As I sit down to write this at 11:30pm CT, well past my bedtime on a work night, I'm joining countless others across the globe—and possibly a few other planets—in the frenzied attempt to pre-order the highly anticipated Nintendo Switch 2.

Pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2 were supposed to go live at 9pm PT/12am ET across three major retailers: Walmart, Best Buy, and Target. However, the rollout has been anything but smooth. Both myself and a significant portion of the IGN staff have been navigating through varying degrees of success in securing our consoles, while social media buzzes with tales of frustration, disappointment, and occasional success.

At Walmart, eager buyers were immediately funneled into a digital queue, with some eventually reaching the checkout, but many are still stuck on a "stay in line" screen without any indication of when—or if—they'll get their chance. Those who do make it through are occasionally met with baffling error messages, adding to the chaos.

Target, on the other hand, didn't employ a queue system initially, leading to a brief sense of hope among fans. However, this quickly turned sour as error screens popped up during the purchase process. Some who thought they had successfully pre-ordered received cancellation emails shortly after, while others found the Switch 2 mysteriously disappearing from their carts mid-process, forcing them to start all over again.

The Nintendo Switch 2 sold out instantly at Target. This is unreal bro. I refreshed on the second it turned 12 am. Actually unreal pic.twitter.com/LAQ4lC03qw

— Kenj (@Kenjdx) April 24, 2025

Best Buy's pre-order process was equally problematic, with delays causing the site to display "Coming Soon" for half an hour before slowly admitting customers into a queue. While some are now receiving confirmation emails, others are facing the same errors and having to restart the process. Additionally, several buyers reported encountering fraud alerts from their banks or other financial issues, further complicating the situation.

2 minutes....
byu/trashpandacoot1 inSwitch

.reddit-embed-wrapper iframe { margin-left: 0 !important; }As I write this, both Target and Walmart have officially sold out, leaving many, including myself, stuck in seemingly endless queues at Best Buy. Others have received emails stating their orders were canceled or delayed, with no new delivery dates or options to reorder.

Target cancelled my order 10 minutes after placing
byu/syde1020 inSwitch

.reddit-embed-wrapper iframe { margin-left: 0 !important; }In the coming hours, we may see more success stories, and there's still hope for those who missed out. GameStop will open pre-orders at 11:00am ET today, both in-store and online, and other retailers may follow suit in the future. Additionally, some Nintendo account holders might receive an email in May, inviting them to pre-order directly from Nintendo, though this is not guaranteed, especially with demand in Japan reportedly far exceeding supply.

Bots are the worst
byu/CANfilms inSwitch

.reddit-embed-wrapper iframe { margin-left: 0 !important; }For those not deeply invested in Nintendo's ecosystem, it's easy to dismiss the chaos as trivial. However, for dedicated fans, the situation is particularly frustrating, following a reveal and rollout that have been confusing and exasperating at every turn. The initial excitement over the Nintendo Switch 2's announcement was quickly overshadowed by concerns over pricing for the console, accessories, and games, compounded by a temporary halt on pre-orders due to U.S. tariffs. When pre-orders resumed, the pricing remained unchanged for the console but not for the accessories, leaving many confused. Furthermore, Nintendo's lack of clarity on pricing, formats, and content for both physical and digital software has only added to the confusion and frustration, especially with looming fears of future price increases and supply shortages.

Yet, for those eager to play Mario Kart World at launch, this is the current reality. Here's a guide for those still trying to secure a pre-order.