The last thing any big tech or gaming company wants in the weeks before it unveils its latest product is a whole heap of leaks. In Nintendo's case the last few weeks have been something of a deluge. The Nintendo Switch 2 is confirmed as being imminent, but we've seen too much of the console by now.
We know with a good degree of certainty what its logo will look like, the size of its display, the overall design it'll go with, and how its detachable Joy-Con controllers will differ from the last generation. We've seen 3D-printed dummies of the console in protective cases, and we've also seen screen protectors and microSD cards start to hit online storefronts before being hastily deleted.
It all makes for a sense that Nintendo is standing back from the fray, but whether it's doing so with wry amusement or internal alarm bells is unknown. Its only comment on the matter has been to clarify with a Japanese newspaper, The Sankei Shimbun: "These images and videos are not official."
That's hardly a game-changing statement; instead, it underlines what we already know and confirms that Nintendo doesn't intend to let these leaks change its plans. Those plans involve unveiling the console before 31 March this year, and reports indicate that it might be available to buy pretty soon after that unveiling, whenever it comes.
The question on my end is whether that unveiling is now tarnished irretrievably by the density of leaks from CES and before it. Nintendo doesn't tend to go as huge as the likes of Sony or Microsoft for these events, but I'm hoping it has a blockbuster queued up to take back control of the narrative.
For one thing, all of this focus on the hardware that it's cooked up can mean that the software side of things gets overlooked. We already know that existing Switch games will work on the new console, for example, but if they experience performance gains then that'll be an immediate fillip.
Even more importantly, though, we could be about to find out about long-awaited games with the power to really move the needle. We haven't had a new fully 3D Mario game since Odyssey, an Animal Crossing game since New Horizons, a Mario Kart game since 8 Deluxe, or a Super Smash Bros. title since Ultimate.
All of these franchises are huge, and we also know that Metroid Prime 4 is in the oven, too – so the Switch 2 could well arrive with a launch lineup of epic proportions. I really hope that Nintendo plans to show these games off at the same time as it unveils the console itself, since that would be one massive way to build the hype right back up.
Of course, you could look at all these leaks and argue that they're actually playing a part in building the hype, regardless. That's an optimistic outlook, and it's worth remembering that most people will barely be aware of them in the first place. I'm an enthusiast among enthusiasts, though, and I really hope that Nintendo has some fireworks up its sleeve either way.
