At the last minute, Nintendo has delayed its plans to to let gamers in Canada pre-order the upcoming Switch 2 console. The company has confirmed in a statement that the delay was done to “align with the timing” of pre-orders in the United States, which were delayed last week due to President Trump’s tariffs.
On April 2, Nintendo revealed the Switch 2 via a big Direct dedicated to the upcoming console and its games. That was also the day that Nintendo announced the Switch 2 would cost $450, and that people in the United States and Canada would be able to start pre-ordering the device on April 9. About 48 hours later, not long after President Trump’s announcement of big tariffs, Nintendo delayed pre-orders in the United States. And now, the day before they were set to go live, the company has also delayed pre-orders in Canada.
Here is the full statement from Nintendo of Canada via Jonathan Ore, a senior writer for CBC Radio online:
Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in Canada will not start on April 9, 2025 in order to align with the timing of pre-orders to be determined in the U.S. Nintendo will provide updated information at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged.
Since the cost of the Switch 2 and its games was revealed last week, there has been a vocal backlash online to the higher prices, with much anger directed at the $80 price tag on launch game Mario Kart World.
Currently, the Switch 2 is still set to launch in the United States and Canada on June 5, and Nintendo has yet to raise prices on the Switch 2. While some had speculated the higher price for the new console was because of tariffs, Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser denied the $450 price tag was the result of the tariffs.
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