Overview
- This week Nintendo temporarily suspended online sales of the Nintendo Switch 2 multilingual model on its Japan store after identifying multiple orders it judged were bulk purchases for resale.
- Nintendo set new eligibility rules that require at least 50 hours of prior Switch playtime as of May 31 and limit purchases to one console per Nintendo Account.
- The restrictions apply only to the multilingual model sold directly through Nintendo’s online store and do not change purchase rules for the Japan-only Japanese-language SKU.
- Reporters and Nintendo say the policy responds to import resale driven by a weak yen and to an incentive created by a planned $50 price increase in some Western markets this September.
- The company framed the step as a temporary anti-scalper measure tied to broader cost pressures on hardware, and observers say the rule mirrors past launch-era limits meant to prioritize genuine players.