Target apologizes for late deliveries during Nintendo Switch 2 launch, sending gift cards
Target seems to be trying to appease disappointed gamers who didn’t receive their Nintendo Switch 2 consoles on the first major video game console launch day in years.
The retailer has sent a Target Circle Deal for free $50 Nintendo eShop gift cards to some Switch 2 customers whose orders were delivered later than anticipated “as a thank you for your patience and understanding,” according to an email seen by Modern Retail and shared by some users on X. It’s unclear exactly how many customers received the deal. Target representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We know you were hoping to receive your purchase sooner. Unfortunately, we didn’t make that happen,” Target said in the email. “This isn’t the experience we intended, and we’re sincerely sorry.”
Despite the fact that some customers did not receive the consoles they had ordered early, some consoles were still available in Target stores on June 5, the day of the launch.
Target faced aggressive competition during the release, which was a big moment for the retail industry at a time when consumer sentiment remains dampened. Rick Gomez, evp and chief commercial officer at Target, said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call in May that the Switch 2 would be a “big launch” for Target this summer and that “we plan to be the retail destination for all things Nintendo Switch.” The launch also came at a critical moment for Target, which has been looking to turn things around after comp sales declined 3.8% year-over-year during the first quarter.
Best Buy, for its part, opened its stores for midnight releases for both preorders and walk-in purchases and offered limited-edition commemorative coins. Walmart evp and chief e-commerce officer David Guggina previously told Modern Retail that the retailer delivered every Nintendo Switch 2 console preordered by customers by 9 a.m. local time on launch day, and it even included Coca-Cola bottles and Pringles chips alongside the consoles for free as an added wow factor.
“This was the first time for a pre-launch that we utilized our omnichannel capabilities around Express Delivery and [were] able to show up for customers in a unique way across the country,” Guggina said in an interview. “We want to highlight what we’re able to do when it comes to getting general merchandise and consumables to folks’ doorsteps and in their homes.”
Generally, the launch went according to plan despite fears in April that newly announced tariffs on countries where the consoles are produced would dramatically raise prices or limit supply. Opportunities to preorder were pushed back following the tariff announcement but were opened weeks later, and the price of the console itself remains unchanged, though Nintendo did raise the price of some accessories. The launch set a record and sold over 3.5 million units globally in the first four days.