Nintendo temporarily suspends sales of the multi-region Switch 2 in Japan after suspected hoarding

Nintendo has temporarily suspended sales of its multi-region Switch 2 in Japan, after suspecting some users of hoarding.

Unlike other regions, Japan has two different versions of the Switch 2 hardware – a ‘Japanese / Domestic Only’ version and a multilingual version.

The Japan-only version – which is by far the most widely available version and the only one available to purchase from general retailers – only has Japanese as the console’s language setting, and the only Nintendo accounts that can be linked to it are those with the country/region setting set to Japan.

The multilingual version, meanwhile, works like Switch 2 consoles elsewhere in the world and lets players choose their language and region settings as normal. This version is more expensive, however, and can only be purchased directly from Nintendo on its online store.

Following a recent price increase, the Japan-only version went up from ¥49,980 ($310) to ¥59,980 ($375), but the multilingual version stayed at the same price of ¥69,980 ($435).

Nintendo has now stated that it has temporarily suspended sales of the multilingual version, because it believes some users are hoarding them to scalp them.

“We temporarily suspended sales of the Nintendo Switch 2 (multilingual support) on the Nintendo Store after confirming several orders that appeared to be hoarding,” it said (via machine translation).

“In order to deliver the product to more customers, we will now be selling it only to customers who meet the following conditions. We appreciate your understanding.”

Players will only be able to buy a multilingual Switch 2 if their total Switch play time was 50 hours or more by the end of May 31. If they meet this condition, they will be able to buy only one multilingual console – this purchase limit includes any they may have already purchased.

One potential reason for the alleged hoarding is that the current state of the yen means the multilingual version is cheaper than the Switch 2 console in other regions, something that will become even more stark once Nintendo’s planned price increase takes effect in those regions too.

As of September 1, the price of a Switch 2 in the US will increase from $449 to $499, meaning the Japanese multilingual version will be $65 cheaper at the current exchange rate.

In Europe, the price of Switch 2 hardware will also increase to €499. The multilingual Switch 2’s price in Japan is currently the equivalent of around €375, meaning European players may be tempted to import from a Japanese scalper to get one cheaper.