If we were judging by hype alone, the $450 Switch 2 could be the biggest console release of both this year and the past several years. And if you analyzed how well U.S. preorders have gone so far after tariff-born delays and mobbed retailers, you may think buying one after launch could prove problematic. Despite the preorder pains, there are growing signs that if you can’t find one at launch, there will be more handhelds available right around the corner.
Last week, Best Buy told Gizmodo it planned to have a “limited number” of Switch 2 consoles available for walk-in customers on launch day, June 5. Stores will open early that Thursday at 12:01 a.m. ET for the midnight launch that will also include games and accessories. GameStop is getting the party started even earlier. The company published a statement to its X account that “additional Switch 2 units will be available in-store and online at launch while supplies last. The launch event will start at 3 p.m. local time on June 4, but you won’t be able to pick up a unit until midnight.
Didn’t pre-order Switch 2? We got you. pic.twitter.com/6Xa4QUzM3g
— GameStop (@gamestop) May 16, 2025
Neither company has said how many consoles each store may get. You can assume the most dedicated or foolhardy fans will start lining up at these stores early to be the first ones to get a Switch 2. Best Buy told The Shortcut “some in the crowd may not be able to get the new console.” For those who managed to stumble through GameStop’s mangled April preorders and nab a unit (myself included), the company has yet to update customers on when they can expect their unit to arrive.
If you can survive not getting Nintendo’s new handheld at launch, there are strong signs you could find one in the months ahead. Nintendo is reportedly working with Korean tech giant Samsung to steamroll more production of the Switch 2’s system on a chip (SoC). Bloomberg reported, based on anonymous sources, that Samsung is now contracted to make the SoC at its chipmaking foundries, but it could ramp up even more production if Nintendo needs it. Leaked specs show that the chip is a custom job by Nvidia based on the chipmaker’s Tegra X1. Samsung already makes some Nintendo components, including flash memory, but producing the system’s main chip is a big step up. In that way, some of the biggest tech giants in the world now have an even greater stake in making sure the Switch 2 succeeds.
Nintendo’s first handheld console—with an SoC made by TSMC—was notoriously hard to get from retailers for years after its initial 2017 release. Those critical of Nintendo have used the company’s consistent stock issues to claim the company creates artificial scarcity for its products to incite demand. Nintendo’s execs have routinely denied those claims for the first Switch and for the Wii back in 2007.
This time around, Nintendo has every incentive to sell as many units as quickly as possible. In its latest earnings report, Nintendo said it would sell 15 million units in its first year, citing tariff woes and the sequel handheld’s higher price for its current expectations. That number pushed by CEO Shuntaro Furukawa seems to be hedged below analyst expectations, but Bloomberg’s reporting indicates Nintendo actually plans to hit 20 million sales. If the company hedges and then beats those expectations, it makes it look even better. All that is to say, customers should expect Nintendo will shove as many of these devices out the door, tariffs be damned.
Bloomberg additionally reported Samsung has “pushed” for an eventual Switch 2 refresh with an OLED panel. Nintendo’s $350 Switch OLED in 2021 was a solid upgrade over the base console. Other than a prettier screen, it included more upgrades like doubled storage capacity to 64GB. Of course, we would love a Switch 2 with more than the standard 256GB SSD. If anything, we can expect that OLED won’t come soon as long as the regular Switch 2 sells well.