A GameStop reportedly ruined new Nintendo Switch 2 consoles with receipts stapled to the screen, but hey, Walmart is giving out free chips and soda "to celebrate launch day"

The Nintendo Switch 2 retail launch has spawned a dramatic tale of two retailers in the US. In one corner, a GameStop has reportedly ruined some brand-new consoles by stapling receipts straight into their screens. In the other, Walmart has... included free chips and soda because gamers need their brain food.

The painful GameStop incident, shared by folks like game deals hound Wario64, started with Reddit user Konflick, whose original post to r/GameStop has since been taken down. They said their Nintendo Switch 2 had a receipt stapled to the top of the box, apparently with a stapler so heavy-duty that it punctured straight through to the screen of the console, leaving a hefty scratch.

This was just one GameStop location in New York – which I've been unable to reach despite multiple phone calls, though the number on Konflick's receipt is indeed legitimate – but it made for a nightmare of a story that has spread around the gaming community.

In a follow-up post, Konflick claims a manager told them "they have replacement Switches coming from another store so they took my name and number down and told me that they’ll give me a call when they come in and we’ll just do a simple exchange."

It's currently unclear how many other Switch 2 owners may also be seeking an exchange as a result of stapler damage.

Why use a stapler on something packaged this way? Konflick says there were concerns that, due to the broken air conditioning in the store, the adhesive on the normally used tape and stickers would melt and slip off. "It was hot and humid in the store," Konflick confirmed.

"I actually feel terrible a simple mistake might cost these guys their job," Konflick said.

"I sort of feel bad for the manager and she looked very visibly upset because she said she was probably gonna get fired, but she was very sweet about the whole thing and was super apologetic," they added. (As someone who worked at GameStop over a decade ago, I also feel bad for these folks. My first question would be: why wasn't the air conditioning fixed by corporate?)

I reached out to Konflick but haven't heard back at the time of writing. (Update: Konflick tells GamesRadar+ that there were "probably about 100 people waiting in line" at this store, and reckons "the majority if not all" of them may have had a similar issue with Switch 2 packaging and receipt-related damage. "My friends that were there shot me a text and asked if my Switch was damaged like theirs," they said.)

In happier news, many new Switch 2 owners who pre-ordered their consoles from Walmart not only got them on time and scratch-free, they were also surprised by goodie bags of chips and soda. No Doritos and Mountain Dew, though; we've got Pringles and Coke, baby.

Tons of Switch 2 buyers have shared their Walmart goodies on social media, and the official Walmart Twitter account has replied to a lot of them.

"I knew you'd need snacks," Walmart said to one new Switch 2 owner.

A spokesperson for Walmart told me that the company "thought it would be a fun surprise and delight to include the chips and the Coke for anybody that pre-ordered their Switch 2 with us."

"No motivation other than just to say thank you and to celebrate launch day," they said.

I do want to point out that this follows a wave of Switch 2 pre-order cancellations that Walmart may well have been looking to bounce back from. But this representative said "it was really just an idea that came out from somebody within the teams that was working on this and said, that could be a really cool idea, let's figure out if we can make it happen."

Note that these goodie bags were today-only, exclusive to Walmart Switch 2 pre-orders. The snack bundles were indeed available at "all store locations" across the US.

Now for the important part. I was told that there were plans to use "three different varieties of Pringles and two different flavors of Coke" – obviously I asked – with the snacks each person received coming down to random chance.

Based on the user reports that Walmart has replied to online, the Coke flavors are classic and orange cream. But the Pringles gradient, as we in the business call it, swings wider.

There seem to have been three primary flavors of Pringles used – pizza, sour cream and onion, and barbecue – but flavors like Hot Ones, original, and cheddar and sour cream have evidently been sent to some Switch 2 owners as well. Perhaps some Walmart stores had different Pringles stocks, or had not received the Three Flavor Memo from on high.

Where to buy Nintendo Switch 2: live updates from launch week.