The pre-order lottery for the general chaos across websites, and those unable to place an order then were banking on being chosen to order a Switch 2 directly from Nintendo.

Placing an order through the My Nintendo Store has been confusing as well, with unclear messaging on the email invitations. Twitter Wario64 even says the invitations might not reach those who have been selected, with a second-hand of someone placing their pre-order through Nintendo without being notified via email. Even those who have received an email have wound up confused, since Nintendo has opted for very unclear language regarding "required" and "requested" invitations.

What's The Difference Between "Requested" And "Required"?

Required Will Change To Requested If You're Chosen

This latter issue seems to have been cleared up in a Reddit thread posted by Dangerous-Judge7249. According to the comments, if you get an email and Nintendo's listing says "Invite requested," your invitation to pre-order a Switch 2 from the My Nintendo Store is imminent. "Invite required" could mean one of two things: first, you may not have been selected for the My Nintendo Store pre-order lottery; second, your invitation may still be on the way.

Some consumers seem to have gotten the "Invite required" message prior to their email invitation arriving, after which the My Nintendo Store listing switched to "Invite requested," with the pre-order becoming available shortly thereafter. Not everyone who signed up for the lottery will be chosen. Nintendo apologized for not meeting demand in Japan for the Switch 2 pre-order lottery, and it was already known that the U.S. lottery would prioritize those with long-standing Nintendo Switch Online s.

Our Take: Better Communication Would Be Nice, But It's Still Better Than The Retailer Pre-Orders

Nintendo's Lottery At Least Minimizes Scalping

It's unfortunate that the required/requested messaging isn't especially clear, but the fact that Nintendo held such a lottery at all is better than the experience of retailers' websites. Errors, crashes, and nebulous queues made the mad dash for pre-orders last month confusing and frustrating. As long as Nintendo gets all the email invitations out, pre-ordering from the My Nintendo Store should be fairly cut-and-dried.

Nintendo has lofty predictions for Switch 2 sales in the first year, so the scramble to secure one will probably continue throughout the year as restocks happen regularly. Scalpers are predictably exacerbating the issues already, and hopefully Nintendo will hold subsequent lotteries. The system mitigates the issue by limiting purchases and favoring those who have longstanding NSO s. It would've been nice if Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders went a little smoother, but these problems are unsuprising given how highly demanded the console is.

Source: Wario64/Twitter, Dangerous-Judge7249/Reddit