Nintendo Switch 2 fans crash Target, Best Buy websites during pre-orders after delay over tariffs
The Nintendo Switch 2 pre-sale caused massive online outages for retail stores as they struggled to keep up with the demand of eager gamers following a delayed sale due to imposed tariffs on Japanese exports.Target, Best Buy, and Walmart all had problems with their websites when fans were allowed to pre-order the highly anticipated gaming console on Thursday morning, according to Downdetector.More than 2,000 customers reported having issues connecting to the Target website for around 45 minutes after the console was available to order at midnight.Best Buy, which required its customers to have an account to place pre-orders, also ran into issues starting around 9 p.m.on Wednesday and continuing until around 2 a.m.
Thursday — 56% of the more than 600 reports of outages said they had problems logging in.Some gamers trying to secure a pre-order at Best Buy were greeted with a “Coming Soon” prompt instead of a pre-order button for half an hour after the sale went live, according to IGN.Walmart also gave gamers some issues around 9 p.m.Wednesday for about 15 minutes, with 55% of the more than 1,700 reports claiming to have problems accessing the retailer’s app.Target, Best Buy, and Walmart all sold out of the console within minutes of the beginning of the pre-order sale.GameStop is set to begin taking pre-orders at 11 a.m.
ET.Amazon is not set to take any pre-orders on the Switch 2.Nintendo thrilled gamers and devoted fans when it revealed the Switch 2 on April 2.The Japanese-imported console was initially scheduled for a pre-order sale on April 9, but the plan was quickly altered due to the “impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions,” Nintendo stated earlier this month.Pre-orders were slated to begin on the same day as Trump’s massive “Liberation Day,” when he imposed new reciprocal tariffs on Japan, including a 24% levy.The rates went into effect April 9 but were paused hours later by Trump, who issued a 90-day reprieve to allow for nego...