Nintendo announced the highly anticipated release of the Switch 2 on April 2, 2025, during a dedicated Direct presentation that showcased the console and its upcoming games. The Switch 2 will release worldwide alongside the US and Canada on June 5th, 2025. As you can see, gamers are all a-twitter with excitement over this new release! Pre-orders in Canada were initially scheduled to begin on April 9, 2025. Now, they will be pushed back to coincide with the large roll-out of pre-orders currently taking place in the United States.
The decision to delay Canadian pre-orders is in direct reaction to recent adverse developments which have negatively impacted the U.S. market. As we experienced last week, our US-bound pre-orders were delayed due to President Trump’s tariffs. In protest, Nintendo changed its release plan for Canada to avoid falling behind. By aligning the launch timelines, Nintendo hopes to provide consumers in both countries with the same overall experience.
Exciting the announcement of the Switch 2 at $450 has been, it has been without its controversy. There’s been a lot of angry response on the internet about the increased cost of the new console, and its newly priced games. One of these titles include the launch game Mario Kart World, which is going to retail for $80. Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser has now responded to this criticism. He explained that when it came to pricing the Switch 2, tariffs installed by the U.S. government didn’t play any role.
For those within the gaming community—especially those with their ears to the ground—excitement for the Switch 2’s arrival is palpable. We still don’t know how pricing concerns will affect total sales and consumer perception come launch day. As it stands, Nintendo has not yet adjusted the pricing for either the console or its games, despite the growing feedback from fans.