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Following a tariff-induced delay, retailers officially kicked off Nintendo Switch 2 preorders on Thursday, April 24. I could tell you that preorders went smoothly across all stores, and that there was plenty of stock for everyone who wanted one of Nintendo’s new consoles. I could tell you that, but I’d be lying.
The Switch 2’s preorder launch was never going to be seamless: The console has eight years of hype built up around it, and fans want their chance to secure the first Nintendo console to play games in 4K. Even still, the preorder situation was rough: There were endless digital queues, error screens, and, in Best Buy’s case, even a late start. You might have emerged from that chaos victorious—but if you’re reading this article, chances are that fate had other plans for you.
Switch 2 stock was pretty depleted following the midnight preorder launch. Over a month later, and the situation is largely the same. If you search online, you’ll likely see a number of “Sold Out” or “Unavailable” alerts where the “Buy Now” button should be. However, just because stores no longer have Switch 2 units to reserve for you at this time, that doesn’t mean they’ll be out for good. Successfully preordering a Switch 2 might just come down to being in the right place at the right time—something you can plan for, if you’re savvy.
Tracking Switch 2 restocking
There are four main retailers offering Switch 2 preorders in the U.S., and none of them have consistent units in stock as of this writing. However, they all offer some hope for customers looking for a chance to reserve a console: restock notifications.
Walmart, Target, GameStop, and Best Buy all have sign-up options on their websites to opt into restock alerts. These vary depending on the site: Walmart and Target require you to log into your associated accounts in order to enroll in notifications. GameStop offers email alerts, as does Best Buy—though the latter only seems to offer general Switch 2 news via email, rather than alerts for individual product restocks. (Though Best Buy is happy to inform you about its in-person Switch 2 launch date event.)
I have all of the various product pages linked below. To maximize your chances, sign up for alerts for all, but if you know you only want the console or that you’d prefer the Mario Kart World bundle (so, you know, you actually have something to play on June 5) stick to those:
You could also use a dedicated website for tracking Switch 2 restocks. There are tons of websites out there for this purpose, including HotStock and NowInStock. Right now, it’s only showing available orders on eBay, but ignore those, unless you want to pay inflated prices to scalpers.
Register for Nintendo’s offer
Nintendo is selling Switch 2 units as well, but isn’t offering preorders. Instead, you can “register your interest” to buy a Switch 2 from the company. In order to qualify, you need a Nintendo Account with at least 50 hours of game play—as of April 2. It’s an odd requirement, but it’s designed to prevent scalpers from snatching up all the Switch 2s. (Nintendo doesn’t want you to make multiple Nintendo Accounts this month and register each.)
What do you think so far?
Once you register your interest, Nintendo places you on a list on a first-come, first-serve basis. Since you’re a bit late to the game, you might be low on this list, but that’s okay: Many of the customers who sign up might be fighting for preorders at other stores too, and if they get it, they may reject Nintendo’s invitation—bumping your place up in line. At this time, Nintendo says deliveries might roll past June 5, as well as invitations themselves. Still, it’s a great backup in case you’re not successful preordering at the other stores.
Make sure your preorder is still valid
If you do manage to preorder a Switch 2 before June 5, don’t assume you’re in the clear. It seems retailers have canceled a handful of preorders already, as some unfortunate customers found out the hard way.
It’s not clear why retailers are doing this, but there are two main theories: First, the stores don’t have enough inventory to cover the amount of preorders they accepted, which is believable enough. The other suspected cause is payment failure: If the retailers tried to charge you for your preorder, and your payment didn’t go through, they might have canceled the order and moved on to the next customer.
To make sure you really do get your Switch 2 next week, just ensure your order is still valid. If something goes wrong, contact the retailer as soon as possible.
