At 9 p.m. on Wednesday — a less dramatic time than New York City’s midnight drop — the $449 Nintendo Switch 2 became available for in-store pickups in San Francisco. It was the first major upgrade to the game console since it debuted in 2017, and gamers were twitching in anticipation.
Outside the Best Buy at 17th and Harrison, two lines snaked around the block: one for customers who’d preordered Switches before stock ran out, and a much longer one for those gambling on the “undisclosed” number available at the door. With supply-chain worries, tariff rumors, and preorders sold out, fans weren’t taking chances.
“We’ve heard there might be 200 Switches for people without orders,” said Jessica Adam, 33, shivering in her maxi dress and sandals. She’d entered the line at 5:30 p.m. behind around 150 people. She clutched a large Squirtle, a Pokemon squishy she’d purchased during her wait, while her husband, Daniel Adam, a software engineer at San Francisco-based streaming service Philo, held their spot.
“We tried everything to get a preorder, we were on so many sites, but nothing worked,” Jessica said. She was excited about the updated graphics and hoped to play that night. Dinner was not a priority if they were successful; they had Trader Joe’s doughnuts and cookies at home.
The number of available consoles at the Best Buy was a mystery — neither in-store employees nor spokespeople for the retailer would share that information. Three security guards in padded vests and black face masks, with batons and holsters at their hips, patrolled the entrance. One said it was the biggest late-night launch the store had hosted in years.
First in line was Doonie Love, a 32-year-old model who’d rocked up at 9 a.m. with a folding chair, battery packs, and a big puffy coat. “I wanted the experience,” he said.
Around 250 people deep in line was J.D. Cowell, 31, a legal assistant from Noe Valley, dressed in a Mario Kart tee and flip-flops. “I’m so excited. There are so many games I want to play,” he said. He added hopefully, “If they didn’t have enough, surely they’d send us home.”
He’d wanted to buy one at the new Nintendo store in Union Square, but the shopping slots were solidly booked.
Not every Nintendo-stan braved the Best Buy madness. Xi, 18, a biochem freshman at SF State who would not provide a last name, drove through the lot twice — once at 4:30 p.m. and again four hours later — but found the line too long. “There’d be nothing worse than waiting and not getting one,” he said.
Cowell stuck it out. The line moved steadily until 10:30 p.m., at which point Best Buy’s sales system crashed and took 45 minutes to reboot. He finally bought his console at 11:30. “As best I could tell, everyone there was able to get one,” he said. And yes, it was worth it.
At 3 a.m. Thursday, Xi drove to the Target on Geary Boulevard alongside his friend Jonathan Gomez, 19, a Target employee. Gomez, who’d clocked out from work several hours before, had heard rumors that there were maybe 80 consoles in stock. His 10% employee discount applied.
Jordan Rosales, 34, a social media manager for a local college, showed up to Target at 5:30 a.m. on Thursday. He came prepared: a fleece, sweatpants under slacks, and two blankets, one to sit on and one to wrap up in. He killed time by playing on his last-generation Switch and getting some admin done on his work laptop. “I’d like to go to bed after this, so I want to be productive,” he said.
Rosales had become a gamer during the pandemic, he said, buying his first Switch in 2020; he credits it with helping him stay connected with friends during those lonely days. But he was worried that supply-chain issues, in conjunction with potential Chinese tariff hikes, might create a scramble, and he wasn’t taking chances. “I don’t want to spend the money, but you know, FOMO.”
Compared to the Best Buy chaos, Target was calm. About 70 people were in line by 7 a.m., and when the doors opened at 8, they entered in groups of 10. Ryan Gold, a Cisco software engineer who was ninth in line, was relieved by how quickly it went — he needed to be home for a Zoom call. “Technically, I should be in the office,” he said, “but I’ve got a little wiggle room today.”
