Latest news with #Switch
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why the gaming industry is expecting a 'rebound' this year
Gaming demand has cooled since the pandemic, but major launches and tech advances are reigniting interest. Lewis Ward, IDC Research director of gaming and interactive 3D software, joins Asking for a Trend to break down what to expect from the gaming industry, Nintendo's (NTDOY) next-gen Switch, and how Nvidia (NVDA) chips are shaping the industry's future. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Asking for a Trend here. I want to start high level, Lewis, because I want your take on how healthy the gaming industry is right now. Um, you know, during the pandemic, Lewis, I I used to call you then for your your very smart insight and analysis on this industry. You know, it's been a while. Um, you listen, people were home, gaming was the thing to do, but spinning ahead now, Lewis, May 2025. How healthy, how resilient, what kind of growth are we seeing? I think it really depends on the region. So globally, things were pretty flat if not down last year, and they've kind of been trending lower since the pandemic spike you mentioned, like 2021, 2022. In 2025, we do expect a rebound. We expect mobile growth worldwide to be up high single digits, consoles to be up maybe mid single digits, and PC-based spending up low single digits. But having said that, the US, I mean there's just a lot of uncertainty around the tariff situation and uh physical goods, right? So not just PCs and gaming systems, but all the accessories and everything else that goes along with it if they're made in China, right? And so, uh, in the US, for example, uh we're projecting slower growth than those global rates uh partly because we're kind of anticipating a negative hit, and how negative is, is, you know, very much up in the air. Let me ask you, Louis, you mentioned consoles. I want to dig into that because next week got Nintendo, right, introducing the Switch 2, which uses Nvidia's chips. How popular is that device going to be, Lewis? What what do you think demand's going to look like? Right. Well, uh, I think it'll be close to what Switch has done. So maybe, uh, you know, I'm kind of hedging my bets here, but basically, uh, through the first four years on the market. So my current forecast goes through 2028. We have Switch 2 shipping about 83 million units. Switch, original Switch and all the other skews associated with it, did about 80 million over its first four years on the market. So it's a little bit ahead, but Switch also launched one quarter earlier in the first quarter of 2017 versus the second quarter of 2025. So once you net those out, the difference is, you know, within the margin of error, basically. So we're effectively expecting the hardware at least to more or less do what Switch has done. And then the Switch 2, I mentioned, Lewis, so using Nvidia chips. Can you explain for folks what those Nvidia chips do for video games, for the industry? Why they're so sought after? Well, you know, Nvidia's been, um, out in front of a lot of trends related to GPUs in particular, right? So, uh, the the RTX, I think it's, uh, series 50 today, is, you know, cutting edge in terms of the power and performance, right? So the number of frame rates you can get per second in a high-end PC game, for example, in their GPUs. But you mentioned the consoles, and so what we expect for Switch 2 is that some games, um, you know, will be playable on Switch 2 which simply were not playable on original Switch consoles. So, um, uh, the Cyber Cyberpunk 2027, 2077 is coming out for Switch 2. I think I'm going to try to get a copy of that to see how quickly it runs, but supposedly some of these games are going to run at, you know, 40, 50, 60 frames a second, and possibly have ray tracing, which is like a a very much a leap forward, right? So at the end of the day, what you get with them, uh, relative to, you know, AMD has his own chips and Nvidia, uh, sorry, Intel's trying to get in around the corner with Arc, uh, Battlemage, I believe, is their new GPU. But at the end of the day, you know, they're kind of setting the benchmark for what high-end GPUs can do, and basically, you know, we expect, um, faster performance, uh, higher frame rates, better-looking games, right? At the end of the day, that's what gamers are willing to pay for.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why the gaming industry is expecting a 'rebound' this year
Gaming demand has cooled since the pandemic, but major launches and tech advances are reigniting interest. Lewis Ward, IDC Research director of gaming and interactive 3D software, joins Asking for a Trend to break down what to expect from the gaming industry, Nintendo's (NTDOY) next-gen Switch, and how Nvidia (NVDA) chips are shaping the industry's future. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Asking for a Trend here. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
9 Switch Games You Can Grab For Cheap This Memorial Day
Memorial Day weekend invites important questions like what to marinate the kebobs in, whether it's warm enough to put the pool up or not, and which new game you should buy while continuing to ignore your backlog. The Switch eShop currently has a few sales running that are worth a quick peek while waiting for the 45 minutes of coming attractions ahead of Mission Impossible 8 to end. If you're looking at physical Switch games, there are a few good deals going around at the moment. Advance Wars 1 and 2 Re-Boot Camp is currently just $30 at GameStop (half off) while Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is just $40 (33 percent off) at Amazon. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Catherine: Full Body, and Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster are all heavily discounted as well at VGP. Meanwhile, in the digital world of the eShop, the following games are all great and pretty cheap right now: Prince of Persia The Lost Crown - $20 (50 percent off) It Takes Two - $20 (50 percent off) Tales of Kenzera: ZAU - $8 (60 percent off) Monster Hunter Rise + Sunbreak Deluxe - $20 (71 percent off) Dead Cells - $12.50 (50 percent off) Penny's Big Breakaway - $15 (50 percent off) Doom 2016 - $4 (80 percent off) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Complete Edition - $15 (75 percent off) Rayman Legends Definitive Edition - $8 (80 percent off) The Witcher 3 port is just short of ugly on Switch, but if you have no other way to play the grim fantasy RPG it's well worth picking up, especially on the game's 10th anniversary. Doom 2016 runs and looks better, and should help sate the urge to rip and tear for Nintendo fans who can't access Doom: The Dark Ages. If you just want a fun, colorful throwback to pass the time, my suggestion is Penny's Big Breakaway, one of last year's great unsung Dreamcast 3D platformer homages. There are two other Switch games that are only slightly on sale but might be of interest. The Chrono Trigger-like Sea of Stars is currently $22.75 (around 30 percent off), but just got a big free Throes of the Watchmaker DLC that adds a new eight-hour quest, additional character, and more classes. Labyrinth of the Demon King, meanwhile, is a lo-fi horror dungeon crawler that just came out last week and is already turning heads. It's $16 this week (20 percent off). If you're interested in what might end up on the list of 2025's most overlooked games, I'd give this one a shot. . For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Verge
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Verge
GameSir's $30 Nova 2 Lite controller includes Hall effect sticks and triggers.
It's almost a bit boring when compared to the GameSir's $69.99 Tarantula Pro that can change the layout of its face button labels. But for $29.99, the Nova 2 Lite could be a solid alternative to 8BitDo's Ultimate 2C with Hall effect joysticks and triggers that can be locked to a shorter travel for FPS games. It also includes an extra pair of remappable back buttons and is compatible with the Switch, PCs, iOS, and Android.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Pokémon Legends: Z-A officially launches in October and will offer 'improved graphics and frame rates' on the Nintendo Switch 2 version
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Pokémon Legends: Z-A will officially launch on October 16 for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 A digital or physical Switch version can be upgraded to the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition via a $10 upgrade pack The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition will "offer improved graphics and frame rates" The Pokémon Company has announced that Pokémon Legends: Z-A will officially launch on October 16 for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. Pre-orders for the next major Pokémon game begin on June 5, and it's been confirmed that players who purchase either a digital or physical version on the Switch can upgrade their copy to the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition via a $10 upgrade pack on the Nintendo eShop and My Nintendo Store. It might be worth investing in the Switch 2 Edition as The Pokémon Company has also revealed in a social media post that the version will "offer improved graphics and frame rates", but there's no new trailer for us to compare to the Switch version just yet. In addition, players who pre-order Legends: Z-A through the Pokémon Center in the US, UK, and Canada will receive a random, exclusive Pokémon Sitting Cuties plush featuring Chikorita, Tepig, or Totodile. According to Nintendo, those who pre-order a version of the game from My Nintendo Store will receive a Partner Pokémon figurine as a bonus item, and Mega Evolution, Trainer, and Champion's Choice bundles will also be available." We've also received brand new cover art for the game, along with an official blurb, which reads: "Pokémon Legends: Z-A is a new frontier for the Pokémon video game series, blending an RPG story unfolding in a single city with action elements and a real-time battle system unlike anything seen before in the franchise. "Trainers can look forward to the beginning of a new adventure in Lumiose City — one woven by people and Pokémon together!" Pokémon fans won't have to wait long for another look at the game because the next Pokémon Presents livestream will air this summer on July 22. The Nintendo Switch 2 launches next week on June 5 for $449.99 / £395.99, and $499.99 / £429.99 for the official Mario Kart World bundle, which comes with a digital copy of the game. UK pre-orders and US pre-orders are now live. If you missed out on securing a pre-order, GameStop and Best Buy have announced that they will be restocking Switch 2 units in-store and online during the console's launch. Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders live: latest UK stock updates as My Nintendo Store's pre-order date arrives, while US pre-orders remain delayed The Nintendo Switch 2 has been spotted at retailers ahead of its June release - but the reported stock numbers aren't huge Sony's Days of Play sale kicks off tomorrow and will bring price cuts to the PS5 Pro, DualSense Edge, the PS5 Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 bundle, and a host of price cuts on accessories and games
