For Nintendo enthusiasts in Japan, April 24, 2025, marks a significant date. On this day, Nintendo was set to announce the winners of the Switch 2 pre-order lottery through the official My Nintendo Store. However, the high demand led to the website being taken down for maintenance due to overwhelming traffic. Additionally, Nintendo issued a warning about phishing emails that were falsely claiming to be official Switch 2 pre-order lottery results.

The application period for the Switch 2 pre-order lottery in Japan opened on April 2, with winners gaining the opportunity to buy the console at launch on June 5. According to a message from Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa, an astonishing 2.2 million people entered the lottery, far surpassing Nintendo's expectations and leaving many hopeful fans disappointed.

As the results of the first Switch 2 presale lottery were released, the rush to access Japan's My Nintendo Store overwhelmed the system, prompting Nintendo to take the site offline for maintenance. This chaos was exploited by scammers who sent out fake lottery results to unsuspecting fans.

Japanese-speaking users on X (formerly Twitter) were quick to alert others, sharing screenshots of fraudulent emails and pointing out various versions of the scam. These phishing emails typically used subject lines like “You have won the Switch 2 lottery,” which could easily deceive eager fans. The fraudulent messages often included demands to click on a LINE messenger app link or make a payment via a questionable URL, all with a sense of urgency to secure the new console. These scams varied from obvious fakes filled with emojis to more sophisticated attempts with minor errors, such as misspellings of "Nintendo" in email addresses and non-Japanese URLs.

The official warning from the Japanese Nintendo Support account clarified that, "Although we plan to send out the lottery result emails today (April 24), we have not sent them yet. Please be aware that any such emails that you have received up until now were not sent by Nintendo."

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In the U.S., Nintendo updated its website to inform those who had registered interest in purchasing a Switch 2 from My Nintendo Store that delivery by the June 5 release date could not be guaranteed. Consequently, invitation emails might arrive after the Switch 2's launch. However, Nintendo assured that shipping dates would be confirmed upon purchase. The company suggested that pre-ordering from third-party retailers might offer a better chance of obtaining the console at launch, although pre-orders at these retailers have already sold out.

The challenges faced by fans trying to pre-order the Switch 2 on April 24, combined with Nintendo's warnings, indicate that securing the next-gen console will be difficult around its launch period.

According to a FAQ on Nintendo's website, the first batch of invitations for the My Nintendo Store in the U.S. will be sent starting May 8, 2025. Additional batches will follow "periodically" until purchasing is open to everyone. The initial invitation emails will be sent on a first-come, first-serve basis to "eligible registrants who meet the priority criteria." Recipients will have 72 hours from the time of the email to complete their purchase.

Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order invitation priority requirements:

• You must have purchased any Nintendo Switch Online membership.
• You must have maintained any paid Nintendo Switch Online membership for at least 12 months.
• You must have opted in to share gameplay data and have accumulated at least 50 hours of total gameplay.