Nintendo’s new Switch 2 console maintained strong momentum toward its summer release by quickly selling out pre-orders among US retailers.
Orders for the $450 (roughly Rs. 38,450) device, which will be released on June 5, are no longer available on the Walmart, Best Buy, and Target websites. Nintendo fans reported initial technical hiccups due to the high demand, but many were eventually able to order the system, according to messages posted on X and other social media sites. Nintendo didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The strong response in a key market sets the stage for what’s expected to be the biggest console launch in history. Concerns about the price, $150 (roughly Rs. 12,816) higher than the predecessor Switch, and a gloomy macroeconomic outlook have not dampened consumer enthusiasm for the long-awaited gadget. At home in Japan, Nintendo said it received 2.2 million applications for its lottery sale on its online store.
“The Switch 2’s launch week sales in Japan are likely somewhere between 800,000 to a million units,” Toyo Securities analyst Hideki Yasuda said. “That can be translated to around five million in the first week globally. That speed is unprecedented.”
Nintendo’s Tokyo-traded shares rose as much as 3.3 percent on Friday, heading for a three-day winning streak.
GameStop, the largest standalone US video game retailer, waited to take pre-orders until its stores opened at around 11 a.m. New York time on Thursday and saw lines form outside its shops.
A line began outside one GameStop in Brooklyn, New York, four hours before opening. Several customers said they’d already tried to purchase Switch 2 consoles online, but had no luck with the digital queue. The physical one was more predictable. A sign on the door said 125 units were available.
“I was awake last night trying to get my pre-orders in with Target and Best Buy and Walmart,” said Jeremy Gauthier, 27. “I wasn’t able to get it with any of them. My last hope was GameStop.”
Historically, GameStop has handled between a third and half of a new console’s first few months of hardware sales in the US. The retailer is more top-of-mind for gamers than broader retail chains. GameStop appeals to consumers who want to trade in old hardware for cheaper prices on new consoles. The company was offering as much as $175 (roughly Rs. 14,956 crore) in credit for those trading in older Switches.
Nintendo warned future price hikes on its products in the US are possible, but the online marketplace moves suggest demand would remain strong even if that happens to the core hardware. In Japan, some online sellers are offering the Switch 2 at a premium JPY 90,000 ($630 or roughly Rs. 53,843) or more, a similar phenomenon as seen in 2020 when Sony Group’s PlayStation 5 hit the market and quickly became scarce in stock.
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