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Nintendo Switch Games and Accessories Guide: What to Get With This Year's Hot Toy

HIGHLIGHTS

• Nintendo Switch costs $299.99 (about Rs. 19,340) in the US
• Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey are must-buys
• MicroSD card is starting to become a necessity

The Nintendo Switch has been selling like hot cakes all year, and for good reason: it combines the portability of a tablet with of console-level gaming on the go. With the power of Nintendo behind it, the Switch gets Mario and Zelda, giving us two of the best games in 2017, so it's hard to resist jumping in.

Nintendo has struggled to keep the Switch in stock where it's available – the console has not even arrived in India officially, though you can get one from gaming retailers for under Rs. 25,000, when they have stocks – even after promising to double production, twice. If you're planning to buy one this holiday, or thinking of a gift to buy for someone who already has one, here's what you should pick up with the $299.99 (about Rs. 19,340) console.

Games
The first thing to get, of course, are the games. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a stellar title, with lush visuals, exciting gameplay, and a huge open world to explore. Its single-player campaign lasts over 50 hours, so you're in this for the long haul.

Add to that Super Mario Odyssey, a worthy game-of-the-year contender that takes the best of Mario and then adds a totally new gameplay mechanic with his sentient cap, Cappy, turning even your enemies into unwilling allies. You can also hand control of Cappy to a friend, making Odyssey a co-op experience. Plus, it boasts a wonderful soundtrack.

For those who want multiplayer action, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the definitive option on the Switch. It has dozens of tracks across a variety of modes – Grand Prix, Time Trials, Versus, and Battle – and is suitable for all ages and types of racers thanks to its Smart Steering, guaranteeing endless hours of fun.

If you're looking for affordable, indie options – all above titles cost $60 (about Rs. 3,870) – you should check out Overcooked and Steamworld Dig 2, both of which come in at $20 (about Rs. 1,290).

The Switch has had good third-party flagship support in its first year, with titles from Bethesda - Doom, and Skyrim - EA Sports' FIFA 18, Rockstar Games' L.A. Noire, and Ubisoft's Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. It's still too early to say how this will continue over the console's lifetime, but its commercial success is definitely a positive for publishers.

It's worth noting that even if you're buying physical game cartridges, most games will still take up some space on local storage. Some games, such as Doom require you to download components that didn't fit on the game card. You can find Switch cartridges in India for popular titles, though those will come with a markup. Games like Super Mario Odyssey for example, cost $60 (around Rs. 3,850) while buying it on cartridge in India should typically set you back by Rs. 4,200.

Accessories
The first accessories to buy are a screen protector and case. The screen is prone to scratches, especially when you're docking the console, and there have been reports of the Switch bending, which a case can help prevent. There are hundreds of options for both, so our only tip is not spend more than $10 (about Rs. 650) for a screen protector, and opt for a case that can hold more than a few game cards, and protect your Switch from a short fall.

The Switch's Joy-Cons work great for most games, whether they're attached or in a grip, but they aren't so great for titles like FIFA 18 or Doom, as we've said before. For those, you're better off with the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. It's a bit expensive at $70 (about Rs. 4,500) though, but if you're going to spend a lot of time with games that require you to press multiple buttons at the same time, your hands will be better for it.

Another important accessory is a microSD card, thanks to the Switch's measly 32GB internal storage. Your best bet is a 128GB one, which should costs around $50/ Rs. 3,000. That's needed given the large download size of games such as L.A. Noire. Make sure the one you end up buying has a minimum read speed of 60 Mbps, otherwise you'll face issues. But if you're planning to go completely digital on the Switch and play a lot of games, we'd recommend getting the biggest microSD card you can afford. In our use of the Switch since launch, we're down to a mere 20GB free on a 128GB card.

The other major downside of the Switch is its battery life, which lasts just three hours with Zelda, though other games like Disgaea 5 and Kamiko can see that last a little over five hours. If you wish to play a lot on the go, you should consider investing in a USB Type-C battery pack. A battery pack that comes highly recommended is Anker'sPowerCore+ 26800 PD. We haven't used it ourselves, but a lot of Switch owners attest to its performance.

Are you planning to buy the Switch? Do you've any questions? Leave your queries in the comments below, and we'll do our best to answer them.

Airtel Now Offers 'Unlimited Calls', 1GB Data for 28 Days at Rs. 199

HIGHLIGHTS

• Rs. 199 pack is available in select circles
• It is well listed on Airtel's site
• Airtel has also launched Rs. 157 and Rs. 49 data packs

Fulfilling the demand of heavy-data subscribers and taking on competitors like Reliance Jio and Vodafone, Bharti Airtel has now launched a new prepaid tariff that is priced at Rs. 199 and comes with a validity of 28 days. The new Rs. 199 pack comes days after Vodafone announced its new tariff of an identical denomination.

Under the new pack, Airtel is offering its prepaid subscribers unlimited local and STD calls, unlimited incoming calls on roaming, unlimited local and national SMS, and 1GB of 3G/4G data for 28 days at a charge of Rs. 199. All these benefits are applicable to both existing and new Airtel prepaid subscribers.

It is worth noting here that the new Rs. 199 tariff is available only in select circles, including Chennai, Delhi NCR, Mumbai, and Karnataka. Also, the pack is yet to be available through My Airtel app for all subscribers in the selected circles. You can, however, get the pack directly from Airtel's site that lists all its benefits and provides online recharge option.

Earlier this week, Vodafone launched its Rs. 199 prepaid pack with benefits such as 1GB data per day with a validity of 28 days. The Pune-based telco also offered unlimited local and STD calls albeit with a limit of up to 250 minutes per day and 1,000 minutes per week. If the limit exceeds, subscribers will be charged at 30 paisa per minute for subsequent calls. Unlike the latest pack by Airtel, the Rs. 199 pack by Vodafone is limited to its Delhi NCR circle.

In addition to the new unlimited pack, Airtel has reportedly launched a pack of Rs. 157 that offers 3GB of 3G/4G data for 27 days. This pack is yet to be listed on Airtel's site. However, folks at Telecom Talk have spotted its existence through My Airtel app.

Airtel is also offering 1GB data for a day at Rs. 49 to let its prepaid subscribers have enough quota to stream online videos or download games or any other content from the Web. The Rs. 49 pack is available from My Airtel app.

Editor's note: The article has been updated to reflect the fact that the Airtel Rs. 199 rechrage is offering 1GB data in total and not 1GB data per day.

Far Cry 5 Guns for Hire Missions Have a 'Gift for the Player': Ubisoft

HIGHLIGHTS

• Far Cry 5's Dan Hay teases what you can expect from Guns for Hire
• Guns for Hire refers to your in-game allies
• Far Cry 5 is out on February 27

Far Cry 5 is out on February 27. In the run up to this, Gadgets 360 spoke to Dan Hay, Executive Producer and Creative Director for Far Cry 5. Aside from tell us what the game’s inspirations are, he also dropped a hint on what to expect from Far Cry 5’s Guns for Hire feature.

Guns for Hire allows you to choose from AI-controlled allies to help you out on your quest to rid Montana of its doomsday cult, Eden’s Gate. They’re optional and aren’t necessary to complete the game, but going forward and accessing those missions results in something rather special, Hay teased. This surprise came up when discussing which Far Cry game is Hay’s favourite.

“I don't think I can make a choice between the games, but there's a mission in Far Cry 5 that's my favourite mission. I can't tell you what it is, it's not imperative to the story, it's not something you have to do but it's a very charming moment that closes the loop of your involvement with guns for hire [your allies in Far Cry 5] and it's a really fun moment that's a gift to the player,” he explains. Mild spoilers follow:

“You get the experience the end of a story or the beginning of a new one from a family. I can't tell you anymore. There's a really charming moment and that is absolutely my new favourite mission.”

Considering that past games like Far Cry 4 would let you continue playing the after you’re done with the main story, we won’t be surprised to see this quest tie-in with this.

And if you're after more Far Cry 5 news, check out our detailed interview with Hay, touching upon Far Cry 5's influences, game design, and a whole lot more.

World AIDS Day: Apple Says It Has Raised Over $160 Million via Sales of (RED) Products

On Thursday, the eve of World AIDS Day, Appleannounced that through its participation in the (RED) initiative, the company had till date raised over $160 million (approximately Rs. 1,032 crores) for the Global Fund, an international organisation that raises funds to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. Apple said that over $30 million (approximately Rs. 194 crores) of that amount had been raised from the sale of (RED) branded company products in the last 12 months alone.

"Apple celebrates a record year of giving with over $30 million raised for the Global Fund, equating to 144 million days of ARV medication that prevents the transmission of HIV from mothers to their unborn babies," Apple said in a press statement.

The (RED) initiative - founded in founded in 2006 by Bobby Shriver and U2's Bono - looks to engage private sector companies like Apple and Nike, and part of the proceeds from the sales of the (RED)-branded products goes towards the Global Fund. (RED) recently announced it had raised over $500 million (approximately Rs. 3,225 crores) for the Global Fund since the organisation's inception.

Apple added that for World AIDS Day 2017, more than 400 company stores will feature a red Apple logo for the week, and for every Apple Pay transaction made at a retail location, online or in-app, the company will make a $1 donation (approximately Rs. 65) to the Global Fund.

App Store visitors around the world will see a Today tab takeover featuring stories dedicated to the cause including a behind-the-scenes look at how developers are supporting (RED). Apple added that gaming developer King is also rolling out limited-edition bundles across its popular titles - Candy Crush Saga, Candy Crush Jelly Saga and Candy Crush Soda Saga - with all proceeds from those in-app purchases going to the Global Fund.

Toshiba, Western Digital Close to Settling Dispute: Report

Toshiba and Western Digital are said to be close to settling their legal dispute, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

Under an agreement, Western Digital will drop efforts to block the Japanese company's $18 billion sale of its flash-memory business in exchange for the extension of their joint venture agreements, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Western Digital and Toshiba were not immediately available for comment.

Western Digital in October had rejected demands from Toshiba Corp to drop a set of legal rights that would allow the US company to block Toshiba's $18 billion sale of its memory chip unit to SK Hynix.

Earlier this month, Toshiba said it had not entered into talks with any company to sell its personal computer business, denying media reports that it was in negotiations to sell the unit to Taiwan's Asustek Computer.

China's Lenovo Group Ltd has also expressed interest in the PC unit, the Nikkei business daily reported.

Cash-strapped Toshiba has previously said it is looking to sell the PC business, a small part of the industrial conglomerate, as it races to bolster its balance sheet by the end of March to avoid a possible delisting.

The PC business accounted for just 3.5 percent of Toshiba's net revenue in April-September of JPY 84.1 billion ($747 million).

Samsung Demonstrates 5G Network on High-Speed Train

Samsung Electronics said on Friday that it has demonstrated the fifth-generation network on a high-speed train travelling over 100kmph under a joint project with Japanese telecommunications operator KDDI.

The two companies, which have been rolling out joint projects in the field since 2015, said they successfully observed data transmission speed of 1.7Gbps in the demonstration conducted in Japan in November, Yonhap news agency reported.

"The demonstration leveraged capabilities driven by 5G, such as high throughput, low latency and massive connections, which verified potential services that would be highly beneficial to passengers and operators of high-speed trains," Samsung was quoted as saying.

The test is anticipated to pave the way for faster on-board WiFi services that offer stronger security as well.

The companies said 8K-quality video was downloaded via a 5G router installed on-board. A 4K video shot from a camera installed on the train was also uploaded in the demonstration.

"To fulfill our aim to launch 5G by 2020, KDDI will continue exploring real-life scenario experiments for diverse 5G use and business cases together with Samsung," KDDI added.

Google Announces 4 New Indian Startups for Fresh 'Launchpad Accelerator' Batch

Google on Friday announced the four shortlisted Indian startups for its hands-on mentorship programme 'Launchpad Accelerator'. With this batch, a total of 30 Indian startups have so far joined the class.

The shortlisted startups - BabyChakra, m.Paani, NIRAMAI and SocialCops - will join a group of startups shortlisted from all over the world at the Google Developers' Launchpad Space in San Francisco in the US.

Class 5 of the mentorship will kick off on January 29 and will include two weeks of all-expenses paid training, as part of the the full six-month programme.

"These startups have been shortlisted based on their unique value proposition and use of latest technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence," Roy Glasberg, Global Lead, Google Developers Launchpad, said in a statement.

BabyChakra is a trusted care companion to Indian parents, from pregnancy to parenting.

m.Paani powers real-time, direct to consumer engagement, marketing, loyalty and insights for mass market consumers and retailers.

NIRAMAI is a healthtech startup that has developed a novel breast cancer screening solution while SocialCops empowers organisations to make better decisions through data.

Launchpad Accelerator is Google's six-month programme that includes an intensive two-week boot camp in San Francisco and mentoring from over 30 teams across Google and expert mentors from top technology companies in Silicon Valley and globally.

Jio Not to Blame for Telecom Industry's Losses, Mukesh Ambani Says

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Friday hit back at Bharti's Sunil Mittal for blaming his telecom venture Jio for the industry's losses, saying businesses must stop looking at regulators and governments to guarantee their profits.

Calling Mittal a "friend", he said profits and losses are risks businesses take and it is more important to find out if the country and the consumers gained after Jio.

Addressing the HT Leadership Summit in New Delhi, he said that after the entry of Jio, India has become the world's No.1 mobile broadband market, consuming more data than users in the US and China.

"For all of us in the industry, I think profits and losses are risks that we take. I don't think we can rely on governments and regulators to guarantee our profits or losses," Ambani maintained.

This was in response to a query on Mittal's reported comments - who runs India's biggest telecom firm Bharti Airtel - that all telecom companies had put together written down $40-50 billion of investments due to Jio's entry.

"To me, what is most important is did we move the country forward and does the consumer gain," Ambani said.

"The question... you should be thinking about is even if there are profits and losses, who gains and who loses. And as long as the consumer gains and the country moves forward, it is worth taking those losses... Some of us are big boys, we can afford that," he added.

A little over a year ago, Ambani, Chairman and MD of Reliance Industries, launched Jio, a new fourth-generation wireless service that disrupted the telecom industry by offering free calls and cheap data on mobile phones.

Older players such as Airtel and Vodafone were forced to cut tariff, but still continue to charge for voice calls and text messages, which are free on Jio. This together with dirt cheap data has helped it attract 138 million users.

According to Ambani, Jio is ahead of schedule on turning profitable.

"Jio results are declared every quarter now. You can see the trend. You watch the next few quarters. You will learn in January and you will learn in March," he replied to a question when will the telecom venture break even.

Not elaborating, he said, "I don't want to predict, but I think we are ahead of our schedule in terms of the returns that we are generating."

In the July-September quarter, Jio had reported a pre-tax profit of Rs. 261 crores, its first ever operating profit, on standalone revenue of about Rs. 6,147 crores. But it had a net loss of Rs. 270.5 crores for the three months to September.

Asked if competition motivates him, Ambani said, "Our DNA is that we are very focussed. We always believe in the principle of saying that if you focus on the goal, you will overcome all obstacles. If you focus on the obstacles, you will never achieve your goal."

"At Reliance, we want to be the best in the world," he asserted. "I am sorry if it appears competitive."

The RIL chairman predicted that India will be ahead of the US in terms of data infrastructure by 2019. "As we move forward, we think of more difficult issues that create value.

Agriculture is difficult, education is important, and healthcare is most difficult and we will think about what we can do in each one of these areas," he added.

He also said money never meant much to him and he has never carried money since childhood, adding that "I have somebody around who pays for me".

Ambani, India's richest man, went on to say India was ranked 150th in the world for mobile broadband adoption, but "now, it is number 1, after the launch of Jio".

"Today, Indians consume more mobile broadband data than users in the USA and China," he said. "If Data is Destiny, New India is well and truly ready for its new Tryst with Destiny."

India, Ambani suggested, can use digital technology to leapfrog in all sectors of the economy - be it financial services, commerce, manufacturing, agriculture, education and healthcare.

"As Internet becomes accessible to all Indians, I believe we will be among the first to graduate to the Internet of Everything," he quipped.