The Switch 2 has already attracted some controversy from fans who questioned the price of some of its games – with a boxed edition of Mario Kart World coming in at £74.99.
But this price appears not to have impacted the initial sales of the hardware, with most retailers now unable to take on new pre-orders so close to its launch.
Gamers who no longer have a pre-order may consider turning to the return of the midnight launch, which used to be part-and-parcel of game releases but has become far less common in recent years.
At least one retailer has held back some stock in the hope of getting people through its doors – with Smyths promising a “limited” number of consoles will be available in-store when doors open on launch day.
Fans scrambling to get their hands on new consoles has been a part of Nintendo’s history, for example with the Wii in 2006.
The original Switch ended up becoming the fastest-selling console in history in the US when in launched in 2017.
This is not just limited to Nintendo – its rival Sony’s PlayStation 5 proved to be such a hot ticket item that people joined virtual queues with thousands of others just to have the chance to buy one in 2020.
This trend continued throughout the first three years of the console’s life, with the supply chain issues that partly fuelled the demand only being resolved in 2023.
