- Nintendo is still actively blocking resellers due to ongoing high demand for the Switch 2.
- To buy a multilingual Switch 2, customers must have logged at least 50 hours of playtime on an original Switch by the end of May 2026.
- Purchases are restricted to a single console per account to limit bulk buying.
Nintendo continues to take strong action against resellers as demand for the Nintendo Switch 2 remains exceptionally high, more than a year after launch. The success of the Nintendo Switch 2 console’s trailer, which garnered tens of millions of views, showed that users are highly interested in the console. For this, Nintendo took preventative measures, anticipating the high demand.
In February 2025, Nintendo said it would combat bots and resellers to ensure Switch 2 consoles did not fall into the wrong hands and that players received them. A year after its launch, Nintendo continues its fight against resellers and makes it mandatory that buyers have at least 50 hours of gameplay on the original Switch before purchasing the multilingual edition of the Switch 2.
During the Nintendo Direct, we saw multiple titles for the Switch 2. Among the most famous are the remakes of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the return of Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Wave, Star Fox, and The Duskbloods.
Along with this, other Switch 2 versions of original console games, such as the Xenoblade series, will run at 60 frames per second. Now that interest in the Switch 2 has resurfaced, and it is cheaper in Japan due to the yen, Nintendo has blocked overseas purchasing.
Nintendo is doing this to ensure the console reaches only legitimate users and those who will actually use it, rather than resellers who want to buy it cheaply and sell it for much more. Those who wish to buy the Switch 2 in its multilingual edition must show they’ve played at least 50 hours on the Switch 1. Also, they will be given only one console per account. These are only two procedures, but they should be sufficient to prevent most resale.
Furthermore, these hours must be spent on games that users have paid for and downloaded; playing demos and free Switch games does not qualify. While this isn’t complicated and may seem unlikely to prevent inappropriate purchases, it’s worth noting that Nintendo requires these hours to be accumulated by the end of May 2026.
Nintendo will also keep an eye on Switch 2 sales made through the official Japanese store to see if any questionable purchases that are probably going to be resold need to be canceled. The Japanese version of the Switch 2 is unaffected by this, though it is obviously of interest only to Japanese customers, not to those who plan to resell it at a higher price in the US and other nations.
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Sajjad Hussain is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Tech4Gamers.com. Apart from the Tech and Gaming scene, Sajjad is a Seasonal banker who has delivered multi-million dollar projects as an IT Project Manager and works as a freelancer to provide professional services to corporate giants and emerging startups in the IT space.
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