Update 06/06/2025: GameStop has already begun replacing Nintendo Switch 2 units that were damaged by store employees stapling receipts onto Switch 2 boxes, IGN confirmed. At least two customers who had their Switch 2 screens punctured by staples have confirmed that they have received a replacement unit.
GameStop also responded to the situation on X, claiming that the issue was isolated to one store, and that "staplers have been confiscated."
Original Story:
It's Nintendo Switch 2 launch day, a day that's supposed to be exciting for players and developers alike, with a new Nintendo console in the market and hopefully, plenty of new experiences on the horizon.
Some players though, are definitely getting the kind of 'new experience' with their Switch 2 they didn't ask for, and that's the experience of their brand-new console already being broken, before they even opened the box.
Spotted by IGN, some players who went to retail GameStop locations to pick up their Nintendo Switch 2 consoles through midnight launches got home to discover that there were holes in the console's screen, from store employees stapling their receipts to the front of the Nintendo Switch 2 box.
This happened to a number of players who went to the same GameStop in Staten Island, where it seems everyone who was at that location walked away with their receipt stapled to the front of the Switch 2 box.
Apparently one GameStop store used a stapler to attach receipts to Switch 2 boxes and the staple ruined the screen...another person commented their unit and others were affected at the same store www.reddit.com/r/GameStop/c...
Unfortunately for everyone who went to that same GameStop, they will probably have to wait until that store gets its next shipment of Switch 2 consoles, to get their replacements. Though, the reaction online hasn't been all negative towards GameStop alone. Many players on social media have also noted that Nintendo should've packaged the console better, and not have the screen facing up at the top of the box.
It'll be interesting to see if Nintendo repackages the Switch 2 in response to these issues, or if any more reports of retail employees puncturing holes in the screen crop up. Plenty of stores across the globe had midnight launches, including the newly-separated, Canadian-owned EB Games, and more reports of this happening at other stores have yet to be spotted. For now, it looks like this lone Staten Island store is the 'what not to do' example for everyone else.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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