This town is big enough for the two of us Bethesda isn’t shutting down ambitious fan-made “Skyblivion” remaster project "Bethesda has always been supportive of community projects like ours..." Kyle Orland – Apr 23, 2025 11:19 am | 11 The future looks bright for the team behind the Skyblivion modding project. Credit: Skyblivion Team The future looks bright for the team behind the Skyblivion modding project. Credit: Skyblivion Team Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more Bethesda fans are understandably excited about the opportunity to revisit the world of Cyrodiil with yesterday's heavily telegraphed release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. But that excitement may have been tinged with at least a little bit of trepidation for the team behind Skyblivion, a volunteer-run project that has spent years trying to "port and rebuild" 2007's Oblivion into the updated engine from 2016's remastered Skyrim: Special Edition. Fortunately for the Skyblivion team, Bethesda has apparently decided there's room enough in this world for both official and unofficial remakes of Oblivion. The team took to social media Tuesday to thank Bethesda for "their continued support" and for "the generous gift of Oblivion Remastered game keys for our entire modding team." "To clear up any confusion Bethesda made it clear that they have no intention of shutting down our project," the team added in a social media reply. Not everyone is so supportive Earlier this month, when credible rumors of the official Oblivion remaster were running rampant, the Skyblivion team posted that it was "eagerly aniticipating" the official release and that there was "no need for comparisons or a sense of competition between Skyblivion and a potential official remaster." That's particularly true, the team wrote, because Skyblivion's PC mod won't be available for console players, who will be able to enjoy Bethesda's official version instead "Bethesda has always been supportive of community projects like ours, and we don't see that changing anytime soon," the team wrote at the time. The latest "making of" trailer for the ambitious Skyblivion modding project. Other publishers aren't always similarly open to competition from fans, though. Nintendo has long taken a legal scorched earth approach to a wide variety of fan games that use its licensed characters or trademarks. And last year, Valve also took steps to shut down a number of fan remakes of its legacy games. In 2016, Blizzard shut down a couple of fan-run "classic" World of Warcraft servers in the run-up to its announcement of official World of Warcraft Classic servers. Activision and EA have similarly shut down modded servers for legacy online titles. Some publishers have mirrored Bethesda's more open approach to modders, though. Sega actively encouraged official Steamworks modding for some Sega Genesis classics released as PC downloads back in 2016. And the heavily Halo-inspired Installation 01 continues to thrive with something close to official support from Microsoft and developer 343 Industries, as long as it remains a non-commercial project. As for Skyblivion, while the project's last public Roadmap update is months old at this point, the team is still confident it will be able to release a version of its ambitious mod later this year. "We are confident that players will be the true winners, having the opportunity to experience both a community-driven reimagining and a professional, modern version of this beloved game." Kyle Orland Senior Gaming Editor Kyle Orland Senior Gaming Editor Kyle Orland has been the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica since 2012, writing primarily about the business, tech, and culture behind video games. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He once wrote a whole book about Minesweeper. 11 Comments

Greater mouse-tailed bats crawl backwardsSahar Hajyahia et al. 2025 Orientating yourself in the darkness of a cave seems like a difficult task. But some bats may have an ingenious solution: using their tails. Greater mouse-tailed bats (Rhinopoma microphyllum) live in groups inside small caves where flying is challenging, so they hang from the cave’s walls and move deeper into it by crawling backwards. They manoeuvre this way in many situations, such as in response to the appearance of a predator, or when they want to find a better position in the cave. Biologists have long wondered whether these bats might use their unusually long tails as a “sensor” to navigate inside the caves, and so Yossi Yovel at Tel Aviv University in Israel and his colleagues designed two experiments to put the bats’ tails to the test. In the first experiment, the researchers recreated a setup that mimicked the interior of a cave, creating a maze with obstacles similar to the uneven, rocky terrain the bats would encounter naturally. The team measured how long it took for the bats to climb the wall while crawling backwards, and how smoothly they were able to do so, first naturally and then with their tails anaesthetised. The bats moved their tails back and forth to sense the obstacles and find their way through the maze. But when the researchers anaesthetised the bats’ tails, the flying mammals navigated the maze less smoothly and around 10 per cent more slowly. They still made it through, however, suggesting they also use other body parts to sense obstacles. “When you walk backwards, you can still feel with your body and with your legs,” says Yovel. “It’s clear that they can do it. But there was a significant reduction in performance.” Unmissable news about our planet delivered straight to your inbox every month. Sign up to newsletter In the second experiment, the researchers designed a Y-shaped maze that presented two corridors with different ridged textures that the bats could feel and choose between. They used textural differences between the two corridors to teach the bats that one corridor led to a reward, while the other didn’t. Even though the textural differences were subtle – one corridor had gratings every 1.5 centimetres and one had gratings every 1 cm – the animals were able to distinguish between them. While other bat species have long tails, the researchers say this is so far the only one known to find its way in the darkness using this distinctive strategy. “I don’t think this is the general for bats with long tails,” says Yovel. But “until we test the other bats, we don’t really know”. Journal reference:iScience DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.112014 Topics:animal behaviour

Albedo, which is building satellites to map and monitor the Earth with powerful precision and detail, is raising a Series B funding round that would value the startup at $285 million before the additional funding, according to documents seen by Business Insider.Investment firm General Innovation Capital is leading the round, which will bring in close to $100 million in new financing to the startup, according to the documents.Albedo and General Innovation Capital didn't respond to requests for comment.Albedo's very low earth orbit (VLEO) satellites collect visible and thermal imagery at the highest resolution commercially available for use in agriculture, insurance, energy, mapping, utilities, and defense.Albedo was previously valued at $150 million pre-money in 2023, according to Pitchbook. Investors include Breakthrough Energy Ventures (the investment firm of Bill Gates), Initialized Capital Management, Y Combinator, AWS Startups, and Booz Allen Ventures.The new funding comes as the company has seen considerable momentum in recent months. The startup announced in March that it had signed a US Air Force contract worth up to $12 million and successfully launched its first satellite, named Clarity-1."The launch of Clarity-1 is a pivotal moment for the space industry," Chris Bogdan, an Albedo investor and executive vice president at Booz Allen and leader of the firm's Space business, said in a press release after the launch. "The ability to collect ultra-high-resolution data at a fraction of the cost and timeline of traditional satellites is a transformational shift in space technology."Based in Colorado, Albedo was founded in 2020 by CTO AyJay Lasater and CEO Topher Haddad, both of whom formerly worked at Lockheed Martin, as well as CPO Winston Tri, a former Facebook software engineer.Albedo's imagery is so clear that it has raised dystopian privacy concerns about using satellites to track people from space."This is a giant camera in the sky for any government to use at any time without our knowledge," Jennifer Lynch, general counsel of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told the New York Times last year. "We should definitely be worried."Haddad told the Times he is "acutely aware of the privacy implications," and Albedo's technology will image people but cannot identify humans.

People walking by JPMorgan Chase's Manhattan office tower Momo Takahashi/BI 2025-04-23T16:11:16Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? JPMorgan promoted 118 people in global banking and markets to managing director. The bank began announcing the new MDs internally on Monday, a person familiar with the matter said. Business Insider obtained the full list in global banking and markets — take a look. JPMorgan Chase this week promoted 118 people in global banking and markets to the rank of managing director, the firm's highest designation outside of the C-suite.The number is up slightly from the 116 executives the firm elevated to managing director in these business lines last year. The new MDs sit within JPMorgan's commercial and investment banking unit, which advises companies with mergers and stock sales and facilitates trades for large investors. In addition to bankers and traders, the company also elevated people who work in functions like legal, risk, and compliance.The bank began internally announcing promotions across the company on Monday, a person familiar with the matter said. It's part of an annual investment banking ritual the bank engages in each April.Eighty-six of this year's new MDs in the division sit within banking, including M&A advisory and corporate lending; another 32 are in markets. An analysis of the new managing directors' LinkedIn profiles shows they stem from all over the world. Some are based in New York or Dallas; others in London, Frankfurt, or Singapore. As of press time, many members of this year's MD class had not updated their LinkedIn pages with their new roles, leaving the title of "Executive Director," one rung below MD, in their profiles.The commercial and investment bank generated roughly $19.7 billion in revenue for the first quarter of the year, according to the bank's most recent earnings figures; that's up nearly 12% year over year. Banking and payments revenue of $8.7 billion was up 4% year over year; markets and securities services revenue was up 19%. (Markets-specific revenue of $9.7 billion was up 21%, the firm said, amid heightened equities activity.) Overall, JPMorgan said this month that it produced $14.6 billion in net income for the quarter."Clients have become more cautious amid an increase in market volatility driven by geopolitical and trade-related tensions," Jamie Dimon, the company's CEO, said in a statement accompanying the release. He also recently addressed a variety of issues facing the economic and US democracy, including stagflation and the specter of a possible recession, in his annual shareholder letter.Last year, JPMorgan was the third-ranked M&A advisor globally (after Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley) and second-ranked in the US (after Goldman), according to the deal tracking firm Dealogic. Globally, the firm advised on 403 transactions with a total deal value of about $760 billion; in the US, specifically, it worked on 228 deals with value of roughly $481 billion, Dealogic found.JPMorgan's MD promotions in the division come as investment banking, generally, has confronted headwinds under the Trump administration. The chilling effect of tariffs and trade wars roiled markets and spooked investors in recent weeks, contributing to a global selloff that has stalled the M&A and IPO pipelines.In addition to its commercial and investment bank, the firm also conducts promotions in its other businesses, ranging from tech to asset management.Here's the full list of names of 118 new managing directors in global banking and markets.Global BankingDaniel Adams, global investment bankingBrent Ballard Jr., global investment bankingAlex Bilichenko, global investment bankingHenry Capper, global investment bankingHenri de Branche, global investment bankingJon Edwards, global investment bankingJason Gorak, commercial bankingJeanne Ho, commercial bankingEd Johnson, commercial bankingSid Lahiri, global investment bankingJustin Look, global investment bankingMithil Mehta, global investment bankingGabor Pogany Ritter, global corporate bankingSebastian Rodriguez, global investment bankingMahesh Ahlawat, global investment bankingJeff Barker, commercial bankingLisa Bono, commercial bankingMei Chang, global investment bankingIngrid Deroubaix, commercial bankingOmar El Amine Fichtali, global investment bankingBen Grant, global investment bankingMatt Holdaway, global servicesTucker Kaufmann, commercial bankingYing Li, global corporate bankingLouis Magraner, global investment bankingStephen Molloy, global investment bankingMatt Renna, commercial bankingVictor Ruiz, commercial bankingMarc Andersen, global investment bankingGina Baumgartner, global servicesChiara Bovo, global investment bankingZuriel Chavez, global investment bankingPaul Drayton, commercial bankingMarc Epstein, commercial bankingJulia Grinshpun, commercial bankingGraham Holden, global investment bankingSonam Khare, global investment bankingStephanie Little, global corporate bankingBrandon Mallette, global investment bankingCharlie Oakes, global investment bankingMichael Rhodes, commercial bankingLy-Yen Sacco, global corporate bankingIsabela Bacchi, global corporate bankingLouise Bennetts, global investment bankingGauthier Brizard, global corporate bankingLorenzo Colonna di Paliano, commercial bankingAnjali Dubey, product & experienceHideo Fujimoto, global investment bankingTiffany Hatchett, commercial bankingSaiko Hoshino, global investment bankingJaewon Kim, global corporate bankingNiklas Ljungquist, global corporate bankingHasan Mannan, commercial bankingViraj Patel, global investment bankingMike Rhodes, global investment bankingJay Sanghani, global investment bankingKeats Baldwin III, commercial bankingBruno Biagini, global investment bankingJason Campbell, commercial bankingAly Cunningham, commercial bankingJonty Edwards, global investment bankingLisa Gomez, commercial bankingAaron Hilton, global servicesParul Jhunjhunwala, global investment bankingArjan Kreischer, global investment bankingDoug Loftus, commercial bankingBen McNulty, global investment bankingBryan Payne, global investment bankingEric Rinder, global investment bankingEric Schwarzbach, global corporate bankingDuncan Sennott, commercial bankingJames Summer, global investment bankingAbel Thai, global servicesJim Tomtania, commercial bankingHaley Trethaway, global investment bankingManoj Vemula, global investment bankingAnastasia Volnova, global investment bankingTeresa Walker, commercial bankingSheria Washington, commercial bankingGregor Weber, global corporate bankingPhillip Wiginton, commercial bankingFlorian Will, global corporate bankingDaisuke Yoshizumi, global investment bankingPeck Yuen Yong, global servicesChristine Zhang, global corporate bankingFei-Fei Zhang, global investment bankingMarketsShalabh AgrawalMark AmlinTaoufik BounharAaron CasdenPatrick ChuAmelie DarrortAlex DaumCyprien DecouxIrina DushkevichKer Lih GanSarah GangFelix GrimauSiddharth GuptaAndrew Hart-FoxMoulay JaidiManish JainJason KendallAlexander KueblerElisa LassMatt LegerEmma MaAnnie MarinaroChristopher J McCannYasuhiro NishikawaMeghan O'KeefeRuchira PatelWill PeakMatt PennellaJohn SchlegelMichael SistoRob Tanna-SmithShilong YangHave a tip? Contact this reporter via email at ralexander@businessinsider.com or SMS/Signal at 561-247-5758. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely. Recommended video

In his free time, while working as a clerk at a local Australian railway, James Harrison saved millions of lives — with his blood.Harrison had particularly special plasma: It had a rare antibody that doctors used to make a medication for pregnant mothers with different blood types from their newborns. When this happens, it can lead to the mother’s immune system attacking the still-developing red blood cells of the fetus.But it’s not like the doctors drew blood one time, found this special antibody, and made a cure that they could end up reusing. Harrison had to keep donating his blood. Almost 1,200 times. He was terrified of needles, he had to travel an hour each way to the lab, and still, he kept donating over and over, every two weeks or so. For 64 consecutive years, until he died in his sleep in March, having saved almost 2.5 million babies in Australia.But the reason he had to do all this in the first place is because scientists still don’t really understand blood.Nicola Twilley, the host of Vox Media’s Gastropod podcast, wrote a piece for the New Yorker earlier this year about blood and the scientists trying to understand how it does what it does. On the latest episode of the Unexplainable podcast, she spoke with host Noam Hassenfeld about the quest for artificial blood on the latest. Listen to their conversation below, or in the feed of your favorite podcast app. This podcast is presented by Roomba. Roomba doesn’t have a say in our editorial decisions, but they make episodes like this possibleYou’ve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you — threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you — join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

If anything is safe from the economic chaos caused by President Donald Trump’s tariffs, it’s probably gold — or at least that’s what investors seem to think.The price of gold has increased rapidly in the months since Trump took office, surging particularly since his March 2 announcement of a baseline 10 percent tariff on all US imports. This week, it briefly climbed to a record high of more than $3,500 per ounce during day trading, before closing slightly lower than that.The uncertainty and projected losses caused by those tariffs have sent the stock market spiraling downward, with the S&P 500 falling more than 8 percent in the last month. The tariffs have also scrambled the markets for other traditionally safe investments linked to the US, like Treasury bonds and the US dollar.US Treasury bonds have seen a major selloff in recent weeks, with yields climbing to alarmingly high levels. (High yields are typically a sign that investors are losing confidence in the US economy.) They spiked again after Trump called Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell a “major loser” in a Truth Social post on Monday. The president has been threatening to fire Powell if he does not lower interest rates, something Powell’s Federal Reserve can’t do without risking higher inflation. Investors who once stocked up on cash are rethinking that as well. The value of the US dollar hit a three-year low on Monday after Trump’s Truth Social post about Powell, as international fears begin to mount that the president’s haphazard tariff policies could force banks to choose something other than the dollar as the world’s global reserve currency. (Since the post-World War II era, central banks around the world have stashed their financial reserves in US dollars, seeing it as a safe, dependable asset.)All of that has meant that investors are now flocking to gold, the value of which is not tied to the US economy, because it is a tangible, scarce resource that has value in and of itself. It has historically retained that value, even amid economic crises or periods of high inflation, making it more reliable than bonds, stocks, or dollars. And because the supply of gold is limited, increased demand has meant skyrocketing prices. The price did come down somewhat to under $3,400 on Tuesday afternoon after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a closed-door investor meeting that the US would have to de-escalate its trade war with China. But it’s still higher than it was even a few weeks ago.The price doesn’t seem likely to come down significantly further in the near future. Goldman Sachs projects that by the end of 2025, the price will increase to $3,700 or even higher if central banks worldwide purchase an average of 100 tons of gold per month. Central banks had already been on a gold-buying spree coming into 2025, buying more than 1,000 tons of gold annually in recent years, and that pace is expected to pick up in light of recent economic uncertainty. This isn’t the first time gold prices have seen a major spike. Throughout periods of economic turbulence in recent history, gold has been seen as a tangible safe haven investment that maintains its value. At the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the price of gold jumped from $1,575 in January 2020 to over $2,000 by that summer. Amid concerns about the stability of the European economy from 2010 to 2012, the price reached a new high of $1,825.The Great Recession saw the price rise from about $730 in October 2008 to $1,300 two years later.This time, we’ve seen an even starker increase. And unless Trump and Bessent articulate a drastic shift in their economic vision, gold seems unlikely to lose its luster anytime soon. See More:

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered has finally been revealed and released, and fans are impressed at its value — even taking a dig at Nintendo's Switch 2 game pricingTech14:28, 23 Apr 2025Oblivion is back, and it's never looked better(Image: Bethesda)The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is not only real, but you can play it now thanks to yesterday's 'shadow drop' that was unfortunately foreshadowed by developer Virtuous accidentally leaking a whole host of screenshots last week.Still, whether you played the original or not, there really has never been a better time, and while fans are returning to Cyrodil or taking their first steps out of the game's introductory sewers into its sprawling landmass, they're eating up the first single-player Elder Scrolls game since Skyrim back in 2011.‌Not only is the game available for Game Pass subscribers on Xbox and PC, but it's also retailing for $49.99 on Steam, causing players to celebrate a game that's priced 'reasonably' with some even taking a potshot at Nintendo ahead of the Switch 2 release.Article continues belowOver on the Elder Scrolls Reddit, one user pointed out that the Switch 2 selling for less than the $60 standard in the US (unless players want the Deluxe Edition) is the antithesis on Nintendo's pricing for Switch 2.Not only is the company planning to charge around $80 (or £75) for Mario Kart World, but Switch 2 versions of existing original Switch games are expected to cost almost £70, too.‌Since the package also includes the entirety of the DLC for the original game, it's a huge value proposition for players.How will you play?(Image: Bethesda)‌Sadly, the fun is short-lived for some thanks to regional pricing.UK gamers will need to pay £50 for the standard edition, which works out at around $67 in the US thanks to current exchange rates.If the pricing was reversed, those playing in the UK could have got Oblivion's fantastic remaster for under 40 quid - boo, we say, boo!‌Still, at least Game Pass makes it a tad more affordable for many.As one commenter put it, "This definitely was not just some quick 'paint and move on remaster'""So far for me it’s such a rich remaster it might as well be a remake. It’s refreshed but it is absolutely still Oblivion to its core. Well done I say!!!"Article continues belowCouldn't have said it better ourselves.For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.‌‌‌

One of the biggest PS5 exclusives of 2025, Ghost of Yotei, finally has a release date and Sony has given a fresh look at the title with a new trailer for fans to dissectTech13:23, 23 Apr 2025Expect to explore a huge open world(Image: Sony)It's shaping up to be another big year for video games between the Nintendo Switch 2, GTA 6, and more.PS5 fans already have Death Stranding 2: On the Beach to look forward to, but Ghost of Yotei is also top of many wishlists.‌The game, which is a sequel of sorts to Ghost of Tsushima, has been shrouded in a degree of mystery since its reveal last year at a PlayStation event, but now Sucker Punch has lifted the lid on the Japan-set adventure.Article continues belowThe studio has confirmed a release date for Ghost of Yotei, and dropped a stunning new trailer.The new trailer pulls no punches, showcasing who the Onryo is after in what we expect will be an exciting tale of revenge, before revealing the game will launch on October 2, 2025.‌With targets like The Snake, The Oni, and more, it feels more than a little Tarantino as Atsu hunts down the Yotei Six."It’s been nearly five years since we shipped Ghost of Tsushima, and in that time we’ve been hard at work making Ghost of Yōtei something special," a blog post reads.We're excited to see if Yotei ties to Tsushima in some meaningful way(Image: Sony)‌"While the stories are unrelated, it’s important to us to make this a worthy follow-up to Jin’s journey, and we can’t wait for you to experience Atsu’s quest for vengeance later this year.""We hope the brief looks in today’s trailer give you a taste of what you can expect from Ghost of Yōtei. Beyond your first look at the Yōtei Six, you’ll spot some of the gorgeous scenery of Ezo as well as a handful of Atsu’s new weapons, a few of her allies, and even a new gameplay mechanic that will allow you to glimpse Atsu’s past and understand everything that was taken from her.""But we’ve only scratched the surface. In Ghost of Yōtei, we’ve built upon and evolved the way you explore the open world, offering even more freedom and variety than in Ghost of Tsushima."‌The game looks stunning(Image: Sony)"You’ll choose which leads to follow as you pick which Yōtei Six member you want to hunt down first. Atsu can also track other dangerous targets and claim bounties, or seek out weapon sensei to learn new skills. Ezo is wild, and as deadly as it is beautiful. As you trek across the open world you’ll find unexpected dangers and peaceful reprieves (including some returning activities from Tsushima), and you’ll be able to build a campfire anywhere in the open world for a rest under the stars.""We want you to have the freedom to explore Ezo however you decide to, and we can’t wait to share more."‌Preorders start next week, with the standard edition costing UK gamers £69.99, while the Digital Deluxe option adds additional items.Ghost of Yotei's Collector's Edition is stacked(Image: Sony)Finally, a Collector's Edition will add a Ghost Mask with display stand, as well as art cards and more.‌It'll be interesting to see how much crossover there is with Assassin's Creed Shadows, which launched earlier this year to positive reviews.In our review, we said:"Simply put, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows is the biggest game in the long-running series, but also one of the finest. From its gameplay variety to its gorgeous open world, it’s the first game in the franchise to truly grab me in its vice grip since Origins."Article continues belowFor more on PlayStation, be sure to check out how you can get a PS5 console for £11 a month.For more of the latest news from the Daily Star, make sure you sign up for one of our newsletters here.‌‌‌

Switch 2 demand ‘far exceeds’ expectations as Nintendo apologises to players Adam Starkey Published April 23, 2025 5:04pm Updated April 23, 2025 5:05pm The Switch 2 might be a juggernaut (Nintendo) Demand for the Switch 2 has surpassed Nintendo’s expectations in Japan, as it issues a statement about pre-orders. Nintendo may have fumbled certain details around the Switch 2’s reveal, with some very poor communication around pricing, but that has had seemingly no effect on pre-orders. Many retailers across the UK and Europe have already sold out, after pre-orders went live earlier this month – ahead of the console’s launch on June 5. Pre-orders across the US and Canada, meanwhile, are set to go live tomorrow, after they were delayed by the tariff situation. Meanwhile, in Japan, interest in the console has reached such an unprecedented level that Nintendo has had to release a statement to apologise for failing to meet demand. In a statement released on Wednesday, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa warned that many people who applied for the My Nintendo Store lottery will miss out on a chance to pre-order a console on April 24, as they received 2.2 million applications in Japan alone. ‘Hello, this is Furukawa,’ the statement begins. ‘We have been procuring many materials and proceeding with production in advance so that we can deliver the Nintendo Switch 2 to you. On April 2, we announced details about the Nintendo Switch 2 and started accepting applications for the lottery sale on the My Nintendo Store. ‘As a result, we received an extremely large number of applications, approximately 2.2 million in Japan alone. However, this number far exceeds our expectations, and far exceeds the number of Nintendo Switch 2 consoles that can be delivered from the My Nintendo Store on June 5. Therefore, unfortunately, we expect that a significant number of customers will not be selected when the winners are announced tomorrow, April 24.’ Furukawa states those who are not selected in tomorrow’s lottery will be automatically re-entered into a second draw, but even after both lotteries, Nintendo ‘cannot fulfill all of the applications we received’. He added: ‘We deeply apologise for failing to meet your expectations despite our preparations.’ Nintendo states it is ‘working on further strengthening our production system’ to meet demand, and encouraged people to try and a secure a console through other retailers. ‘Furthermore, we are planning to produce and ship a substantial number of Nintendo Switch 2 units moving forward,’ Furukawa added. ‘We sincerely apologise for the time it will take to fully meet your expectations and kindly ask for your understanding.’ The high demand for the Switch 2 in Japan might be unique because Nintendo has taken special measures to maintain its dominance in the region. More Trending Along with the standard Switch 2 console, priced at 69,980 yen (£370), Nintendo is offering a cheaper region-locked edition which will only have Japanese language settings, priced at 49,980 yen (£264). Many of Nintendo’s stranger decisions make more sense when you realise that Japan is always their number one priority, with the region-locked Switch 2 designed to combat foreign resellers looking to capitalise on a favourable exchange rate with the weak yen. Even with these caveats though, 2.2 million applications is a wild number. For context, the original Switch sold around 330,000 units in its first week in Japan. At the moment, the PlayStation 2 still holds the record for the biggest debut, with almost one million units sold in its first weekend, according to reports. Based on these numbers, the Switch 2 could easily eclipse both if there are enough units to meet demand – but we’ll have to see how it plays out on June 5. Mario Kart World is the main draw at launch (Nintendo) Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. GameCentral Sign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

New research shows just how diverse the ancient city of Dido was