Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order date: reserve it on April 2 at this exact time
Nintendo Switch pre-orders are expected to launch on Wednesday, April 2, at 10am ET. Here's how to prepare for the new console.
Update: Find the next Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order restock in the US as we track the console inventory in real-time
The Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order date and time of April 2 at 10am ET are a little more official this week, according to The Shortcut tracking data. Our news report last week was backed up by this week’s Best Buy admission that April 2 is the pre-order date.
We’re tracking Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders as if our job at The Shortcut – because, well, it kind of is. We helped hundreds of thousands of gamers find the PS5, Xbox, and Nvidia GPUs, and we’ll do the same for Nintendo’s new console.
How to get Switch 2 pre-order alerts on X/Twitter
Get our instant alerts: Your best chance to find a Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order is to follow Matt Swider on X – and turn on notifications. It’ll look like:
Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order: April 2 analysis
Why, specifically, April 2 at 10am ET? Nintendo will reveal more information about its new console in an online video one hour beforehand. We’ll finally get the Nintendo Switch 2 release date and specs – and we’re likely to learn about the Nintendo Switch 2 launch games besides Mario Kart 9.
Further evidence about the pre-order date comes from the Switch 2 Best Buy leak this week (specifically Best Buy Canada) that divulged the April 2 date in an official corporate blog post. The premature page was pulled in a matter of an hour, but we captured a screenshot of the information and reported on the news tidbit.
What time will Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders start?
So what time? Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders should start around 10am ET. This means you should be ready to purchase the console as soon as the Nintendo Direct livestream ends on the morning of April 2.
You can expect retailers worldwide to launch pre-orders of the Switch 2 console, but some will likely stagger the pre-order time. You may be pivoting between multiple retailers throughout the day, in case they sell out.
Nintendo Switch 2 price
We expect the Nintendo Switch 2 price to be $399 in the US. That’s $50 more than the Nintendo Switch OLED and $100 more than the original Nintendo Switch at launch. Nintendo should confirm the price on April 2.
One question I’ve received from The Shortcut subscribers is, “When will retailers in the US charge for the console?” US retailers tend to charge when the console ships, not when the pre-order takes place. Considering the fact that we expect the release date to be in May or June, you won’t owe the full amount in April.
Don’t rely on Nintendo Switch 2 alerts from stores
American stores are already hyping Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders, but there’s little reason to believe they’ll send you an alert as soon as pre-orders go live. Every time we’ve signed up for their notifications, we get them hours later in the US.
That’s why The Shortcut is ready with an email alert and a post on X/Twitter – as soon as Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders become available. In fact, we’re often able to find links to retailer pages before the add-to-cart button becomes active. This will give you a leg up for scoring a Nintendo Switch 2 console – just like we helped people buy a PS5, PlayStation Portal, and so many other hard-to-find gaming items.
US Stores with Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders
On April 2 at 10am ET, we expect to see five major retailers open up the Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders in the US.
Walmart
Amazon
Best Buy
GameStop
Target
Additionally, popular wholesale clubs may have Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders beyond the April 2 time frame. This includes Costco, Sam’s Club and BJ’s. There could be other stores – Antonline and Newegg come to mind – but they often sell video game systems in bundles and don’t always have inventory at launch.
Walmart, Amazon and Best Buy always have the most inventory, but they’re also the most popular American retailers. They often get slammed with traffic, so it won’t hurt to try to check out at GameStop or Target, just in case you run into trouble.
Will it be hard to pre-order Nintendo Switch 2?
Nintendo has gone on the record to say that it won’t have inventory problems – like the PS5 and Xbox in 2020 – when it launches the Nintendo Switch 2. There’s reason to believe this statement. The company pushed back the launch to 2025, and that likely ensured ample supply of the console for April 2’s rumored pre-order date.
That said, video game scalpers are notorious for making it difficult to buy consoles by purchasing all the inventory and reselling rare items at much higher rates. This is why the PS5 and Xbox Series X were so hard to find in stock and often $1,000 on eBay.
So, just in case, you’ll want to secure for Nintendo Switch 2 right at 10am ET on April 2, in case that’s the pre-order date and time.
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I plan to preorder from the official nintendo store website if possible and since I'm a member I'll likely get an email announcing it and possibly early access too.