Switch 2 has been officially unveiled on 2 April after a 1 hour Direct where all the features and starting line-up have been revealed.
Nintendo will release in Japan two different models, the first one will have only Japanese language and only a Japanese account can be used and will be priced 49,980 yen (around 315 euros / 330 dollars), the second will have 16 different languages, including Japanese, as the models released in the West with a 69,980 yen price (around 435 euros / 465 dollars).
Unlike the West where is already possible pre-order the console, in Japan actually it is possible to pre-order both Switch 2 models only through Nintendo Store, but it’s not so simple: in order to be allowed to pre-order Switch it is required to have an active Nintendo account with at least 50 hours of playing and a subscription to Nintendo Online service.
Is that all? Of course not, registration only guarantees the possibility of being drawn in the lottery…
Any other shop in the country has yet started accepting pre-orders and according to a notice from Rakuten Books seems like that normal stores will be allowed to start pre-orders from 24 April.
Is that all? Of course not, cause probably most shops will use the lottery system instead of the good old “first come, first serve” method that in the past made the launch of PlayStation 2 or Nintendo DS like a popular event.
It is therefore evident that not only at launch, but even in the following weeks, if not months, in Japan it will not be possible to purchase the Switch 2 normally in stores.
Source: ninten-switch.com