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Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders: Sold out at most retailers including GameStop, Walmart, Target, Best Buy and others
- We know that the Switch 2 will only work with newer microSD Express storage cards, of which there are only a few on the market at the moment. One of the latest comes from Lexar, and it includes a configuration option that has a whopping 1TB of storage. But of course, it’ll cost you — $200, to be precise.
- Read more: Lexar made a 1TB microSD Express card that works with Nintendo Switch 2
- According to Nate Bihldorff, Senior Vice President of Product Development & Publishing at Nintendo of America, the new console’s Joy-Con 2 controllers do not use Hall effect technology. While this tech has become increasingly more common in third-party controllers, Nintendo did not implement it in the Joy-Cons for the Switch 2. Kouichi Kawamoto, Switch 2 producer, separately said that the Joy-Con 2 joysticks “are quieter and don’t make noise, even when they’re moved quickly to the edge.”
- Read more: Nintendo says the Switch 2 Joy-Cons don’t have Hall effect thumbsticks for reducing stick drift
- When it comes to Switch 2 games, developers will be able to sell their titles as “Game-Key cards” if they wish. These cards will look like a traditional game cartridge, but won’t have any information stored on them. When inserted into a Switch 2 console, users will see instructions on how to download the game in question. As to be expected, this will have impact on ownership and sharing when it comes to Switch 2 titles.
- Read more: Switch 2 game-key cards won’t be tied to your Nintendo account
- As for me, I had registered on Nintendo’s site at the start of the month but I didn’t even get an email saying I could pre-order today. I, alas, was not one of the chosen ones.
- “I jolted up in the middle of the night around… 4am? And couldn’t go back to sleep. I did not plan on pre-ordering the Switch 2 and this has nothing to do with it but I blame the Switch 2 pre-orders anyway.” — Cherlynn Low, Deputy Editor
- “I had Target accept an order and immediately cancel it. It then emailed me the cancellation confirmation before a then-false order confirmation. Then I got into about eight different queues at Best Buy for different SKUs, all of which timed out after 60-90 mins without ever giving me a chance to purchase something. (It’d just take me to an empty cart instead.)
- I did get both the normal SKU and Mario Kart bundle in my cart at Walmart several times, but it constantly declined my payment info. Later I found out it charged and immediately cancelled on me four separate times, which led my bank to lock my debit card. Then at roughly 1:40am I finally got one through at Target, which so far has managed to stick.” — Jeff Dunn, Senior Reporter
- “Walmart’s site put me into a waiting queue right after midnight, but I dozed off before seeing if I made it into the winner’s circle.” — John Falcone, Executive Editor
- “I was ready at my computer at 11:50pm. Had the sites for all the main retailers (Best Buy, Target and Walmart) open. And when things when live at midnight, it was just a big mess of pages timing out, waiting lines that didn’t work and order buttons that constantly errored out.” — Sam Rutherford, Senior Reporter
- A number of our Engadget staffers tried their luck this morning pre-ordering the Switch 2, to various degrees of success.
- “I had my ducks in a row at all three (Target, Best Buy and Walmart). Signed into all three at like 11:57pm. Target’s site crashed at like 11:59pm and I got shuttled to a queue for Walmart. Best Buy just said ‘coming soon.’ I refreshed and refreshed like a lunatic until Target came back and, lo and behold, there was a unit to preorder.
- However, every step along the way was precarious. Entering shipping information took a few minutes with many errors. The same for payment information. The worst was when it came time to pay. I had to click the ‘pay now’ option like 500 times for around 15 minutes before it went through. I got lucky. Many people got to where I got and Target actually cancelled the order afterward. All told, the process took around 40 minutes.” — Lawrence Bonk, Contributing Reporter
- Sam also got some play time with the new Donkey Kong Bananza game for the Switch 2. While he had some initial concerns about the level of button-mashing the game requires, he ultimately liked it enough to want to play it again. “Alongside Mario Kart World, it’s exceedingly clear that Donkey Kong Bananza is part of Nintendo’s giant punch that will carry the Switch 2 through its launch window.”
- Read more: Donkey Kong Bananza hands-on: A funky fresh take on Nintendo’s favorite ape
- GameStop is currently down for some who are trying to pre-order now, while others see a grayed-out pre-order button on Switch 2 product page.
- Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order GameStop (Engadget/GameStop)
- GameStop pre-orders are set to open at 11am ET — if you missed your chance at midnight, this might be your next best shot for today.
- Notably, Amazon doesn’t have any Switch 2 product pages live yet as of this posting. Big-box store shoppers may look to Costco, BJ’s or Sam’s Club as alternatives, but neither Costco nor BJ’s have a Switch 2 product page live yet, while Sam’s Club does but it’s listed as “coming soon.”
- Folks may have better luck with Switch 2 accessories. For example, the new Switch 2 camera is in stock and available to pre-order from Walmart, Best Buy and Target, as of this posting.
- As of 8am ET on April 24, the Switch 2 and the Mario Kart World bundle are listed as out of stock at Walmart and Target. Best Buy has both listed as “coming soon,” and GameStop’s online pre-orders are set to open at 11am ET.
