Nintendo brings back late-night console launches with debut of Switch 2

Nintendo brought back late-night game console launches tonight as people across the world waited in line to get the Nintendo Switch 2.

For the first time in eight years, Nintendo fans had a chance to wait in line like the good days as they spent hundreds of dollars a piece on the new game console and its accessories. The Switch 2 replaces the Switch, which debuted in 2017 and sold 150 million units.

I waited in line and shopped at the new Nintendo Store in Union Square in San Francisco. First in line was Dean, 15, who was dressed like an Irish leprechuan. He told me he arrived at 7 a.m. Pacific time, which was about 14 hours ahead of the 9 p.m. Pacific launch. Still, he said he was glad to drop perhaps $1,000 on the $500 Switch 2 (or $50 less if you don’t buy the Mario Kart World bundle). It was his first console launch event.

At the checkout stand, the Nintendo dignitaries were trained by their superiors to pass the console from one dignitary (Nintendo of America EVP Devon Pritchard) to another until Dean got one handed to him by Bill Trinen.

The San Francisco store is only the second in the U.S. and it opened just a couple of weeks ago. The other Nintendo Store is in New York City. Greg Miller, the celebrity media man, was there.

It felt good to go to the console launch, even though there was a long wait and a relatively small number of people waiting at first. By the end of the evening, though, the crowds had showed up, some dressed as their favorite Nintendo characters. I walked out of the door with about $750 in merch, including my Switch 2 and its flagship game, Mario Kart World. I also got to play a couple of rounds of Knockout on the Mario Kart World game on the Switch 2. I met a creator there who remembered me as the Cuphead guy. Luckily, I did not come in last place in Mario Kart World on my second try.

The ornate store is a paradise for Nintendo fans, with some unique gear for San Francisco alone in the form of T-shirts and other gear. There are 12 Pikmin statues hidden throughout the store, with accessories set up at tables for favorite franchises like Mario, Princess Peach, Zelda, Pikmin, Pokemon, Splatoon, Donkey Kong, Kirby, Animal Crossing and more.

I suspect the Switch 2 is going to do just fine, even if most of the games are in service of the franchises. In fact, Nintendo culture is so big with things like Mario Kart and The Super Mario Bros. Movie (which did $1.4 billion at the box office) that people want to engage with it in every walk of life — including in retail stores.

Even though these “midnight launches” are increasingly rare, I encourage fans to try them once in a while. They don’t happen nearly as often as they used to, as for some companies digital sales are 95% of the entire revenues for games. I got to reminisce with fellow game journalists about how there used to be more of us around to attend events like this one.

It was worth it to hear the Nintendo Store employees clapping and Dean hold the first console above his head in glory as he walked out the door.