Nintendo’s First Special-Edition Switch 2 Sold Out Almost Immediately. Here’s What You’re Actually Paying For.

Nintendo has finally given the Switch 2 its first true special edition, and predictably, it didn’t stay on shelves long. The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Edition console went up for preorder on September 9 and largely vanished from major retailers within hours, a reminder that even a year and a half after the console’s original launch, Nintendo hardware tied to Zelda still moves like nothing else in gaming.

The design leans hard into the franchise’s iconography without feeling like a licensed afterthought. The console ships with dark green Joy-Con 2 controllers detailed with the Triforce, paired with a gold-and-black dock that puts the symbol front and center. A matching Pro Controller carries the same green-and-black color scheme, centered around a gold Triforce and finished with a Hylian family crest detail — the kind of design touch clearly aimed at longtime fans rather than casual buyers picking up their first Switch.

Pricing lands at $519.99 in the US, a premium over the standard console that’s become standard practice for special editions but still notable given how quickly Switch 2 hardware has moved at full price already. The matching Pro Controller runs roughly $89.99 to $99.99 on its own in the US, with a version bundled with a display stand priced at $109.99 — though that particular bundle was reportedly limited to Nintendo’s physical retail stores in New York and San Francisco, making it the hardest version of the hardware to actually track down.

Here’s the detail worth flagging before anyone assumes this is a bundle: the console does not come with a game. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, which the special edition is timed to celebrate, has to be purchased separately — priced around $109.95 in Australia, with a physical release featuring textured foil packaging that mirrors the console’s premium presentation. Buyers walking away thinking they’re getting a console-and-game package in one box will be disappointed; this is hardware and software sold on two separate lines, both premium-priced.

Both the console and controller are set to launch October 29, giving buyers who missed the initial preorder wave roughly seven weeks to find restocks before release. Preorders went live simultaneously across Nintendo’s own online store, Amazon, Best Buy, and Target in the US, with Very and Smyths Toys carrying it in the UK — and virtually all of them reported selling through their initial allocations quickly.

For Nintendo, the calculus here is straightforward: the Switch 2 has already proven itself commercially, and a Zelda-branded special edition timed to a beloved remake is about as close to a guaranteed sellout as hardware gets in this industry. For everyone else, the practical takeaway is simpler — if this particular color scheme matters to you, restocks are worth watching closely between now and October 29, because based on the first wave, this isn’t hardware that’s going to sit on shelves waiting for buyers.