Nintendo lawyers reportedly visited accessories manufacturer Genki on the CES trade show floor last week, a reporter has claimed, after videos of its dummy Switch 2 console went viral.
High profile French tech journalist Julien Tellouck was one of several reporters to stop by Genki’s CES booth last Friday, when he claimed the company had been dropped in on by Nintendo lawyers.
Images of Genki’s mock-up Switch 2 unit – which the company’s chatty CEO initially claimed was based on the actual final design of Nintendo’s under-wraps console – spread across the internet last week. Clearly, Nintendo noticed.
According to Tellouck, though, Genki simply told Nintendo it had never signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with the company and therefore hadn’t technically broken any rules.
“I talked to the guy from Genki just behind me, he told me that Nintendo had stopped by with lawyers – they had nothing to be reprimanded for because they had never signed a paper with Nintendo – no confidentiality agreement, no NDA,” Tellouck said. “So the Japanese brand are quiet.
“On the other hand, [Genki] told me that they were sure that the Nintendo Switch 2 – except for a few details – would look like this 3D prototype.”
Perhaps notably, by the end of last week Genki had decided to make clear it hadn’t actually seen Switch 2 itself – after previously saying it was aware that units were now available on the black market.
Last Friday finally also brought an acknowledgement of the leaks by Nintendo. Speaking to Japanese newspaper The Sankei Shimbun, a Nintendo spokesperson simply stated the images and videos from CES were “not official”.
With details of the Switch 2’s hardware design spreading, further leaks have also begun detailing Switch 2’s third-party software line-up. Microsoft will reportedly be a major supporter, alongside Square Enix with multiple Final Fantasy titles. Surely, after months of waiting, official word is now imminent.
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