the Facebook owner's safety chief Antigone Davis told Euronews in February. Meta has sinced launched a campaign for European regulation to require the measure. Europe's Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into force last year, says it is up to platforms like Meta's to verify the age of their users – not providers of operating systems or app stores. Google said that changing to the latter system – which has also been pushed by Pornhub parent company Aylo – would mean 'reengineering the protocols that have defined the decentralized web in ways that are hard to fully predict'.

Rubber rises as oil jumps after Israel launches strikes on Iran
Rubber rises as oil jumps after Israel launches strikes on Iran

Business Recorder

timean hour ago

  • Business Recorder

Rubber rises as oil jumps after Israel launches strikes on Iran

BEIJING: Japanese rubber futures rose on Friday, as Israel's strikes on Iran sent oil prices soaring and Asian markets lower. The Osaka Exchange (OSE) rubber contract for November delivery was up 0.45% at 292.2 yen per kg. The rubber contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for September delivery rose 0.33% to 13,815 yuan per metric ton. The most active July butadiene rubber contract on the SHFE climbed 0.94% to 11,315 yuan per metric ton. The price of Thailand's benchmark export-grade smoked rubber sheet (RSS3) and block rubber was down 0.22% and 0.63% at 76.88 baht and 61.8 baht, respectively. Japan's Nikkei average futures dipped 1.3% in early trade. Oil prices jumped nearly 9% on Friday to near multi-month highs after Israel launched strikes against Iran, sparking Iranian retaliation and raising worries about a disruption in Middle East oil supplies. Japanese rubber futures extend gains Natural rubber often takes direction from oil prices as it competes for market share with synthetic rubber, which is made from crude oil. Rubber crops usually undergo a season of low production from February to May, before a peak harvesting period that lasts until September. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange's SICOM platform for July delivery was at 161.6 U.S. cents per kg, up 1%.

Oil jumps nearly 9% after Israel's strikes on Iran
Oil jumps nearly 9% after Israel's strikes on Iran

Business Recorder

time2 hours ago

  • Business Recorder

Oil jumps nearly 9% after Israel's strikes on Iran

Oil prices jumped nearly 9% on Friday to near multi-month highs after Israel launched strikes against Iran, sparking Iranian retaliation and raising worries about a disruption in Middle East oil supplies. Brent crude futures were up $6.19, or around 8.9%, to $75.55 a barrel at 1019 GMT, after hitting an intraday high of $78.50, the highest since January 27. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up $6.22, or 9.1%, at $74.26 after hitting $77.62, its highest level since January 21. Friday's gains were the largest intraday moves for both contracts since 2022, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine caused a spike in energy prices. said it had targeted Iran's nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders on Friday at the start of what it warned would be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon, while Iran has promised a harsh response. US President Donald Trump urged Iran to make a deal over its nuclear programme, to put an end to the 'next already planned attacks.' The National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company said oil refining and storage facilities had not been damaged and continued to operate. The primary concern was whether the latest developments would affect the Strait of Hormuz, said SEB analyst Ole Hvalbye. The key waterway had been at risk of impact from increased regional volatility previously but had not been affected so far, Hvalbye said. There also was no impact to oil flow in the region so far, he added. About a fifth of the world's total oil consumption passes through the strait, or some 18 to 19 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil, condensate and fuel. Analysts at consultancy Sparta Commodities said that any significant crude supply disruptions would lead to sour crude grades being marginally priced out of refineries in favour of light sweets. Under a worst case scenario, JPMorgan analysts said on Thursday that closing the strait or a retaliatory response from major oil producing countries in the region could lead to oil prices surging to $120-130 a barrel, nearly double their current base case forecast. 'The key question now is whether this oil rally will last longer than the weekend or a week - our signal is that there is a lower probability of a full-blown war, and the oil price rally will likely encounter resistance,' said Janiv Shah, analyst at Rystad. Oil prices drop as traders gauge ME tensions 'Fundamentals show nearly all Iranian exports going to China, so Chinese discounted purchases would be most at risk here. OPEC+ spare capacity can provide the stabilizing force,' he added. In other markets, stocks dived and there was a rush to safe havens such as gold and the Swiss franc. An increase in oil prices would also dampen the outlook for the German economy, the economic institute DIW Berlin said on Friday. It is the only G7 nation that has recorded no economic growth for two consecutive years. 'The increased uncertainty speaks in favour of a higher risk premium on the oil price, which is why it is unlikely to fall below $70 on a sustained basis for the time being … Fundamental data is taking a back seat in the current situation,' analysts at Commerzbank said in a note.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store