Nintendo Switch 2: over 2 million applications for the My Nintendo Store lottery sale in Japan, far exceeding expectations

On April 2nd, Nintendo fully revealed the long-awaited Nintendo Switch 2 after months (years, some would say!) of speculations, rumours, and leaks. Pre-orders immediately kicked off in some countries/regions (like Europe), but in Japan, they will only start on April 24th (just like in the US and Canada).

And for those looking to buy the console from the My Nintendo Store (Nintendo’s official online store) in Japan, Nintendo started accepting applications for the “lottery” that will determine who gets to pre-order the console shortly after the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct aired.

The results for Round 1 of the lottery will be announced tomorrow (April 24th), but unfortunately, there will be many disappointments on that day… Shuntaro Furukawa himself took to social media to announce that during the application period for Round 1, Nintendo received around 2.2 million applications in Japan alone.

Unsurprisingly, this amount far exceeds Nintendo’s own expectations. Forget about Round 1 of the lottery, 2.2 million applications is even more than the total amount of consoles Nintendo will be able to ship via the My Nintendo Store for the June 5th launch, so an awful lot of people won’t be able to pre-order the console there at all.

In light of this, Shuntaro Furukawa made two announcements:

• applications for Round 1 of the My Nintendo Store lottery will automatically carry over to Round 2; no need to reapply.
• Nintendo is going to further strengthen their production system to cope with demand.

Players in Japan looking to get a Nintendo Switch 2, but who aren’t selected in Round 1 of the My Nintendo Store lottery sale, now have several options available:

• try their luck in Round 2 of the My Nintendo Store lottery sale;
• try and get a pre-order at one of many retailers throughout Japan. As mentioned above, pre-orders officially start on April 24th. Don’t wait too long before placing one, though!
• try and get a console after launch. The Nintendo Switch 2 will continue to be sold via the My Nintendo Store, though obviously, due to high demand, it might be a while before you can place an order there. Still, it’s a viable option if you don’t mind waiting a bit.

And in the end, if you still can’t get a pre-order anywhere, there will be no other option but to wait. Shuntaro Furukawa promises that Nintendo will ship a “considerable number” of Nintendo Switch 2 consoles in the future.

Source: Nintendo (Twitter)