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Panic has set a date for when it will share more about the second season of Playdate games. The company is hosting a Playdate Update event on April 17, at 1PM ET / 10AM PT where it plans to cover the developers participating in the season, how you can pre-order it and how much it'll cost. The Playdate's season structure was one of the main things that made the tiny handheld unique when it was first released. Every week for 12 weeks you receive two new games automatically downloaded to your Playdate, free of charge. The list was curated, featuring games from prominent developers like Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi, but also varied, with adventure games, platformers and more. Given the difficulties Panic faced making and shipping the Playdate to customers, there was initially some uncertainty whether the company could afford to commission another season. Before season two became official, Panic introduce an on-device store, called Catalog, as a way to purchase games from a curated library of titles. Then in October 2024, Panic confirmed that season two was happening in 2025. In a statement to press, Panic shared that through the Playdate and Catalog, they've been able to raise $1,043,186.85 for developers. The company has also sold over 70,000 Playdate handhelds since the device launched in 2022. The price of the Playdate was recently raised from $179 to $229. You'll be able to watch the Season Two Playdate Update on April 17 at 1PM ET / 10AM ET on Panic's website and the company's YouTube channel.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/panic-will-showcase-the-second-season-of-playdate-games-on-april-17-181556782.html?src=rss
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The Nintendo Switch 2 is functionally similar to its predecessor. Sure, the detachable controllers can now each be used as a mouse (on your pants, no less), the screen is bigger, the hardware is more powerful and there's a built-in mic for voice chat. But otherwise the company isn't rocking the boat too much. At least not outside of its business model, as it may be preparing to sell the console at a loss. For most countries, President Donald Trump has paused the harshest tariffs that he announced last week. Still, he increased tariffs on imports from China to 125 percent on Wednesday, while imports from elsewhere will still be subject to a levy of at least 10 percent. Per Bloomberg, Nintendo may be looking to make as many Switch 2 units as it can in Vietnam (it's manufacturing about a third of the consoles there) during the 90-day freeze on higher tariffs and ship as many as possible to the US. The US is a critical market for Nintendo as it accounts for about a third of sales. Still, with a 10 percent tariff, Nintendo may reluctantly eat that cost, even if that means losing money on each sale. "We believe the Switch 2s bill of materials is around $400, meaning Nintendo would still be selling consoles at a loss in the US with the 10 percent tariff but the loss would be something Nintendo would be able to absorb," Hideki Yasuda of Toyo Securities told Bloomberg. "Sony is in a tougher situation as most of its PlayStation production is in China, and it may be forced to hike PS5 prices in the US in the near future." If the Switch 2 has about $400 worth of materials, that means Nintendo will also be taking a hit on a Japan-only edition of the console in its home country. It's selling that variant for under $350. Another analyst, Robin Zhu of Bernstein, also suggested that Nintendo will take the hit and keep the price at $450 if the tariff on Vietnamese imports remains at 10 percent. However, "At 46 percent Vietnam tariffs, I expected them to raise [the Switch 2 price] by $50 to $100." Unlike Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo has not historically sold its consoles at a loss with the aim of making up for that with sales of pricey software. The gaming side of the business is far and away Nintendo's largest source of revenue. It's diversifying more these days with things like movies and theme parks, but it still needs a thriving base of Switch and Switch 2 players. With the consoles critical to the company's success, the suggestion that Nintendo may sell the $450 Switch 2 at a loss is somewhat surprising, even if it's because of tariffs. Nintendo formally revealed the Switch 2 just hours before Trump announced higher import tariffs on every country. Soon after, Nintendo delayed pre-orders for the console in the US (it later did the same in Canada, perhaps to reduce the risk of secondary-market price gouging) to assess the impact of the tariffs. With those now on hold, the company surely wants to get the ball rolling on pre-orders so it has a better sense of North American demand and can accordingly adjust its manufacturing plans if need be.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-may-sell-the-switch-2-at-a-loss-in-the-us-due-to-tariffs-175857327.html?src=rss
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DoorDash has started robot deliveries in Los Angeles and Chicago. This is thanks to a partnership with the company Coco Robotics. Eligible customers will be able to receive sidewalk deliveries sourced from over 600 participating merchants. Coco robots have been making deliveries for DoorDash in Helsinki since late last year through its international sub-brand Wolt. DoorDash says that Coco robots completed over 100,000 deliveries during this initial pilot phase. Robots take humans out of the delivery process, which is bad for gig workers, but this method is better for the environment. Coco robots are free from emissions. Harrison Shih, Senior Director of DoorDash Labs, says that not every delivery needs a two-ton car just to deliver two chicken sandwiches. This is part of a larger push by DoorDash towards what it calls multimodal deliveries, which combines human workers, drones and autonomous robots to meet increasing demand while lowering costs and emissions. To that end, the company has partnered with Wing to provide drone deliveries in the US and Australia. Were expanding our partnership with @DoorDash to the United States! Kicking off in Christiansburg, Virginia, customers can now order @Wendys within the DoorDash app for speedy drone delivery. #DroneDelivery #Wing #Wendys #DoorDash pic.twitter.com/QQr1qzZBvv Wing (@Wing) March 21, 2024 DoorDash isnt the only delivery company in town experimenting with robots. Grubhub recently started bringing delivery robots to college campuses and Uber Eats expanded autonomous deliveries to Japan.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/doordash-starts-robot-deliveries-in-la-and-chicago-172358704.html?src=rss
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