Your $400 gaming console shouldn’t arrive looking like someone used it for target practice. Yet that’s exactly what happened to Nintendo Switch 2 customers at a GameStop in Staten Island. Store employees decided that stapling receipts directly to thin cardboard boxes was brilliant. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t. The result? Dozens of launch day buyers discovered their brand-new consoles sporting puncture wounds courtesy of industrial-strength staplers.
When Basic Logic Fails
Of all Nintendo’s hardware missteps, the Switch 2’s packaging might rank among the most avoidable. With the screen sitting flush against the box’s top, GameStop’s routine receipt stapling turned into unintentional sabotage—metal punctures straight through the screens. It’s the kind of design oversight that earns a place in any list of Nintendo’s worst blunders.
It’s like using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut, except the walnut costs four hundred bucks. This wasn’t one unlucky customer either. Multiple buyers at the midnight launch discovered their consoles were damaged. Some estimates suggest the entire pre-order batch got hit.
The gaming community’s reaction was swift and brutal. Damaged Switch 2 photos flooded social media faster than you could say “customer service nightmare.” One customer posted: “GameStop stapled the receipt for me and my friends’ Switch 2s to the box. FML.”
GameStop’s Damage Control
GameStop acknowledged the mess quickly. A company spokesperson stated they’re “investigating the matter and will make customers whole.” Translation: “We screwed up and we’ll fix it.” The retailer confiscated staplers from the affected store and offered replacements to damaged units.
But here’s the kicker: demand for the Switch 2 is so intense that customers report wait times of up to three months for replacements. In a twist of irony, those cardboard out-of-stock signs now feel less like a warning and more like a prophecy. Few things deflate launch-day hype faster than learning your brand-new console won’t work until summer.
The Bigger Picture
This incident highlights a perfect storm of poor choices. Nintendo’s packaging prioritizes eco-friendliness and compact shipping over protection. That backfired when it met with GameStop’s aggressive return policy.
While other retailers celebrated the Switch 2 launch with free snacks, this GameStop location created a customer service crisis. The contrast couldn’t be starker. Some stores made positive memories. Others punctured their customers’ dreams.
For future console launches, maybe retailers should consider that expensive electronics deserve better treatment than grocery receipts—just a thought.
