All signs are pointing to the Switch 2 being a huge hit. The console quickly sold out in the UK when pre-orders opened earlier in April, and now Nintendo is warning that it can’t meet demand in its native Japan.
Despite planning ahead with a lottery system to keep things fair and fend off scalpers, Nintendo says it still can’t keep up.
Around 2.2 million people in Japan applied for a chance to buy the Switch 2 through Nintendo’s first lottery, vastly outstripping what the company can deliver for launch day on June 5, the company’s President Shuntaro Furukawa said on Wednesday.
Those who missed out will now automatically be entered into the second draw but, even then, not everyone will get one.
Nintendo is now ramping up production to meet demand, and is advising gamers to check with Japanese retailers, which are holding their own pre-order lotteries from Thursday, April 24.
“We plan to continue producing and shipping a considerable number of Nintendo Switch 2 units in the future,” Furukawa said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) in Japanese. “We apologize for the delay in our ability to meet your expectations, and we appreciate your understanding.”
古川です。みなさまのお手元に「Nintendo Switch 2」をお届けすべく、事前に多くの部材を調達し、生産を進めてきました。4月2日には「Nintendo Switch…
— 任天堂株式会社 (@Nintendo) April 23, 2025
The follow-up to Nintendo’s smash-hit Switch console, the Switch 2 is another hybrid device that works both on your TV and as a handheld.
It features a larger 7.9-inch display and a powerful new graphics chip that enables smoother gameplay, 4K output when docked, and cutting-edge features like ray tracing for more realistic lighting and reflections. The console is also backward compatible, meaning it can run existing Switch games.
In the UK, it’s priced at £396 on its own, or £430 in a bundle with Mario Kart World.
Despite the higher price tag compared to its predecessor, the Switch 2 could mark the biggest console launch ever.
Nintendo is reportedly lining up between six and eight million units for the initial launch, but experts warn that may fall short of demand.
2) For context, Switch 1 sold ~35M times in Japan so far, a ridiculous number for a country with 125M people.
— Dr. Serkan Toto (@serkantoto) April 23, 2025
Nintendo originally promised enough supply for launch - which of course immediately sounded like a fairy tale for anybody with a basic understanding of the game market.
Tokyo-based gaming analyst Serkan Toto said: “Nintendo originally promised enough supply for launch—which, of course, immediately sounded like a fairy tale to anyone who understands the games market.”
If the Switch 2 meets expectations, it would dwarf previous launches. By comparison, the original Switch sold 2.7 million units in its first month, while Sony’s PS5 and PS4 each managed 4.5 million units in their debut quarters.
