Summary
Nintendo Switch 2pre-orders have started going live in the US, and the process appears to be going as well as you might expect. There appear to have been issues at all of the major retailers where pre-orders were supposed to go live at midnight, and if you have managed to bag yourself a Switch 2, you’re one of the incredibly lucky ones.
Nintendoconfirmed today, April 24, would be the day Switch 2 pre-orders would go live in the US last week afterthe initial date was delayedwhile the company assessed the potential impact of tariffs introduced on the same day as the Switch 2 Direct. Retailers revealed when exactly the console would be available on their respective sites, with Target, Best Buy, and Walmart opting for a midnight release.
While Target and Walmart appear to have had their Switch 2 pre-orders go live on time, Best Buy was late. That was both a blessing and a curse depending on how you approached the midnight drops. If you struck out at Target and Walmart, you were given another chance to get a Switch 2 at Best Buy. However, if your focus was on Best Buy, you were left waiting while others were successful elsewhere.
No Matter Where You Go, There Are Problems With Switch 2 Pre-Orders
Best Of Luck To Any Of You Trying To Secure A Pre-Order Today
Wario64also reported that, once Switch 2 pre-orders finally did go live, some customers were removed from the queue without being given the chance to actually buy one. Something similar seems to have happened at Walmart. The site claimed the console and itsMario Kart Worldbundle sold out pretty quickly, which is unsurprising, but even after claims of a sell-out,Nintendealreported that some still had the Switch 2 in their cart.
Even if you think you bagged yourself a Switch 2 pre-order, it might be worth checking your email to make sure that order wasn’t canceled shortly after.PokeJunglerevealed some who bought the console through Target were told shortly after that their order had been canceled, possibly because Target oversold.Even Geoff Keighley bemoaned the process at Target. The Game Awards' host claimed he had a Switch 2 in his cart at Target, then he didn’t, then he did again but it wouldn’t let him check out.
The first indicators that Nintendo severely underestimated Switch 2 demand reared its head yesterday whenShunturo Furukawa admitted there won’t be nearly enough consoles to go around in Japan, likely for quite some time. That appears to be the case in the US too, but if you have been unsuccessful so far, don’t give up hope.GameStop pre-orders will begin at 11 am EST, or earlier in-person if you have a GameStop nearby that opens before that, and there’s Nintendo itself if you met the criteria and received an invite.
