People Are Camping out at Best Buy to Prepare for a Major Video Game Release

When people make the decision to camp out at Best Buy, you know that they must be waiting for something good. Although the days of Black Friday campouts are largely in the past, some have noticed that early June of 2025 has brought a similar energy at some Best Buy locations around the country.

If you aren't plugged into why people are camping out, this gesture might see at least a little bit confusing. Here's what we know about why people are camping out in front of Best Buy.

The reason people are camping out and standing in long lines is the release of Nintendo's latest console, the Switch 2. The console, which is a sequel of sorts to one of their most popular consoles ever, first went on sale on June 4, and excitement for the console and the games that come with it has led to long lines and shortages as more and more passionate fans try to get their hands on one.

The reason for the long lines is that, at least at the moment, demand for the console is exceeding supply. Best Buy opened some stores at midnight on June 4 or late in the day on June 3 to make the console available, while Walmart started selling them online at midnight. As of right now, the console is sold out at Walmart's online store, which suggests that the demand was just as feverish as many people feared.

In short, people are standing in lines because they want to have the best chance possible of getting their hands on the console, and they believe that getting one in stores is going to be easier than trying to acquire some of the limited supply that's available online. Although there will eventually be enough Switch 2s for everyone to have one who wants one, some die-hards simply can't wait for that to happen.

Best Buy is not the only place where we have seen lines forming, as stores like GameStop have also seen incredible demand for the console. To be clear, though, the console is not being sold at any sort of discount. All people are standing in line for is the chance to be one of the first in the U.S. to get a chance to own one. Early hype suggests that the console could be one of the biggest in Nintendo's history.

In addition to the Switch 2 itself, the console comes with a variety of brand new games, including Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza among others. Mario Kart has always been one of Nintendo's biggest draws, so it's perhaps unsurprising that the console is launching with the game so that users can play it immediately. Of course, plenty of additional games will also be made available on the console as time passes.