In the run-up to the Switch 2 launch, part of Nintendos focus has been on ensuring it can meet the demands of an audience hungry for a new console. And that new system comes with a hefty price$450which could go up even more due to President Donald Trumps sweeping tariffs announced last week.But in an interview a day after Trumps announcement, Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser told WIRED the tariffs werent factored into the pricing of the console.The company is actively assessing the situation and its impact, he adds. It creates a challenge, Bowser says. Its something we're going to have to address.Trumps tariffs sent the stock market into free fall; prices on many products are about to go up, and companies in the tech sector will be turned on their heads. On Friday, Nintendo made the unprecedented move of delaying preorders in the US for the hotly anticipated console in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions.Part of the companys business strategy, to this point, had been to diversify the places where we're manufacturing our hardware and our accessories, Bowser says. The company has already shifted much of its production to Vietnam and Cambodia and away from China.According to Bowser, that diversification allowed Nintendo to move production around as needed during the Covid-19 pandemic. That also applied to the early stages of tariffs, he says. The situation [on April 2] changed that. Among Trumps new tariffs: 46 percent on Vietnam, 49 percent on Cambodia, and 54 percent on China.An additional price hike on the console would be problematic for Nintendo. The current top Switch model, the OLED, is $350, while a standard edition comes in at $300. The price was oddly missing from the consoles big announcement on Wednesday, a fact that hasnt been lost on would-be customers already clamoring for Nintendo to drop the price. At the New York event, journalists were discouraged from asking hardware developers about the consoles cost.Games have not been spared from high price tags either; Mario Kart World will cost $80. Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, a tech demo masquerading as a game that explains the ins and outs of the Switch 2, will be an experience people have to pay for. (Notably, this got a huge laugh from the crowd present.)Two former Nintendo public relations managers, Krysta Yang and Kit Ellis, have broken down the criticism around the pricing on their YouTube channel, as well as criticized how news about the price was presented to fans.Obviously it was intentionally omitted from the Direct for a reason but handled poorly in terms of the information being in all these different places, Yang said, lambasting the decision to leave consumers to get answers themselves. Its a little bit degrading almost to the intelligence of the consumer.

We've Been WaitingNintendo finally addresses the Switch 2 and Mario Kart World price controversies, and says those pesky new US tariffs weren't behind the $449.99 price pointGet ready to hear phrases like "variable pricing".Image credit: Nintendo News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on April 7, 2025 Nintendo has finally addressed the discourses around the prices of the Switch 2 itself and Mario Kart World. You know, the ones that folks have been a little bit narked about.If you need a quick refersher, the Switch 2 was announced at a price point of $449.99/395.99/469.99, assuming you want just the console, rather than a bundle that also includes MKW for $499.99/429.99/509.99. MKW on its own, meanwhile, will cost $79.99 / 74.99 standalone. Woof.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. So, what's Ninty said about these two price points, after opting not to issue a statement right away? Well, first of all, Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser told The Verge that the freshly deployed US tariffs - which led the company to delay the start of US Switch 2 pre-orders last week - weren't factored into the $449.99 price."Put [the April 2nd announcement] aside. Any previous tariffs were not factored into the price itself," the exec said, adding that Nintendo is "actively assessing what the impact may be". That ladt bit's very much in line with what Ninty said when it announced that pre-order delay last week.As for why these things do cost as much as they do, Bowser said pretty similar stuff in both that chat about the Switch 2 and one with the Washington Post about Mario Kart World being $79.99. In the former case, The Verge reports Bowser listed a bunch of the Switch 2's new features, adding that a driving factor Ninty considered was "what is a part of this particular gaming experience versus what it is relative to the Switch 1".Meanwhile, Bowser said that MKW being more expensive than the $70 Donkey Kong Bananza is an example of "variable pricing". "Well look at each game, really look at the development thats gone into the game, the breadth and depth of the gameplay, if you will, the durability over time and the repeatability of gameplay experiences," he explained.Does any of that make you feel any less inclined to demand Nintendo 'DROP THE PRICE'? Let us know below!

Image: Nintendo LifeAhh, here we go, the Nintendo Switch 2 coverage you've been waiting for: the new red cartridges still taste bad. Finally, we can all rest now.GameSpot bravely put this question to Takuhiro Dohta, the director of the Switch 2 and Programming Management Group Senior Director. And he confirmed that, yes, that gross-tasting coating is back. "I do not advise that you do [lick the cartridges]" Dohta told the publication.We haven't managed to get our hands or, well, our tongues on a Switch 2 cartridge yet, but Dohta seemed keen on discouraging people from taste testing the red plastic casing: ""We don't want anybody to be at risk of any unwanted consumption. We have indeed made it so that if it enters your mouth, you'll spit it out." So, yeah, don't eat the cartridges.Also on hand to weigh in on the cartridge tasting conversation was Kouichi Kawamoto, producer of the Switch 2. He confirmed that he actually did try licking a Switch 1 cartridge. His response? "Never again. I can't believe that other people are trying that."The original Switch 1 cartridges are coated in Denatonium Benzoate, a bittering agent that is meant to deter kids from tasting the cartridge because of its gross taste. It's non-toxic, so even if you do get curious, there's no danger from trying it, you'll just wish you didn't.Still, it was a topic of conversation around the Switch 1's launch eight years ago, and everyone just had to try it, didn't they? We're absolutely, positively sure people will do the same with the Switch 2 cartridges.Let us know if this was the new you were waiting to hear about down below!

A Meta exec on Monday denied a rumor that the company trained its new AI models to present well on specific benchmarks while concealing the models weaknesses.The executive, Ahmad Al-Dahle, VP of generative AI at Meta, said in a post on X that its simply not true that Meta trained its Llama 4 Maverick and Llama 4 Scout models on test sets. In AI benchmarks, test sets are collections of data used to evaluate the performance of a model after its been trained. Training on a test set could misleadingly inflate a models benchmark scores, making the model appear more capable than it actually is.Over the weekend, an unsubstantiated rumor that Meta artificially boosted its new models benchmark results began circulating on X and Reddit. The rumor appears to have originated from a post on a Chinese social media site from a user claiming to have resigned from Meta in protest over the companys benchmarking practices.Reports that Maverick and Scout perform poorly on certain tasks fueled the rumor, as did Metas decision to use an experimental, unreleased version of Maverick to achieve better scores on the benchmark LM Arena. Researchers on X haveobserved starkdifferences in the behaviorof the publicly downloadable Maverick compared with the model hosted on LM Arena.Al-Dahle acknowledged that some users are seeing mixed quality from Maverick and Scout across the different cloud providers hosting the models.Since we dropped the models as soon as they were ready, we expect itll take several days for all the public implementations to get dialed in, Al-Dahle said. Well keep working through our bug fixes and onboarding partners.

Previs Pros latest update introduces Light Grading, a tool for high-level visual storytelling and previsualization. Aimed at filmmakers, directors, and producers, the feature includes a library of classic lighting scenarios with over a dozen presets that can be customized or replaced entirely via Previs Pros in-built generative AI prompt.Light Grading helps relay narrative tone visually and makes it possible to simulate lighting conditions that are otherwise impractical to previs. As with all major updates, Light Grading will continue to be optimized as the tool develops, ensuring it remains a powerful asset for next-gen storytelling.Previs Pro is a previsualization tool created by a team of filmmakers and technologists who saw a gap in the market for a fast, intuitive way to plan and communicate cinematic ideas. Frustrated by the limitations of traditional 2D storyboarding and the steep learning curve of complex 3D software, they set out to create a tool that combines the visual power of 3D with the accessibility and speed of a mobile app.The feature is available immediately and can be accessed via the Previs Pro app. A free months trial can be requested via the Previs Pro website. Source: Previs Pro Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologistL'Wrenbrings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.

Movie & Games TrailersTron: AresBy Vincent Frei - 07/04/2025 First look at Tron: Ares! An advanced Program, Ares, is sent on a high-stakes mission from the Grid into our world. The digital revolution begins now check out the epic trailer!The VFX are made by:ILM (VFX Supervisors: Jeff Capogreco, Abishek Nair, Vincent Papaix)The Production VFX Supervisor is David Seager.Director: Joachim RnningRelease Date: October 10, 2025 (USA) Vincent Frei The Art of VFX 2025

Stratasys has expanded its aerospace and defense 3D printing capabilities with the introduction of AIS Antero 800NA and AIS Antero 840CN03 as validated materials for its F900 platform. These materials were rigorously validated through strategic collaborations, including Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Blue Origin, BAE Systems, U.S. Air Force, NAVAIR, NIAR, Stratasys Direct ManufacturingEngineered for mission-critical applications, the new AIS Antero materials are designed to meet the stringent performance standards required by high-reliability sectors. By leveraging NCAMP (National Center for Advanced Materials Performance) equivalency, Stratasys provides a streamlined and scalable approach to process and material qualification, reducing both time and costs typically associated with adopting additive manufacturing in regulated environments.The ongoing development and qualification of these advanced Stratasys additive manufacturing materials are game-changers for aerospace and defense manufacturers, empowering them to adopt 3D printing with confidence for mission-critical applications, stated Ryan Martin, Senior Research Director at ABI Research.Stratasys will showcase the AIS Antero material suite at the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs from April 710, 2025.Stratasys team at AMUG 2025. Photo via: Stratasys AIS Antero 800NA and 840CN03: High-Performance MaterialsAIS Antero 800NA and AIS Antero 840CN03 are engineered to withstand extreme temperatures and harsh chemicals, offering greater design flexibility. In addition to ensure reliable, high-performance results, these materials simplify the qualification process with extensive support resources, including detailed documentation, training programs, and advanced tools for optimal process control. Furthermore, they reduce costs by minimizing the need for costly in-house testing and qualification.By combining industry-leading performance with a robust qualification framework, were enabling manufacturers to innovate more rapidly and confidently deploy 3D printing for qualified end-use applications across multiple locations, said Foster Ferguson, Vice President of the Industrial Business Unit at Stratasys.Stratasys AIS Antero 800NA and AIS Antero 840CN03. Photo via: Stratasys.Business Report: StratasysStratasys (NASDAQ: SYSS) recently announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2024 (Q4 2024) and full year 2024 (FY 2024). For FY 2024, Stratasys reported revenue of $572.5 million, an 8.8% decrease from $627.6 million in FY 2023. Q4 2024 revenue reached $150.4 million, down 3.8% from the same period in 2023 but up 7.4% sequentially from Q3.Despite the impact of macroeconomic challenges and constrained capital spending, Stratasys maintained strong customer engagement and saw a rise in manufacturing applications, which accounted for 36% of total revenueup from 34% in 2023.Stratasys focus on high-value applications, particularly in the industrial and healthcare sectors, provided resilience during a challenging year. A key highlight was its expanding role in manufacturing, notably with ArcelorMittal, one of the worlds largest steel manufacturers, adopted Stratasys FDM technology and GrabCAD software at its European Research Center, enabling faster tooling production.In motorsports, Stratasys became the official 3D printing partner of NASCAR through a multi-year agreement, for the design and production of parts and tools across its operations, fully replacing previous systems used alongside Stratasys solutions.Who won the 2024 3D Printing Industry Awards?Subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter to keep up with the latest 3D printing news.You can also follow us on LinkedIn, and subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry Youtube channel to access more exclusive content.Featured image showsStratasys AIS Antero 800NA and AIS Antero 840CN03. Photo via: Stratasys.Paloma DuranPaloma Duran holds a BA in International Relations and an MA in Journalism. Specializing in writing, podcasting, and content and event creation, she works across politics, energy, mining, and technology. With a passion for global trends, Paloma is particularly interested in the impact of technology like 3D printing on shaping our future.

Hey everyone! Im currently trying to decide between Unity and Unreal Engine for learning real-time VFX, and Im a bit confused. My main goal is to build a career in this field, so I want to choose the engine that gives me better job opportunities in the long run.I know both engines are widely used, but Im not sure which one is more in demand when it comes to real-time VFX roles in the industry. If anyone has experience or insights about which engine is better from a job or studio perspective, Id really appreciate your advice. Thanks!

Support the Arts & Independent Publishing During our Annual Spring Membership DriveApril 7, 2025ColossalColossalWeve made it through the depths of winter, and spring is finally here. That means its time for our annual spring membership drive. Each year, we like to do something fun to encourage the growth of our creative community, and this year were not only offering $20 off your first annual subscription but also giving away 10 art books! Whether youve been wanting to build your very first art library or are looking to add some incredible gems to your current collection, wed love for you to take part in this exciting offer.All new Colossal Members through April 15 will automatically be entered to win a 10-book starter art library. Curated in collaboration with Colossal editors, well help you handpick a unique collection right from theColossal Shop. (If youve had your eye on certain titles for a while but havent yet taken the plunge, were especially talking to you!)As the art world faces growing challenges andrevenue forindependent publishing becomesincreasingly challenging, its incredibly crucial to preserve safe, creative spaces for diverse perspectives and marginalized voices. Our small team in Chicagoworks hard to do this every single day,but it takes a community to thrive.Click here to join our creative community and put yourself in the running for some free books, all while supporting the stories that matter most.No purchase necessary. See official rules and guidelines here.Next article

The Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) has rejected government demands for complete secrecy over Apples legal challenge against a Home Office order requiring the tech giant to give UK law enforcement backdoor access to encrypted data stored by users of its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) service.The tribunal today rejected arguments from the Home Office that public disclosure of even the bare details of the involvement of Apple or the Home Office would be damaging to national security.Following weeks of government officials refusing to confirm or deny the court action, the IPT confirmed that Apple has filed a complaint challenging the secretary of states powers to issue technical capability notices (TCNs) under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016.The existence of the order, which was first reported by the Washington Post, has raised tensions between the UK and the US, attracting criticism from Donald Trump and US lawmakers that the order will allow UK law enforcement access to the encrypted data of US citizens using Apples ADP service in the US and other countries.The tribunals decision follows legal submissions from Computer Weekly jointly with nine other media organisations, PA Media, members of US Congress, and civil society groups Big Brother Watch, Privacy International and Liberty, strongly arguing in favour of open justice and against the case being heard in secret.There has been extensive media reporting to the effect that the United Kingdon government has signed a technical capability notice requiring the claimant to be able to maintain access to its users data in decrypted form, so that such data is available to be passed to the intelligence agencies, the tribunal said.In the ruling issued today, tribunal chairman Lord Justice Singh and Justice Johnson rejected Home Office arguments that disclosing the bare details of the case including publicly acknowledging the identity of Apple and the Home Office would damage national security or prejudice the public interest.They did not rule on whether future hearings in the case would be held in open court but left open the possibility that it may well be possible for some or all future hearings into the case to incorporate a public element with or without reporting restriction.Apple brought the case against the Home Office after it received a technical capability notice from the Home Office requiring it to extend existing UK law enforcement powers to access encrypted data stored by users on Apples iCloud to users of its Advanced Data Protection service.Apple responded to the order in February by withdrawing ADP from users in the UK, in a move that was criticised as exposing UK citizens to greater cyber threats. As we have said many times before, we have never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services, and we never will, Apple said in a statement at the time.According to the ruling, the Home Office wrote to the tribunal asking it not to disclose the existence of a planned tribunal hearing on 14 March into Apples complaint in court listings so that the hearing would take place entirely in secret for national security reasons.Apple told the tribunal on 6 March 2025 that there was no reason not to list the fact that a hearing was taking place, even if Apple and the Home Office were not named, and that open justice required judicial proceedings to be published in the absence of compelling reasons to the contrary.Tribunal president Lord Justice Singh and Justice Johnson agreed. It would have been a truly extraordinary step to conduct a hearing entirely in secret without any public revelation of the fact that a hearing was taking place. That would be the most fundamental interference with the principle of open justice, they said in the ruling.The IPT listed a closed-door hearing on 14 March, without publicly disclosing the role of Apple or the Home Office.The court heard arguments from the Home Office that the bare details of the case would be prejudicial to national security. Apple, with some support from the Counsel to the Tribunal, argued that the Home Offices concerns were overblown and unjustified.Singh and Johnson found in favour of Apple: We do not accept that the revelation of the bare details of the case would be damaging to the public interest or prejudicial to national security.Civil society groups Privacy International and Liberty have filed separate complaints, along with two individuals challenging the Home Offices powers to issue technical capability notices against Apple and other technology companies. They have asked for their claims to be heard together with Apples claim in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal.The tribunal judges found that there was no need to rule on Privacy International and Libertys application for the proceedings to be made public or to make a decision on whether or not to allow them to intervene in the Apple case before the Home Office had submitted a defence.The tribunal said it was at least possible that the early stages of the litigation would involve the resolution of issues of law, which would mean, by implication, that the early hearings could be heard in open court. It was also possible that Apples claim could be stayed behind the Privacy International and Liberty case.The court also acknowledged the receipt of a letter from US senators and members of Congress, but did not consider it necessary to rule on the issues raised. The letter seeks permission to discuss the technical capability notice issued by the Home Office with US Congress, but the court said it had no power to grant that request.A submission from PA Media asked the tribunal to impose the least prescriptive measures possible, including holding a public hearing with reporting restrictions.It may well be possible for some or all future hearings to incorporate a public element, with or without reporting restrictions. It is not possible to rule on that at this stage, the court said.Commenting on the ruling, a Home Office spokesperson said the government could neither confirm nor deny the existence of the TCN.The Investigatory Powers Act and technical capability notices allow the UK to maintain existing and long-standing counter-terrorism and serious crime investigative capabilities in the face of fast-changing technology, especially when we know that terrorists and child abusers organise and seek to hide evidence of their crimes online, they said.TCNs themselves do not directly provide access to data relevant targeted warrants and authorisations must also be in place. Nor do TCNs extend powers to obtain access to data; their purpose is to ensure that those existing powers can continue to be exercised effectively, the spokesperson added. The Home Offices order to break encryption represents a massive attack on the privacy rights of millions of British Apple users, which is a matter of significant public interest and must not be considered behind closed doors Rebecca Vincent, Big Brother WatchRebecca Vincent, interim director of Big Brother Watch, said the judgment was a welcome step in the right direction and effectively chipped away at the pervasive climate of secrecy surrounding the case.The Home Offices order to break encryption represents a massive attack on the privacy rights of millions of British Apple users, which is a matter of significant public interest and must not be considered behind closed doors, she said.Jim Killock, executive director of Open Rights Group, said the case was bigger than the UK and Apple, and would have implications for millions of people around the world.Such an important decision cannot be made behind closed doors and we welcome the IPTs decision to bring parts of the hearing into the open so that there can be some public scrutiny of the UK governments decisions to attack technologies that keep us safe online, he said.Jemimah Steinfeld, CEO of Index on Censorship, said the judgment did not stipulate that the case will be held in the open moving forward as it should be only that we can know the bare details. We welcome this news, but we continue to fight for full transparency here.The media companies jointly challenging the secrecy of Apples appeal in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal are Associated Newspapers Ltd, the British Broadcasting Corporation, Computer Weekly, Financial Times Group, Guardian News & Media, News Group Newspapers, Reuters News and Media, Sky News, Telegraph Media Group and Times Media. PA Media has filed a separate challenge.According to the judgment, neither Apple nor the Home Office have confirmed or denied that media reporting of the technical capability notice issued against Apple is accurate. This judgment should not be taken as an indication that the media reporting is or is not accurate, it said.Timeline of UK governments order for a backdoor into Apples encrypted iCloud service7 February: Tech companies brace after UK demands backdoor access to Apple cloud The UK has served a notice on Apple demanding backdoor access to encrypted data stored by users anywhere in the world on Apples cloud service.10 February: Apple: British techies to advise on devastating UK global crypto power grab A hitherto unknown British organisation, which even the government may have forgotten about, is about to be drawn into a global technical and financial battle, facing threats from Apple to pull out of the UK.13 February: UK accused of political foreign cyber attack on US after serving secret snooping order on Apple US administration asked to kick UK out of 65-year-old UK-US Five Eyes intelligence sharing agreement after secret order to access encrypted data of Apple users.14 February: Top cryptography experts join calls for UK to drop plans to snoop on Apples encrypted data Some of the worlds leading computer science experts have signed an open letter calling for home secretary Yvette Cooper to drop a controversial secret order to require Apple to provide access to users encrypted data.21 February: Apple withdraws encrypted iCloud storage from UK after government demands backdoor access After the Home Office issued a secret order for Apple to open up a backdoor in its encrypted storage, the tech company has instead chosen to withdraw the service from the UK.26 February: US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard probes UK demand for Apples encrypted data 5 March: Apple IPT appeal against backdoor encryption order is test case for bigger targets The Home Office decision to target Apple with an order requiring access to users encrypted data is widely seen as a stalking horse for attacks against encrypted messaging services WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal.11 March: Secret London tribunal to hear appeal in Apple vs government battle over encryption A secret tribunal is due to meet at the High Court in London to hear tech giant Apple appeal against a Home Office order to compromise the encryption of data stored by its customers on the iCloud service worldwide.13 March: US Congress demands UK lifts gag on Apple encryption order Apple and Google have told US lawmakers that they cannot tell Congress whether they have received technical capability notices from the UK.14 March: The Investigatory Powers Tribunal holds a day-long secret hearing into an appeal brought by Apple against a government notice requiring it to provide law enforcement access to data encrypted by its Advanced Data Protection service on the iCloud, despite calls for the hearing to be opened to the public.24 March: Gus Hosein, executive director of Privacy International Why I am challenging Yvette Coopers secret backdoor order against Apples encryption.31 March:Apple devices are at most risk in UK following government backdoor order, Lord Strasburger tells the House of Lords as a Home Office minister declines to give answers.