Last night was stressful. Not in the “forgot to do your taxes” kind of way, but in the “I had three tabs open, heart racing, and was ready to click like my life depended on it” kind of way.

When preorders for the Nintendo Switch 2 dropped at midnight, I was in full mission mode. Best Buy, Walmart, and Target were all up on my screen, and I had a very specific goal: snag one from Best Buy. Why? Midnight release, $100 in reward certificates burning a hole in my digital wallet, and frankly, a weird amount of optimism that they’d have their act together.

Spoiler: they did not.

⏱ The Midnight Madness: Who Flopped and Who Flew

Best Buy

This was my Plan A. But around 12:00am? Radio silence. While the internet buzzed with action elsewhere, Best Buy decided to show up fashionably late — 12:30am, to be exact. And even then, their infamous “line system” felt like trying to get into a sold-out club with a fake ID. I was in line, kicked out, back in, kicked again. Rinse and repeat. Tried getting one for my business partner Erik (don’t worry, not trying to hoard) but no luck. From what I saw online, barely anyone succeeded.

Target

Technically first out of the gate — but only if you were using their mobile app. Their website? It flat-out crashed for a good 30 minutes. Totally unusable. Meanwhile, the app was strangely stable and actually let people get orders through early. I had the Switch 2 in my cart. Ready to go. But when they gave me a June 11th delivery date and Best Buy was still dangling that sweet midnight release? I hesitated.

Good thing I did. Reports started rolling in that Target was canceling preorders left and right. I could’ve ended up with a ghost console and a week-long wait for my funds to bounce back. No thanks.

Walmart

Walmart, bless their logistics-loving hearts, had a virtual line for the Mario Kart bundle at midnight sharp. I was in. I waited. Then at 12:15am, boom — it dropped into my cart and gave me a clean 10-minute window to finish the order. I clicked “Buy Now”…

Declined.

Not Walmart’s fault — my bank flagged it, texted me to confirm, and once I gave the thumbs up, I tried again and success. Preorder confirmed. Delivery date? June 5th by 9am. No extra charge. Order officially in the books by 12:17am.

Meanwhile, Best Buy was still in digital purgatory.

💡 Real Talk: What It Was Actually Like

This whole experience reminded me how fragile launch night preorders can be — even in 2025. It’s like everyone forgets what happened during the PS5 drop. Best Buy’s “line” system is still clunky and fragile. Target’s mobile app was the unexpected MVP there — but their website? A complete meltdown.

Walmart? Surprisingly smooth. Once you were in, it just worked. No crashes. No weird errors. And after 12:30am, they even turned off their line system and just let people order directly. Inventory dropped in waves, but they had stock into the early morning.

It was a weird mix of chaos and calm, depending on which tab you had open.

🏆 Trevor Score: 9/10 — Walmart Pulled Off the W

“This isn’t a formal review — it’s just how I felt using this thing. A gut-check from someone who actually used it.”

Walmart was the MVP of the night. Fast, stable, and reliable. Best Buy? Fumbled. Target? Tried, but couldn’t stick the landing. If I’d gone with either of them, there’s a good chance I’d still be trying to sort out a refund or waiting until mid-June.

Walmart gets a solid 9 — only reason it’s not a perfect 10 is because I had to play text-tag with my bank, which isn’t really Walmart’s fault, but it did slow things down.

✅ Final Verdict: Stressful Night, But a Solid Win

I got the Switch 2. I survived the digital queues. And I avoided the dreaded preorder cancellation blues. While my Best Buy rewards certificates are still untouched (sorry, Erik), I’m happy with how things shook out.

Moral of the story? Have a plan, be flexible, and maybe — just maybe — trust Walmart more than you’d expect during a console launch.

Shoutout to everyone who braved the night with me — here’s hoping we all get our Switch 2s on time, and that Best Buy finally fixes their line system before the next big drop.