Nintendo’s most wanted console of the holiday season arrives today — and for a growing number of Walmart customers, the launch is already off to a rough start. The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Switch 2 launches October 29 at $519.99 / £434.99, a week ahead of the Ocarina of Time remake it celebrates — but the special-edition handheld has been nearly impossible to pre-order since September, Walmart is now canceling orders the day before they were meant to ship, and Nintendo has admitted it simply didn’t make enough of them.
What’s Launching Today
The 40th Anniversary edition dresses up the standard Switch 2 in full Zelda regalia: Joy-Con controllers bathed in dark green with Zelda-style triangles around the edges and a small yellow Triforce in the lower corner, plus a dock that looks plucked straight out of a Shrine, with vibrant gold triangular walls and a detailed Triforce filled with the series’ iconography. Inside the box you get the usual HDMI and power cables and Joy-Con skates — but no game, in either the US or the UK. The Ocarina of Time remake is sold separately when it arrives November 5 — we covered its Switch 2 launch date here — and Kotaku notes the game already ranks among the most anticipated releases of the year.
The console’s $519.99 price sits $20 above the Switch 2’s $499.99 recommended retail price, and demand has dwarfed supply since pre-orders went live: the initial allocation sold out almost immediately after the announcement, with early orders gone by September.
Walmart Cancels Pre-Orders the Day Before Delivery
A day before the Triforce-adorned consoles were supposed to arrive at doorsteps, multiple Walmart customers began receiving emails saying their orders had been canceled because the item was “out of stock” — the exact scenario a pre-order is supposed to prevent. Buyers who contacted customer service were told Walmart had oversold its pre-order allocation, with one customer writing that there “literally isn’t [a console] in stock to send me.”
“This is unethical sales practice,” one affected buyer wrote on Reddit. “They shouldn’t allow pre-orders beyond what they can stock. This denied their competitors a sale and denied an excited customer a chance at limited edition merch.” According to Kotaku, the console now shows up on Walmart’s site for around $700 — nearly $200 above the original bundle price — though that listing may be a third-party seller using Walmart’s marketplace to scalp.
Nintendo Admits It Underestimated Demand
The cancellations come after weeks of shortage drama. Nintendo recently stated it had “underestimated” how popular the 40th Anniversary edition would be, and promised that stock would be replenished. The company’s own US store launched a fresh restock with pre-purchase links on October 26 at the full $519.99 price, and new waves have appeared at Target, Best Buy, Amazon UK and Argos in the past week — while Walmart, notably, had not restocked at all before launch day.
Where to Try Your Luck
Restocks move fast and early: Walmart typically drops limited stock in the morning, and Target’s waves have landed around 5am. GameStop locations are expected to have limited quantities in store on October 29 — with camp-outs already promised at some stores — and Reddit reports suggest Walmart may also put units on shelves on launch day itself.
If you miss out entirely, there’s one more window: both Best Buy and the Nintendo NY store are holding midnight launch events for the Ocarina of Time remake on November 5, and Best Buy has confirmed it will have extra consoles at those events that were never allocated to pre-orders. Just don’t count on the accessories — the Zelda-themed Pro Controller launches October 29 at a $99 MSRP but is already being scalped online for $30–50 above retail, and the matching carrying case has flickered in and out of stock all week. And if you simply want the game, first-print physical copies come in a foil-gilded box while that initial run lasts.
Sources
- Kotaku — Fans Can’t Believe Walmart Canceled Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Switch 2 Pre-Orders The Day Before They Were Meant To Arrive
- Kotaku — How To Get The Foil Cover Zelda: Ocarina Of Time And Its Impossible-To-Find Special Edition Switch 2 Console
- GamesRadar — Legend of Zelda Nintendo Switch 2 stock live: where to buy the special edition handheld ahead of launch