Pre-Orders for Nintendo Switch 2 Begin April 24, Pricing Remains at $449.99

You know that feeling when your plans get thrown into a blender, and it’s this mangled mess of confusion and hesitation? Yeah, that’s kinda what happened with Nintendo’s whole pre-order situation for the Switch 2. So, here’s the scoop, or the gist, or whatever — Nintendo’s got this fancy new console thing, and they’re letting folks start grabbing spots for it in the U.S. on April 24. Or, you know, whenever your brain processes this ramble. And surprise, surprise, the price tags are hanging tight — starting at $449.99. If you want Mario Kart World thrown in, well, that’ll hit you for $499.99. Pricy fun, huh?

Apparently, the original plan was for these pre-orders to kick off a bit earlier, but life decided to go all chaotic on them. Outta nowhere, tariffs got tossed around, and the market just went… sideways? So, Nintendo hit the brakes to figure out what’s what. Who can blame them, right?

And get this — the accessories, like those Joy-Con things, are about to charge you a tad more. Fifteen bucks more for the Joy-Con 2 pairs now. There goes what, like, a latte or two? The Pro Controller, too, sneaked up by five bucks. They’ve got plans with the whole range – camera, dock, the whole shebang tapping into this price lift train. Fun times, I guess.

Nintendo (seemingly) hinted that prices could still dance around, you know, in light of those fabled “market conditions.” Whatever that means, right?

So, anyway — the switcheroo with the pre-order timeline — apparently, April 9 was supposed to be the big day, but tangled with Trump announcing tariffs. It’s a whole political jamboree! Trump put some tariffs on hold but not all. Seemed like a good ol’ game of “Wait and See.”

Nintendo’s sticking to their guns with the whole gaming lineup thing, though. Mario Kart World and a new Donkey Kong whatchamacallit, the Banaza – yeah – Donkey Kong Banaza, slated for July 17, won’t be switching up their costs, thank goodness. At least some stability, right? Because the games themselves, well, those price stickers say $79.99 and $69.99, and that’s that.

Now, the Switch 2’s promising some shine, like a bigger, flashier screen, some HDR (whatever that is), and a couple of USB Type-C ports. Oh, plus some jazzed-up graphics thing from Nvidia. Compare it to the original Switch? The former intro price now sounds like, what, bargain-bin stuff? Ah, nostalgia for cheaper tech —classic rich kids tale.

Nintendo, being all proper, threw in an apology too. For what, you ask? The delay, maybe the chaos. Something about hoping to calm those stormy customer nerves, like a warm, caffeinated belch after a big slog of afternoon drama. So there you have it. Throw some coins in and see what happens.