U.S. preorders for the Nintendo Switch 2 kicked off shortly after the clock struck midnight Thursday. But chaos soon ensued amid high demand.
Scores of consumers hoping to be among the first to own Nintendo’s latest gaming console — which is set to officially launch June 5 — jumped online to try and snag a preorder. And while some lucky buyers found success, many others ran into frustrating delays or saw the product’s early listings appear to quickly sell out at participating retailers like Target, Walmart and Best Buy in the wee hours of the night.
Among the headaches, social media users shared painfully-long wait times, screenshots of error messages and carts that suddenly appeared empty — or, in some cases, received confirmation emails that were soon followed by notices about the orders being canceled.
Nintendo acknowledged the “very high demand” in an update about those interested in purchasing the Switch 2 from its own My Nintendo Store. The company said it would be “working diligently to fulfill orders as product becomes available,” but noted that delivery by June 5 was not guaranteed — urging those who want to increase their chances of getting the Switch 2 at the launch date to visit a participating retailer.
Nintendo did not immediately respond to a request for further information about Thursday’s preorder demand.
GameStop also begun accepting preorders for the Switch 2 Thursday — hours following the late night launches at other retailers. Online preorders from GameStop went live at 11 a.m. ET, but its listing appeared to be unavailable within minutes.
“We’re seeing overwhelming demand for Switch 2, which is causing some site issues,” GameStop Help wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, shortly after 11:30 a.m. ET. But the company added that its previously-announced in-store preorders “are open and running smoothly.”
It wasn’t immediately clear what that capacity GameStop and other retailers had for Switch 2 preorders. The Associated Press reached out to GameStop — as well as Target, Walmart and Best Buy — for comments Thursday.
The sizeable (and speedy) demand for Nintendo’s Switch 2 isn’t surprising. The new gaming console has been marketed as bigger and better than its predecessor of eight years past — with highly-anticipated features including an interactive chat, larger screen and new games.
Still, the Switch 2’s rollout arrives at an uncertain time for much of the industry due to new tariffs implemented by U.S. President Donald Trump and responding retaliation from targeted countries, notably China. Economists have warned that the steeper levies will result in higher prices on a range of consumer goods relying on a global supply chain today, including electronics.
The Switch 2’s baseline launch price is $449.99 — significantly higher than the original Switch’s $299 price tag. While new bells and whistles may account for a sizeable portion of that hike, experts have previously noted that the new import taxes are also a contributor.
And U.S. preorders for the Switch 2 were already delayed earlier this month — ahead of Trump’s steepest levies, most of which have now been postponed, going into effect.
Preorders were originally slated to go live on April 9, an update from Nintendo shared by GameStop notes, but were pushed back to “assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions.” Nintendo later confirmed that some Switch 2 accessories would see price adjustments — but maintained that its previously-announced baseline price for the console would remain the same.
Super Mario creator Nintendo Co. is banking on the Switch 2 to revive demand for its gaming consoles, with its older predecessor recently losing momentum. In February, the Kyoto, Japan-based company said it expected to sell 11 million Switch consoles for its full fiscal year ending in March, lower than its initial projection of 12.5 million.
Nintendo reported profit of 237 billion yen ($1.5 billion) for the first nine months of its latest fiscal year, down 42% from the same period the year prior.
