A GameStop Was Being Shady With Nintendo Switch 2 Pre-Orders – Store Investigated for Insane Prices

A GameStop store is under investigation after the location was reportedly selling Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders at exorbitant prices. The retailer was allegedly using a sneaky business practice to force desperate fans to shell out a ton of money to get their hands on the new portable console. Yeah, it’s as shady as it sounds.

Want A Nintendo Switch 2? You Got to Pay Up!

Imagine, if you will, spending hours in line at your local GameStop to try to get a Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order. You’ve been there since the crack of dawn because getting an online order the previous night was basically impossible. The store finally opens, and instead of the $450 you were expecting to pay for the console, the store tells you that you can only pre-order the Nintendo Switch 2 if you shell out another $100 for a pre-packaged bundle.

You are essentially only able to order the console if you also buy a bunch of random accessories that you don’t even want. Sounds awful, right? According to reports, a GameStop store in Astoria did just that. The story first broke when Elea Tsentzelis shared his in-line experience on Twitter. “So this GameStop is forcing you to buy bundles, cases, screen protectors, etc. They’re claiming they can’t process the SKU just for the console, but we all know what’s going on here. Personally, I want Donkey Kong and a screen protector, so it isn’t a big deal, others are leaving.”

Incredibly, Tsentzelis uploaded a video of himself checking out at GameStop, and the total for his Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order came out to a staggering $900! Yeah, almost the price of an iPhone. Absolutely insane. “Here’s the full unedited (except taking my phone number out) process of me preordering the console and accessory bundles. It came out to about $900.”

GameStop Reacts to Shady Nintendo Switch 2 Pre-Orders

Not long after the pre-order tweet went viral on social media, the official GameStopHelp account reacted to the situation. According to a post on their page, corporate is now investigating the Astoria store. What that actually entails is beyond me. I’m not even sure if forced bundles are against corporate policy, but they totally should be if they’re not.

You can read GameStop’s full response here: “We are actively investigating this. Any customer who was turned away at the Astoria location should reach out via DM so we can make it right.” So, it appears that at least GameStop is looking to help any customers who only wanted the console itself but were turned away from the store. Hopefully, they can get a crack at purchasing an online order instead. We can hope!

Of course, many Nintendo fans didn’t take this well — and it’s understandable. Pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2 were absolute hell. The April 23 launch was filled with sites crashing and pre-orders being canceled. So, it’s pretty disheartening to see local stores add more salt to the wound. Trying to get a Nintendo Switch 2 is already hard enough; we don’t need retailers charging an arm and a leg on top of the already expensive price of the new device.