Nintendo was supposed to announce the results of the fifth official Switch 2 lottery in Japan on July 31, but the company has decided to postpone the announcement until August 4. This is likely in response to ongoing tsunami warnings and evacuations across the country following the M8.8 earthquake near Kamchatka. Although some found the notice of delay abrupt, Nintendo has earned praise from the Japanese public for the thoughtful decision.
For context, in Japan, sales of the Switch 2 via My Nintendo Store have been exclusively lottery-based ever since pre-orders started. People who applied to buy the console in the latest round of lotteries (running from July 2 to July 24) were supposed to receive emails informing them of the results today, but Nintendo has decided to delay the announcements until next week. The notice of postponement came in the evening of July 30, when tsunami warnings (now leveled down to advisories) and evacuation orders were in effect.
Since the Switch 2 lotteries in Japan customarily turn into huge events on social media (with people live-tweeting their results), some users speculate that Nintendo wanted to avoid X trending tags being taken over by Switch 2-related hashtags, thus making it harder to view disaster alerts and other relevant news. Additionally, Japanese Nintendo fans are expressing gratitude for the consideration shown to people who had to evacuate and had their daily lives disrupted by the situation.
Results of the fifth round of Nintendo Switch 2 lotteries will be announced on August 4. Nintendo will hold a Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase on July 31 at 6 AM PT, with no changes to schedule announced at the time of writing.
