Nintendo Switch 2 launches in Tokyo drawing hours-long lines

Eager customers lined up outside electronics stores in Tokyo hours in advance to collect their preordered Nintendo Switch 2 video game consoles.

The much anticipated Switch 2, being released around the world Thursday, is an upgrade to its eight-year-old predecessor with new social features meant to draw players into online gaming. Nintendo is counting on the Switch 2 to boost sagging sales.

In the U.S., a chaotic preorder process in April left some fans frustrated after the consoles quickly sold out.