Last week, I had the incredible opportunity to pre-order the Nintendo Switch 2 as soon as pre-orders went live in the U.S. However, the experience was quite chaotic. Target’s website crashed and remained down for approximately 25 minutes. Despite this setback, the entire process was still smoother compared to the launch of the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5 back in 2020.
After the initial chaos settled and I woke up the next morning, I discovered that a friend of mine had ventured out to GameStop to secure a pre-order in person—something I had not even considered. “Well, I bet that was a mess,” I mused to myself while scrolling through BlueSky. To my surprise, I saw several others who had also opted for in-person pre-orders. In hindsight, I wish I had joined them.
I’m not quite sure why in-person pre-orders for the Switch 2 never crossed my mind. I had dismissed the idea, thinking it belonged to the past, especially since midnight launches for games have all but disappeared due to the rise of digital ownership. Additionally, the console launches in 2020 occurred during the peak of the pandemic, which resulted in many stores not offering in-person pre-orders and the few that did had very limited stock. It felt as if the pandemic had signaled the end of in-person console launches forever, but I was mistaken.
Based on my friends’ experiences who secured their pre-orders from GameStop, it seems that the excitement of in-person events is alive and well. Many people lined up outside stores for an hour or two before they opened, and once inside, most locations appeared to have adequate stock to meet the demand for pre-orders. This was a stark contrast to the four PS5s and ten Xbox Series Xs available at my local GameStop during the 2020 launch, where a line of 50 people had gathered.
Not only was the pre-ordering process straightforward, but those who participated in the in-person experience also enjoyed a sense of community that has diminished in our digital world. One of my friends shared that he had an engaging 20-minute conversation with the person in front of him about their hopes for the JoyCon 2’s mouse capabilities in future games. They also discussed their excitement for the return of Kirby Air Ride, a classic that has been absent for over two decades.
In stark contrast, my own experience was rather solitary. I spent the night refreshing pages on Best Buy and Walmart while texting a friend to check if he had managed to secure his order. The process felt like a mundane online transaction, devoid of the warmth and excitement that comes with sharing the moment with fellow gaming enthusiasts. Unlike my friends who embraced the thrill of an in-person pre-order, my experience lacked the communal spirit that makes such moments memorable.
Pre-ordering the Switch 2 in person appears to have been a far superior experience, both in terms of the purchasing process and the human connection. For my friends, waiting in line and chatting with fellow gamers created lasting memories. It may not seem like an extraordinary story—just a few conversations while waiting in line—but it is undoubtedly more memorable than another night spent navigating an online store.
