Nintendo Switch 2 owners are discovering damaged screens on their new consoles because store receipts were stapled directly to the front of the packaging.

A series of photos shared by multiple customers reveals how staples can easily pierce through the console’s relatively thin packaging, which includes a cardboard box and a lightweight plastic sleeve holding the main Switch 2 unit.

“GameStop stapled the receipt for mine and my friends' Switch 2 orders right onto the box. Unbelievable,” wrote one frustrated customer after picking up their console at a midnight launch. “Now I’ll probably have to wait months for a replacement.”

Many of the images showing the damage feature receipts from the same GameStop location on Staten Island, where staff apparently stapled receipts to a large portion of the midnight launch stock. A video from the event shows a long line of eager customers—many of whom now appear to be dealing with the same issue.

“My midnight release experience went wrong,” posted another affected customer whose console screen was also punctured by staples. “Looks like everyone who was there had the same thing happen. There were more than a hundred people in line.”

“Hello! My Switch 2 screen has staple holes,” a third customer shared on social media while trying to contact both GameStop and Nintendo. “The receipt was stapled to the box at 1756 Forest Ave, Staten Island, NY 10303, and it damaged the screen.” Neither company has yet responded.

@gamestop stapled the receipt for me and my friends Switch 2s to the box.

FML.#nintendo #switch2 #gamestop pic.twitter.com/AXtrgr7y0P

— Oadhan Lynch (@Oadhan) June 5, 2025

@gamestop Helo ! 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. @NintendoAmerica pic.twitter.com/aqxPtRgNEs

— Rudeboy (@Rudeboy__NYC) June 5, 2025

“My friend and I—we didn’t even know each other before this—were both at the same GameStop, and it happened to several of us,” another user commented on Reddit. “Pretty sure the whole pre-order batch is ruined.”

IGN has reached out to GameStop and Nintendo for comment and has asked whether guidance will be provided to retailers to prevent similar issues with Switch 2 stock.

While criticism has been directed at GameStop, many fans are also questioning why Nintendo did not implement better protection for the most fragile part of the console—the screen—within the packaging.

“I’m not blaming the store employees entirely, but the packaging design seems poorly thought out,” one owner of a damaged Switch 2 noted. “Why position the screen face-up with so little cushioning? That said, stapling the receipt there was still a terrible idea.”

Nintendo Switch 2 System and Accessories Box Art Gallery

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The Switch 2 is packed with its main unit positioned at the front of the cardboard box, the screen facing outward. (Having unboxed my own console this morning, I can confirm there is surprisingly little protecting the screen from impact.)

“I expected something like this to happen,” another user commented online. “It was a strange choice by Nintendo to place the screen face-up at the very top of the box with only thin cardboard as a barrier. We’ll probably hear more about damaged screens in the coming days—even during shipping, they’re at risk.”

IGN has been in touch with several customers left with damaged Switch 2 consoles through no fault of their own on launch day. One GameStop shopper told us they plan to return to the store as soon as it opens to request a replacement. They likely won’t be the only one.