Genki was just forced to take back their claims after Nintendo went on record that they did not give the accessory company anything related to their upcoming console, the Switch 2.
Genki became front and center for Switch 2 rumors this week, as they prepared a convincing presentation showing off a Switch 2 mockup in physical form, as well as a demo video to demonstrate their upcoming Switch 2 accessories. They made a convincing enough showing that IGN and The Verge both went to their booth to try to get more information about the console from them.
Today, Automaton Media reported on Nintendo’s statement to CNET Japan about Genki’s claims. Nintendo Co. Ltd. said this:
“the gaming hardware that Genki presented as Nintendo hardware at CES is unofficial and was not provided to the company by us.”
This followed an shorter statement given to Japanese news outlet Sankei Shinbun, simply stating that the images and videos were not official.
To be clear, Genki claimed that Switch 2 consoles were available to buy in the black market, and this was the reason that they were able to get their hands on one and talk about it. However, Genki seems to have changed their tune.
As reported by GoNintendo, Japanese game news outlet Gamespark also approached Genki, and they seem to have gotten more information than IGN, The Verge, or French language outlet Numerama was able to verify.
Genki told Gamespark that they have never seen the actual Switch 2 hardware. Everything that they have made in their presentation, including the dummy unit, pictures, and videos, are all based on previously reported rumors.
To be clear, we haven’t verified at this point if Genki was forced to correct themselves after Nintendo gave their official statement. They may have gotten cold feet after word from Sankei or CNET Japan reports came out. It’s also possible that Nintendo actually reached out.
But we think there’s a third possibility, which is that Genki tried to play fast and loose when talking to the games press. Gamespark may have been the first outlet who were able to successfully weedle the truth out of them after doing proper probing and examination.
This is not meant as a criticism of Numerama, IGN, or The Verge, as its possible that Genki finally felt the pressure because of their reporting raising the company’s profile. But what we will say is it’s clear that we should have all been properly cautious about believing all these claims of Switch 2 leaks.
And so, as convincing as Genki’s demos were, it turns out they weren’t confirming any information since they just took what they saw from earlier leaks and rumors. In the end, as it turns out, we actually have to wait for Nintendo’s official announcement before we can get information we can actually trust.
