For Nintendo fans in Japan, April 24, 2025, marks a significant date. Nintendo is scheduled to announce the lucky winners who secured the opportunity to pre-order the Switch 2 through the official My Nintendo Store. However, not only did overwhelming traffic force Nintendo to take the My Nintendo Store website offline for maintenance, but the company also issued a warning about fraudulent phishing emails impersonating official Switch 2 pre-order lottery notifications.
On April 2, Nintendo began accepting applications for the Switch 2 pre-order lottery in Japan. Winners were granted the chance to purchase a Switch 2 from the My Nintendo Store, with delivery scheduled for the console's launch on June 5.
Based on yesterday's message from Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa, approximately 2.2 million people in Japan participated in the initial Switch 2 presale lottery. This extraordinary demand far surpassed the company's projections, meaning many hopeful participants will be disappointed in their bid to acquire the console on launch day.
As the results of the first Switch 2 presale lottery were released today, a surge of users accessing Japan's My Nintendo Store led to Nintendo taking the site down for maintenance. Scammers capitalized on the Switch 2 excitement by distributing fake lottery result emails.
Japanese-speaking users on X also alerted others, sharing screenshots of the deceptive emails and highlighting several versions of the scam. At first sight, a subject line proclaiming "You have won the Switch 2 lottery" would likely excite any Nintendo fan.
The fraudulent emails either instruct the recipient to click a LINE messenger app link or make an immediate payment through a suspicious-looking URL, pressuring them to act quickly to secure their desired console. These phishing attempts range from obvious fakes filled with emojis to more convincing versions containing subtle mistakes, such as misspellings of "Nintendo" in email addresses and the use of non-Japanese URLs.
The official warning from the Japanese Nintendo Support account clarifies: "Although we plan to send the lottery result emails today (April 24), we have not yet sent them. Please be aware that any such emails received prior to this announcement were not sent by Nintendo."
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In the U.S., Nintendo published an update on its website regarding release-day delivery, cautioning those who had registered interest in buying a Switch 2 from the My Nintendo Store that delivery by the June 5 launch date could not be guaranteed.
Consequently, invitation emails might be received after the Switch 2's release. However, Nintendo stated it will confirm the shipping date upon purchase. The company now suggests that purchasing from a third-party retailer may offer a better chance of obtaining a Switch 2 at launch—a troubling indication given that pre-orders sold out rapidly overnight.
The challenges fans faced pre-ordering the Switch 2 on April 24, combined with Nintendo's official warning, indicate that the next-generation console will be exceptionally difficult to acquire, at least around the launch period.
According to an FAQ posted on Nintendo’s website, the first batch of invitations for the U.S. My Nintendo Store will be sent starting May 8, 2025. Additional invitation emails will follow "periodically" until the My Nintendo Store opens purchases to the general public.
Initial invitation emails will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis to "eligible registrants who meet the priority criteria." Recipients will have 72 hours from the email's dispatch time to finalize their purchase.
Nintendo Switch 2 Pre-Order Invitation Priority Requirements:
You must have personally purchased any Nintendo Switch Online membership, maintained any paid Nintendo Switch Online membership for at least 12 months, and opted in to share gameplay data with a minimum of 50 total gameplay hours.
