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Nintendo is adding an option to repair weapons in the Legend Of Zelda games for Switch 2 though not in the way some fans would have hoped.

There were once claims of an enhanced version of The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild running on the Nintendo Switch 2 but, at the time, it was unclear if this was a tech demo or something Nintendo actually planned to release.

The recent Nintendo Switch 2 showcase confirmed it was the latter, with both Breath Of The Wild and its sequel, Tears Of The Kingdom, receiving upgraded ports known as Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games.

Both games will see improved visuals and frame rates, but it’s recently been discovered that these ports will also introduce a means of repairing weapons… albeit in a limited capacity.

Anyone who has played either Breath Of The Wild or Tears Of The Kingdom will have a strong opinion on their breakable weapons. It’s perhaps the most contentious aspect of both games, with many fans arguing over whether there should have been an option to repair them.

Tears Of The Kingdom somewhat addressed this with the new Fuse mechanic, which made weapons sturdier, but a slightly more traditional repair system will be included with the Switch 2 versions via the new Zelda Notes service.

As a reminder, Zelda Notes will be added to the Nintendo Switch app this May and comes with a number of features that can be used exclusively with the Switch 2 versions of Breath Of The Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom, like the ability to share items with other players.

One of these features is a daily bonus where you can roll for a randomly selected gameplay benefit once a day, such as granting Link extra health. This was demonstrated in a Nintendo Treehouse livestream and, as spotted by YouTuber Zeltik, one of the bonuses is labelled as equipment repairs.

This bonus will no doubt restore Link’s equipment, making them as if they were brand new and extending their use. However, this is something that can only happen randomly and is locked to Zelda Notes, so it can’t be used with the original Switch versions of the games.

No doubt this addition is a compromise by Nintendo. After all, if players could repair their equipment in-game whenever they needed to, it would upset the balance of the games, which are designed with breakable weapons in mind.

The ability to repair equipment, though, doesn’t do much to make these Switch 2 Editions any more appealing. Both games are being sold at a hefty price tag of £66.99 each and, last week, Nintendo admitted that Breath Of The Wild’s Switch 2 version won’t even include the DLC.

While an unattractive offer for newcomers, anyone who owns the Switch 1 version of either game can upgrade to their Switch 2 counterpart for a fee. Nintendo still hasn’t confirmed a UK price, but it’s estimated to be about £8.

Anyone with a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription can also access both games at no extra cost though this doesn’t include Breath Of The Wild’s DLC.

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An episode of Netflix’s Black Mirror has spawned a virtual pet sim, described as a ‘Tamagotchi-gone-wrong’.

Several episodes of Black Mirror have explored dystopian near-future depictions of games, between the interactive Bandersnatch and the augmented reality nightmare in Playtest, but an episode in the latest season takes a different approach.

In season seven episode Plaything, a former games journalist who is obsessed with a mysterious game from the 1990s becomes the main suspect in a murder case. Peter Capaldi and Lewis Gribben play the lead role, with Bandersnatch character Colin Ritman, played by Will Poulter, making a return guest appearance.

The game in the episode, titled Thronglets, is a twisted spin on virtual pet sims like Tamagotchi, where you nurture cuddly creatures which multiply into a ‘harmonic Throng’. If the episode didn’t entirely put you off, you can now actually play Thronglets yourself.

Developed by Oxenfree’s Night School Studio, who were acquired by Netflix in 2021, Thronglets is available to download on mobile devices for free if you’re a Netflix subscriber.

A description of the virtual pet simulator reads: ‘These pixel art critters won’t just take over your phone; they could take over your life.’

As you progress, you’ll unlock video fragments from a mockumentary called the ‘Ritman Retrospective’, which dives into the fictional creator of Thronglets, Colin Ritman, and his boss at Tuckersoft, Mohan Thakur (played by Asim Chaudhry).

Black Mirror’s creator, Charlie Brooker, was a games journalist for PC Zone in the 1990s. It’s unclear if the episode is based on his experiences but it isn’t exactly a glowing portrayal, with the lead character Cameron Walker being a socially-inept recluse.

Netflix has released several other games based on its shows in the past, including Stranger Things: 1984 and Squid Game: Unleashed.

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Bungie and Sony plan to sell the new Marathon as a ‘premium’ product though they have promised it won’t be a full price game.

It’s been nearly two years since Sony announced it was reviving Bungie’s Marathon series, albeit as the publisher’s next crack at a live service game.

After a long silence and a change in directors, Bungie finally lifted the lid on Marathon over the weekend via a livestream, where it shared proper gameplay details and a release date.

It also shared what fans can expect from the game at launch and it sounds even less content rich than Concord, Sony’s last live service game attempt.

As a reminder, Concord launched last August and was meant to be the first of many first-party PlayStation live service games. However, its launch was so disastrous that Sony killed the game after only two weeks and shut down developer Firewalk Studios.

Although other live service games have reportedly been cancelled in the aftermath, Marathon’s development has chugged along, with it slated to launch later this year.

Aside from establishing how this new Marathon is a PvP extraction shooter, with players forming teams of three to gather loot, Bungie also explained that there will be six playable characters and three maps at launch.

Obviously, the plan is to add more content over time (a fourth map is already confirmed), but this means Marathon is arriving with far less than what Concord offered.

By comparison, Concord launched with 16 playable characters and 12 maps. It also had six different gameplay modes to try out whereas Marathon only has the one.

One similarity Marathon does share with Concord, though, is that it won’t be free-to-play. Speaking with GameSpot, Bungie described the game as a ‘premium’ product, adding that it will include a battle pass but clarifying that the game won’t be sold at full price.

Neither was Concord, which was sold at £34.99, but that clearly proved too high an asking price. Marathon is at least an established franchise, but it’s not particularly well known, and it could face the same struggles if it launches at a similar price.

Among the initial fan reactions, plenty of people have been quick to draw Concord comparisons and seem to have little faith in its chances. ‘Concord tripped and broke its neck so that Marathon could jump off a cliff spread eagle,’ wrote discolunk on Bluesky.

‘Why would I pay to try Marathon when I already have The Finals for free?’ questioned berserker-thiis. Meanwhile, elhyana, despite loving the new trailer, unfavourably compared Marathon to Valorant, saying, ‘This might be another Concord moment.’

One James Galizio has bleakly predicted the same thing, pointing out that Concord’s own failure may have doomed Marathon to the same fate: ‘Players still remember how that went, why would they commit time to the game when history shows if it flops Sony will unexist the game?’

When will Marathon launch?

Marathon is scheduled to launch on September 23. While Sony is publishing it, it will be a multi-platform release and be available for PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S.

A closed alpha test will take place beforehand on April 23 though the only way to sign up for it is by joining the official Marathon Discord.

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The PS5 Digital Edition now costs even more in the UK and other territories, as it becomes more expensive than the Nintendo Switch 2.

The PlayStation 5 might be selling at a similar pace to the PlayStation 4, but a large portion of Sony’s audience still hasn’t made the jump to the next generation.

There are several reasons for this, between the lack of PlayStation 5 exclusives, the fact that many people who simply want to play Fortnite and Minecraft have no need to upgrade, and the less noticeable technological leap between consoles.

Another key factor is perhaps the price, and while you might think Sony would announce a price cut five years into the generation, it has actually done the opposite.

As announced on the PlayStation blog, Sony has bumped up the price of the PlayStation 5 digital edition in the UK by £40 from £389.99 to £429.99, starting from today (April 14). There is no change to the standard version with a disc drive, which costs £479.99, or the PS5 Pro.

This price increase has also rolled out across Europe, where the digital edition now costs €50 more at €499.99.

Australia and New Zealand are the worst affected with price hikes across both the digital and standard edition consoles. In Australia, the digital version now costs $749.95 (up from $649.95) while the standard edition costs $829.95 (up from $799.95). In New Zealand, each console now costs $859.95 and $949.95 respectively.

To soften the bad news, Sony has decreased the price of the PlayStation 5 disc drive from £99.99 to £69.99. In Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, the disc drive now costs €79.99, $124.95, and $139.95 respectively.

This is the second time Sony has rolled out a price increase for the PlayStation 5. In 2022, the cost of the digital edition went up by £30, so the price has jumped £70 in total over the past three years. Incredibly, neither of these increases have impacted the US (for now, at least).

On the PlayStation blog, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s vice president of global marketing, Isabelle Tomatis, said: ‘With a backdrop of a challenging economic environment, including high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates, Sony Interactive Entertainment has made the tough decision to raise the recommended retail price of the PlayStation 5 console in select markets in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Australia, and New Zealand.’

While it isn’t mentioned explicitly, the timing strongly suggests this is connected to the rising US import costs. A PlayStation 5 price increase for the US hasn’t yet been announced, but it would be surprising if one isn’t on the way.

Speaking to CNBC, games industry analyst Serkan Toto said: ‘I would be very surprised if Sony was able to keep the PlayStation prices in the US stable. Now is the ‘right’ time for the company to hike prices because user backlash would be comparably limited.

‘So yes, I expect Sony to raise prices in the US eventually, once it’s at least a bit more clear where exactly tariffs are headed.’

As noted in Sony’s financial report from February, the company has stockpiled ‘a certain level of strategic inventory in the US’ to counter any proposed tariffs – so a price increase might not come into effect in the region until this stock runs out.

If these tariffs persist, they could have a significant impact on the price of the PlayStation 6, which is rumoured to launch in 2027.

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