Today’s the day so many Switch fans have been waiting for. The Nintendo Switch 2 Direct event is just a few hours away, and that’s when we’ll learn everything about the next-gen handheld. For some fans, the most important details aren’t the specs or the price, as they’ll buy the Switch 2 console without caring about any of that. These fans are dying to hear when the Switch 2 preorders start and when it will finally be released.
But the price will be important to some buyers, and there’s some good news there. Reports estimate the Switch 2 hardware will cost just $399. I say “just” because that’s a great price point compared to the original model. The original Switch cost $299 when it was released eight years ago. Account for inflation, and the $399 price tag is an amazing offer.
Nintendo might make most of its money from Switch 2 games, particularly exclusive games. Reports say exclusive Switch 2 titles might cost $10 more than Switch 1 exclusives, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
According to a last-minute Switch 2 preorder deal leak from GameStop, there might be a way to make some of that money back. Apparently, the retailer is willing to give you up to $175 for the Switch 1 trade-in, which is almost 50% of the rumored Switch 2 price.
However, there’s one big reason why future Switch 2 owners might not want to trade in their old consoles, and it all has to do with that mysterious C button on the next-gen handheld.
An X user posted an image showing the purported GameStop Switch 2 preorder trade-in offer, and it all makes sense. But it’s not official, and I’ll label it as unconfirmed — especially in the age of AI, where ChatGPT can now create images like this in a few seconds.
The user posted a flyer with a blurry QR code that I could not scan with my iPhone to see whether it would load a Switch 2 preorder trade-in page.
If the information is accurate, you’ll get $175 for your Switch OLED, $125 for the Switch V1 or V2, and $100 for the Switch Lite when you reserve your Nintendo Switch 2 preorder with GameStop.
Now that you know what you might get for your used hardware from GameStop, I’ll explain why you should not trade in your old console, assuming a last-minute leak about the Switch 2’s mysterious button is accurate.
A YouTuber reported information from a source over the weekend about the C button that Nintendo started teasing on Tuesday.
The C button reportedly lets Switch 2 users connect the new console to the old Switch 1 model for shared gameplay. The Switch 1 player would not need to buy the Switch 2 multiplayer game to play it in this instance. Mario Kart 9, one of the first Switch 2 originals, might offer this sort of multiplayer support.
If your household contains more than one gamer passionate about the Switch, and if you love multiplayer games, it might make more sense to keep the Switch 1 around and use it as an extra controller for multiplayer games the C button will support. The same goes if your kids are always fighting over the Switch 1 and they’re dying to fight over the next-gen model. Just keep both and offer them options.
If you’re a solo Switch player and looking to upgrade, the GameStop deal might make better sense than trying to sell the console on your own for a better price.
Whatever the case, the Switch 2 should support most, if not all, Switch 1 games, so there’s no reason to worry about being unable to play your favorite titles on the new model. Nintendo will share everything about backward compatibility in a few hours.
Similar trade-in preorder deas from other US retailers have not leaked as of this writing.
Finally, I’ll remind you that preorder rumors offered contradictory views last week. Some said the Switch 2 would start selling online on April 2nd, an hour after the Direct event. Others said preorders would kick off on April 9th. Whatever the case, it won’t be long now.
