Member-only storyWhen AI Became My Creative Partner: A Generative JourneyUnleashing the Next Wave of Art, Music, and Design Innovation While Navigating Ethical and Societal Challenges4 min read·Just now--From blank canvas fear to AI-collaborated masterpieces — discover how generative tools transformed my art, music, and creative process.Generative AI: A Personal Journey of Creativity and InnovationThere was a time when I believed that creativity was solely a human endeavor, a unique expression of our thoughts and emotions. That belief was challenged one rainy afternoon as I sat in my studio, staring at a blank canvas, waiting for inspiration to strike. It was then that I stumbled upon an intriguing concept — Generative AI. This technology, capable of creating art, music, and even stories, seemed like something out of a science fiction novel. Little did I know, it was about to become a pivotal part of my creative journey.As I delved deeper into the world of Generative AI, I discovered its potential to revolutionize the creative industries. From visual arts to music, this technology was reshaping how we think about creativity. I was particularly fascinated by tools like GANs and DALL·E, which could generate hyper-realistic images and abstract art…

Go back 30 or 40 years, and video game cover art had some clear issues. It didn’t always follow precise style guides. It was frequently made in a vacuum by someone who had no idea what the game looked like. It relied on limited concept art, data, and technology. And it often sold a fantasy that didn’t accurately represent the game inside the box.Yet the lack of those things led to thousands of amazing illustrations that we’d never have gotten otherwise, with many sticking in players’ heads as strongly as the games themselves. And last year, Bitmap Books released The Art of the Box, collecting more than 350 of them. The 564-page book spotlights 26 illustrators, many of whom made their names on early game box art.As part of an effort to spotlight game-related books and documentaries, Polygon is running an email interview series with the people behind them. Check out the full list to read up on an Immortality book, a Street Fighter 2 documentary, and others. Below, Bitmap Books founder Sam Dyer discusses The Art of the Box, his love of classic game artwork, and what went into tracking down the illustrators and their work.Polygon: I love the concept of the book and how it spotlights the illustrators as much as the work itself. Where did the idea start for this one?Sam Dyer: The Art of the Box was an idea I had way back at the beginning of Bitmap Books. I’ve always loved art in general, and some of my strongest memories of games as a child are the actual cover art of games. Those powerful images of opening Batman on xmas day with that awesome gold logo, or seeing rows and rows of games in the local newsagent will stay with me forever. With the general move to non-physical in the gaming industry, it felt like the perfect time to capture the art of creating a game cover, and design a book that would preserve this dying art forever. The idea really started to progress after the premature passing of artist Bob Wakelin. The sad truth is that none of us are getting any younger, and it felt like the perfect time to make The Art of the Box happen. Teaming up with long-time collaborator Steve Jarratt, who would take care of the editorial, meant that I could wholly focus on the design and acquiring images, which made taking on the project much less daunting.Dermot Power’s Golden Axe artwork is a personal favorite of Sam Dyer’s. Photo: Bitmap BooksDid you have any specific criteria for which illustrators you chose to include?Quality was the main one, but the biggest challenge was finding artists that: a) wanted to be involved, and b) had high-res scans of their artwork. We decided very early on that we wanted the art to appear in its original form, before the logos, text and flashes were added. This way, it can be seen as pure art, in its rawest form. These restrictions really made it tricky to get a roster of artists to contribute, but after months and months and emailing (and begging!) we got there in the end. I’m really proud that the final book showcases 26 artists, including Bob Wakelin, Steve Hendricks, Ken Macklin, Tom DuBois, Steinar Lund, Marc Ericksen, Julie Bell, and Susumu Matsushita, among many others. I know there’s a decent-sized collector’s market for original versions of these pieces. Did that help or hurt in any specific ways when you were hunting for images for the book?I was aware of the collector’s market for video game art, however there was (for a variety of reasons), a reluctance from some collectors to share these images for the book. Of course, this is absolutely their right as the owners of the original art, but it did mean that certain artists could not be featured as sadly, they didn’t keep high-res images of their art before it was sold. Saying that, some collectors such as Nicola Ferrarese were huge supporters of the project, and offered access to their collection, and were very generous with their time.Were there any images that were particularly difficult to track down for other reasons? Any interesting stories there?There’s not one particular image, but more generally, we ran into issues when an artist was supplying us with images, but there were gaps because they had not photographed an artwork before the original was sold. In these instances, we had to try and locate the image by reaching out into the community, and also lots and lots of internet research. In very rare instances where we hit a brick wall, we worked with the excellent Gary Arnott and Jefferson Taylor who very respectfully (with the original artist’s approval) helped to restore [and] enhance lesser quality images so they were sufficient for the book. Personal favorite piece in the book?Golden Axe (home computer ports) by Dermot Power is a favourite. I have always been a fan of Dermot’s comic book and video game work, and seeing the full size Golden Axe piece in all its glory was amazing. As a child, I only saw a small cropped version on the game box, so to see the level of detail in the full piece was pretty staggering. I also love the fact that it was painted directly onto black board, which gives it an incredible richness and dark mood, suiting the game really well.See More:

يرافقه جدل سياسي وقانوني.. قصة المشروع العقاري الإسلامي بتكساسمسجد شيد حديثا ضمن مشروع عقاري إسلامي رافقه جدل كبير في تكساس (الفرنسية)19/4/2025في ولاية تكساس الأميركية التي يحكمها جمهوريون محافظون مقرّبون من الرئيس دونالد ترامب، يثور جدل كبير حول مشروع عقاري إسلامي يتضمّن مساكن ومدرسة ومستشفى ومسجدا. وقد قوبل المشروع بردود فعل متشددة وصلت إلى حدّ فتح السلطات المحلية تحقيقا بشأنه. ولم يكن المطور العقاري عمران تشودري يتخيّل أنه سيلقى معارضة شديدة عندما أطلق للمسلمين في مجتمعه هذا المشروع الذي يقوم على ألف وحدة سكنية ومدرسة ومستشفى ودار للمسنّين ومسجد. تلقى تشودري رسائل شديدة اللهجة مثل "ارحل عن هذا البلد طالما الفرصة متاحة"، فيما فتحت السلطات المحلية تحقيقا في المشروع. وفي منشور على "إكس"، قال الحاكم الجمهوري لتكساس غريغ أبوت المعروف بنهجه المتشدّد إزاء الهجرة "لنكن واضحين، لا مكان للشريعة في تكساس". وأكّد أبوت أن الولاية لن تحتضن "مناطق يحظر الدخول إليها"، وهو مصطلح متداول في أوساط المحافظين الأميركيين في إشارة إلى أحياء في ضاحية باريس توصف بأنها خارجة عن القانون. وطالب السيناتور الجمهوري جون كورنين، من جهته، بتحقيق في المشروع الذي "قد ينتهك الحقوق الدستورية لسكان تكساس اليهود والمسيحيين"، على حدّ قوله. وفي بلانو بالقرب من مدينة جوزيفين حيث صمّم المشروع ليبصر النور، يدحض عمران تشودري الذي يرأس المجموعة العقارية المطوّرة لهذه المبادرة هذه الاتهامات. إعلان تشودري المنحدر من باكستان يرد على هذه المزاعم مستهزئا "لن نجلب شرطتنا الخاصة أو خدمة إطفاء خاصة بنا". المشروع يضم 1000 منزل جديد ومركزا مجتمعيا ومدرسة ومستشفى، بالإضافة لمسجد ومدرسة إسلامية خاصة (الفرنسية) كراهية ويؤكّد أنها "ليست منطقة محظورة. وهي ليست حكرا على المسلمين. نعم هي تضمّ مسجدا لكنه مفتوح للجميع، كما هي حال خدماتنا ومركزنا المجتمعي ومدرستنا والمستشفى والمنشآت الأخرى". ويشدّد رجل الأعمال "لم نأتِ يوما على ذكر الشريعة"، في مسعى إلى طمأنة السكان القلقين من فكرة إنشاء حيّ مخصّص لجماعة دينية في محيطهم. وتعدّ تكساس من بين حوالي 10 ولايات أميركية اعتمدت مشاريع قوانين لـ"حظر الشريعة الإسلامية"، وتعتبر منظمات غير حكومية أن هذه الولايات متشرّبة بفكر اليمين المتطرّف. وفي خضمّ الجدل، كلّف أبوت عناصر الأمن بالتحقيق في "أنشطة إجرامية محتملة" على صلة بالمشروع العقاري. وقد يثير اسم المشروع "إيبيك سيتي" وهو مختصر لمدينة المركز الإسلامي في شرق بلانو بعض الالتباس، لكنها ليست مدينة على حدة بل هو حيّ سكني سينجز بالكامل في خلال 15 عاما، بحسب القائمين عليه. وتسبّب الجدل الذي غذّته تصريحات الحاكم في نفور إزاء مسلمي بلانو ومحيطها، على ما يقول دان كوغديل وهو محامي عمران تشودري. ويرى المحامي أن "المعلومات المضلّلة التي يتداولها أبوت صادمة"، مندّدا بـ"الكراهية الجيّاشة التي أثارتها تعليقاته". وانتقل المسلمون للعيش في بلانو قبل حوالي 20 عاما، ويقدّر عددهم اليوم بحوالي 5 آلاف نسمة. المسلمون في تكساس يشتكون من العنصرية ومن تعرضهم للمضايقات (الفرنسية) تنامي العنصرية تأمل مويتري رحمن التي تعمل في مجال التسويق وأصلها من بنغلاديش أن تشيّد منزلا لعائلتها في "إبيك سيتي". وتؤكّد ربّة المنزل هذه البالغة 38 عاما "استثمرنا بثقة كاملة"، داحضة الأكاذيب المنتشرة حول هذا المشروع. إعلان ويروي الإمام يسير قدحي -المولود لعائلة باكستانية في هيوستن- "بعد تشييد المسجد، انتقل كثيرون للعيش" في بلانو "ولم يعد هناك متّسع للجميع". ولا يخفي قدحي قلقه من تنامي العنصرية وتزايد الجرائم المدفوعة بالكراهية، كالاعتداء مؤخّرا على 3 فتيات أفغانيات بمدرسة في هيوستن. وقد اتُّهم هو نفسه بالإرهاب "لكنّهم هم من يرهبونا". ويعتبر أن "لا مجال للمقارنة بين انتشار الأكاذيب عبر حسابات مجهولة الأصحاب واليمين المتطرّف المعروف بنشره الكراهية وبين اعتماد مسؤولين منتخبين طروحات مجبولة بالأكاذيب". وتؤكّد فوزيّة بلال أن المسلمين هنا "هم تماما مثل أيّ طائفة أخرى" في بلد غربي. وتقول هذه المدرّسة -البالغة 49 عاما وأصلها من بنغلاديش- "نحن موظّفوكم الحكوميون وأطباؤكم ومهندسوكم. نحن نساهم في هذا البلد العظيم، من خلال عيش الحلم الأميركي كالجميع". المصدر : الفرنسية

تتقدم محاكاة PS3 على نظام أندرويد بشكل ملحوظ لتصل إلى نفس مستوى المحاكيات الشهيرة المتوفرة على الهواتف المحمولة.مؤخرًا، أطلق المطور وراء محاكي RPCS3 إصدارًا جديدًا على أندرويد بعنوان RPCS3-Android، وبعد فترة قصيرة تم استبداله بإصدار آخر محسّن يحمل اسم RPCSX-UI-Android، وهو أيضًا من نفس المطور.كما تناولنا في تغطيتنا السابقة، فإن RPCSX-UI-Android يمثل تحسينًا لإصدار RPCS3-Android، حيث أضاف العديد من التحسينات على المحاكي. وبعد أيام قليلة من إطلاقه، حصل RPCSX-UI-Android على تحديث كبير أضاف المزيد من التحسينات على أدائه.وفقًا لملاحظات الإصدار، جاء التحديث الجديد للنسخة RPCSX-UI-Android (V20250417) مع ميزة جديدة هامة: القدرة على تخصيص المدخلات.هذه الميزة ستتيح للاعبين تخصيص تخطيط وحدة التحكم، وهو أمر مفيد بشكل خاص للمستخدمين الذين لا يمتلكون وحدات تحكم مادية.وإلى جانب هذه الميزة الجديدة، جلب التحديث إصلاحات متعددة، منها تحسين حركة لوحة التحكم وتوسيع نطاق D. كما لاحظ المستخدمون الذين جربوا الإصدار الجديد من المحاكي تحسينًا طفيفًا في الأداء، ولكن وفقًا لملاحظات فريق RPCS3 على Reddit، يُتوقع أن يشهد المحاكي تحسنًا كبيرًا في الأداء مع الإصدارات القادمة.على الرغم من هذه التحديثات المتكررة، يبدو أن RPCSX-UI-Android سيصل إلى نسخته المستقرة في المستقبل القريب. لمن يرغب في تجربة الإصدار 20250417 من RPCSX-UI-Android، يمكن الحصول عليه من خلال GitHub.ولكن بما أن المحاكي لا يزال في مراحل تطوره المبكرة، قد لا تعمل جميع ألعاب PlayStation 3 بسلاسة أو قد لا تعمل على الإطلاق.المصدر

After being teased earlier this week, Star Wars: Zero Company was officially revealed at Star Wars Celebration Japan on Saturday. The cinematic trailer for the game introduced the primary cast of Zero Company: a group of covert specialists who players will control in this turn-based tactics game. Developed by Bit Reactor in collaboration with Respawn Entertainment and Lucasfilm Games, Star Wars: Zero Company will launch for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S in 2026. Set during the twilight of the Clone Wars, players will step into the shoes of former Republic officer Hawks, who leads a motley crew of specialists behind enemy lines. Some of the characters here include a Clonetrooper, a Jedi Knight, and a Mandalorian, all of whom are original characters created for the game. Bit Reactor says that players will embark on a campaign of tactical operations and investigations in Zero Company, and between missions, they can develop a base of operations and gather intelligence through their network of informants.Continue Reading at GameSpot

In Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia, most of the population can wield superhuman abilities called quirks that allow them to do all sorts of powerful, practical, and/or unbelievable things. Naturally, most people utilize their quirks to help make the world a better place, either by using them in their regular job or by becoming a Pro Hero.

Ryan Coogler, the Academy Award-nominated director of Creed and Black Panther, hasn’t been shy at all about citing the various inspirations behind his new horror thriller Sinners. In the weeks leading up to the film’s premiere, Coogler has been making the rounds along the press circuit, drumming up excitement and talking at length about the creative process behind his latest original feature. “It’s a genre-fluid film,” Coogler told SciFiNow in January. “There are vampires in the film, okay, but it’s really about a lot more than just that. It’s one of many elements and I think we’re gonna surprise people with it.” Coogler’s right; there’s a lot more to Sinners than first meets the eye, and that’s especially apparent from the breadth of influences Coogler has pulled from while writing the film’s script. He’s cited From Dusk Till Dawn, The Faculty, the oeuvre of the Coen brothers, and even Puss in Boots: The Last Wish as inspirations behind Sinners, though the most intriguing reference he’s nodded to might be a lesser-known episode of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone. “Truthfully, the biggest influences are not in cinema,” Coogler told SciFiNow. “The novel Salem’s Lot is a massive influence on the film. Then there’s a real deep-cut influence. My favorite thing ever made is The Twilight Zone, and my favorite episode is called ‘The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank’ – probably Salem’s Lot and ‘The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank’ are probably the biggest influences.” Premiering in the third season of The Twilight Zone, the episode centers on Jeff Myrtlebank, a young man living in a small town in the southernmost section of the Midwest who mysteriously returns to life at his own funeral, much to the shock of his loved ones and pastor. Despite their reasonable trepidation, the townspeople declare it a miracle — that is, until rumors begin to swirl regarding minor yet noticeable shifts in Jeff’s behavior following his unexpected resurrection. “I’m real concerned,” Jeff’s mother tells her husband over breakfast. “He only ate two eggs again; why, ever since he’s sprouted teeth he’s been having three eggs at breakfast.” Jeff’s father notices a change in Jeff as well. “I recollect worrying many times that he leaned just a shade towards the side of shiftlessness,” he says. “And since his sickness, he’s been fighting in that work just like he was a year behind.” Eventually, these idle rumors become fodder for suspicion and outright hatred of Jeff’s newfound character and candor. It gets so bad that even Comfort Gatewood, Jeff’s own fiancée, begins to doubt that Jeff is who he says he is. “I expect it from the others, but not from you, Comfort,” Jeff tells her in frustration. “I’m getting sick and tired the way everybody treats me like a vampire.” The conclusion of the episode leaves the question of Jeff’s true nature, as well as that of his resurrection, tantalizingly unanswered, but the most intriguing connection between “The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank” and Coogler’s Sinners is evident in its penultimate moment. When Jeff is surrounded by a group of angry neighbors, Comfort’s brother Orgram accuses him of being a “haint,” a ghostly presence believed to possess the bodies of mortal men for its own nefarious purposes. This same term appears in Sinners, when Wunmi Mosaku’s character, Annie, speaks about the power of music to rend asunder the veil dividing the world of the living and the dead. Even apart from its connection to Coogler’s latest film, however, “The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank” is a terrific Twilight Zone episode that knows that the most interesting questions are often best left unanswered. It may not be as iconic as “Nightmare at 20000 Feet” or “Five Characters in Search of an Exit,” but it’s nevertheless a great episode to watch whether or not you plan on venturing out to the theater to see Sinners. The Twilight Zone is available to stream on Pluto TV and Paramount Plus.

As the prices on groceries continue to rise, many people might be thinking of growing a vegetable garden for the first time. It can be a great idea, not just because groceries are expensive, but because getting to the store includes soft costs like gas, grocery bags, and time—to say nothing of how wildly empowering it can be to simply walk into your backyard and collect the food you grew yourself.The key to your success here is maximizing the space you have, because gardening has soft costs, too. The fertilizer, water, and of course, your time. You’ve got a limited amount of space to work with, as well, so choosing the right crops to get the maximum amount of food is essential. Maximize the space by growing up and down Kohlrabi grows above ground, but look at all the space left to grow radishes, turnips, and carrots around the kohrabi in the same space. Credit: Amanda Blum You might look at a raised bed and see a simple 4-by-8-foot space, but I see all the vertical space. Beneath the tomatoes lies space for radishes, turnips, and carrots. Peas, beans, and cucumbers grow straight up if supported by a trellis, using almost no square footage of the bed itself. If tomatoes are allowed to sprawl across the bed, they take up a lot of space, but pruned and trellised appropriately, they’ll grow up, leaving room for crops around them. Almost all squash can be trellised to grow upwards. "Cut and come again" crops make the best use of space Credit: Amanda Blum Grow lettuce, celery, chard, and kale because these crops allow you to take leaves or stalks from them without killing the plant—they'll simply grow back. Eventually, the plant will go to seed (it will send up a shoot that will flower, and then that flower will produce seeds, and this process will turn the vegetable bitter), these crops take little time to grow, so they can be quickly replaced. Avoid crops that take up a lot of space for little return Credit: Amanda Blum I only grow cabbage in wintertime—during the summer, I can’t spare the space. Each cabbage plant needs 3 square feet or more, and only produces one head of cabbage, which is cheap to buy at the market. The same is true for broccoli and cauliflower. A single zucchini plant will take over an entire bed, and while it will produce an endless amount of zucchini, it’s usually too much hassle. Corn doesn’t seem like it would require much space, but you need to grow it in blocks of 4 feet by 4 feet in order for it to pollinate. Corn is also such a heavy nitrogen feeder that it will rob all your nearby vegetables of the nitrogen they need to grow. Grow mini vegetables instead of full-size ones Credit: Amanda Blum I recently wrote about growing mini bell peppers instead of full size, since each full-size plant may produce only a few bell peppers, but a mini pepper plant may produce 50. The same is true of eggplants and tomatoes. Planting one cherry or plum tomato plant (I recommend Juliet) will give you a summers-worth of tomatoes to play with rather than waiting for a few full-size tomatoes to ripen. Small eggplants will also ripen over the season, giving you produce to harvest more often. Choose crops that are easy to grow Credit: Amanda Blum Some crops are more finicky than others. It’s hard to screw up lettuce, radishes, or peas, but a lot of things can go wrong before you successfully grow a watermelon or artichoke. Carrots are very hard to germinate, but beets grow for everyone.Choose vegetables that grow quickly Cucumbers are fast crops and can even be grown in bags Credit: Amanda Blum Some vegetables are short crops, meaning they grow quickly, and some are long crops, taking five or six months. Brussels sprouts and parsnips, for instance, take six months to grow, but turnips can be harvested in 60 days. Lettuce, radishes, beets, scallions, spinach, chard, cucumber, green beans, and peas are all examples of short crops. The back of any seed packet (or the plant label on starts) will tell you how long any crop will take to harvest.Stagger your plantingGardens are not a “set it and forget it” project. You need to be constantly inputting (planting) and outputting (harvesting). To keep a small space consistently going, you’ll want to utilize succession planting. Instead of planting peas once, plant them every two weeks so there's always something to harvest. The same is true with almost every crop mentioned above: lettuce, scallions, radishes, beets, turnips, etc. Plant some in week one, and then again in week three, five, and seven. As you pull out older plants, newer plants are already growing. If a plant is struggling, pull it out and try something else—you don’t have the space to let anything linger.

Nintendo finally revealed when gamers in the US and Canada will be able to place their orders for Switch 2 consoles. Nintendo announced that Switch 2 pre-orders will open on April 24 in both regions. Price has remained the same, even in the face of tariffs: the Switch 2 console alone will cost $450, while the Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World bundle will cost $500. However, Nintendo also stated it will adjust prices of Switch 2 accessories due to "market conditions." "Other adjustments to the price of any Nintendo product are also possible in the future depending on market conditions," the company said in the press release. Also in its statement, the company apologized for the pre-order delay and reiterated that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be widely available starting June 5. How to pre-order the Switch 2 In addition to direct from Nintendo, you'll be able to snag a Switch 2 from participating retailers when the console becomes available. We expect those to include Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Walmart and others. But there's some fine-print attached to pre-ordering directly from Nintendo. According to the pre-order page on Nintendo's site, you must be 18 years or older, sign in with your Nintendo account and register your interest in pre-ordering. Then, you'll be sent an invitation email when it's time to play your pre-order, and the invitation will be valid for 72 hours. And then there's this bit of info: "Invitation emails will be prioritized on a first-come, first-served basis to registrants who have purchased a Nintendo Switch Online membership with a minimum of 12 months of paid membership and a minimum of 50 total gameplay hours, as of April 2, 2025." That seems to mean those who have paid for Switch Online in the recent past and those who have spent a good amount of time playing Switch games as of late will get first pick at buying a Switch 2. There's no telling if these same restrictions will apply if you want to pre-order from third-party retailers. Pre-order the Nintendo Switch 2 from: Nintendo Amazon Walmart GameStop Best Buy Target Tariffs and the Nintendo Switch 2 During its most recent Direct presentation at the start of April, Nintendo showed off more of the Switch 2 than it ever had before. That included the reveal of the April 9 pre-order opening date, in addition to the original $450 starting price. Shortly after, President Trump announced sweeping tariffs on China and other countries, prompting Nintendo to delay pre-orders in the US and Canada. In a reversal, President Trump then announced a 90-day pause on steep “reciprocal” tariffs affecting 75 countries, but also announced that the tariff imposed on China will go up even further (currently, it's up to 245 percent for that country). We now know that the original $450 price for the Switch 2 will remain the same in the US and Canada, but based on its official statement, it appears Nintendo is leaving the door open for potential future price increases. We also know that Nintendo started moving some of its Switch console manufacturing to Vietnam in 2019. The reciprocal tariff for Vietnam was set to be 46 percent, but that appears to be on hold for now in favor of a 10 percent reciprocal tariff that’s now in effect for the 90-day pause period. It has been speculated that Nintendo will ramp up production of Switch 2 consoles in Vietnam so it can stay on schedule, even if it sells the console at a loss in the short term. More Switch 2 details We knew from the teaser trailer for the Switch 2 that Nintendo's new hardware would be bigger and would have a new approach to the detachable Joy-Cons. The new Joy-Con 2 have a new C button, mouse controls and a built in gyroscope for tilt control. The console has a built-in mic to support a new feature called Game Chat that will let you communicate with friends in-game. The device is indeed a bit larger, with a 7.9-inch LCD screen that supports a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR and a 1080p resolution. When docked, you'll be able to play at up to 4K on your TV, and Nintendo says it improved the consoles internal speakers as well. The new dock also has a built-in fan to keep the console cool and help maintain performance during long play sessions. The Switch 2 has dual USB-C ports for charging, and the base storage amount has increased to 256GB. The Switch 2's storage can be expanded like the previous model, but it will only work with newer microSD Express cards. The Switch 2 has a number of accessories that you'll be able to purchase separately as well. Those are the accessories that Nintendo stated will receive price adjustments — otherwise known as price increases. The new Switch 2 camera will now cost $55, instead of the original $50 price tag; the new Switch 2 Pro controller will be $85 instead of $80; an extra pair of Joy-Con 2 controllers will set you back $95 instead of $90 and a Joy-Con charging grip will go for $40 instead of $35. Check out Nintendo's official statement for all of the accessory price adjustments.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-switch-2-pre-orders-open-april-24-in-the-us-starting-at-450-plus-everything-else-you-need-to-know-140931113.html?src=rss

A much-requested volume normalization control for YouTube Music appears to be rolling out for some users.