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GameStop Nintendo Switch 2 customers hit with punctured screens after store employees staple receipts to the box (Updated)

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The Nintendo Switch 2's packaging material is thin enough for a staple to pierce the Switch 2 screen inside.

Nintendo Switch 2 playing Mario Kart World
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
Disclaimer

Update: 6/6 11 am (ET): GameStop has provided the following statement to Tom's Hardware: These occurrences were isolated to a single store in Staten Island, NY. The affected customers—who represented a very small fraction—were swiftly given replacements.

Nintendo's highly anticipated Switch 2 arrives today, but for some, the launch is bittersweet. Some units from GameStop have reportedly been damaged by staples responsible for holding store receipts onto the boxes. Several customers have gone to X to report the issue, noting that the staples are puncturing through the Switch 2's thin packaging material and damaging the console's screen.

One such customer, Oadhan Lynch, stated on X that Gamestop "stapled the receipt for me and my friends' Switch 2s to the box." Another from Rudeboy on X stated, "Hello! My switch 2 has staple holes in the screen. They stapled the receipt to the box at 1756 Forest Ave, Staten Island, NY 10303 and it damaged the screen."

Most of the reports appear to be coming from the aforementioned GameStop location in New York. No one knows the full extent of the damage, but a since-deleted Reddit post allegedly stated that Gamestop (presumably the New York location) had its entire pre-launch batch of Switch 2s damaged by staples.

Thankfully, the affected Switch 2s appear to be fully functional, with several customers posting images on X of their stapled Switch 2s working fine except for having two tiny holes pierced into the LCD panel. Regardless, we can expect GameStop and Nintendo to provide replacements as soon as possible.

However, shipping replacements could take a while. Not only is the Switch 2 in high demand, but the new console is also more expensive to produce and significantly more expensive to repair than the original Switch. Replacement parts for the Switch 2 are allegedly 92% more expensive in Japan compared to the prior version.

The Nintendo Switch 2 went on sale earlier today at its $449.99 MSRP, but most US-based retailers have allegedly run out of stock. Stock will vary depending on the retailer and store location. For example, my local Target in Georgetown, Texas, has 2 units available at the time of writing, but the Target in Round Rock, 11 miles away, is already out of stock.

The new console is Nintendo's latest iteration of the Switch, featuring a bigger LCD high refresh rate (120Hz) screen, an all-new custom Nvidia chip with ray tracing and DLSS support, and upgraded Joy-Cons 2 joysticks that can transition to mimic a PC mouse.

Correction: June 5, 4 p.m. ET — This story was updated to correct the type of panel used on the Switch 2. We regret the error.

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Aaron Klotz
Aaron Klotz
Contributing Writer

Aaron Klotz is a contributing writer for Tom’s Hardware, covering news related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards.

6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • onigami
    Uuuuh, hate to break it to you, but the Switch 2 has an LCD screen, not an OLED. May want to correct that.
    Reply
  • heffeque
    I have never seen a store staple receipts directly onto the merchandise.

    Is this common practice in the US?
    And if so, what is the advantage of that versus just handing you the receipt?

    It seems counter-intuitive to damage a box (and potentially its content) just for the convenience of not carrying around the receipt separately.
    Reply
  • thestryker
    There was some elaboration on one of the reddit posts that the store couldn't use their stickers due to them not sticking thanks to non-functional AC. While I feel like marking it off and putting the receipt on top should be fine I also wonder who came up with a packaging design so shallow that a standard staple can punch holes in the screen.
    Reply
  • toffty
    heffeque said:
    I have never seen a store staple receipts directly onto the merchandise.

    Is this common practice in the US?
    And if so, what is the advantage of that versus just handing you the receipt?

    It seems counter-intuitive to damage a box (and potentially its content) just for the convenience of not carrying around the receipt separately.
    Never seen this in the US (California and Colorado). If anything, just some scotch tape holding the receipt to the box. Usually just have the receipt on top of the box as it is handed to me.
    Reply
  • RTXMonster
    I'm sorry but what kind of tart staples into a 500 dollar piece of tech? Doesn't matter if it has a box or not this is called COMMON sense, something clearly lacking in the world today.

    Now to further elaborate on the lack of said thing what was Nintendo smoking making the packaging so thin between the box and screen that a staple can hit the most vital and susceptible thing on the entire device?

    To be honest I can't even decide who is liable cause it is ridiculous all the way around. I feel bad for the people who's excitement was stripped away due to this.
    Reply
  • xelistren
    heffeque said:
    I have never seen a store staple receipts directly onto the merchandise.

    Is this common practice in the US?
    And if so, what is the advantage of that versus just handing you the receipt?

    It seems counter-intuitive to damage a box (and potentially its content) just for the convenience of not carrying around the receipt separately.
    It is common practice with some stores in the US to mark reserved items. Most stopped the process after they realized that stickers provide the same effect, and adds in advertising for the store.
    Reply