Switch 2 demand ‘far exceeds’ expectations as Nintendo apologises to players

Demand for the Switch 2 has surpassed Nintendo’s expectations in Japan, as it issues a statement about pre-orders.

Nintendo may have fumbled certain details around the Switch 2’s reveal, with some very poor communication around pricing, but that has had seemingly no effect on pre-orders.

Many retailers across the UK and Europe have already sold out, after pre-orders went live earlier this month – ahead of the console’s launch on June 5. Pre-orders across the US and Canada, meanwhile, are set to go live tomorrow, after they were delayed by the tariff situation.

Meanwhile, in Japan, interest in the console has reached such an unprecedented level that Nintendo has had to release a statement to apologise for failing to meet demand.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa warned that many people who applied for the My Nintendo Store lottery will miss out on a chance to pre-order a console on April 24, as they received 2.2 million applications in Japan alone.

‘Hello, this is Furukawa,’ the statement begins. ‘We have been procuring many materials and proceeding with production in advance so that we can deliver the Nintendo Switch 2 to you. On April 2, we announced details about the Nintendo Switch 2 and started accepting applications for the lottery sale on the My Nintendo Store.

‘As a result, we received an extremely large number of applications, approximately 2.2 million in Japan alone. However, this number far exceeds our expectations, and far exceeds the number of Nintendo Switch 2 consoles that can be delivered from the My Nintendo Store on June 5. Therefore, unfortunately, we expect that a significant number of customers will not be selected when the winners are announced tomorrow, April 24.’

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…

Furukawa states those who are not selected in tomorrow’s lottery will be automatically re-entered into a second draw, but even after both lotteries, Nintendo ‘cannot fulfill all of the applications we received’.

He added: ‘We deeply apologise for failing to meet your expectations despite our preparations.’

Nintendo states it is ‘working on further strengthening our production system’ to meet demand, and encouraged people to try and a secure a console through other retailers.

‘Furthermore, we are planning to produce and ship a substantial number of Nintendo Switch 2 units moving forward,’ Furukawa added. ‘We sincerely apologise for the time it will take to fully meet your expectations and kindly ask for your understanding.’

The high demand for the Switch 2 in Japan might be unique because Nintendo has taken special measures to maintain its dominance in the region.

Along with the standard Switch 2 console, priced at 69,980 yen (£370), Nintendo is offering a cheaper region-locked edition which will only have Japanese language settings, priced at 49,980 yen (£264).

Many of Nintendo’s stranger decisions make more sense when you realise that Japan is always their number one priority, with the region-locked Switch 2 designed to combat foreign resellers looking to capitalise on a favourable exchange rate with the weak yen.

Even with these caveats though, 2.2 million applications is a wild number. For context, the original Switch sold around 330,000 units in its first week in Japan. At the moment, the PlayStation 2 still holds the record for the biggest debut, with almost one million units sold in its first weekend, according to reports.

Based on these numbers, the Switch 2 could easily eclipse both if there are enough units to meet demand – but we’ll have to see how it plays out on June 5.

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