We have a new rumor suggesting that there will be a brand new Nintendo Switch SKU made just for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
UPDATE: Nintendo confirmed this Nintendo Switch in their The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gameplay Direct. You can read the original article below.
Based on posts made on reddit, there will be an OLED Switch that’s themed for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Our source shared a screenshot of the different SKUs of consoles that they have arriving. There are recognizable SKUs in this screenshot of the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5.
Selected in that screenshot is a Switch SKU, labeled “HW TBD”. It also has a Street Date of 12/31/2023. The source also clarified that the other SKUs listed in the screenshot were not placeholders. The important takeaway is the new listing for the Switch SKU itself.
For those wondering, yes, we have covered a rumor like this before. Just last month, images leaked of a Joy-Con that had The Legend of Zelda theming illustrated around it. In particular, the Triforce symbol on it implied that this Switch SKU is for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Of course, the big elephant in the room here is that Nintendo had announced that they are holding a Nintendo Direct later today with ten minutes of gameplay for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. This definitely seems like the start of the company’s big marketing push for what is the Nintendo Switch’s biggest release for the year.
So it would make sense that Nintendo would be revealing if they had a new Switch SKU dedicated just for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. On that note, even without any rumors or Nintendo even suggesting it, many fans likely already anticipate that there will be announcements of new The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom amiibo.
Amiibo have evolved from what was apparently a stopgap sales measure before the launch of the Switch, to a valuable segment of Nintendo’s business. The unique gameplay proposition they offer makes them, if not quite must haves for all players, an enticing bonus that extends the value of the games as well.
But in regards to that slated street date, it isn’t likely that Nintendo would release such hardware on the literal last day of the year, if they really were planning for a December release. It would obviously just be inconvenient for the distribution, and of course, the time to get these consoles out on sale is when the game also launches. If this console is real, Nintendo will likely reveal the same release date for it as the game.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom releases exclusively to the Nintendo Switch on May 12, 2023.