Well, it’s happened. The Nintendo Switch 2 has reportedly emerged into the wild ahead of time, into the hands of people on the internet who’re keen to make videos showing off the fact that you open the box and boom – there’s a Switch 2 in there. It doesn’t look like any such folks are actually able to play games on the console though, thanks to an impending update.
As spotted by IGN, a YouTuber with the handle a2dubai appears to have posted a short video of them unboxing what’s either a Switch 2 or a convincing replica of the new console on May 27. In case you forgot, the Switch 2 isn’t set to properly come out until June 5.
Said video has since been nuked via a copyright claim by Web Capio, a company which “offers bespoke anti-piracy services”.
Prior to that, a commenter had reportedly asked for “more video please” – very polite for a Youtube comments section, good work rando – leading a2dubai to respond: “Nintendo locked the Switch 2, it needs [an] update to function, so I’m waiting for June 5th to unlock it.”
So, no clips of this potentially real Switch 2 actually playing any games, with news and deals aggregator Wario64 having claimed to have heard from a second person who’s acquired a Switch 2 early. “I have no permission to post pics but can share that when they try to boot a Switch 1 game, a message prompts ‘Please connect to the internet and update your system’,” they posted, “Needs update to boot a game.”
As fellow poster Stealth40k put it, if these are real Switch 2s and the need for an update’s also genuine, that would mean the console’s “basically a very nice paperweight” until release. To be fair, that’ll at least be handy for these alleged early adopters if Ninty and its lawyers decide to hunt them down and deliver some sheets of paper that say something to the effect of ‘please don’t do this again’ in legalese.
Do you think this is all a sneaky 4D chess marketing campaign to make us all want Nintendo to start selling actual Switch 2-shaped paperweights? Let us know below, and make sure to check out the rest of our Switch 2 coverage in the run up to release. You know you’re keen to find out more about Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut’s Red Light Raid Mode.
