February 11, 20252 min readEarths Mysterious Inner Core Is Changing ShapeEarths core is transforming, which could affect the length of our 24-hour day, Earths magnetic field, and moreBy Alexandra Witze & Nature magazine Earths inner core was long considered to be completely solid, but research has shown that it can be deformed. Pavel Chagochkin/Alamy Stock PhotoEarths inner core is changing shape, scientists have found.The discovery resolves a long-simmering controversy about whats happening at the heart of the planet which was long thought to be solid and unyielding. But it also opens new questions about how changes in the core could affect the length of our 24-hour day, Earths magnetic field and more.After decades of research and debates, we are coming to an ever-clearer picture of the changing inner core, says Xiaodong Song, a seismologist at Peking University in Beijing, who was not involved in the work.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Researchers made the discovery by analysing how seismic waves from earthquakes travelled from the South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean to seismometers in Alaska and Canada, on the other side of the planet. The waveforms, or shapes, of some of the seismic signals changed between 2004 and 2008. Those shifts occurred because the waves briefly penetrated Earths inner core which was changing shape, the scientists say.For the first time were seeing that its deforming, says John Vidale, a seismologist at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He and his colleagues report the finding today in Nature Geoscience.A dynamic inner EarthEarths inner core is surrounded by an outer core, and the interface between the two, around 5,100 kilometres below the planets surface, is a mysterious realm. Previous seismic studies revealed that the inner core is solid metal and rotates within a super-hot molten outer core, also mostly made of metal, including iron and nickel. Researchers have tracked how that rotation speeds up and slows down over time, and have discovered that it is spinning at a slightly different rate from the rest of Earth.Some scientists have proposed that changes in seismic signals passing through Earth are caused not by the cores rotational shifts, but instead by physical changes at the inner coreouter core boundary. The new work suggests that both explanations are right. Many changes in the waveforms from the South Sandwich Islands earthquakes can be attributed to core rotation, Vidale says. But others are probably caused by the inner coreouter core boundary deforming by developing bulges in some areas.The study helps to illuminate a dynamic inner Earth. The inner core grows slowly over time, as iron from the outer core crystallizes onto it. This process drives churning in the outer core, which sustains Earths magnetic field. Changes in the inner cores rotation can also affect the length of our day.Ideally, wed like to tie all these things that were seeing together to make deep Earth less mysterious, Vidale says.This article is reproduced with permission and was first published on February 10, 2025.

Royal Shakespeare Company collaborating on first-ever video game adaptation with former GTA developer"Screen-life thriller" of Macbeth set in modern day Iran.Image credit: iNK Stories News by Ed Nightingale Deputy News Editor Published on Feb. 11, 2025 The Royal Shakespeare Company is working on its first-ever video game, an adaptation of Macbeth - but it doesn't play out as you'd expect.The game, a collaboration with developer iNK Stories,is called Lili and is set in contemporary Iran. Here, the title character is inspired by Lady Macbeth and played by Cannes Best Actress winner Zar Amir.As such, iNK Stories is describing the game as a neo-noir "screen-life thriller", combining live-action and interactive storytelling, and is influenced by Amir's experiences as an Iranian woman in exile battling authoritarian gendered oppression."We're really calling this genre a 'screen-life thriller', with the idea that all of this is transpiring on your desktop," iNK Stories co-founder Navid Khonsari tells Eurogamer. "The real focus for that is we want to embrace a large audience, people that naturally might not see themselves as wanting to play games."Khonsari previously worked at GTA developer Rockstar as cinematic director on GTA 3, Vice City and San Andreas, as well as the Max Payne games. After leaving the company he co-founded iNK Stories with his wife Vassiliki Khonsari and together they gained notoriety for their previous BAFTA-nominated game 1979 Revolution: Black Friday set in the Iranian Revolution.Now they're working with the RSC on Lili, which was a suggestion from the company's director of digital Sarah Ellis, who was familiar with iNK Stories' work. "For us it became pretty clear that it would be abundantly thrilling to turn Macbeth, this timeless tale, into a game," Vassiliki says."Obviously all of Shakespeare's stories have transcended both time and culture, being adapted in multiple different ways... but not in this form," adds Navid. "For us, the challenge of it and the adaptation of it and making something interactive, putting the audience at the centre of this incredible story that has so many climactic moments and allow you to be in the middle of that rather than being somebody that's just observing it, was not just a great challenge, but also what a great story!"It's made for that kind of player who likes to explore and really live in that world," he continues. "As we know, Shakespearean text is so rich: the backstories, the history, the evolution of each character. It was such rich material to be able to draw from." The studio's previous game, 1979 Revolution, was nominated at the BAFTAs and The Game Awards | Image credit: iNK StoriesThe studio worked with dramaturges to bring Shakespeare's play to life in a new setting, with help in particular from RSC board member and leading Shakespeare academic Emma Smith. It's been a collaborative effort, with Navid describing a "continual conversation and collaboration" with the RSC to be able to push the boundaries of the play.So how exactly will Lili play? Players will take the role of a hacker, initially tasked with befriending Lili, but to do so means infiltrating her hardware, using the dark web and government surveillance to follow and watch her. This takes place through live-action sequences to maintain the theatricality of the original play. Later, players will use these same tools to take down the regime that's oppressed Lili, though the pair noted the game's moral ambiguity - while it loosely follows the events of Macbeth, players can still impact the narrative.Macbeth has a legacy of being an "enigmatic character", says Vassiliki, with Lady Macbeth as "both a heroine and a villainess and wildly complicated". She continues: "Through the lens of 400 years, who is this woman with this thirst and ambition? How do we unpack her today?"As such, Macbeth provided an "interesting entry point to touch on today's culture points" and a "perfect moment" of combining Shakespeare's play with modern day Iran. "There was a lot of electricity when we started thinking about bringing Macbeth to Iran and what are the parallels in the morality police in which we're placing this military hierarchy of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and adapting that too," says Vassiliki."There was a lot of electricity when we started thinking about bringing Macbeth to Iran.""When we first started looking at the story and initially digging in, there's something extremely strong and attractive about [Lady Macbeth] but we realised because of her gender, she was limited," says Navid. "The question of gender is something that's becoming globally challenging right now, not just within Iran. So we wanted to not just scratch that, but to then recognise this is obviously the huge thing that's impacting women, specifically in Iran."Macbeth's infamous witches also became an entry point for the game's parallels with the play. While the team had begun development before 2022's protests that followed the death of Mahsa Amini - a woman who died due to injuries sustained while in police custody - these circumstances added to the game's pertinence. "All of a sudden the country was going into this technological lockdown and the flow of information was being governed by the regime and at the same time there were hackers and people at the forefront of trying to allow information to leave Iran, but also allow people to organise within," explains Vassiliki. "That, for us, became this really beautiful parallel of the witches and Macbeth. They control the flow of information and within our world they're the forecasters of chaos. They're agents of destabilisation. They're both supernatural and sort of digital in their omnipresence." Lili will follow a hacker as it uses technology to interrogate Shakespeare's story | Image credit: iNK StoriesThrough making the game, the pair say they have considered the intersection between theatre and games. "Theatre, as it unfolds in a live setting, there is an interplay between the audience and the performance," says Vassiliki. "Particularly during Shakespearean times... that open forum of back and forth took place. And that's actually like games in that it's all happening and unfolding in a live way whereby the player has agency, the audience has agency within that world - unlike film. What was really fascinating was working with the dramaturges, working with the Shakespearean experts, and really mining for the places where there is immersion and there is room for interpretation."Ultimately, all this means Lili will be quite different to what is generally expected from Macbeth, but Navid noted the core of the story remains underneath. "We make games for global audiences and sometimes if we become too literal to the text, we feel like we'd actually be pushing our audience away," he says. "We wanted to draw them in by staying true to the material, by the themes of the material, but also make it digestible in a way and global in a way that language doesn't become a barrier for people wanting to play the game."Adds Vassiliki: "It's very important to us to preserve the thematic strength of these stories. They've endured for so long for a reason. How do we make sure we're honouring that? That's been part of the relationship with the RSC in not just going hogwild with off-the-wall interpretations, but actually allowing these interpretations to further enrich the original text.""Forget the old chestnut that Shakespeare would be writing for Hollywood if he were alive now: what Lili makes absolutely clear is - he'd be writing for gaming."Really, Lili is proving the timelessness and universality of Shakespeare's plays. As Emma Smith said, as quoted in a press release for the game: "Forget the old chestnut that Shakespeare would be writing for Hollywood if he were alive now: what Lili makes absolutely clear is - he'd be writing for gaming."Vassiliki extends this idea. "The linearity of traditional films don't capture the richness of the worlds [Shakespeare] created and the characters," she said. "I think games absolutely can do that, the fact they're non-linear and you can provide this canvas that allows for exploration and interaction and agency, it's so much more complicated and complex."She adds: "Games are the contemporary zeitgeist of today's culture... you can see that we gravitate towards this medium because it affords us agency, it affords us a place where we can fully invest in a world and make choices as ourselves and see the consequences of how that unfolds."Lili is still in development and is due for release later this year. It follows the release of Grand Theft Hamlet, a documentary film about staging Shakespeare inside GTA Online.Perhaps, then, this could be the start of a Shakespearean renaissance in video games.

Sony has announced a PlayStation State of Play broadcast this week. Read more

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here Contents hide The next Fortnite live event is only a few days away. With the release of a new season on February 21, Epic Games has begun teasing the future content. On Monday, the game developer released a small map change that will be used as a build-up for the upcoming event.If you are interested in watching the next event, we will reveal more information about it. This includes a short guide on how to watch the event, its predicted start date and time, and more information you should know.When will the next Fortnite live event start?The start date and time of the next Fortnite event havent been confirmed by Epic Games yet. However, thanks to the recent leaks, we believe that it will take place this weekend. More specifically, the event should come out on Saturday afternoon Eastern Time. Considering that Epic releases most events at 2 or 4 PM ET, this is when we expect the next one to take place. Save Up to $1,200 on the Samsung Galaxy S25! Pre-order now and save big with trade-in and Samsung credit. Limited time only! *Includes trade-in value + $300 Samsung credit. To watch the event, you simply need to log into the game and ready up for the match. According to leaks, this will be a smaller event, similar to the events that took place in early Chapter 5. Due to this, it is very unlikely that Epic will release a new game mode for it. Keep in mind that you should log in at least 30 minutes before the event begins, as this will help you avoid queues or potential login issues.The event build-up is located south of Warriors Watch. Image by VideoGamerFor now, we will have to wait for an official event announcement from Epic Games. Once it comes out, we will update this article with the exact start date and time of the Fortnite event. For now, you can visit the event build-up location and talk to Daigo, who will reveal more information about the storyline. Must-Listen: Publishing Manor Lords w/ Joe Robinson VideoGamer Podcast Listen Now FortnitePlatform(s):Android, iOS, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/XGenre(s):Action, Massively Multiplayer, Shooter9VideoGamerRelated TopicsFortnite Subscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

In 1966, Arnaldo Pomodoro turned to Ettore Sottsass to renovate his apartment in the center of Milan. The pioneering architect behind Memphis design immediately thought of it as a space devoid of colors but, at the same time, capable of conveying a sense of warmth. Sottsasss renovation featured absolute white, rigid and square shapes, and internal partitions distributed around imposing perimeter walls. Some 60 years after it was completed, the postmodern icon has shaped the design of another apartment, this one in the heart of Piacenza.I thought of a space that, although it has a muted palette, would still convey a sense of peace, order, and warmth, just like the non-house designed by Ettore Sottsass for his friend, the artist Pomodoro. Architect Deborah Vermi introduces her latest project as a light, monochrome space of geometric shapes. Located in a historic building overlooking a 17th-century church in Piacenzas old town center, the 807-square-foot apartment was designed for a young couple who share a passion for traveling and who, as Vermi points out, have chosen to live in an environment where minimalist design is capable of housing all the different memories from their travels.The kitchen, as well as other installations, are custom-made by Noi Siamo Vol. with a light monochrome palette and minimalist design.The goal of her project was to transform the apartments existing imperfections, Vermi explains: The load-bearing columns along the perimeter of the living space became the common thread of the entire renovation. What previously was awkward became the defining characteristic of the space. Initially, the apartment was ringed by reinforced concrete pillars (part of the supporting structure). New elements were custom-designed with an obsessive attention to detail. The use of natural materials, neutral colors, and high-quality finishes contribute to a feeling of intimacy, while the careful arrangement of spaces promotes fluidity and harmony.Irregular walls have been transformed into the key design element of the project: the integrated niches and recesses create storage spaces that are in dialogue with one another, calling attention to the apartments walls in the best possible way and visually eliminating elements that broke up the space. The result, Vermi says, is an environment that welcomes and responds to the needs of those who live in it, with a design that embraces the uniqueness of each individual detail.Vermi says her favorite area of the apartment is undoubtedly the living room. When the sun begins to slip towards the horizon, light floods the space with a soft golden hue. The suns rays fall on the furniture, selected with this moment in mind. The wood pieces light up, revealing warm tones that enhance natural grain, almost as if it were alive. Every detail of the room engages with the light. Every object and every surface takes on a new intensity. The design merges with the soul of the home, transforming a space into a unique experience.

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Facepalm: A Cybertruck owner has discovered what happens when you activate Tesla's latest Full Self-Driving system and fail to pay attention: the vehicle crashed into a pole after hitting a curb. Thankfully, the person behind the wheel was fine, and he blames himself for the incident. Jonathan Challinger, a Florida-based software developer who works for Kraus Hamdani Aerospace, posted a photo of his Cybertruck looking a lot worse than the pole it collided with.Challinger explained that he was running the latest FSD v13.2.4 software while traveling in a right lane. The Cybertruck failed to merge out of the lane, which was coming to an end, even though there was no one on the left. The vehicle made no attempt to slow down or turn until it had already hit the curb, sending it into a pole.Despite narrowly avoiding what could have been serious injuries, Challinger remains a committed Tesla fan he even thanked the company for having "the best passive safety in the world" that enabled him to walk away without a scratch."I don't expect it to be infallible but I definitely didn't have utility pole in my face while driving slowly on an empty road on my bingo card," Challinger said in another post. // Related StoriesThe owner is also taking full responsibility, calling it a big fail on his part for failing to pay attention. Challinger noted that he hasn't heard of any accidents on FSD V13.Challinger also tagged the @Tesla_AI account asking how he could ensure the company received the data from the incident, noting that the service center and others had been less than responsive. He added that he has the dashcam footage and wants to get it out there as a PSA, "but I'm hesitant because I don't want the attention and I don't want to give the bears/haters any material."Tesla enthusiast Troy Teslike notes that although the pole is in an unusual position, he believes that the incident shows three issues with FSD: its difficulty seeing road markings at night, its failure to save some road markings in digital maps, and its unreliable detection of certain solid objects due to the use of vision-only FSD.Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that there would be unsupervised FSD in Texas and California this year. This crash suggests otherwise.Tesla's owner's manual states that a vehicle's cabin camera monitors continued driver attentiveness when Full Self-Driving is engaged. FSD displays a series of escalating warnings if the driver repeatedly ignores prompts to apply slight force to the steering wheel or to pay attention. If these are also ignored, FSD is disabled for the rest of the drive.If the driver still does not resume manual steering, FSD sounds a continuous chime, turns on the warning flashers, and slows the vehicle to a complete stop.

Never GoneJurassic World, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Fantastic Four all turn 10 this year, and Hollywood is mostly frozen in time and holding on to nostalgiaWe've been returning to tradition for too long.Image credit: Lucasfilm News by Fran Ruiz Contributor Published on Feb. 11, 2025 2015 was a pretty big year for Hollywood and pop culture as a whole, and we're still feeling its impact a whole decade later. In fact, it was so big that most studios have struggled to move past that era of nostalgic revivals and huge franchises at the peak of their popularity. As we await a new Jurassic World, yet another Superman reboot, and the return of the Fantastic Four, we gotta wonder how much longer the whole industry can run on past glories.In many ways, 2019 marked the end of an era. We all know what happened right after in early 2020, but the 2010s' final year also represented the finale for massive IPs such as Game of Thrones, the MCU, and Star Wars... except it wasn't. Despite a handful of solid efforts to kickstart new movie/TV franchises in recent years, the pandemic, market woes, and a general fear of looking to the future have pushed Hollywood to continue to rely on what's safe and easy to market until it's all dried up and dead.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. To be fair, nothing's ever really gone for too long if it's been a huge success. This has been happening for decades, but when people talk about a 'saturation' of IP nowadays, they talk about getting too much too fast of a mostly good thing, which in turn ends up souring potential audiences on the thing they used to love. With a more relentless pace of production and distribution, the chances of messing something up also go up. Just look at what's happened to Marvel Studios' reputation in recent years or the general apathy towards Star Wars as a whole even if a handful of D+ shows hit it big.These are just some examples. Last year, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, the first-ever Mad Max spinoff, failed to elicit the excitement caused by Fury Road in 2015. Likewise, 2023's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny felt like a small blip in the cultural conversation because new generations largely don't care about the character. Same goes for The Flash after it relied too heavily on bringing back an iteration of Batman which means nothing to the average zoomer. You don't fill cinemas by appealing to 50-year-old men and us nerds, I'm afraid. Image credit: Universal PicturesBy and large, however, nostalgia continues to pay off. 2022's Jurassic World: Dominion made just over $1 billion in spite of getting dreadful reviews from critics and fans alike, which explains why Universal rushed into a 'new era' for the franchise with little to no downtime. What's the way to ensure fatigue? Uh, returning to the basics (again) after the average fan simply wasn't comforted enough by Colin Trevorrow's bolder swings with his trilogy past 2015's Jurassic World. Will this pay off? Probably, as general audiences just appear to love dinosaurs and the 'remix with a spark of new' approach worked well enough for Alien: Romulus last year.Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four reboot, one of the company's priorities after Disney acquired Fox's entire library, will also arrive 10 years after the last attempt to reignite the (seemingly cursed) IP. They say third time's the charm, but Disney and Marvel are placing additional weight on it as the MCU as a whole struggles to get back to proper good health despite Deadpool & Wolverine's recent win (another one owed to nostalgia and bringing back heroes past their prime). In this context, the setting being a retro, 100% alternate-universe Space Race has a double meaning, and with the more progressive Marvel characters failing to convince for a variety of reasons, perhaps this is a sign of where things are heading after the Multiverse Saga is awkwardly wrapped up by 2027. Image credit: Marvel StudiosElsewhere, we have How To Train Your Dragon's live-action remake offering nothing new, Disney likely doing the same with Snow White and Lilo & Stitch, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning trying to put an end to Ethan Hunt's saga (but probably not the franchise), and the Minecraft movie arriving more than a decade late. Those are just some examples. Not every single one will be bad, but this is what tired moviegoers mean when they say we're in a 'slop era' where IP takes priority. You can find fresh 'nutrients' elsewhere, sure, but the high-concept, actually original blockbusters are few and far between.In this scenario, James Cameron's third (out of five) Avatar movie would be considered 'fresh' in the sense that it's not working with a tired boomer IP or awkwardly trying to adapt a video game or comic book. Still, the first Avatar will be 16 by the time it opens, so we could consider the sequel plans nostalgic by now too. Mind you, I love those movies and truly believe he and his people put in amazing work to make them stand out, but it is what it is. Image credit: 20th Century StudiosI'm not gonna lie: I'm pretty pumped up for many of these, perhaps for entirely different reasons, maybe because I'm hoping the creatives can inject enough life into tired stories and universes that once were far more attractive on a basic level. It's a stance that often pays off, at least for me. Plus, I'm a 'glass half full' type of guy. Nonetheless, I'd like to be able to look forward to more crowd-pleasers that are fully unexpected, such as Jordan Peele's entire output or Ryan Coogler's Sinners.Funnily enough, Predator is a franchise currently positioned to tell new stories that also please the old guard after 2022's Prey and what we know about Badlands so far. There's also a small glimmer of hope for Star Wars with forward-thinking pitches such as a post-Skywalker Saga movie led by Rey or a super distant prequel that shows us the origins of the Jedi Order and how people first used the Force. Until those happen and dare to do something thematically brave, get ready to see more X-wings and Imperial Remnants. Image credit: Marvel StudiosAs we enter the midpoint of the decade and things unfortunately look dark all over the world, chances are audiences will turn to movies and TV in a big way for quick evasion. After all, that's what crowd-pleasing entertainment has always been all about. But it's also important to demand that art (I don't buy the 'high/low art' dross) discusses the problems of the present and dares to move forward, slowly but steadily, towards a better tomorrow.The problem is that, right now, it just feels like we're adrift and trying to clumsily figure out whether we're more scared of the past or the future. As for the people footing the bills of mainstream productions, they've got it all figured out. Your move.

Here We Go AgainIf you ask Walton Goggins, Fallout season 1 was "extraordinary", but season 2 "blows it out of the water", so you better cross your irradiated fingers and toes we don't have to wait too long for it"I cant wait for people to see it."Image credit: Prime Video News by Oisin Kuhnke Contributor Published on Feb. 11, 2025 Filming for Fallout season 2 is still currently underway, and if The Ghoul himself is to be believed, we're in for a doozy of a season.The problem with the passage of time is that we have to let it happen in order to get to the things we want. That means as much as many of us might want Fallout season 2 right this second, we're going to have to wait until it's done. Unfortunately, it's not done, but it is seemingly filming again after production was paused due to the LA fires, as in a brief interview with Deadline lead actor Walton Goggins (who plays The Ghoul in the show) shared a small update about the upcoming second season, as well as his excitement for it.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. "Were in the middle of filming it right now, weve been at it since November, and I can tell you that I thought Season 1 was extraordinary, personally, I was very pleased with it," Goggins said. "This blows it out of the water, what these writers have done and the artisans that have come together to tell this story. Its really gonna be something. I cant wait for people to see it. Were working really hard to make that happen." To see this content please enable targeting cookies.That obviously hypes up season 2 quite a bit, which is once again going to make that whole passage of time thing all the more annoying for those of you that enjoyed the first season, but alas, unless time travel is invented tomorrow (or yesterday? I don't know how it works, sue me), you're stuck waiting like everybody else.Season 2 will also see the arrival of some fresh but familiar failures in its cast, including Home Alone's very own Macaulay Culkin, and more recently it was reported that Kumail Nanjiani (Adventure Time, Eternals) is part of the show now too. What these additions mean for our protagonists, who knows! But for now, let's just trust in Goggins.

Image: Ollie Reynolds / Nintendo LifeThe reveal of Switch 2 back in January answered some burning questions but mainly it confirmed rumoured details and leaked info regarding the size, shape, and magnetic Joy-Con of Nintendo's next console. Annoyingly, there are still a lot of unanswered questions and the platform holder is keeping shtum until 2nd April.One big question is about the screen: Will Switch 2 have an LCD display like the original Switch or a gloriously vibrant OLED panel like the boring-but-appropriately-named Switch OLED Model?Rumours suggest that Nintendo is saving pennies with a cheaper LCD panel this time, which is a disappointment to anyone who's been enjoying better contrast and more vibrant colours since October 2021. It seems unthinkable that the new Switch might have a screen that's technically inferior to the console we've been rocking for three-and-a-half years, but it's a distinct possibility!But is it really as bleak as all that? When we've got the thing in our hands, will we be fixating on a lack of individually illuminated pixels? Do we pine for them on our other devices? While we wait for official confirmation of the Switch 2 screen specs and more, Team NL sat down to discuss the pros and cons of nOLED.Nintendo Life Staff: Gavin Lane (editor), Alana Hagues (deputy editor), Jim Norman (staff writer), Ollie Reynolds (staff writer).Image: NintendoGAVIN: So, while we await official confirmation, weve been operating on the assumption that Switch 2 wont have an OLED screen for a while now. First question, then: Do you have a Switch OLED, and is there anything not to like about it?OLLE: Yes and no. No, meaning theres nothing not to like about it. As far as screens go, its about as pleasant as you could hope for. Yes, the resolution is somewhat limited, but even with the added size over the OG Switch, it still looks great. Its pretty wonderful.JIM: Same here. I put off getting an OLED for a couple of years after the marketing failed to really hit me with a 'You need one of these. Right now.' But then I saw one in the wild and was totally sold. Im a big fan. No complaints here. How much of an upgrade is the Switch OLED's screen?ALANA: I also didnt grab an OLED initially because I spent more time playing docked than handheld for a good while. Then I tried one and I dropped the dollars on it pretty soon after. I almost exclusively play handheld as a result, now. Its kind of amazing to think about how poor some of Nintendos handheld screens used to be; the Game Boy, original un-backlit GBA, the first 3DS, etc. Oh, how far weve come.GAVIN: Nintendo does have form when it comes to er, suboptimal screen experiences in the first iteration of its hardware. However, thinking back, I dont remember being massively disappointed with the Switchs screen - not until I saw the OLED Model, which made the launch version look like a big grey post-it note. Does anyone remember the screen being a sticking point in 2017?I have a PS Portal now which is a nOLED device and, Ive gotta say, I think the screen is excellent.ALANA: Nope, certainly not. I was just in awe of the whole 'Switch' experience at the time, and the screen was decent enough. Not a PS Vita but, yknow, good enough.OLLE: Same here; screen quality didnt even enter my mind in 2017 because I was just too entranced by the hybrid concept. I also didnt go for the OLED straight away because I was convinced that the original was enough. It was only when I went hands-on that I realised just how much of an upgrade it was.GAVIN: I happened to see a Switch OLED on a store shelf a few days after launch and used this job as an excuse to pick it up there and then. I got a deal on one of those LG OLED TVs in 2018 or 2019 and immediately couldn't unsee the drab greys in handheld mode. Since then Ive become a bit of a screen snob! Is anyone else rocking an OLED television?OLLE: Yes indeed, I nabbed the LG C3 last year; 65 inches. Its beautiful.ALANA: Weve come very close a few times, but the one someone is adamant about getting is a little priceyJIM: I dream of having the money for an OLED TV but other stuff has always got in the way. One day, lad.A launch Switch vs. an OLED Model (Please note that capturing the differences between these screens is tough in photos, so please use the images on this page as a rough guide only!) Image: Gavin Lane / Nintendo LifeGAVIN: Having had the telly, thats the main reason I was so disappointed hearing that Switch 2 likely wont have an OLED panel. It feels like such a massive step backwards from the delicious, inky blacks and the retina-searing colour of the current model. Do you have any other devices that do or dont have OLEDs? Do you wish they did?JIM: Ill admit that Im not always up to date with tech specs, so when I first saw the Switch OLED, the big selling point was that bigger screen and smaller bezel. I have a PS Portal now which is a nOLED device and, Ive gotta say, I think the screen is excellent. Sure, the colours (or lack of them) dont always pop as much, but its still very crisp.Image: Ollie Reynolds / Nintendo LifeALANA: I dont have a PS Portal, but I do have an old Steam Deck. I know the older screen is just 'okay' in many peoples eyes, and the bezel is pretty big, but I dont mind it. Its a better-quality LCD than the OG Switch, for example, so I can live with it. Plus, a Steam Deck OLED is a lot more expensive than a Switch OLED, so Im not sure I want to go through the hassle of swapping and upgrading.GAVIN: The bezel is an interesting point well come back to, but PS Portal is a great comparison given that its likely a very close match for what Switch 2 is rumoured to offer in the screen department: a 1080p, 8-inch LCD. Youve got a PS Portal too, right Ollie? When you use it, do you at any point think, Man, if only this were an OLED panel!?OLLIE: Not at all. Its clear that LCD technology has come a long way since 2017; better resolution, viewing angles, backlights, all that good stuff. The difference between the PS Portal and the Switch OLED is a bit more apparent when putting them side-by-side, but when Im just playing it naturally on the sofa with nothing to compare it to, the Portal is an absolutely beautiful device with a superb screen. At no point did I think, Oh fiddle, these blacks need to be more inky.Inky and the grey, grey, grey... Images: Ollie Reynolds / Nintendo LifeGAVIN: Yeah, weve come a long way from the old TN panels from years before that, too, with dodgy colours that you couldnt see properly if you were sitting at an angle. I havent seen the Portal in action firsthand, but the pics you sent over show it off very favourably.So in general, it seems were not too worried about Switch 2 being nOLED at launch, is that right?OLLIE: I mean, it would be great if it launched with an OLED panel, but Im not going to lose sleep over it.JIM: Ill be so relieved to have the damn thing in my hands that I dont think Ill spare a thought for lacking any pop.ALANA: The initial rumours had me worried, but now Im not. A lot of reflection and chatting with everyone here over the past few months has reminded me that yes, LCD can be good now.GAVIN: Its ironic that the Vita turned so many of us on to the idea of an OLED handheld screen, and now the Portal is making us feel okay about an LCD. Thanks, Sony!Not unattractive, right? Image: Aaron Bayne / Nintendo LifeOkay, before we wrap up, I want to ask two things. Firstly, a hypothetical: If Nintendo offered an OLED version from launch that was identical apart from the screen, would you pay more to get it? If so, how much more?when Im just playing it naturally on the sofa with nothing to compare it to, the Portal is an absolutely beautiful device with a superb screenJIM: I could see myself coughing up some extra cash just to have the best of the best. Its not something I can see Nintendo doing, honestly, but Im sure Id fall for it all the same. As for how much: the difference between a launch Switch and an OLED was, what? 30 or something? Id do that again for Switch 2 in a heartbeat. [Note. Switch launched at 279.99 but was 20 cheaper by 2021 when the OLED Model launched for 309.99.]OLLIE: Yeah, Id happily pay a bit more if the option were there; around 40 - 50 seems reasonable to me. The extra cash is nothing if it means providing our lovely community with the very best, reputable Switch 2 reviews on this here internet, only on Nintendo Life dot com!ALANA: Id also grab an OLED if it came day one, but Im not sure Id pay more than 50-80 extra for it. Itd have to be a huge upgrade, and we dont know how good the Switch 2 screen actually is right now.GAVIN: Interesting that wed all dig deep if the option were there at launch. Nintendo has us all hooked for the Switch 2 OLED Model in 2028, it seems. Okay, final question. Screen type aside, how are we feeling about that bezel on Switch 2?Significant side bezel Image: NintendoOLLE: Ohhhh, I was a bit miffed when I first saw it. But when I realised that the large side bezels were possibly due to the Joy-Con being inserted into the main body, I didnt mind quite so much. It looks fine, and Im sure the larger screen size will mitigate any initial concerns.JIM: Its not something that immediately stood out to me in the reveal trailer. Looking at it closer in the weeks since, sure, its a little beefier on the sides than Id like (probably because Ive grown used to the OLED and Portal), but it's not offputting.ALANA: This is where the older Steam Deck has prepped me a little. I didnt even really notice the bezel on reveal, and it was only when Ollie pointed it out that I saw it was bigger than Switch OLED. Im at least glad its smaller than the Switch nOLED! The top and bottom look smaller. So its not a big issue right now. Well see when we actually get our hands on it.GAVIN: Going back to my launch-day HAC-001 to shoot some comparison shots reminded me how much of an upgrade the OLED Model was in size terms, too. Im sure when were settling in for an epic session of 'Mario Odyssey 2: Lost in New Donk' Ill forget all about any bezel or brightness and contrast concerns.JIM: Ill be fine and dandy until they reveal the Switch TWOLED and I start sizing up my OG screen again. Comparison is the thief of Joy-Con, and all that.Let us know in the poll below how integral OLED screens are to your gaming enjoyment these days, and whether a potential lack of one would influence any Switch 2 purchase decisions.Assuming Switch 2 won't have an OLED screen, how does that affect your opinion of the system? (43 votes)I couldn't care less about OLED, I'm there Day One!30%I'd prefer OLED, but it won't massively affect my enjoyment/choice to buy42%Can't lie, it's gonna be tough going back! I'll probably still get one, but I'll be grumpy about it14%A regular LCD is a mistake and I'll likely hold off getting one7%nOLED = nOBUY!7%Can you see yourself upgrading to a 'Switch 2 OLED Model' in a couple of years' time? (33 votes)Yes, I am made of money and must have the best9%Yes, I'm NOT made of money but I can't resist shiny new hardware12%I'd consider an upgrade sometime down the line, sure24%Hmm, probably not21%Definitely not9%Steady on, John - the launch one isn't out yet!24% Games at their very best on Switch OLEDA complete guide to Switch 2 - confirmed details, rumours, leak historySee AlsoShare:01 Gavin first wrote for Nintendo Life in 2018 before joining the site full-time the following year, rising through the ranks to become Editor. He can currently be found squashed beneath a Switch backlog the size of Normandy. 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