I’m surprised to find I’ve only mentioned the Nintendo Switch 2 in relation to the Trump Tariffs that delayed preorders and threatened to raise its price.

I tried, rather half-heartedly, to buy a Switch 2 at launch. It would have been nice to have, but I wasn’t about to wake up early to get one: we have the original Switch and don’t play it very often (anymore). I’d just wait until supply caught up with demand, and buy then, whether that was a month or a year later.

While browsing Amazon this week, I noticed the Switch 2 was “available by invitation.”

I had no idea what that meant, but I clicked on Request invite anyway. I figured it would be a few months before I got a chance to order. An email confirmed my chances of being selected were slim:

We process requests and send invites to qualified customers regularly, while supplies last. If invited to purchase, you’ll receive an email with a link that’s valid for 22 hours.

If you aren’t selected during this round of invites, your request is still eligible to be selected in future rounds so you don’t need to submit another request for the next 3 months. Since supplies are limited, we won’t be able to grant all requests.

What, I wondered, is a “qualified customer”? Regardless, I promptly forgot about it.

Five days later:

Congrats, you’re invited!

You can now buy the Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World Bundle. You have 22 hours from the time this email was sent to complete this purchase.

Apparently I’m a “qualified customer.”

So, an hour and a half later:

Ordered: “Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario…” and 2 more items

(While I was at it, I also ordered a Pro Controller and Donkey Kong Bananza.)

Supply, meet demand.

The console should arrive in the next couple of weeks. No doubt we’ll play it intensely for a few months, then it’ll sit unused until the Nintendo Switch 3 comes out.

I’m excited!