Now that the Switch 2 has officially been unveiled, Nintendo has addressed one very annoying behaviour that it will be trying to stop at launch.

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After years of speculation, the Japanese games maker revealed the Nintendo Switch 2 in a short trailer that debuted the look of the console, a tease of the next Mario Kart, as well as confirmation that the machine is backwards compatible.

It was also noted that a Nintendo Direct will take place in April, where the launch line-up is expected to be shown off.

This has naturally led to a lot of excitement from fans, with a Switch 2 release date likely not that far behind.

However, like all console launches, the race to get your hands on one can be extremely difficult – which is where Nintendo's desire to save ordinary fans from annoying behaviour comes in. Read on for the full story!

Nintendo Switch 2 boss will "take all possible measures" to fight scalpers

Image of a docked Nintendo Switch 2 with Mario Kart playing on the TV
Nintendo.

As reported by Nikkei (via VGC), Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa confirmed to the Japanese press that deterrents will be put in place to prevent people from scalping the Nintendo Switch 2.

"We will take all possible measures based on the experience we have accumulated to date (regarding scalpers and the like). We are making preparations," said Furukawa (as translated by VGC).

Scalping is the act of buying a product with the sole intent at reselling it at a higher price for profit.

It's mostly done during product launches, with both the original Switch and PlayStation 5 suffering as a result.

Exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, stock shortages plagued Sony's next-gen console for months, with the price being doubled in some cases across resell sites.

Nintendo is now concerned that history will repeat itself once again with the launch of the Switch 2, something it's looking to mitigate.

How this will be addressed is yet unclear. Some methods taken by manufacturers include a one-per-card or one-per-household implementation.

Another would be tying the purchase to an email or Nintendo account – perhaps only offering pre-orders through Nintendo Switch Online, similar to the NES and SNES controller distribution.

It was previously reported by Nikkei that the Switch 2 was delayed from March 2025 to ensure stock shortages did not occur come release. Furukawa confirmed in July 2024 that Nintendo is "making preparations" to make sure enough stock will be available.

"As a countermeasure against resale, we believe that the most important thing is to produce a sufficient number to meet customer demand, and this idea has not changed since last year," he said at the time.

"In addition to this, we are considering whether there are any other measures that can be taken to the extent allowed by laws and regulations, taking into account the circumstances of each region.

"Although we were unable to produce sufficient quantities of Nintendo Switch hardware last year and the year before due to a shortage of semiconductor components, this situation has now been resolved.

"At this time, we do not believe that the shortage of components will have a significant impact on the production of the successor model."

The Nintendo Switch 2 is scheduled to launch sometime in 2025, with a Nintendo Direct next set to take place on 2nd April 2025. Stay tuned for more.

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Authors

Black-and-white photo of Matt Poskitt
Matt PoskittFreelance Writer

Matt Poskitt is a freelance journalist who specialises in arts and culture – be that movies, TV, video games, tech or otherwise. Matt headed up the games and entertainment section at T3 (Future Publishing), alongside being found across The Guardian, CNET, PC Gamer Mag, GamesIndustry.biz, Insider, iNews, IGN, TechRadar, PC Gamer Mag, NME and many more.

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