Excitement built in Tokyo as customers lined up before dawn on Thursday to collect their pre-ordered Nintendo Switch 2 consoles. The long-awaited successor to the original hybrid gaming system is now officially available around the world.

Throngs of gamers stood in long lines outside of stores hours before they opened from Tokyo to New York City in hopes of snaring a long-awaited Nintendo Switch 2 video game console.

Gaming fans queued up for the launch of Nintendo's Switch 2 on Thursday, which is widely expected to be in short supply globally amid pent-up demand for the more powerful next-generation gaming device.