Eager customers in the U.S. and around the world lined up outside electronics stores hours in advance on Thursday to collect their pre-ordered Nintendo Switch 2 video game consoles.
The much anticipated Switch 2, being released at midnight worldwide Thursday, is an upgrade to its eight-year-old predecessor with new social features meant to draw players into online gaming. Nintendo is counting on the Switch 2 to boost sagging sales.
In the U.S., a chaotic pre-order process in April left some fans frustrated after the consoles quickly sold out. Still, some eager fans lined up early Thursday at retailers such as Target in hopes of purchasing a unit.
“I’m just rolling the dice here,” said Edgar Huo, who was in a line of about 25 outside of a Target in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan, New York. Many of those waiting for the store to open had ordered online, but a few like Huo hoped for a chance at purchasing any extra inventory the store had.
Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images
In Japan, the new consoles were sold through a competitive lottery system that Nintendo said got about 2.2 million applications.
Outside the official draw, some retailers offered their own lotteries to pre-order the devices.
Nintendo Switch 2 features
The original Switch, released in 2017, is “one of the most popular game consoles of all time,” Scott Stein, editor-at-large at CNET, told CBS News Boston in January.
The new console comes with a larger and higher resolution screen than its predecessor, with improved processing power, offering smoother and more vivid graphics. Central to its updated system is a new “C” button on its controller, which will launch a “GameChat” feature that requires a subscription to Nintendo’s Switch online service. It allows players to “communicate with friends and family while playing a game,” and lets them share their game screen with others. A built-in microphone will also allow chatting with other gamers.
Nintendo has said it expects to sell 15 million Switch 2 consoles for the fiscal year through March 2026.
Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images 
The company has promised to roll out attractive software for the Switch 2 later this year, including “The Legend of Zelda” games, a Pokemon title and a Kirby game, as well as offerings from outside software companies.
Nintendo is capitalizing on the launch with the opening of a store in San Francisco and the Super Nintendo World amusement facility in Orlando, Florida, both set for this month.
The Switch 2’s rollout arrives at an uncertain time for much of the gaming industry due to new tariffs implemented by U.S. President Donald Trump.
In the U.S., the Switch 2’s baseline launch price is $449.99 — significantly higher than the original Switch’s $299 price tag.
Ariana Drehsler/Bloomberg via Getty Images 
A “Mario Kart World” game for the new console is priced at $80, marking the first time a Nintendo game has broached $80, Washington Post video game reporter Gene Park told CBS News in April.
“It’s a little eyebrow-raising. It’s really the first Nintendo game to broach $80, and there’s a lot of talk about video games becoming $100 right now,” Park said.
U.S. preorders for the Switch 2 were delayed for several weeks so the company could assess the potential impact of tariffs.