The reason why the Nintendo Switch 2 was not loaned to the media for pre-release review was because 'important features and updates for the console' will be provided on the release date of June 5th.

Nintendo will release its next-generation game console, the Nintendo Switch 2 , on Thursday, June 5, 2025. Traditionally, review hardware is loaned to some game-related news media in advance, and hands-on reviews are published before the release. However, for the Nintendo Switch 2, no hardware is being loaned to the media at all. The reason for this is reportedly that 'important updates are scheduled to be released the moment the box is opened and the console is turned on.'

RUMOR: Nintendo not sending Switch 2 review units to press until just before launch (UPDATE) | GoNintendo
https://gonintendo.com/contents/48466-rumor-nintendo-not-sending-switch-2-review-units-to-press-until-just-before-launch

Major media outlets will not have Nintendo Switch 2 reviews at launch
https://www.thegamebusiness.com/p/major-media-outlets-will-not-have

It's official: There are no Nintendo Switch 2 reviews. Here's what that means for us, and you | VGC
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/features/opinion/its-official-there-are-no-nintendo-switch-2-reviews-heres-what-that-means-for-us-and-you/

According to GoNintendo, a Nintendo news site, 'Nintendo explains that the problem is due to a patch that will be released on the launch day of the Nintendo Switch 2, and that a significant update will be released the moment you open the box and start up the console. Because the update won't be available until just before the launch date, Nintendo is refraining from distributing review units, GoNintendo reports.

As if to back up this, gaming news site VideoGamesChronicle reported that a Nintendo spokesperson said, 'We decided not to distribute review units to the media before launch because important features and updates for the Nintendo Switch 2 will be available via a system update on the console's release date, June 5th.'

It has not been revealed what these 'important features and updates' are, nor has there been any explanation as to why the review of the product was not allowed on the assumption that the additional features would be provided as a system update on the release date, VideoGamesChronicle said.

VideoGamesChronicle also points out that the lack of game reviews on the release date puts third-party launch titles at a disadvantage. According to The Game Business, a game newsletter, a spokesperson for one game publisher said, 'The lack of third-party reviews (on release date) will make it very difficult for us. It might have been better to wait a few weeks.'

VideoGamesChronicle states, 'Perhaps it would be a technical nightmare for Nintendo to provide media with hardware for early review. For example, we've already seen cases where people who somehow managed to get access to a console before launch were completely unable to use it until a future system update. In my experience, Nintendo has historically been one of the most reviewer-friendly companies, often providing software weeks in advance,' suggesting that Nintendo had some unavoidable circumstances.