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Title: Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order updates ahead of the June 5 launch date

Date: Thu, 29 May 2025 18:06:00 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nint...

Update, 5/29/25: The Nintendo Switch 2 will launch soon on June 5. Pre-order
advice currently remains the same, which is to say that you probably won't be
able to pre-order the console before launch day anymore, since all retailers
still list it as either "unavailable" or "coming soon." Now, it's all about
launch-day logistics. A number of retailers, including Best Buy, plan to open
some stores early on June 5 and have stock available for customers to
purchase on site. If you didn't manage to get a pre-order in already, your
best bet may be to go to a local Best Buy, Walmart, Target or GameStop on
June 5 to see if you can walk out with a new console that day.

Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders are officially live at Nintendo's online store
ΓÇö but only if you've received an invite. As advertised, the My Nintendo
Store began sending out Switch 2 pre-order invites on Thursday to those who
previously registered their interest and meet the company's "priority
criteria."

If you've been chosen, congratulations! You have 72 hours from the time your
email was sent to complete your purchase. If you previously signed up but
haven't received a notice, well, we'll have to see when exactly it'll arrive.
Nintendo has been accepting registrations since April 2, and it's sending
invites to past Switch players and Switch Online subscribers before anyone
else.

If you meet the priority requirements and signed up on the earlier side, you
should (hopefully) get your invite before most others. If you signed up
later, don't be surprised if it takes awhile for Nintendo to grace your
inbox. The company warned last month that it may not be able to send all
invites ΓÇö or even deliver all orders that do get placed ΓÇö before the
Switch 2's June 5 release date.

Beyond Nintendo, the song sadly remains the same. As of our latest check, the
device remains fully sold out at Walmart, GameStop, Best Buy, Target and
other retailers. This has mostly been the case in the US since the Switch 2
first went up for sale on April 24, and it remains unclear when it'll change.

That said, we're keeping an eye out for any surprise restocks that pop up. If
you're still hoping to get your hands on the device early, we've rounded up
all the Switch 2 pre-order listings we could find for easy access and broken
down what to know about buying the console.

How to pre-order the Nintendo Switch 2 at the My Nintendo Store

As noted above, Nintendo is only selling the Switch 2 through an invite
system, which began on April 2. While it seems unlikely you'll receive your
console before launch day if you sign up with Nintendo now, we still
recommend doing so in case stock remains low at other stores. Registration is
free, and you'll receive your invite eventually, even if it takes some time.

On that point, Nintendo says it is prioritizing invites "on a first-come,
first-served basis" to registrants who meet the following criteria:

You must have purchased a Switch Online membership as of April 2, 2025. If
you've only ever been part of a family plan and weren't the paying account,
that's a no-go.

You must have been a paid Switch Online subscriber for at least 12 months as
of April 2, 2025.

You must have logged at least 50 hours of total Switch gameplay time as of
April 2, 2025.

You must have opted into sharing gameplay data with Nintendo as of April 2,
2025. You can confirm this in your account's privacy settings.

You must be a Nintendo account holder who is at least 18 years old.

If you fulfill those requirements, you'll be ahead in Nintendo's invite
queue. If not, you'll have to wait until after the priority registrants
receive their emails. Once they do, the remaining invites will go out on a
first-come, first-served basis. Whenever you get your email, you'll have a 72-
hour window to buy.

As with other stores, you have two models to pick from: the base Switch 2
console for $450, and a bundle with Mario Kart World for $500. Note that you
can only purchase one console per invite. You'll also be able to pick up
certain accessories when it's your time to shop.

Pre-order Nintendo Switch 2

Nintendo

Pre-order Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World bundle

Nintendo

We received our invite late Thursday evening after signing up about an hour
after the registration window first opened. We've posted screenshots of what
the official invite email and buying process looks like below. (A previous
version of this guide linked to screenshots from Reddit and the gaming forum
ResetEra, but one ResetEra user appears to have shared a fake invite, so
we've removed that.) Broadly speaking, the experience is far less chaotic
than it's been at other stores. Our confirmation email says that our console
will ship by June 4.

How to pre-order the Nintendo Switch 2 at other retailers

Unfortunately, the Switch 2 remains sold out everywhere else as of this
writing. To recap the situation: After a two-week delay, Nintendo finally
kicked off Switch 2 pre-orders at third-party retailers in the US and Canada
at midnight ET on April 24. A couple of (headache-inducing) hours later,
stock at Walmart, Target and Best Buy had sold out. GameStop began taking pre-
orders later that morning but quickly met the same fate. Some eagle-eyed
buyers were reportedly able to pre-order through Walmart as late as April 26,
but things have dried up since.

Other membership-based retailers like Costco and Sam's Club have Switch 2
listings as well, but we haven't seen anything to suggest they will accept
pre-orders. Newegg also has a Switch 2 page but hasn't provided an option to
buy just yet. As for Amazon, we assume the Switch 2 will eventually be
available there, but it's not today, and there's been no indication as to
when that might change. (Even before the Switch 2 was unveiled, stock of the
original Switch and first-party Switch games had been limited at Amazon US
for several months.)

If you're desperate to catch a restock, it's a good idea to create a free
account with the retailers above and ensure all of your shipping and billing
info is up to date with each. Downloading each store's mobile app and signing
up for notifications may help too, though that could get annoying fairly
quickly.

Pre-order Nintendo Switch 2

Walmart

GameStop

Best Buy

Target

Amazon*

Pre-order Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World bundle

Walmart

GameStop

Best Buy

Target

Amazon*

*As of 1:15pm ET on Friday, May 9, Amazon has not listed either Switch 2
console package for sale. We will update this article with direct links if
they arrive; until then, we're linking to the site's Nintendo-focused hub.

How to pre-order Switch 2 accessories and games

Naturally, there are numerous accessories and games up for pre-order
alongside the Switch 2 itself. While Nintendo hasn't changed the console's
price since delaying its initial pre-order date, it has hiked the cost of
several accessories due to "changes in market conditions" (read: tariffs).
The new Switch 2 camera, for instance, now costs $55 instead of its original
$50, while the Switch 2 Pro Controller leapt from $80 to $85. An extra set of
Joy-Con 2 controllers is up to $95 from $90, and the official Joy-Con
Charging Grip costs $40 instead of $35.

Most (but not all) of Nintendo's official Switch 2 accessories are still up
for grabs at one or two retailers at a minimum, but stock has become spottier
since they first went up for sale. Upcoming Switch 2 games like Mario Kart
World and Donkey Kong Bananza, meanwhile, remain widely available.

Mario Kart World for $80

Nintendo

Walmart

GameStop

Best Buy

Target

Amazon*

Donkey Kong Bananza for $70

Nintendo

Walmart

GameStop

Best Buy

Target

Amazon*

Additional Switch 2 games

Nintendo

Walmart

GameStop

Best Buy

Target

Amazon

Samsung microSD Express Card (256GB) for Nintendo Switch 2 for $60

Nintendo

Walmart

GameStop

Best Buy

Target

Amazon

Joy-Con 2 bundle for $95

Nintendo

Walmart

GameStop

Best Buy

Target

Amazon*

Switch 2 Pro Controller for $85

Nintendo

Walmart

GameStop

Best Buy

Target

Amazon*

Switch 2 Camera for $55

Nintendo

Walmart

GameStop

Best Buy

Target

Amazon*

Hori Nintendo Switch 2 Piranha Plant Camera for $60

Best Buy

Target

Amazon

Joy-Con 2 Charging Grip for $40

Nintendo

Walmart

GameStop

Best Buy

Target

Amazon*

Joy-Con 2 Wheels (set of 2) for $25

Nintendo

Walmart

GameStop

Best Buy

Target

Amazon*

Switch 2 All-in-One Carrying Case for $85

Nintendo

Walmart

GameStop

Best Buy

Target

Amazon*

Switch 2 Carrying Case and Screen Protector for $40

Nintendo

Walmart

GameStop

Best Buy

Target

Amazon*

*As of 1:15pm ET on Friday, May 9, Amazon has not listed any first-party
Switch 2 accessories or games for sale. (Some third-party devices and games
are listed, however.) We'll update this article with direct links if they
arrive; until then, we're linking to the site's Nintendo-focused hub.

More Switch 2 details The Nintendo Switch 2. Sam Rutherford for Engadget

We knew from its initial teaser trailer that the Switch 2 would be bigger
than its predecessor and take a new approach to its detachable Joy-Cons. The
Joy-Con 2s, as they're called, now attach magnetically and include a C
button, mouse controls and a built-in gyroscope for tilt control. The console
itself is indeed larger, with a 7.9-inch LCD screen that supports a 1080p
resolution, a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz and HDR10. The hardware also
has a built-in mic to support a new feature called GameChat that'll let you
communicate with friends in-game. (This is what that C button is for.)
Nintendo says this service will be free to all Switch 2 users until March 31,
2026, at which point it'll require a Switch Online membership.

When docked, you'll be able to play up to 4K on your TV. Nintendo says it's
improved the consoles internal speakers as well. The updated dock has a built-
in fan to keep the console cool and help maintain performance during long
play sessions. Though we won't know exactly how much of a power upgrade the
Switch 2 is over to the first Switch until it's released, it looks to be
fairly significant leap, given that it'll have ports of relatively demanding
games like Elden Ring and Cyberpunk 2077.

Elsewhere, the Switch 2 has dual USB-C ports for charging, while the internal
storage amount has jumped from 32GB to 256GB. That storage is still
expandable, but the device will only work with newer (and more expensive)
microSD Express cards. As seen in the recent 20.0.0 update for the original
Switch, the upcoming console will also utilize Nintendo's new Virtual Game
Card system for lending digital games across systems, as well as a GameShare
feature that lets you share select titles locally with just one copy of a
game.

Tariffs and the Nintendo Switch 2 The Nintendo Switch 2's Joy-Con 2
controllers. Sam Rutherford for Engadget

During its most recent Direct presentation at the start of April, Nintendo
showed off more of the Switch 2 than it ever had before. That included the
reveal of its original April 9 pre-order date, in addition to its $450
starting price. Shortly after, President Trump announced sweeping tariffs on
China and other countries, prompting Nintendo to delay pre-orders in the US
and Canada.

In a reversal, President Trump later announced a 90-day pause on steep
tariffs affecting 75 countries, but also announced that the tariff imposed on
China will go up even further (right now, it sits at 145 percent).

We now know that the original $450 price for the Switch 2 will remain the
same in the US and Canada, but based on its official statement, it appears
Nintendo is leaving the door open for potential future price increases.

We also know that Nintendo started moving some of its Switch console
manufacturing to Vietnam in 2019. The increased tariff for Vietnam was set to
be 46 percent, but that's temporarily on hold in favor of a 10 percent tariff
thatΓÇÖs in effect for the 90-day pause period.

It has been speculated that Nintendo will boost production of Switch 2
consoles in Vietnam so it can stay on schedule, even if it sells the console
at a loss in the short term. It appears the company will have to seriously
ramp up production to keep up with Switch 2 demand: According to Nintendo,
2.2 million people entered the pre-order lottery in Japan alone, which is far
more devices than it is expected to deliver in that region on launch day. In
total, the company projects it will sell 15 million Switch 2 units through
March 2026.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nint...
ahead-of-the-june-5-launch-date-140931884.html?src=rss

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