One of America’s many long national nightmares (admittedly one of the smaller ones) came to an end last week, as Nintendo announced a new preorder date for the upcoming Switch 2 console.

After an anxiety-inducing delay on preorders in the U.S. caused by President Trump’s tariff policies, the new retail preorder date is April 24, and the price of the console is still $449.99 on its own, or $499.99 when bundled with Mario Kart World. With all of that out of the way, now it’s time to figure out exactly how to pre-order a Switch 2. You can go the usual route involving various major retail chains at midnight on the 24th, but as a backup option, you can try buying directly from Nintendo. Here’s how that works.

How to pre-order Switch 2 directly from Nintendo

The good news is that Nintendo has a website set up specifically for this, with the rules clearly explained. The bad news is that the rules, as per usual with Nintendo, are a bit wacky and arcane. The even worse news is that, even if you secure a spot in this carousel, you won’t be able to make your preorder until May 8.

First, you need to log into the site with your Nintendo Switch Online account. Yes, you need one of those to kick off this process, and what’s more is that it needs to have had a paid membership to the service for at least 12 months in order to be eligible for a preorder. You also need a minimum of 50 gameplay hours tied to your account. This is admittedly a creative way to deal with scalpers, but it also means you need to be a somewhat serious Switch user to get through this process.

Anyway, once you’re logged in, you pick which Switch 2 model you want (console or Mario Kart bundle) and click the “Register Interest” button. At that point, you’ve done all you can do. Starting on May 8, Nintendo will start sending out emails to eligible customers on a first-come, first-served basis. These emails are non-transferable and are limited to one console purchase per Nintendo account, and they expire after 72 hours.

One small sliver of light in all of this is that Nintendo isn’t limiting this to just one wave of invite emails on May 8. Additional batches of invites will go out over time, so if you don’t get an email on the 8th, you might still get one later. This could be a very solid backup option for anyone trying to get a Switch 2 on April 24. If you can’t secure one then, at least you’ll have this in your back pocket as a potential opportunity to get one a couple weeks later.