sales

Seasonal Switch 2 sales show significant slowing as annual cycle sunsets

business, gaming, holiday, industry, Nintendo, sales, Switch, switch 2 / Rejus Almole / January 8, 2026

Lingering sales of the original Switch might also be contributing to the relatively weak holiday performance for the Switch 2. In the UK, at least, the older console is still selling well enough to buoy Nintendo’s overall holiday hardware sales in the country to 7 percent higher than what the company achieved in 2017.

Nintendo might need another *Super Mario Odyssey*-sized hit to keep up sales momentum for the Switch 2. Credit: Nintendo

That said, the transition from record-setting launch sales to relatively underwhelming holiday sales is a worrying sign for the Switch 2’s market momentum. A lack of system-selling Switch 2 exclusive games could explain that movement. In 2017, the October launch of Super Mario Odyssey built holiday excitement for the Switch on top of earlier hits like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. For the Switch 2, holiday releases like Pokémon Legends Z-A and Metroid Prime 4 don’t seem to have had as much impact as early system sellers like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza.

Thus far, Nintendo’s planned 2026 schedule doesn’t seem primed to offer many big-name exclusive software to turn things around. The year’s first-party lineup is currently anchored by standard sequels for second-tier franchises like Yoshi, Mario Tennis, and Fire Emblem, alongside slightly upgraded “Switch 2 Edition” re-releases of popular Switch games. Aside from Nintendo’s own titles, the planned 2026 release of FromSoft’s Bloodborne-esque Duskbloods as a Switch 2 exclusive could make some fans of the company’s Souls-like games take a second look at the hardware.

Nintendo is likely to announce more Switch 2 exclusives and ports in the coming months, of course. Having a few system-selling blockbusters in that slate could be crucial to propping up the Switch 2’s sales now that pent-up launch-window demand seems largely satiated.

Seasonal Switch 2 sales show significant slowing as annual cycle sunsets Read More »

Cyber Monday cybers into view, and we’ve got all the cyber deals

Amazon, black friday, cyber monday, sales, shopping / Tim Belzer / December 2, 2024

Vende animam tuam pro commercio

The day’s half-over, but we keep adding stuff—come see if anything speaks to you!

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays this courier from the swift completion of his appointed rounds. Credit: bowie15 / Getty Images

I hope everyone survived the weekend shopping experience and no one was eaten by ravening bands of deal-hunting nomads as they trekked through Macy’s, or whatever people who actually go outside on Black Friday have to endure. Things are mostly quiet here at the Ars Orbiting HQ—the gift shop on the mess deck is still selling mugs and other merch, if anyone wants some Ars stuff!—but the e-commerce communications panel is beeping and it says we’ve got more deals to show you guys for Cyber Monday!

Cyber Monday is the thing that happens after Black Friday, where the deals keep going past the weekend and erupt into the next week, like some kind of out-of-control roller coaster of capitalism careening off the rails and into the crowd. Headphones! Power stations! Tablets! More board games! We’ve got so many things for you to buy!

A couple of quick notes: First, we’re going to continue updating this list throughout Monday as things change, so if you don’t see anything that tickles your fancy right now, check back in a few hours! Additionally, although we’re making every effort to keep our prices accurate, deals are constantly shifting around, and an item’s actual price might have drifted from what we list. Caveat emptor and all that.

So, with that out of the way, let’s keep making like *NSYNC and buy, buy, buy!

Laptop and tablet deals

ReMarkable 2 Bundle with Book Folio for $499 ($70 off)
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Series for $599 ($100 off)
Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ for $850 ($150 off)
Datafy Kindle Page Turner for $16 ($3 off)
GrandPad Tablet for Elders for $350 ($100 off)
Microsoft Surface Laptop (2024) for $1,180 ($420 off)
Acer Swift Go 14 for $705 ($27 off)
Cherry KC 200 MX Mechanical Keyboard for $63 ($37 off)

Headphone deals

AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) for $154 ($46 off)
Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Headphones for $198 ($50 off)
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Headphones for $298 ($52 off)
Soundcore by Anker Space A40 Earbuds for $45 ($14 off)
Ray-Ban Meta Glasses for $263 ($66 off)
AirPods Max (USB-C) for $500 ($49 off)
Beats Fit Pro for $150 ($50 off)
Beats Studio Buds + Wireless Earbuds for $130 ($40 off)
Soundpeats Air4 Pro for $64 ($16 off)
Nothing Ear (a) Wireless Earbuds for $69 ($30 off)
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones for $329 ($100 off)
Jabra Elite 8 Active (Gen 2) for $170 ($60 off)
Earpeace Music Pro Earplugs for $31 ($13 off)
Jabra Elite 4 Wireless Earbuds for $70 ($20 off)
Technics EAH-AZ80 earbuds for $186 ($63 off)
Beats Studio Pro Headphones for $160 ($90 off)
Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 Wireless Earbuds for $200 ($80 off)
JBL Endurance Peak 3 earbuds for $70 ($20 off)
Soundcore by Anker Space A40 Earbuds for $45 (save $14)
Bose Ultra Open Earbuds for $229 ($70 off)
Soundcore Life Q30 headphones for $52 ($28 off)
Shokz OpenRun Pro Bone Conduction Headphones for $125 ($55 off)
Jabra Elite 5 Wireless Earbuds for $80 ($60 off)
Puro Sound Labs PuroQuiet Kids Headphones for $111 ($28 off)
Anker Soundcore AeroFit Workout Headphones for $70 ($60 off)
Soundcore by Anker AeroFit Pro Open-Ear Headphones for $100 ($70 off)
Beats Fit Pro for $160 ($40 off)
Beats Studio Buds + for $130 ($40 off)

Home office and computing deals

Branch Ergonomic Chair for $295 ($20 off)
Branch Verve Chair for $466 ($83 off)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 16-Core, 32-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor for $465 ($220 off)
Logitech MX Mechanical Mini Wireless Illuminated Keyboard for $112 ($25 off)
Crucial X9 2TB Portable SSD for $109 ($25 off)
CORSAIR RM1000x Fully Modular ATX Power Supply for $129 ($61 off)
TP-Link AX55 Router for $75 ($25 off)
Asus RT-AXE7800 Wi-Fi Router for $229 ($50 off)
TP-Link Deco BE85 Mesh Router (2-Pack) for $600 ($400 off)
Logitech C920 Pro HD Webcam for $50 ($50 off)
Amazon Eero Pro 6E Mesh Wi-Fi Router (3-Pack) for $350 ($200 off)
Amazon Eero Max 7 Mesh Wi-Fi Router (3-Pack) for $1,300 ($400 off)
Asus ROG Rapture GT6 Mesh Router (2-Pack) for $390 ($90 off)
Cherry KC 200 MX Mechanical Keyboard for $62 ($40 off)
Elgato Prompter Teleprompter for $199 ($42 off)
Hon Ignition 2.0 Office Chair for $319 ($85 off)
Logitech for Creators Blue Yeti USB Microphone for $90 ($40 off)
GIGABYTE B650 Gaming X AX ATX Motherboard for $159 ($50 off)
Shure SM58 Microphone for $89 ($10 off)
Shure SM7B Dynamic Vocal Microphone for $359 ($140 off)
Shure SM57 Dynamic Instrument Microphone for $89 ($10 off)
Western Digital 1TB WD Blue SA510 SATA Internal SSD for $68 ($17 off)
TP-Link Deco XE75 Mesh Router (3-Pack) for $260 ($68 off)
TP-Link Tapo C120 Security Camera for $25 ($15 off)
Asus ROG Rapture GT6 Mesh Router (2-Pack) for $390 ($90 off)
Nouhaus Ergo3D Office Chair for $296 ($74 off)

TV deals

Panasonic Streaming 4K Blu Ray Player for $350 ($100 off)
Samsung 65-inch S90D QD-OLED TV for $1,398 ($320 off)
Sony 65-inch Bravia 9 QLED TV for $2,700 ($300 off)
Roku 55-inch Plus Series QLED TV for $399 ($100 off)
Hisense 65-inch U8N QLED TV for $900 ($100-$200 off)
Sony 65-inch Bravia 7 QLED TV for $1,400 ($400 off)
TCL 98-inch QM7 QLED TV for $2,298 ($600 off)

Apple and Apple accessory deals

iPad Mini (A17 Pro, 2024) for $469 ($30 off)
iMac (M4, 2024) for $1,199 ($97 off)
MacBook Pro 14-inch Laptop (M3, Late 2023) for $1,299 ($200 off)
Logitech Combo Touch for iPad for $105 ($20 off)
MacBook Air 13-Inch Laptop (M3, 2024) for $899 ($150 off)
iPad Pro (13-inch, M4, 2024) for $1,099 ($205 off)
Apple iPad Air 13-Inch Tablet (M2, 2024) for $699 ($150 off)
Apple iPad (10th Generation) for $279 ($125 off)
Apple Pencil (1st Gen) Stylus for $59 ($40 off)
Apple MacBook Pro (M4, 14 Inch, 2024) for $1,399 ($200 off)
MacBook Pro (M4 Pro, 16 Inch, 2024) for $2,249 ($200 off)
Logitech Casa Pop-Up Desk for $150 ($30 off)
Belkin iPhone MagSafe Camera Mount for MacBook for $23 ($7 off)
Anker MagGo 3-in-1 Charging Station for $82 ($28 off)
Apple Pencil (2nd Gen) Stylus for $80 ($35 off)
iMac (M4, 2024) for $1,150 ($157 off)—Clip the Coupon Button
Logitech MX Mechanical Mini for Mac for $82 ($43 off)
Logitech Lift for Mac Wireless Vertical Ergonomic Mouse for $59 ($11 off)

Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.

Cyber Monday cybers into view, and we’ve got all the cyber deals Read More »

It’s Black Friday, and here are the best shopping deals we could find

Amazon, black friday, cyber monday, sales, shopping / Rejus Almole / November 29, 2024

The leaves have turned, the turkey has been eaten, the parades are over, and the football has been watched—the only thing left to do is to try to hide from increasingly uncomfortable family conversations by going out and shopping for things! It’s the holiday tradition that not only makes us feel good, but also (apocryphally) drags the balance sheets of businesses the world over into profitability—hence “Black Friday!”

Our partners in the e-commerce side of the business have spent days assembling massive lists for you all to peruse—lists of home deals and video game deals and all kinds of other things. Does that special someone in your life need, like, a security camera? Or a tablet? Or, uh—(checks list)—some board games? We’ve got all those things and more!

A couple of quick notes: First, we’re going to be updating this list throughout the weekend as things change, so if you don’t see anything that tickles your fancy right now, check back in a few hours! Additionally, although we’re making every effort to keep our prices accurate, deals are constantly shifting around, and an item’s actual price might have drifted from what we list. Caveat emptor and all that.

So, with that out of the way, let’s make like *NSYNC and buy, buy, buy!

Laptop and tablet deals

ReMarkable 2 Bundle with Book Folio for $499 ($70 off)
Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 ($320) ($179 off)
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Series for $599 ($100 off)
OnePlus Pad 2 Android Tablet for $479 ($70 off)
Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ for $850 ($150 off)
Datafy Kindle Page Turner for $16 ($3 off)
GrandPad Tablet for Elders for $350 ($100 off)

Headphone deals

AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) for $154 ($46 off)
AirPods Max (USB-C) for $500 ($49 off)
Beats Fit Pro for $150 ($50 off)
Beats Studio Buds + Wireless Earbuds for $130 ($40 off)
Soundpeats Air4 Pro for $64 ($16 off)
Nothing Ear (a) Wireless Earbuds for $69 ($30 off)
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones for $329 ($100 off)
Jabra Elite 8 Active (Gen 2) for $170 ($60 off)
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Headphones for $298 ($52 off)
Earpeace Music Pro Earplugs for $31 ($13 off)
Jabra Elite 4 Wireless Earbuds for $70 ($20 off)
Technics EAH-AZ80 earbuds for $195 ($80 off)
Beats Studio Pro Headphones for $160 ($90 off)
Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 Wireless Earbuds for $200 ($80 off)
JBL Endurance Peak 3 earbuds for $70 ($20 off)
Soundcore by Anker Space A40 Earbuds for $45 (save $14)
Bose Ultra Open Earbuds for $249 ($50 off)
Soundcore Life Q30 headphones for $52 ($28 off)
Shokz OpenRun Pro Bone Conduction Headphones for $125 ($55 off)
Jabra Elite 5 Wireless Earbuds for $50 ($100 off)
Puro Sound Labs PuroQuiet Kids Headphones for $111 ($28 off)
Anker Soundcore AeroFit Workout Headphones for $70 ($60 off)
Soundcore by Anker AeroFit Pro Open-Ear Headphones for $100 ($70 off)
Beats Fit Pro for $160 ($40 off)
Beats Studio Buds + for $130 ($40 off)

It’s Black Friday, and here are the best shopping deals we could find Read More »