culture

Max Knoblauch4/24/25

Nintendo surges on Switch 2 demand and preorder mayhem

Nintendo is enjoying a more than 6% bump on Thursday after preorders for its Switch 2 consoles finally kicked off in the US after a weeks-long delay due to tariffs.

Giving the gaming giant a boost: demand appears to be huge. The $450 console (and a $500 bundle) are out of stock on the websites of retailers like Walmart and Target. A notice at the online checkout page of GameStop, which waited until 11 a.m. ET to open preorders for the console, states that it is currently sold out.

Online, dozens of customers are reporting long wait times, broken websites, and canceled orders.

Despite sending virtually all of its Vietnam-built console supply to the US in recent months ahead of tariffs, Nintendo may not have reached the stockpile levels it was seeking. The company’s US website states that delivery by the announced June 5 launch date isn’t guaranteed, and orders will be fulfilled as product becomes available.

On Wednesday, Nintendo said it received 2.2 million preorders in Japan, far exceeding its expectations.

More Culture

See all Culture

WOULD LOVE TO CONNECT

Why people are flirting on LinkedIn — and job hunting on Tinder

The job market is tough and so is dating. Americans are starting to mix the two.

Man Handing Man Box of Roses

newborn ultimatum

Despite the government’s best efforts, China’s birth rate just hit a new low

Deaths in the nation, meanwhile, have never been higher in the 21st century.

Empty baby stroller on stone steps on a sunny day

culture

Millie Giles1/14/26

OpenAI set to air a minute-long Super Bowl ad for a second consecutive year, per WSJ

OpenAI is expected to broadcast a lengthy commercial at Super Bowl LX, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Having aired its first-ever paid ad at last year’s Big Game, the ChatGPT maker is set to take another 60-second ad slot during NBC’s broadcast on February 8, according to people familiar with the matter.

Exclusive | OpenAI Set to Run Another Super Bowl Ad as Chatbot Competition Heats Up

Big winners at the Golden Globes could indicate this week’s Oscar noms

With the Academy’s nominations voting opening today, the results of the Globes might signal the direction of certain Oscars categories (statistically speaking).

Chalamet with award at the Golden Globes

culture

Millie Giles1/9/26

Tamagotchis are making a comeback, 3 decades after first becoming a global toy craze

If you were a ’90s kid, you might remember the craze around little egg-shaped toys with an 8-bit digital screen, displaying an ambiguous pet-thing that demanded food and attention.

Now, on the brand’s 30th anniversary, the Tamagotchi — the Japanese pocket-sized virtual pet that launched a thousand cute and needy tech companions, from Nintendogs to fluffy AI robots — is making a minor comeback.

Tamagotchi Google Search Trends — Sherwood News

Looking at Google Trends data, searches for “tamagotchi” spiked in December in the US, up around 80% from just six months prior, with the most search volume in almost two decades.

While the toys are popular Christmas gifts, with interest volumes often seen ticking up in December each year, the sudden interest might also have something to do with the birthday celebrations that creator and manufacturer Bandai Namco are putting on, including a Tokyo exhibition that opened on Wednesday.

Game, set, hatch

More broadly, modern consumers appear to have a growing obsession with collectibles (see: Labubu mania), as well as a taste for nostalgia (see: the iPod revival, among many other trends).

But, having finally hit 100 million sales in September last year, the brand itself is probably just glad to exist, giving a whole new generation the chance to experience the profound grief of an unexpected Tamagotchi death.

Latest Stories

Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate, including Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities, LLC, Robinhood Crypto, LLC, or Robinhood Money, LLC.

©2026 Sherwood Media, LLC