A pair of Nintendo Switch Joy-Con controllers. And, yes, we know these aren’t what the Nintendo … More
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Nintendo Switch 2 preorders went live at 12AM ET on Thursday—but things didn’t go smoothly. Walmart, Best Buy and Target suffered issues that kept keen gamers away from their consoles. This, unsurprisingly, led to some heading online to vent about their frustration.
This event and subsection of users is an interesting case study in how the online world has altered retail—and how social media and meme culture helps people navigate this strange new world.
To begin, let’s examine what actually happened with the Nintendo Switch 2 preorders.
The upcoming console is slated for release on June 5, 2025. The sequel to the incredibly popular Nintendo Switch, the Switch 2 will launch with Mario Kart World as its flagship game.
While there have been some complaints over the price of the console—which will sell for $450—that hasn’t impacted fan excitement, especially if the preorders are anything to go by.
When the clocked ticked midnight, all three aforementioned retailers—that’s Walmart, Target and Best Buy—had issues with the demand. This led to a range of problems for consumers.
As The Verge reports, this ranged from purchases being halted at checkout to being kicked out of queues. Segments of the online reaction was strong and immediate, with many disappointed in the experience, creating derogatory memes in response.
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What The Online Reaction To Issues With Nintendo Switch 2 Preorders Means
There are a few things at play that can help explain why some people online are chaotically posting about problems with the Nintendo Switch preorders.
The most obvious, of course, is frustration. People are irritated about not getting something they want so they head online to post about it. True? Probably, but there are more fascinating ideas at play—and of these is the nature of retail in our modern age.
Before the internet, whenever a new console or something similar was released, many people had to physically queue to get one. I remember doing this when the Nintendo Gamecube was released, for example.
This was a simple and easy-to-understand system: whoever arrived first got the console. It was—on the surface at least—equitable.
Trying to preorder a Nintendo Switch 2 was a completely different experience to this though.
The nature of the ordering something online is opaque by its very nature. We can’t see how long the queue is, how many units there are, or even guess at how long the process will take.
Instead—and this has been reported throughout the process of people trying to preorder a Nintendo Switch 2—individuals go through a confusing and seemingly illogical experience. Whether it’s the product page not being live at the promised time, website timeouts or any number of other reported issues, trying to preorder a Switch 2 wasn’t simple for many people.
This is a far cry from the days of just standing in a queue.
In a situation like this, there’s a sense of powerlessness at play. There aren’t really any avenues or physical actions you can take in order to alleviate the suffering and sense of unfairness when you miss out on the console. You were at the right place at the right time, but were still unsuccessful through no fault of your own.
And this is where social media comes in.
Research proves time and time again that humor is a vital tool in high-stress situations. By going online and posting about a tough experience, people can feel more in control over events. No, they aren’t able to exert influence over what they wanted to achieve (preordering a Nintendo Switch 2), but they were able to vent some of this frustration online.
That’s what we’ve witnessing happening on social media, a rebalancing.
Ultimately, the preorder situation for the Nintendo Switch 2 is a common experience in the modern world. This internet-based system doesn’t feel as a natural and understandable as older methods, which can leave people feeling alienated—especially if they followed instructions and still didn’t get the item they wanted.
In this environment, social media and humor operates as a way of channelling this frustration, allowing people to feel as though they can exert control over some part of their situation.
Yes, Nintendo Switch 2 preorders might feel chaotic and unfair, but, at the very least, we had some laughs along the way
