BODY: The scalper cat-and-mouse game around Nintendo Switch 2 isn't over yet. On June 11, Nintendo announced that it had identified orders on its official My Nintendo Store that showed signs of buy-up activity — and it's responding by tightening the rules.
The new restrictions apply specifically to the Nintendo Switch 2 (multi-language edition), the version sold on the My Nintendo Store that includes English and other language support alongside Japanese. Unlike the cheaper Japanese-only model, which is locked to domestic accounts and carries strict eligibility hurdles, the multi-language unit has been an attractive target for resellers hoping to flip hardware to overseas buyers at a markup.
According to Nintendo, the company reviewed recent orders and found purchases it suspected were intended for resale rather than personal use. In response, it has layered on additional purchase conditions — the latest in a series of anti-scalping measures that have included Nintendo Switch Online membership requirements, account-age checks, and play-history verification for the domestic model.
The move underscores how persistent demand for Switch 2 remains months into its life cycle. Even with Nintendo ramping production, the multi-language SKU's broader appeal keeps it scarce, and every tightening of the rules tends to push determined resellers toward the next loophole.
The insider take
From Tokyo, this reads as Nintendo playing a familiar long game. The company has spent years refining its lottery-and-eligibility machinery on the My Nintendo Store, and the multi-language Switch 2 was always the soft spot — it's the one unit a Hong Kong or Singapore buyer actually wants, since the Japan-only model is a regional dead end abroad. Expect Nintendo to keep iterating quietly rather than making a splashy announcement; the goal is to make scalping tedious enough to not be worth it, not to declare victory.
Originally reported by GAME Watch (Japanese).