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Nintendo Switch will be sold without preorders at Best Buy and Target on launch day

Published Feb 27th, 2017 2:50PM EST
Nintendo Switch: Best Buy, Target
Image: Nintendo

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If you weren’t one of the fortunate few to get your Nintendo Switch preorder in at a big box store before they all sold out, you’re going to have a chance to rectify that mistake this weekend. GameStop revealed last week that it would have a limited supply of Switch consoles available for walk-in customers at its midnight launch events on March 3rd, and now Best Buy and Target have announced that they will do the same.

In an email from a Best Buy spokesman on Monday, BGR was informed that customers who didn’t preorder a Switch will be able to buy one on a first-come, first-served basis on launch day. There will be a ticket system in place for customers waiting in line, and Best Buy will only pass out as many tickets as there are consoles.

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Over 600 Best Buy stores across the country will open at 12:01 a.m. local time to sell the Switch. You can check to see which Best Buy stores in your area are participating in the midnight launch event at this website. If your store isn’t hosting a midnight event, the Switch will be available as soon as the store opens on Friday.

If you’d rather not fight a crowd at midnight on a week night, you can try Target instead. A promotional flier shared on Reddit this weekend notes that limited quantities of the Nintendo Switch will be available on Friday, March 3rd when the retailer opens at 8 a.m. No word on midnight launches, so this might be your best bet if you’d rather take the morning off of work or school to go wait in line for one.

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Nintendo has said repeatedly that it is prepared to replenish stock frequently in the coming weeks and months, but if you want one on launch day, didn’t place a preorder and don’t want to pay over the odds on eBay or the like, you’re almost certainly going to have to wait in line on Thursday night or Friday morning.

The Nintendo Switch launches on March 3rd for $299.99. Read our preview impressions.

Jacob Siegal
Jacob Siegal Associate Editor

Jacob Siegal is Associate Editor at BGR, having joined the news team in 2013. He has over a decade of professional writing and editing experience, and helps to lead our technology and entertainment product launch and movie release coverage.