Don’t stress about the pre-order criteria, this is good for all!

Nintendo’s new pre-order requirements for the Switch 2 — which prioritize people who’ve had a Nintendo Switch Online membership for at least two years and logged a decent amount of gameplay — might actually work in our favor.

This system should, in theory, reduce demand on release day for people who aren’t part of the membership program. Why? Because Nintendo likely ran the numbers and realized a large percentage of their loyal fan base already meets the criteria. That means scalpers won’t be able to target these people — leaving them with only the non-member crowd, who are generally more casual and less likely to overpay.

Here’s why this is a smart move:

• It shrinks the scalper market. Loyal fans get access first, which undercuts the need to turn to scalpers at all.

• It reduces artificial demand. Without the panic-buying and day-one frenzy, scalpers lose the urgency factor that lets them charge ridiculous prices.

• It makes leftover consoles less valuable. Casual buyers aren’t likely to pay inflated prices — they’ll just wait. That makes it harder for scalpers to flip consoles for profit.

• It keeps more consoles in the retail pipeline. If scalpers can’t make money, they back off. That means more consoles for actual fans, on actual shelves.

This kind of system rewards genuine fans and discourages opportunistic flippers. If it plays out as intended, we might finally see a console launch where you don’t have to fight bots or pay double just to get in on day one.