Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders begin — here's how to buy the new Nintendo console
Are UK retailers getting ahead of themselves, with months still to go?
We don’t even know when the Nintendo Switch 2 will be released yet, or what games are coming out for it, but retailers are already starting to take pre-orders.
ShopTo is currently taking 1p deposits for Switch 2 pre-orders, while Currys has launched a pre-order alert service. You sign up, Currys will tell you when there’s more news on the upcoming console’s availability.
It might not be the worst idea to sign up to one or more of these, given the troubles we’ve had in recent years getting hold of new console hardware. But will you really need to?
Switching off the scalpers
Nintendo has told Nikkei it is “making preparations” to avoid the sort of scalper tactics seen, for example, around the launch of the PlayStation 5 and, a few years earlier, the original Switch.
And how might Nintendo do that? The most obvious way is to produce absolutely loads of consoles.
There have been background rumblings the Switch 2 has actually been in production for quite some time, that the release delay may have been to get that all-important game line-up in place. People were convinced the console would launch last year, after all.
However, back in the years of the Wii’s stratospheric success, Nintendo was accused of cultivating artificial scarcity in order to make the console appear more desirable.
The next time we’re likely to get major official news on the Nintendo Switch 2 is on April 2.
This is when the console gets its full Nintendo Direct presentation. It’s where we hope to hear more on upcoming games, the release date and pricing.
Best bet guesses of the moment suggest we’re going to end up paying somewhere between £350 and £450.
So far, Nintendo has just released a short teaser, which shows off the outer hardware. We know it has a bigger screen, slightly larger Joy-Cons with colour accents, and there are doodads you can attach to each half of the controller duo, which some take to mean they can be used like a mouse.
We also know the console will support Switch cartridges, which is neat.
