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July 06, 2025
 

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SWITCH

A customer buys a Nintendo Switch 2 in Tokyo on June 5. Online outrage over the gaming console’s price, terms and features was loud but meaningless, as record-breaking sales showed once again that internet backlash rarely reflects real consumer behavior.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 25, 2025
The 'internet' hated Switch 2 — consumers bought it anyway
The internet gives consumers a voice they once didn’t have. But separating signal from noise is a challenge — just look at the Switch 2.
The Switch 2 is Nintendo's first new gaming console in eight years.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 4, 2025
Nintendo’s Switch 2 console is finally here
The long-awaited gaming console hits shelves Thursday, with booming orders and tariffs making for a complicated debut.
For Nintendo, it’s been a challenge making sure it can produce enough Switch 2 gaming devices to meet demand.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 20, 2025
Nintendo turns to Samsung to make chips for Switch 2
The Kyoto-based company is pivoting to Samsung because the Nvidia-based chipset that the Switch 2 employs was optimized for the Korean company’s manufacturing systems.
An attendee wearing a Super Mario costume plays a Nintendo Switch 2 game console at the ExCeL London international exhibition and convention center in London on April 11.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 10, 2025
Nintendo doesn’t rule out Switch 2 price hike after soft outlook
The firm expects shipments of the system to be nearly 1.8 million shy of analysts' estimates, and could raise the price, depending on how Trump administration tariffs work out.
An attendee plays Mario Kart World during the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience event in London in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 8, 2025
Nintendo gives conservative sales outlook for Switch 2 amid tariff concerns
The Kyoto-based company expects to ship just 15 million units of the new console in the year to March, shy of the 16.8 million average estimated by analysts.
Excitement for Nintendo's next console is high, but a vocal contingent of fans are voicing criticism over the company's pricing strategy.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
May 5, 2025
‘Drop the price’: Behind the pushback on Nintendo’s Switch 2
Nintendo games have never been cheap, but the company seems to be nickel-and-diming more than ever with its new console.
An attendee plays with the Nintendo Switch 2 gaming device at a media event in Tokyo on April 3.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2025
Nintendo says demand for Switch 2 console in Japan is overwhelming
"We have received 2.2 million applications for the lottery sale at our official online store for customers in Japan alone," said Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa.
Guests play the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 console at an event in Paris on April 2.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 10, 2025
Nintendo gets breathing room on tariffs — just in time for Switch 2 launch
Nintendo dodges a 46% tariff on Vietnam-assembled consoles, buying time to flood the U.S. with Switch 2 units before the launch window closes.
Guests play with the new Nintendo Switch 2 video game console system during a presentation at the Grand Palais in Paris on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 5, 2025
Nintendo delays Switch 2 preorders in U.S. over tariff concerns
The Kyoto-based company is delaying preorders of its hotly anticipated gaming console as it assesses the fallout from the trade tariffs.
The controllers for the Switch 2 will attach to the console magnetically rather than sliding on rails as with the original device.
LIFE / Digital
Apr 3, 2025
Nintendo to launch the Switch 2 on June 5
The gaming giant's newest console will retail for ¥49,980 for its Japanese-only version and ¥69,980 for multilingual and multiregion support.
The stakes are high for the unveiling of the Switch 2 console on Wednesday, with the stock trading near its priciest level in seven years.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 2, 2025
Stakes are high for Switch 2 after Nintendo’s stock valuation surges
The company's stock is trading near its priciest level in seven years ahead of a reveal of the new console's details.
The bestselling Switch has a confirmed successor, but what little we know about the Switch 2 console so far raises some concerns about its longterm viability in a crowded gaming market.
LIFE / Digital
Feb 6, 2025
Making sense of Nintendo’s tight-lipped Switch 2 reveal
Nintendo will remain mum on details until April, but questions on how its new console fits into the modern gaming landscape abound.
Nintendo announced in January that it will release the console's hotly anticipated successor — the Switch 2 — in 2025, but stopped short of revealing details such as pricing.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 4, 2025
Nintendo cuts net profit forecast as Switch sales slow
Nintendo said it will release the console's hotly anticipated successor — the Switch 2 — in 2025 but stopped short of revealing details such as pricing.
Nintendo Switch controllers for sale at a game shop in Tokyo on Jan. 16.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 1, 2025
Mario Kart may help Nintendo rally outlast flight from AI tech
The Mario Kart creator’s focus on success in games, while leveraging its intellectual property into movies and theme parks, makes it look like a safe bet for tech investors.
Nintendo said it will reveal its next-generation Switch 2 on April 2, setting in motion the retirement of the nearly eight-year-old flagship model.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 17, 2025
Nintendo hopes to reprise blockbuster Switch with 2025 successor
It will host several "Nintendo Switch 2 Experience" events in major cities around the world from April 4 to give gamers an opportunity to test the new console.
Alarmo and other recent products reflect Nintendo's strategy of using its iconic intellectual properties to engage users while preparing for the inevitable transition to a successor console after the Nintendo Switch.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 24, 2024
Nintendo’s latest device, the Alarmo, is a $100 wake-up call
Alarmo and other recent products reflect Nintendo's strategy of leveraging its iconic IPs to engage users as it prepares for the successor to the Nintendo Switch.
Nintendo reported ¥27.7 billion in net profit in the July-September quarter, down 69% year on year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 6, 2024
Nintendo Switch sales drop as successor console looms
Despite the decline, sales continue to be robust in comparison to past Nintendo platforms in the same year, Nintendo said.
In the April-September period, Nintendo logged net profit of ¥108.7 billion ($710 million), down 60% from the same period a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 5, 2024
Nintendo lowers sales forecast as first-half profits plunge
The video game giant now expects sales of ¥1.28 trillion, down from the previous estimate of ¥1.35 trillion, and also issued a less optimistic operating profit forecast.
Nintendo tends to innovate and take unconventional product development routes, producing both great successes, like its Switch console, and spectacular failures.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 10, 2024
Nintendo needs to 'switch' its next console up
The Kyoto firm has been coy about what will come after the highly successful Switch console, but it needs to step up its game and learn from past mistakes.
Despite logging a record net profit in the year to March, helped by the weak yen, Nintendo expects net profit to drop nearly 40% in the current financial year.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 7, 2024
Nintendo says announcement on Switch successor 'this fiscal year'
Players and investors have been hungry for news about a successor to the Switch, and the company said a statement was finally forthcoming.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
U.S. military apologizes over Okinawa sexual assault case
Col. Neil Owens (right), chief of staff for the 3rd Marine Division, bows in apology at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

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