There’s a lot we still don’t know about the Switch 2, but one sure bet is that it will sell like bonkers when it first launches. If there are any initial shortages whatsoever, scalpers will be looking to flip the new console on eBay and other sites for hundreds over the asking price. Nintendo says it’s making preparations to try to avoid the Switch 2 being the latest casualty of the modern online pre-order hellscape.
Company president Shuntaro Furukawa was recently asked what the Mario maker is doing to ensure a smooth launch of the Switch 2 and avoid the shortages that initially plagued the original hardware back in 2017. “We will take all possible measures based on the experience we have accumulated to date (regarding scalpers and the like),” he told Nikkei as translated by VGC. “We are making preparations.”
One way to avoid a scalper frenzy is by manufacturing enough Switch 2 consoles to meet all of the launch demand. Nikkei (via VGC) previously reported that Nintendo had delayed the launch of the console from later 2024 to do precisely that. One reason the console might be launched later than everyone expected is that the company wanted to build up inventory and get its launch year lineup of games, including an already revealed new Mario Kart and possibly an unconfirmed new 3D Mario, just right. That would also explain why almost everything about the Switch 2 has been leaking for months.
But inventory alone might not be enough to combat messy online waiting queues and bots trying to lock up pre-orders at stores like Target and Walmart. Competitors like Sony have tried to get around this in part by selling some PS5s direct to players, allowing it more control over the entire ordering process. It would be great to see Nintendo follow suit, maybe even limiting early rounds of pre-orders to existing players with accounts made prior to 2025. Or, Nintendo being Nintendo, maybe fans can fight to the death in a new Donkey Kong battle royale for a chance to pre-order a Switch 2.
While Nintendo is waiting until an April Direct to reveal more about the new console, the current Switch has clearly stalled out in the meantime. The company slashed its full fiscal year sales forecast a second time after selling fewer than expected consoles over the holiday, off a weaker than usual first-party lineup for 2024. In the meantime, there are still a few big new games coming to the current hardware, including Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Metroid Prime 4, though neither currently has a release date. A rumored Nintendo Direct, possibly coming later this month, could shed more light on the old Switch’s final days.
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