Switch 2 Preorders Are Live — And It’s a Total Mess

Switch 2 preorders officially opened at 12:01 a.m. ET on April 24, and as many feared, it didn’t go well. Fans eager to secure Nintendo’s next-gen console were met with glitches, vague queues, and canceled confirmations across major retailers like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy. What should’ve been a smooth midnight rollout turned into another online preorder nightmare — and it’s only the beginning.

A Chaotic Launch Across Major Retailers

At Walmart, customers entered what felt like a black hole of a queue. The site offered no clarity on your place in line or when you’d get to order. Even the CAPTCHA system glitched, looping users in a frustrating cycle.

Best Buy didn’t even show up on time. Their pages simply read “coming soon” until 12:29 a.m., when a virtual line finally opened — but it quickly became just as stalled.

Meanwhile, Target appeared to have the most straightforward process, letting users add the Switch 2 to their carts — but then the checkout system broke down. Some buyers received order confirmations followed by cancellation emails just minutes later.

Retail Sites Still Aren’t Ready for Launch Days

The Switch 2 preorder drama mirrors the PS5 and Xbox Series X fiascos from years past. Despite the tech advancements, retailers still struggle to handle high-traffic launches. No queue transparency, poor communication, and unreliable checkout processes made a bad situation worse.

Nintendo’s $450 base model and the $500 Mario Kart World bundle both sold out fast. As expected, demand far outpaced supply. In Japan, over 2.2 million requests flooded Nintendo’s lottery system, forcing the company to apologize for falling short.

GameStop and More Waves to Come

GameStop’s preorders will go live at 11 a.m. ET on April 24, both online and in stores. Nintendo will also notify lottery winners for direct orders on May 8, and more preorder waves from other retailers are expected in the coming weeks.

But the chaos raises a familiar question: why haven’t online retailers figured this out by now? Five years after the last console cycle, fans are still stuck in limbo, refreshing broken web pages while bots snatch up stock.

With demand this high and the holiday season around the corner, getting a Switch 2 might be harder than finding a shiny Pokémon — and we haven’t even seen a new Mario or Zelda yet.

What was your preorder experience like — smooth sailing or stuck in digital purgatory?

More….

• https://kotaku.com/switch-2-preorder-walmart-target-best-buy-nintendo-1851777604
• https://www.theverge.com/news/654571/nintendo-switch-2-preorders-issues-problems
• https://www.usatoday.com/story/shopping/2025/04/23/how-to-buy-nintendo-switch-2-walmart-pre-order/83231915007