MW Nintendo Switch 2 preorders crash GameStop after shoppers report similar bugs at Target, Best Buy and Walmart. Most retailers are out of stock.

By Nicole Lyn Pesce

Nintendo Switch 2 preorders went live on Thursday, and gamers have been reporting all sorts of issues with the purchasing process

Preorders for the long-awaited Nintendo Switch 2 went live at midnight Eastern time on Wednesday - but for many dissatisfied customers, the process ended up being more of a bait and switch.

After many shoppers ran into technical glitches trying to score the $450-$500 versatile videogame console online at Target, Walmart and Best Buy, gamers reported similar issues at GameStop, including the website crashing with "bad gateway" error messages.

Meanwhile, scalpers are already reselling the consoles at huge markups - most often between $700 and $800 - on resale sites like eBay $(EBAY)$.

This doesn't come as a huge surprise. Demand for the videogame console has been so high that Nintendo's $(NTDOY)$ president, Shuntaro Furukawa, has already started apologizing to customers in Japan for not being able to meet demand after a whopping 2.2 million people applied for the My Nintendo Store preorder lottery. In post on X (translated by VGC) on Wednesday, Furukawa wrote: "This far exceeded our prior expectations and greatly surpasses the number of Nintendo Switch 2 units we can deliver from the My Nintendo Store on June 5. Consequently, it is with great regret that we anticipate a significant number of customers will not be selected in tomorrow's lottery announcement on April 24."

'This far exceeded our prior expectations and greatly surpasses the number of Nintendo Switch 2 units we can deliver from the My Nintendo Store on June 5.' Shuntaro Furukawa, Nintendo president

And those 2.2 million people are just the ones in the Nintendo lottery. That's not counting the crush of customers hitting up any retailers stocking the hot-ticket gaming system.

Plenty of gamers were bracing for some difficulty getting their hands - in the virtual sense, anyway - on either the Switch 2 console ($449.99) or the Switch 2 "Mario Kart World" bundle ($499.99) when preorders went live early Thursday morning on the Walmart, Target and Best Buy websites. But they perhaps weren't expecting to be locked out the second preorders went live. (Thanks, bots.)

Customers trying to preorder ran into problems at all three retailers. (Full disclosure: This reporter also tried ordering a Switch 2 from all three sites and ran into the same issues.)

Best Buy's $(BBY)$ preorder process did not go live at 12 a.m. Eastern time as advertised. And when the option to preorder the Switch 2 or the Switch 2 bundle did turn on at around 12:30 a.m., many shoppers reported being parked on an interminable "you're on line" screen with no indication of where they were in the queue or how much longer they would have to wait.

Walmart's $(WMT)$ preorder process hit a similar snag, with Switch 2 customers landing in an online queue - some for over an hour - with no updates on their place in the line or whether the Switch 2 consoles or bundles were still available.

Many Target $(TGT)$ shoppers, meanwhile, reported that although they were able to put the Switch 2 into their online shopping carts, they encountered bugs during the checkout process. Many reported receiving error messages claiming that their mailing addresses weren't valid, yet they weren't able to update their address. Other customers complained that despite hitting the "purchase" button in their online shopping carts repeatedly, they kept receiving unspecified error messages that their orders couldn't be processed. And some people were able to get through the process to purchase the Switch 2, and even saw their credit cards charged, only to have the order canceled shortly afterward.

GameStop $(GME)$ launched its preorders later on Thursday morning. Customers could either preorder in person when stores opened (times varied), or try ordering online beginning at 11 a.m. Eastern. MarketWatch reached out to GameStop to see how the retailer was bracing for the high demand, particularly after the issues its competitors experienced overnight, but representatives were not immediately available for comment.

GameStop was still teasing the big release early Thursday morning, and gamers appeared to be lining up overnight, saying GameStop was now their only hope.

But shoppers appear to have experienced similar technical difficulties at GameStop as they did at Target, Walmart and Best Buy, with the Verge noting that preorders didn't go live online at the videogame retailer until close to half an hour after they were supposed to.

The retailer later acknowledged the online ordering issues in a post on X, noting that "overwhelming demand" was causing some technical difficulties.

"Our team is actively working to fix it. Hang in there - we'll keep you posted," the "GameStop Help" account posted.

MarketWatch reached out to all four retailers, but none were immediately available for comment.

Related: Nintendo isn't raising the price of the Switch 2 or 'Mario Kart World' over Trump tariffs - for now

So how can you get your hands on a Switch 2?

There are still a few ways to buy, including signing up at Walmart, Target and Best Buy to be notified when the Switch 2 is back in stock, of course.

Nintendo is also running a preorder lottery on its official online store, but - as it warned its Japanese customers - there's no guarantee of securing a Switch 2 by that method. Plus, there are a few hoops customers must jump through, including having had a Nintendo Switch Online membership with a minimum of 12 months of paid membership and at least 50 total gameplay hours as of April 2, 2025. Those who meet that criteria need to log into their Nintendo account, select either the Switch 2 console or the "Mario Kart World" bundle, and then sit back and wait to receive an email from Nintendo when it's their turn to preorder. The first batch of invites will go out on May 8, and those who receive one will then have 72 hours to complete their order.

But even here, Nintendo has warned that due to high demand, scoring a preorder doesn't guarantee receiving the Switch 2 on the June 5 release date. An update to the company's "how to buy" site notes: "We're thrilled by the enthusiasm for Nintendo Switch 2! Due to the very high demand, we will be working diligently to fulfill orders as product becomes available, but delivery by June 5 is not guaranteed. Your invitation email may arrive after the Nintendo Switch 2 launch. We'll confirm your shipping date upon purchase." Nintendo wasn't immediately available for comment.

And, as noted, Nintendo Switch 2 consoles are already popping up at a considerable markup on eBay. People looking to drop $700 or $800 on a Switch 2, however, may want to consider a Sony $(SONY)$ PlayStation 5 Pro (starting at $700) or a Microsoft $(MSFT)$ Xbox Series X ($500) instead. These consoles have also been hard to find during peak demand periods, but they're more readily available now.

From the archives (September 2024): Scalpers are selling Sony's PS5 Pro special edition for thousands more than they paid for it

There have also been concerns about whether tariffs could make the Switch 2 even harder to get hold of - or more expensive. While Nintendo recently said that tariffs would not affect the Switch 2 price at its launch, the company has warned that it's only a matter of time before prices go up. "Nintendo Switch 2 accessories will experience price adjustments from those [prices] announced on April 2 due to changes in market conditions. Other adjustments to the price of any Nintendo product are also possible in the future depending on market conditions," it said.

-Nicole Lyn Pesce

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April 24, 2025 12:42 ET (16:42 GMT)

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