The Nintendo Switch 2 pre-sale caused massive online outages for retail stores as they struggled to keep up with the demand of eager gamers following a delayed sale due to imposed tariffs on Japanese exports.
Target, Best Buy, and Walmart all had problems with their websites when fans were allowed to pre-order the highly anticipated gaming console on Thursday morning, according to Downdetector.
More than 2,000 customers reported having issues connecting to the Target website for around 45 minutes after the console was available to order at midnight.
Best Buy, which required its customers to have an account to place pre-orders, also ran into issues starting around 9 p.m. on Wednesday and continuing until around 2 a.m. Thursday — 56% of the more than 600 reports of outages said they had problems logging in.
Some gamers trying to secure a pre-order at Best Buy were greeted with a “Coming Soon” prompt instead of a pre-order button for half an hour after the sale went live, according to IGN.
Walmart also gave gamers some issues around 9 p.m. Wednesday for about 15 minutes, with 55% of the more than 1,700 reports claiming to have problems accessing the retailer’s app.
Target, Best Buy, and Walmart all sold out of the console within minutes of the beginning of the pre-order sale.
GameStop is set to begin taking pre-orders at 11 a.m. ET. Amazon is not set to take any pre-orders on the Switch 2.
Nintendo thrilled gamers and devoted fans when it revealed the Switch 2 on April 2.
The Japanese-imported console was initially scheduled for a pre-order sale on April 9, but the plan was quickly altered due to the “impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions,” Nintendo stated earlier this month.
Pre-orders were slated to begin on the same day as Trump’s massive “Liberation Day,” when he imposed new reciprocal tariffs on Japan, including a 24% levy.
The rates went into effect April 9 but were paused hours later by Trump, who issued a 90-day reprieve to allow for negotiations amid wild swings in US stocks and the bond market, which threatened to have a significant pass-through effect on loans such as mortgages.
Unlike in America, pre-orders for the Switch 2 in other regions, including the UK, continued as scheduled.
Nintendo has confirmed that the global launch date for the Switch 2 remains unchanged, with a release still scheduled for June 5.
It is the latest next-gen console to be released by Nintendo, following the launch of the original Switch in March 2017. However, updates and modifications for the console have been released over the years since the initial Switch hit the market.
Nintendo’s Switch 2 retails for $449.99, with customers having the option to pay an extra $50 to have it pre-loaded with the Mario Kart World Bundle.
Since the tariffs were imposed on “Liberation Day,” Trump himself joined in trade talks with Japan.
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