Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order update: this is what the email invite looks like

Nintendo has started to send out pre-order invites to purchase the Switch 2 console (Image credit: Matt Swider / The Shortcut)

• 🍄 Switch 2 pre-orders started today at the My Nintendo Store in the US

• 📧 As seen below, this email invite is required to purchase a console

• 😬 But Nintendo says you may not get the console in time for June 5

• 👀 We’re still tracking Walmart & other US Switch 2 pre-orders, too

• 🚨 Priority Alerts: The Shortcut subscribers get 1:1 help in our Substack Chat

• 🔔 Turn on notifications for Matt Swider on X to get additional alerts

The one and only Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order in the US is today, May 8, at the official My Nintendo Store, where you can buy the console, games, and accessories. There’s just one catch: you’ll need an email invite to buy a Switch 2.

This is the first time that Nintendo’s online store has offered pre-orders, two weeks after a chaotic scene in which American retailers, like Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and GameStop, quickly sold out of the video game console. Nintendo’s email invites trickled out late this afternoon, according to our tracking data, with the few lucky invitees telling The Shortcut that it was a smooth checkout process.

Nintendo was late in sending out invites to US customers, so there was a fake invite screenshot floating around. Whether it was a fan mock-up or a phishing scam, we don’t know, but you should ensure the email invite looks like one I posted above.

The Shortcut helped 10,000 people in the US order Nintendo Switch 2 and the best Switch 2 accessories over the past two weeks through our priority alerts in our Substack Chat, offering subscribers a leg up on when to buy the console. Our crowd-sourced information gave us insight into what the real Switch 2 email invite looked like.

Nintendo fans are still getting the Switch 2 pre-order emails at this time, as the invites seem to be coming in waves. They’ll have 72 hours to check out with the console, but it’s also a “first-come, first-served” process, according to Nintendo.

That means while you may still be able to purchase a Switch 2 console within those 72 hours, the delivery date may be staggered. Nintendo says it can’t guarantee that your console will be delivered by June 5, the release date, whereas Walmart has made a pledge to ship a console to your doorstep by 9 am ET that day.

• Get our instant alerts: Your best chance to find a Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order is to follow Matt Swider on X – and turn on notifications. It’ll look like:

US Stores may not restock Switch 2 again until after Nintendo starts its May 8 pre-orders (Image credit: Matt Swider / The Shortcut)

The Shortcut hasn’t stopped tracking Switch 2 pre-orders from other US stores. However, we have suggested (and so far we’re right) that Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and GameStop would remain “sold out” during Nintendo’s pre-order. This is Nintendo’s moment, in our expert analysis. No one upstages Nintendo.

• Walmart: Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle

• Target: Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle

• GameStop: Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle

• Best Buy: Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle

• Sam’s Club: Unknown time Switch 2 console / Mario Kart World bundle

So far, stores like Sam’s Club, Costco, and Antonline haven’t had pre-orders, and you’ll have to wait until the launch date to buy from them. This may be because these stores require you to purchase the console in a more expensive bundle or have a paid membership attached to make any purchase. If you notice the trend, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and GameStop didn’t paywall Nintendo consoles and did have pre-orders.

Even if you request an invite and pre-order, Nintendo says it’s not a guarantee of getting a console on June 5 (Image credit: Matt Swider / The Shortcut)

Nintendo’s strict rules aren’t just for retailers. You’ll need to be a true Nintendo fan to even qualify for a pre-order from the My Nintendo Store today. You must me:

1. A Nintendo Switch Online membership for at least 12 months

2. A minimum of 50 hours of total gameplay logged on your Switch 1

3. Opted into sharing gameplay data with Nintendo in the privacy settings

4. 18 years old or older, per Nintendo’s rules

📄 Note 1: This non-transferable invite to buy the Switch 2 will be valid for 72 hours and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis, according to Nintendo.

📄 Note 2: You need to be the primary account holder, so the lead account in a Nintendo Switch Online Family Plan (the one paying) is the only account eligible (unless someone in the family previously had NSO for 12 months on their own at a prior time).

Not even will qualify, and not everyone who qualifies will get an email invite from Nintendo (Image credit: Matt Swider / The Shortcut)

We didn’t get an email invite from Nintendo, either, so don’t feel bad. The demand for the Switch 2 pre-orders in the US surpassed Nintendo’s expectations, mirroring what we saw worldwide, including the company’s home country of Japan. Nintendo’s President even apologized for the lack of Switch 2 consoles available to purchase.

The good news is that Walmart and others are likely to open up Switch 2 orders once again, closer to the June 5 release date. While demand may outstrip supply for weeks, our current analysis is that it won’t be this way for months, with flashbacks to the PS5 restock era.

Matt Swider is the Editor-in-Chief of The Shortcut, the #1 consumer tech publication on Substack. Matt, a trusted technology expert with over 25 years of journalism experience and the former US Editor-in-Chief of TechRadar, can be found on social media through X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.