Nintendo of Canada's website confirms the April 24th date.  It also has what I'm pretty sure are the first confirmed prices.  Games are $100-110.  Yeah right.  I'm not going to buy any game at full price at that amount.

But the really lousy part of it is that is going to destroy some Canadian stores I've been a customer of for years, in some cases decades.  The Switch was a big seller for them and now it's being followed up with a ridiculous price hike.  In the US Donkey Kong is 10 bucks more than a normal Switch game.  In Canada it's 20.  I don't think I've ever seen game prices increase by such a large margin in Canada.  That's going to turn some people off and the lowest earning owners of the current Switch are going to just get cut out entirely.

I can’t blame anyone for not wanting to pay these game prices. I don’t pay that. Granted, I’ve spent $80+ on some retro games. However, those go up in price; current games eventually drop. For example, I bought Tears of the Kingdom for ~$52 in July 2023, about two months after release. Spend what you feel comfortable spending and don’t spend a penny more. It isn’t as if Mario Kart World is going anywhere.

My plans haven’t changed. I intend to snag Switch 2 at launch. I’ve already set aside money for it, and Mario Kart World is cheaper in the bundle. With everything in flux, I want to get the console itself ASAP. Sony just increased PS5’s price in a bunch of regions this week so there’s a real possibility Nintendo eventually follows suit. Digital downloads wouldn’t be subject to tariffs though I’m skeptical Nintendo will adjust the pricing accordingly.

I’ll probably get a Switch 2 Pro Controller though I believe Switch 1 Pro Controllers are backwards compatible, and I’ve only used one of mine to pair and update so it’s practically new. The Switch 2 Camera is gonna be a no from me, dawg.

What time during the day do these pre-orders start? Is it 12:01 AM or around when businesses open on the east coast?

Glad the price didn't increase. I'm not excited for the Switch 2 so I have no idea what is compelling me to preorder one, but that's my plan. Maybe I'm just a fanboy after all?  In general I think we've been paying decent prices for games for a long while now and even me being the frugal sun of a gun I am I don't think the price increase is exactly unfair.

What places are even doing preorders?

A bit difficult to determine for me.

That depends on your region. In the US I am seeing pre-order information for Best Buy.

While they do mention picking up the pre-orders at 12:01 AM on 6/5/25, there is no time of day specifics for 4/24.

Well I struck out last night. Was anyone else successful with securing a pre-order?