Hey Nintendo, tell us the leaked Switch 2 assets are legit without actually telling us the Switch 2 leaks are legit.
Hey Nintendo, tell us the leaked Switch 2 assets are legit without actually telling us the Switch 2 leaks are legit. Read More Technology
The saga of the leaked Switch 2 video and physical mockup from peripheral maker Genki hit a crescendo today, with Nintendo finally issuing an official statement. It’s brief, it’s direct, and it doesn’t remotely dispute that anything we’ve seen this week is fake.
A brief refresher: earlier this week, Genki — an accessory maker selling a variety of peripherals for the Switch, PlayStation 5, and various PC gaming handhelds — showed off a physical mockup of the Switch 2 at its CES booth. The company also published a highly detailed video render of the next-gen Nintendo console on its website, designed to show off its upcoming Switch 2 accessories.
Oh, and it also told French outlet Numerama that its products were derived from molds created with a real Switch 2 it obtained from the black market.
Today, Nintendo finally broke its silence. The house of Mario told CNET Japan that “the gaming hardware that Genki claims to be Nintendo hardware at CES is unofficial and not provided to the company by Nintendo.” This matches up with a more brief but similar comment given to Japanese newspaper Senkei, in which Nintendo is quoted as saying “they are not official.”
(Both statements from Nintendo were translated from their original Japanese origin to English.)
Nintendo did not issue a statement on the authenticity of the even newer leaked assets from OnLeaks and 91Mobile.
Curiously, this news came to my attention via Genki’s own X account…
You’re probably thinking what I’m thinking, right? Nintendo is simply stating that it didn’t give Genki any hardware, much less finalized hardware. That’s something the entire world already assumed, since Genki previously alleged that it snagged the hardware on the black market.
Crucially, Nintendo did not take the opportunity to deny that the appearance of the Switch 2 rendered by Genki was fake. Nor did it dispute anything from the mountain of other leaks surrounding the Switch 2. That’s telling, especially since Nintendo is, let’s be honest here, a highly litigious console platform holder.
Currently, speculation is running rampant that Nintendo will accelerate its plans to reveal the Switch 2 in detail. Perhaps we’ll see a Direct in January?
