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Engadget
4 days ago
- Engadget
The best microSD cards for the Nintendo Switch 2
The Nintendo Switch 2 comes with 256GB of built-in storage, eight times more than the original Switch and four times more than the Switch OLED. But the new console's improved performance means that some games will hog a ton of that space: Cyberpunk 2077 is a 60GB download, for one, while Split Fiction checks in at 73GB. Other titles aren't nearly as big, but chances are you'll eventually want to add more room to the device. When you do, you'll need a microSD Express card. These are not the same as the standard microSD cards you may have bought for the first Switch or other gaming handhelds — they're newer, faster and significantly more expensive. But if you want more space, they're your only choice. If you're looking to grab one today, we've laid out the best microSD cards for the Switch 2 and broken down what you should know before you buy. The SanDisk microSD Express Card and Lexar Play Pro. (Jeff Dunn for Engadget) The Switch 2 is the first mainstream device to require microSD Express for storage expansion, so there aren't many options available to buy just yet. To make things easy, here's a list of every microSD Express card we've seen at retailers at the time of writing: SanDisk microSD Express Card ($56 MSRP) PNY microSD Express Card ($47 MSRP) Remember: You're looking for microSD Express , not 'Extreme,' a la the branding SanDisk uses for some of its conventional microSD cards. A microSD Express card will have a big 'EX' logo printed on it — if you see that, you should be good to go. Nintendo says the Switch 2 technically supports cards with a capacity up to 2TB, but we haven't seen any microSD Express model go beyond 1TB just yet. It's also worth noting that GameStop and Onn (Walmart's in-house electronics brand) aren't manufacturers, so it's unclear who exactly is making their cards. Currently, stock for each of these cards has been extremely spotty. SanDisk's microSD Express Card has also increased in price since it first went up for sale in February; originally, it cost $45 for 128GB and $60 for 256GB. Either way, all of these cards are far pricier than traditional microSD options. The Samsung Pro Plus, for example, costs $17 for 128GB, $25 for 256GB, $43 for 512GB and $90 for 1TB as of this writing. All microSD Express cards will have this "EX" logo printed on them. (Nintendo/Engadget) We've already tested SanDisk's Express card and the Lexar Play Pro for our broader guide to the best microSD cards. Between the two, SanDisk's card has much faster sequential read speeds — up to 899 MB/s vs. 712 MB/s in CrystalDiskMark, to name one benchmark — which theoretically makes it better equipped to reduce load times. The Play Pro is quicker for sequential writes (up to 720 MB/s vs. 650 MB/s), available in more sizes and should be cheaper at 256GB whenever it's in stock. (SanDisk says the 128GB version of its card has slower sequential writes than the 256GB model, too.) Random performance is about equal, so the two should be similarly adept at keeping large games like Mario Kart World running smoothly. We mainly tested those cards on a Windows PC and Mac, though. How they perform on the actual Switch 2 remains to be seen. We'll test as many options as we can once we have our hands on the console, but for now we can't say if it'll render all microSD Express cards to similar speeds. That was largely the case with the first Switch: Once a (regular) microSD card hit a certain threshold of performance, there wasn't that much practical difference between it and other alternatives. The Switch 2 is working with a different standard, but if something similar were to happen again, the 'best' microSD Express card would simply be the most affordable one from a reputable brand in the capacity you want. That brings us to our main piece of advice: If you can hold off on buying one of these things early on, that's probably a good idea. It's not just about the lack of testing — truthfully, we'd be surprised if any of the cards above were truly 'bad.' It comes down to value: Barring more tariff shenanigans, all of these cards are as expensive today as they're ever likely to get. The Switch 2 is already popular and will continue to be, thus more microSD Express cards will need to be made and prices will (eventually) come down. Try to use all 256 of the gigabytes baked into the Switch 2 first, even if it means having to delete a game or two. But if you're absolutely sure you want more space right away, the cards above should be good enough. A microSD Express card like the one on the right has a second row of pins on the back. (Jeff Dunn for Engadget) Most microSD cards are based on a standard called Ultra High Speed (UHS), of which there are three versions: UHS-I, UHS-II and UHS-III. The vast majority of cards you may have bought in the past utilize UHS-I. These have one row of pins in the back and a theoretical maximum data transfer speed of 104 megabytes per second (MB/s). (Though many cards are able to surpass that limit with proprietary tech and card readers.) The original Switch has a UHS-I microSD slot, as do most other gaming handhelds like Valve's Steam Deck. UHS-II cards add a second row of pins and can reach up to 312 MB/s. These are pricier and much less common than cards based on UHS-I, but they're supported by some cameras and higher-power handhelds like the ASUS ROG Ally X. UHS-III, meanwhile, is twice as fast as UHS-II in theory (624 MB/s), but no microSD cards have actually used it. UHS-I cards have held on over the years because they're cheap, widely supported and fast enough for the things most people need them to do: record 4K video, stash photos and so on. But with the Switch 2, Nintendo needs more. The new console is dramatically more powerful, which allows it to run demanding games that may have originally been built for stronger hardware like the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X or gaming PCs. The device also uses UFS 3.1 storage internally, which is much speedier than the eMMC storage used by the original Switch. (A custom file decompression engine should help improve load times as well.) So if the Switch 2 is going to accept microSD cards, it needs ones that won't bring a serious drop-off in performance and can hold up with modern games. The Nintendo Switch 2. (Sam Rutherford for Engadget) Hence, SD Express. This standard has technically been around since 2018 but mostly went nowhere until the Switch 2 came along. It also uses a second row of pins, but it lets microSD cards take advantage of the PCI Express (PCIe)/NVMe interface, which is the same underlying tech used by modern SSDs. As a result, it can produce considerably faster read and write speeds, with a current theoretical maximum of 985 MB/s. As noted above, real-world performance won't be quite that fast. Even if it was, the best microSD Express cards would still be much slower than the NVMe SSDs used by the PS5 and Xbox. (Sony recommends SSDs with sequential read speeds of at least 5,500 MB/s.) And they'll fall well below their peak speeds under sustained loads: SanDisk, for instance, says sustained write speeds for its 128GB Express card can drop as low as 100 MB/s. But they're still a marked improvement over old UHS-I cards, and in theory, they should be quicker than some older SATA-based SSDs when it comes loading game levels, asset streaming, retrieving saves or copying games to external storage. Whereas SanDisk's microSD Express card can produce sequential read speeds around 900 MB/s, Lexar's Professional Silver Plus — the top UHS-I pick in our general microSD card guide — topped out just over 200 MB/s, and that's with a proprietary reader. (On the first Switch, it'd be closer to 100 MB/s.) Sequential writes and random speeds were three to four times better as well, and sometimes even more depending on the benchmark we used. It remains to be seen how well these Express cards will hold up with extended use, and there's no way to know exactly when their sky-high prices will drop. Non-Switch 2 devices that support microSD Express are still exceedingly rare, and the standard itself isn't backwards compatible with UHS-II, so you'll be limited to UHS-I speeds if you want to use your card with another device (unless you buy a pricey external reader). Still, while the increased costs and limited selection are annoying, the tech itself seems worthy of a next-gen Switch.
Engadget
7 days ago
- Business
- Engadget
Skullcandy Method 360 ANC review: A cheaper version of Bose's best earbuds, with a few key sacrifices
Skullcandy isn't a name that usually comes to mind when you think of premium headphones. The Utah-based company has primarily made its name in the budget space, selling more on low prices and loud, sports-heavy marketing than the promise of excellent sound quality. With the new Method 360 ANC, the audio maker is trying to change that by latching onto another brand entirely. Skullcandy proudly boasts that its latest wireless earbuds feature 'sound by Bose,' which is to say that Bose has supplied the acoustic tuning, ear tips and overall shape of the device. In fact, the new buds look quite similar to Bose's QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds from afar. But that upscale pair retails for $299 and the Method 360 ANC only costs $130 (or as low as $100 at third-party stores of this writing). So has Skullcandy managed to capture the best of Bose at a more affordable price? Kind of. With its Bose-inspired design and rich feature set, the $130 Method 360 ANC is a fine value, though it's still a level below actual QuietComfort earbuds. $100 at Amazon Explore More Buying Options $100 at Best Buy The Method 360 ANC is indeed roughly as comfortable as the QuietComfort Ultra. Each earpiece is slightly heavier and more plastic-y — and Bose's pair was already on the bulky side — but the soft ear gels and stability fins help them fit snug without creating too much pressure. I had no issues with them coming loose over several weeks of testing. The earbuds have an IPX4 water-resistance rating — not the best, but enough to survive most people's workouts. The larger frame creates more space for the side touch panels, and all the controls do work reliably, which isn't a given in the $100 range. These earbuds also come with most of the features you'd want from a modern pair. There are active noise cancellation (ANC) and ambient sound modes. Battery life is fine at eight to 11-ish hours, depending on ANC usage. They can dependably connect to two devices simultaneously, and they work with Google's Fast Pair tech on Android devices. They support wear detection, too, and there are three different sets of ear gels and fins in the box. Any settings tweaks I've made in Skullcandy's Skull-iQ app have taken effect quickly, and in general the software is easy to navigate. The only major omissions here are the lack of wireless charging and a short one-year warranty. The Method 360 ANC is almost identical to Bose's QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds in terms of design. For this review, we mainly compared the new Skullcandy buds against the QC Ultras and Anker's Soundcore Space A40, the top pick in our budget earbuds buying guide. (Jeff Dunn for Engadget) Once you start listening to the Method 360 ANC, though, you start to see why it's priced under $150. The default sound signature is extremely V-shaped: The bass is massive, the treble is bright and everything in between is recessed. Bass lovers should appreciate this with hip-hop, dance music and many pop songs. A track like Kendrick Lamar's 'DNA' becomes particularly easy to rock to: The low-end is deep and impactful, while a giant spike around the upper midrange keeps the vocals clear throughout. In general, the Method 360 ANC is a step up from the Anker Soundcore Space A40, the longtime top pick in our guide to the best earbuds under $100. That pair is far more muffled in the treble, whereas the Skullcandy pair's crisper, more extended highs tend to make songs feel less closed-off. That said, it's very easy to see how this kind of signature could get fatiguing over time. It's consistently intense, and the recessed mids cause it to lose details in moderately intricate compositions. An indie rock track like Hop Along's 'The Knock' is a bit of a mess, as the bassline and crunchy rhythm guitar overwhelm the lead guitar riffs and rob the raspy vocals of air. With America's 'Ventura Highway,' the folksy acoustic guitar comes through clearly, but the overemphasized treble makes 'ess' sounds a touch too sharp. The QuietComfort Ultra doesn't exactly sound neutral, but it always comes off as more balanced by comparison. Skullcandy has also omitted support for higher-quality Bluetooth codecs, so it only supports the basic SBC and AAC. All of this is still better-than-average for bassheads shopping in this price range — just don't expect it to compete very far beyond that. Thankfully, you can rein in some of the default profile's excesses with a custom EQ in Skullcandy's app. The charging case is on the larger side, to put it mildly, and uses a sliding mechanism to open and close. (Jeff Dunn for Engadget) Skullcandy's ANC is perfectly respectable for $130, and it's great you can customize the intensity of the noise-canceling effect via the app. But it's not on the level of the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds or even the step-down QuietComfort Earbuds. It cuts out a fair chunk of the bassy rumble of an NYC subway train, but higher-pitched screeches and stop announcements are very much audible with music playing at moderate volumes. The 'Stay Aware' (ambient sound) mode, meanwhile, is passable but nothing more; it's one of those deals where you need to keep the volume somewhat low to ensure you can hear yourself clearly. Call quality isn't great, either: The mic does well to limit background noise, but it struggles with wind and makes your voice sound noticeably thin and processed. My testing partner said it made me sound like I was in an elevator. My biggest complaint, however, is with the ginormous tube of a case. It's comically large next to pairs like the QuietComfort Ultra or Space A40, so much so that I have to question just how spacious Skullcandy thinks most people's pockets are. There is a built-in clip that lets you hook the case to a bag or belt loop, but as a resident of New York City, I will never be comfortable sauntering around with anything of value dangling on my person. Actually snapping the earbuds back into the case is cumbersome as well: You have to slide the case open, then flip the earpieces upside down and insert them on opposite sides. I can understand wanting to make something unique, but this is an instance where boring would've been better. The Method 360 ANC's case has a built-in clip for attaching to bags or belt loops. (Jeff Dunn for Engadget) The Method 360 ANC has its problems, but most of them aren't too surprising for a relatively affordable pair of wireless earbuds (oversized case aside). Don't be fooled into thinking the Bose branding means you're getting a Bose-level product — the real-deal QuietComfort Earbuds are better if you're willing to pay more. But this is still a tier above most budget pairs we've tested. It has nearly all the features we're looking for (unlike, say, the Beats Solo Buds), it's comfortable and the sound signature will hit right if you're hungry for bass. At its normal $130, it's well worth considering for bassheads who can go one rung above the bargain bin. For $100 or less, it's a great value. Just make room for that case.
Reuters
23-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Trouble with AI 'hallucinations' spreads to big law firms
May 23 (Reuters) - Another large law firm was forced to explain itself to a judge this week for submitting a court filing with made-up citations generated by an artificial intelligence chatbot. Attorneys from Mississippi-founded law firm Butler Snow apologized to U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco in Alabama after they inadvertently included case citations generated by ChatGPT in two court filings. Butler Snow partner Matthew Reeves said in a Monday filing that he regretted his "lapse in diligence and judgment" for failing to verify the citations. The 400-lawyer firm, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment, is defending former Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn in an inmate's lawsuit alleging he was repeatedly attacked in prison. Dunn has denied wrongdoing. The judge has not yet said whether she will impose sanctions over the filings. Jamila Mensah of Norton Rose Fulbright, one of the lawyers representing plaintiff Frankie Johnson, declined to comment. AI-generated fictions, known as "hallucinations," have cropped up in court filings and landed attorneys in hot water ever since ChatGPT and other generative AI programs became widely available more than two years ago. Courts have sanctioned and admonished attorneys around the country for violating professional rules that require them to vet their work however it is produced. Many of the cases have involved small law firms or self-represented litigants. But examples of big firms or big companies grappling with AI hallucinations are growing. Last week a lawyer at law firm Latham & Watkins, which is defending AI company Anthropic in a copyright lawsuit related to music lyrics, apologized to a California federal judge after submitting, opens new tab an expert report that cited an article title invented by AI. Lawyers for the music publishers suing Anthropic have asked the judge to exclude the report. The judge has not yet ruled on the request. Earlier this month, a court-appointed special master imposed sanctions, opens new tab and ordered law firm K&L Gates and a smaller firm, Ellis George, to pay $31,100 for what he called a "collective debacle" in which they included inaccurate case citations and quotations stemming from the use of AI in a filing. Lawyers from the two firms are representing former Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey in a dispute with insurance giant State Farm. A spokesperson for K&L Gates and a lawyer at Ellis George did not immediately respond to requests for comment. State Farm and its lawyers at Sheppard Mullin did not immediately respond to similar requests. The special master, retired judge Michael Wilner, wrote in the order that he had been "affirmatively misled" by the filing. "I read their brief, was persuaded (or at least intrigued) by the authorities that they cited, and looked up the decisions to learn more about them – only to find that they didn't exist," he wrote. "That's scary." Daniel Linna, a senior lecturer and director of law and technology initiatives at Northwestern's law and engineering schools, said the inclusion of AI-generated fabrications in court briefs is in part a result of a lack of education and training. Despite the perils, AI also has the potential to increase the quality of legal briefs and improve access to justice, he said.
Engadget
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Engadget
Reflections on the Nintendo Switch, the hybrid console that changed gaming
The Switch 2 is nearly here, which means the original Switch is entering its twilight years. It's been eight years since Nintendo released its revolutionary hybrid console , and while many fans have spent the last couple of those itching for the device to be replaced, now seems like an opportune time to look back at what its legacy may wind up being (while acknowledging that it still has some life ahead of it). Instead of bleating on myself, though, I turned to the rest of the Engadget staff to see what comes to mind when they think of the Switch, as just about everyone on the team has played with the console. We've collected our reflections below — some take a bigger-picture view, some are more personal, some contradict others' experiences entirely. There's plenty more that went unsaid. But I think that's part of the Switch's beauty; it's a device that's resonated with so many, in so many different ways, in its near-decade on the market. Broadly speaking, you can group Nintendo consoles into two types. On one side you have devices that may be distinctive in certain ways but mostly iterate on a previous success or focus on technical upgrades first — think the SNES, GameCube, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, 3DS and, by the looks of it, the Switch 2. (The N64 and original NES could go either way, but I'd put them here too.) On the other you have machines that are more out there , ones that most obviously represent 'lateral thinking with withered technology,' the company's longtime product philosophy championed by legendary designer Gunpei Yokoi . These eschew cutting-edge technology for mature, cheaper hardware redeployed in novel ways. The worst of these have been existential disasters for Nintendo (Wii U, Virtual Boy ). The best have created new forms of play, experiences you could hardly imagine before but make perfect sense in hindsight (Game Boy, DS, Wii). Not coincidentally, these are the consoles that've sold best in Nintendo's history. The Switch fell firmly in the latter camp. It didn't really matter that the chip was from an old Android TV player . It didn't really matter that the Joy-Cons kind of sucked, with beady buttons and thumbsticks that broke too often . It didn't matter that there was a paltry 32GB of storage, that the (non-OLED) display was barely usable outdoors, that the triggers weren't pressure-sensitive or that the kickstand always felt like it'd snap off. In a world that, for better or worse, increasingly demands comfort above all else, it won on sheer force of convenience. No other gaming device had ever gone so far to meet players where they live. And it won on the games , as Nintendo systems often do. Like the Game Boy and Wii, the Switch's concept was so undeniable that its hardware only needed to be good enough for its time in the sun. So that's all it ever was. It embodied Nintendo's lateral thinking, blending unremarkable parts into something playful and brilliant. — Jeff Dunn, senior reporter The Switch was an absolute delight for fans of indie game studios. This was really the first time the company truly embraced smaller developers in a comprehensive way, and it paid off big. The console became the de facto way to experience many of the standout titles of the past generation, including stuff like Celeste , Dead Cells , Hades , Golf Story , Undertale , Stardew Valley and, of course, Hollow Knight . The hybrid nature of the console led many gamers, myself included, to wait for a Switch release of an indie title. This was before the Steam Deck and its ilk, so there really wasn't any other way to play most of these games on a portable machine. The company's sudden support for indies was great for gamers, as we got to play cool stuff, but it was also great for Nintendo. Many of these titles sold really well and gave the company some breathing room between first-party releases. Remember, the Switch was woefully underpowered when compared to other consoles so it couldn't really run many AAA third-party games. Nowadays, Nintendo loves indies so much that they get their own Direct livestreams. My, how times have changed. — Lawrence Bonk, contributing reporter It's fitting that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will be the Switch's swan song. Starting with the release of Hollow Knight a year after the system's debut, the Switch has been the best place to experience the golden age of Metroidvanias. Between Animal Well , Blasphemous 2 , Hollow Knight , Nine Sols and Nintendo's own contributions to the genre, nearly every great Metroidvania since 2017 has made it to the Switch; in fact, Microsoft even released the Ori series on the console. The Switch was my favorite place to play many of those games. With their often simpler graphics, most Metroidvanias were a perfect fit for the system. For example, Hollow Knight and Metroid Dread run at a flawless 60 frames per second and look great on the system, especially on the OLED model with its ability to produce inky blacks. The Switch's portability is also a huge boon for these types of games. They're great for short pick up and play sessions, and even better for longer ones when you can get lost in their worlds. — Igor Bonifacic, senior reporter When I think of the Switch, the first object that comes to mind is my coral Switch Lite . No fancy OLED screen, no detachable controllers, no TV input mechanism and a maximum resolution of 720p, all wrapped up in an adorable, handheld, candy-colored package. For me, this is a highlight of the ninth console generation. The Switch Lite is effective because it's simple: It comfortably fits in most people's hands (ahem, Steam Deck ), it offers a large selection of indie and mainstream games, its screen is just big enough, it travels well and it's cute as hell. The audience for the Switch Lite spans children to adults, commuters to work-from-homers, and its popularity demonstrates some deep truths about what we actually love in video games. Turns out, photorealistic graphics and uncapped framerates are less important than solid game design and innovative mechanics. I've owned a full-fat Switch and a Lite for years, and while I enjoy playing Mario Kart 8 with friends on the couch, nothing beats the intimacy of curling up with my little Lite. Perhaps it's not surprising that Nintendo, the creator of the Game Boy and its numerous iterations, knows how to make a fantastic handheld console, but it's still supremely satisfying. I'm excited about the Switch 2, sure, but the debut console — 8-inch display , detachable gamepads and all — is only responsible for half of that feeling. The other half is on pause and smothered in pastels, patiently waiting on the announcement of a Switch 2 Lite. — Jessica Conditt, senior editor Ever since I've been able to see how much memory a single Chrome tab uses, I've been obsessed with elegance. Not in the ballgowns-and-tuxedos sense, but to pursue efficiency as a form of art, to use self-imposed limitations to surpass anyone's expectations. It may have been a brightly-colored games console, but the Nintendo Switch was a masterpiece of elegance. It's not that modern-day Nintendo has ever really gotten into the bigger-number-is-better wars but then, as now, people were sniffy about the Switch's power. After all, it was using a modified and, crucially, downclocked version of NVIDIA's Tegra X1 system on chip. It wasn't long before everyone started (kinda) joking their smartphones could beat the console in the power metrics. Compared to the competition? Pfft . The Xbox and PS4 were smog-billowing big rigs next to the Switch's carbon-fiber bicycle with only one crossbar. And yet, of the three, it's the console I've spent the most time playing during this whole generation. Because for all it lacked in graphical clout, it never seemed to miss out where it counted. That's testament to Nintendo squeezing so much damn power out of the Switch, and its willingness to put the work in. Yes, you can get Call of Murder Simulator with ultra-realistic blood spatter on the other two consoles, but it's not as if there weren't plenty of demanding titles on this platform too. I can call to mind games like Doom Eternal and The Witcher 3 , not to mention top-tier games from the last generation, like Bioshock and Portal. And that's before you got to masterpieces like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom which are, shockingly good given the hardware they're running on. Yes, there was the odd frame drop in the latter title, but when you think about what that game was doing, a frame drop was more than forgivable. Fundamentally, the Switch is a lesson to all developers everywhere that they should be disciplined to do a lot more with a lot less. — Daniel Cooper, senior editor Apologies in advance if this comes off as another gamer saying Nintendo should make more powerful consoles. That's not what I'm saying, I swear. Nintendo hasn't chased the PlayStation or Xbox in graphics power for multiple console generations; it clearly has different priorities. And the art style and attention to detail in its first-party games is nearly unmatched. Rarely have I played any of Nintendo's games and thought 'this could use more pixels' or more 'realistic' graphics. However, in late 2017 I was engrossed in two games: Horizon Zero Dawn on the PS4 and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for the then recently released Switch. As fate would have it, both games came out in March, and while Horizon got plenty of positive reviews, it was a bit buried by the hype around Breath of the Wild and its radical reinvention of how a Zelda game plays. And while the two have their fair share of differences, the commonality of exploring a gorgeous and vast open world where you could go to almost anywhere you can see made me think how much I'd love it if Nintendo went all-in on a console and Zelda title that could provide fidelity like in Horizon Zero Dawn . I'm not saying I need human-realistic characters in a Zelda game — the art direction in Breath of the Wild is great. But the forests, mountains, deserts, caves and rivers in Horizon are perhaps the most beautiful rendering of the natural world that I've ever seen in a game. Combining the endless exploration of Hyrule in Breath of the Wild with a Hyrule that looks as good as the world in Horizon does would be an incredible combo, even though it's not something I'm holding my breath for. That said, the Switch 2 seems like a much more capable console, and you have to imagine the next Zelda game will look a bit different than the last two. Surprise me, Nintendo! — Nathan Ingraham, deputy editor Before the Switch came out, I knew there were people who proudly wore their Nintendo fandom, but I could not understand their fascination. I think that was because I'd never had my own Nintendo hardware. Every experience I'd had of the company's games before the Switch was on a console that belonged to a friend, roommate or significant other. That meant as a player, my experience was almost entirely based on casual hangout games like Mario Kart and Mario Party . Later on, as I began writing about games, my professional opinion was that Nintendo made money by manufacturing scarcity with limited releases and a dubious attitude about preservation. Given all the mid-to-bad feelings I had about the company, I don't remember why I decided to buy a Switch for myself. It was about a year after the hardware debuted, so maybe I'd seen enough positive buzz that I was ready to see what all the fuss was about. Whatever the reason, I'm so happy I wandered into the store to finally acquire my first Nintendo console that fateful day. Since then, I've spent hours in Super Mario Odyssey , gleefully searching every corner of each world for sneaky hidden moons. I logged even more time in Breath of the Wild, exploring Hyrule as an escape from the doom of COVID in the real world. I've logged multiple hundreds of hours uncovering the intrigues of Garreg Mach Monastery and leading my students into battle with Fire Emblem: Three Houses . And you don't even want to know how many hundreds of hours I've spent clearing out pills in Dr. Mario . A bunch of titles that I'd now consider my favorites came from my time playing on the Switch. I'm sure that if the SNES or the N64 had been my true introduction to the world of Nintendo, I'd have similar warm fuzzies about those generations of games. But the way my timeline has gone, the Switch is the one that introduced me to this joyful and delightful gaming ecosystem. So I see you, Nintendo fans. And now I am one of you. — Anna Washenko, contributing reporter I was desperately hoping for a console like the Switch before it was announced by Nintendo. That time, I was mainly gaming on the Nintendo 3DS and the PS Vita, until I discovered the Vita TV and realized that I prefer being able to play my handheld games on a bigger screen sometimes. I remember playing Fire Emblem Awakening on the 3DS and thinking of how it would be so much better if I could get a bigger view of the battlefield. When Nintendo released the Switch years later, it was everything I wanted. You can take your game with you anywhere and then play it on the TV when you're home? Perfect. The Vita TV wasn't as seamless, since I had to move memory cards to and from the handheld Vita to play the same game. Now, years later, my life and my eyesight have gone through some big changes. I no longer play games if I can't play them on the TV. That means for games that have both a Nintendo and a PlayStation version, I almost always get the one for PlayStation, since it has better graphics and overall quality. But what about Nintendo-exclusive games? These days, I find myself wishing for a Switch without a screen. Just a simple console like the Vita TV with, perhaps, better specs for crisper graphics and less stuttering. Or, if that's truly not possible, just one that's cheaper than the full console. (I'm not the only person who's called for this!) Alas, there's no version of the Switch 2 coming out without a display. It's a wish I may have to carry with me for years like my wish for the Switch's current form factor — I'll just have to wait and see if it also comes to life. For now, I'll just keep on playing on my (docked) Switch. — Mariella Moon, contributing reporter I got my Nintendo Switch on launch day way back in March 2017 and it's the only one I've ever owned. And even though its Joy-Con started to drift over the years and its Nvidia Tegra X1 chip was already kind of dated from the get-go, I will always appreciate how that thing held it down for the better part of a decade. Plus, thanks to Nintendo's magic, it never felt like the console was held back by its less powerful hardware. However, as we begin the transition to its successor, I really want to praise the Switch for reinvigorating people's interests in handhelds. When it came out, the Nintendo 3DS was already on its last legs while Sony had all but abandoned the Vita. But thanks to the Switch's ability to double as both a home console and a portable gaming device, it directly paved the way for so many of the handheld PCs on sale today like the ASUS ROG Ally , Steam Deck and more. This reminds me of how awesome it felt as a kid to bring games with me to help pass the time on long road trips or when the dentist would distract me with a Game Boy during cleanings. It's something that still feels special today even with the proliferation of laptops and tablets, which can't quite match that level of engagement and portability, and I will forever appreciate the risk Nintendo took when it designed that flexibility into the Switch's core identity. — Sam Rutherford, senior reporter
Western Telegraph
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Western Telegraph
Milford Haven memories of VE Day and prisoner of war stories
It was a beautiful, sunny, early summer's day, but I can't remember the thousands of townsfolk, service men and women laughing, cheering, shedding tears of joy as they danced in the streets and filled the pubs and clubs to overflowing. I was probably asleep in my cot as the sun went down, when it was time for the Navies to join in the party, here described by the West Wales Guardian: "Sirens and hooters shrieked and blared out a constant morse -V for Victory and ships sent up a breath-taking non stop display of rockets of every colour, which went far into the darkness before bursting into a thousand coloured stars and slowly dropping onto the shining waters of the harbour. More Stories Kids in Glebelands in Second World War gear (Image: Jeff Dunn) "Searchlights swung on to the sea front and caught hundreds of people arm-in-arm, singing patriotic songs and cheering wildly as the rockets burst above them. "There was a stirring and sentimental moment when the town's air-raid sirens sounded the very last "All Clear" and the song of that title was emotionally sung by thousands of revellers." The St Katharine Tennis Courts were transformed into a dancing area, and there were free cinema shows for schoolchildren. For some reason I've always been fascinated by the Second World War, which is one of the reasons I wrote my first stage play, The Day War Broke Out, about a Milford family (based on my own) from 1939 to 1945. One of the characters I wrote into the script was the late Royal Marine Tommy Thomas, 101, Charles Street, who was captured during the fall of Crete, incarcerated in Germany for four years, and whose daughter Ann lent me a box full of letters that Tommy had written home throughout his captivity. I thought it might be an appropriate time to include these few memories. Firstly here is one of Tommy's last letters home, dated December 26, 1944: "Dear mother, I had to smile at your letter when you said 'it won't be long now, and 'keep your chin up'. You've been saying it for nearly four years, and my neck is getting a bit stiff keeping my chin up. "We received a letter a few days ago from one of the lads who made it back to England. "It was ever so funny, reading a letter from someone who, a short time ago, was here with us. He received a great welcome, as he says, he thought he'd won the war. "He told us of the fine work the Red Cross and everyone at home are doing for us over here. Waterloo Road end of Second World War party on the cockle bank (Image: Jeff Dunn) "I'm spending my fourth birthday in this here dump. "Dear God, I never thought it would have been so long. "By your last letter you seem to be worrying a great deal about me, don't mam, I'll get along. "Well this is Boxing Day again. We all had a holiday yesterday. We had a concert, and a sing-a-long in the evening. It wasn't too bad. I did think that we'd be together for this one, but I guess I built my castle too high. All I can say is, let's hope and pray that by this time next year we'll be together once more. "Give my regards to Nora. "Your loving son Tommy." Here's what happened when the Tommy Thomas story, and his captivity, came to an end. The prison camp had been quiet for two days, with no sign of their guards. In fact, not a German was to be seen. All the prisoners were in a state of complete confusion. They didn't know what was happening. Was it a trick? Or was the war over at last? Would they be shot if they tried to make their escape? On the third day, Tommy and three others couldn't wait any longer, so they ran into a nearby wood and spent the next 48 hours creeping away from their hell-hole of four years. They were still half expecting to be halted in their tracks. Then they came across a convoy. A Russian convoy! Robert Street VE Day party (Image: Jeff Dunn) They were taken and held for a week and were heading towards the border and undoubted internment again. One night, Tommy and his pals again slipped away and hid in the woods. Before long, an American unit picked them up and after four years as a Prisoner of War, Tommy Thomas was heading home. He had no desire for a huge welcome home party, so he'd sent no warning. When he got off the train at Milford station, no one was expecting him. His sister, Lily, was a Lister driver, and she was the first to see him as he slowly stepped down onto the platform. After her own tearful greeting, and fearing what a sudden shock might do, she ran home to warn her mother. As she dashed into the house her mother was coming down the stairs carrying two slop buckets. When Lily told her the news about Tommy she was immediately soaked by the two buckets her mother threw into the air. To add some pictorial flavour to the celebrations, along with a snap of Tommy Thomas, here are snaps of VE Day parties in Robert Street, Waterloo Road and Glebelands. That was 80 years ago, today, as we all know, terrible wars continue to rage around the world, so I leave you with these words from John Lennon: "All we are saying is, give peace a chance." Take care, please stay safe.
