Photos of Midnight Lines for Nintendo Switch 2

2025-06-05T16:33:08Z

Nintendo launched the Switch 2 at midnight on June 5, drawing crowds that waited overnight for the release.
The company said it expects to sell 15 million units in the current fiscal year.
Nintendo didn’t increase the base cost of the console due to tariffs, but did boost the price of its accessories.

The global midnight launch event for tech gadgets has largely fizzled in recent years. After all, you can preorder the latest iPhone from the comfort of your home and have it delivered to your doorstep on launch day.

But with the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 game console, more than eight years after the original drove massive sales, the midnight queues at brick-and-mortar stores came roaring back.

The Switch 2 launched globally on June 5, and people in many cities around the world lined up the day before for the chance to get their hands on the console as early as possible.

The launch is expected to boost the bottom line for big-box retailers like Target and Best Buy. Nintendo said it expects to sell 15 million units in the current fiscal year, which ends in March 2026. Wall Street analysts believe that number could hit 20 million.

Though Nintendo didn’t increase the price of the base Switch 2 due to tariffs, it did boost the price of its accessories, including controllers.

Scroll on for a look at the lines around the world.

A line stretched down the block outside the Nintendo New York store.

People wait in line at the Nintendo New York store on June 4, 2025, ahead of the midnight release of the Nintendo Switch 2.

DAVID DEE DELGADO/AFP via Getty Images

Shoppers could be seen wearing red Mario hats.

A crowd of people wait in line ahead of the release of the Nintendo Switch 2. The image focuses on a man in sunglasses and a Mario hat. — There was more than one Mario hat in the crowd.

DAVID DEE DELGADO/AFP via Getty Images

Customers spilled into the parking lot outside a Best Buy in Pembroke Pines, Florida.

Customers are lined up outside a Best Buy (not visible) in Pembroke Pines, FL. They are in a line that leads out into the parking lot. The focus of the image is a group of young boys, engaged in conversation. Other customers stretch out in a line, in front and behind them, slightly out of focus. — Customers line up outside of a Best Buy store waiting for the midnight opening to purchase Nintendo’s Switch 2 console on June 05, 2025 in Pembroke Pines, Florida.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Buyers started filling their bags at midnight.

A man is buying a Nintendo Switch 2 upon the product's midnight release. He's speaking to a cashier, and has the Switch 2 in a clear plastic bag. — Darrell Zimmer purchases a Nintendo Switch 2 console at a midnight opening of a Best Buy store on June 05, 2025, in Pembroke Pines, Florida.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

In San Francisco, waiting customers played games on their original Switches.

A line of people waiting for the release of the Nintendo Switch 2 stretches out across a sidewalk. Two men, the focus of the image, are sitting down in chairs, playing on the original Switch. — Kenneth Knotts, left to right, of Danville and Ian Suelter-Davison, left, of Santa Cruz sit in chairs they brought to wait in line as they wait to enter the Nintendo Store for a pre-launch event for the Nintendo Switch 2 on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in San Francisco.

Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

Buyers in Paris sprawled out on the floor as they waited.

People line up to purchase the Nintendo Switch 2 in Paris. Some are sitting on the floor, while others are standing, lit by an illuminated sign. — Customers line up at a Fnac Darty store to purchase the Nintendo Switch 2 game console during a launch event as Nintendo starts selling the new consoles globally, in Paris, France June 4, 2025.

Benoit Tessier/REUTERS

Crowds in Paris waited into the night.

People lining up to purchase the Nintendo Switch 2 in Paris. Four men are in frame, none in focus. Three have their backs to the camera, and one is in side profile. They are all backlit by red light.

Customers line up at a Fnac Darty store to purchase the Nintendo Switch 2 game console during a launch event as Nintendo starts selling the new consoles globally, in Paris, France, on June 4, 2025.

Benoit Tessier/REUTERS

Customers in Tokyo filled local electronics retailers.

People are lined up to purchase the Switch 2 in an electronics store in Tokyo. The photo is taken from a distance away from the register, and features a crowd of people standing before it. — Customers line up to purchase Nintendo Switch 2 at an electronics retailer in Tokyo on June 5, 2025.

KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP via Getty Images

The packaging for the Switch 2 is similar to the original’s — with Nintendo’s red branding.

Cashiers are putting orders of the Nintendo Switch 2 in bags as customers purchase them upon the launch of the console. — Customers purchase Nintendo Switch 2 at an electronics retailer in Tokyo on June 5, 2025.

KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP via Getty Images

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