Nintendo opened a lottery in Japan that would grant access to pre-order the upcoming Switch 2 game console. To no one's surprise, except perhaps Nintendo's, millions of people signed up for the lottery.
In total, 2.2 million gamers in Japan participated in the Switch 2 pre-order lottery. If that's any indication of what to expect from U.S. and U.K. Switch 2 pre-orders, you'd better be quick if you want a console.
In an X post, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa stated (machine-translated to English from Japanese), "However, this far exceeds our prior expectations and greatly surpasses the number of Nintendo Switch 2 units we can deliver from the My Nintendo Store on June 5."
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…April 23, 2025
If the number exceeded expectations, many people who entered the pre-order lottery will not receive a Nintendo Switch 2 console. "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," continued Furukawa.
We sincerely apologize for the time it will take to fully meet your expectations and kindly ask for your understanding.
Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa
Nintendo will hold a second lottery for the Switch 2 in Japan, and individuals who were not selected in the first lottery will be automatically entered in the new one. This should be a nice time-saver that'll help alleviate some of the disappointment of not being chosen to pre-order the highly anticipated Switch 2.
The company said it is "currently taking steps to further strengthen our production system."
Rounding out the X Post, Furukawa said, "Furthermore, we are planning to produce and ship a substantial number of Nintendo Switch 2 units moving forward. We sincerely apologize for the time it will take to fully meet your expectations and kindly ask for your understanding."
Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders start tomorrow in the U.S., April 23, and our Switch 2 pre-order live blog is up and running to help you check stock and (hopefully) secure your console.
