The Nintendo Switch 2 Direct is now over, and details of what you’ll need to do to pre-order one from Nintendo, er, directly are now live. The earliest chances to grab the console will be offered from April 8 (UK) or April 9 (US) on the Nintendo Store, but to be in with a shot, you might need to drastically up your hours playing OG Switch games.
By the way, if you missed any of the details from the showcase about the Switch 2’s features and its all-important price – you can find all of that right here.
Anyway, the pre-orders. As per the UK version of the Nintendo Store, those coveted early pre-order slots will be offered from the aforementioned date on an invite-only basis and with initial priority given to “the most dedicated Nintendo Switch players”. Yep, this is the moment that your 30,000 hours of Mario Kart, Kirby, or trying to outrun a giant shark in Ace Angler: Fishing Spirits finally pay dividends.
Ninty says initial invitees will be selected based on three criteria: “Nintendo Switch Online membership status”, having opted into Nintendo’s promo emails, and your original Switch play time stats. For the first bit, you’ve got to have been a Nintendo Switch Online member for “at least two years continuously” by May 31, 2025 and have an active membership the day you put in your pre-order. “For family memberships, the person who purchased the membership will be eligible,” Nintendo adds, “Other people in the family membership are not eligible.”
Damn, good luck breaking that last bit to your gran with 40,000 hours in Stardew Valley on Switch, but can’t use a PC to save her life. Speaking of playtime, the requirements for that bit are just that you’ve “spent a certain amount of time playing purchased/paid Nintendo Switch games, prioritising those with more playtime”. It’ll also help if you’ve been sharing your usage information with Nintendo like a good little consumer.
Is this going way overboard in what looks like an effort to stop scalpers getting in on these early pre-orders? Probably. The good news is that this is just for official pre-orders, so odds are you should be able to avoid it if other retailers get their hands on Switch 2s to sell.
Are you planning on pre-ordering a Switch 2? Let us know below!
