The Inverse Interview

Sitting Down With CEO Who Unintentionally Leaked the Nintendo Switch 2’s Secret Weapon

"We don't want to steal their thunder," the exec told Inverse.

by Trone Dowd

This week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas delivered the biggest bombshell yet regarding the yet-to-be-revealed but often-leaked Nintendo Switch 2. Surprising nearly everyone in attendance, third-party accessory maker Genki showed up to the annual event with cases, a Joy-con charger, and even 3D-printed models of the device.

But from what Genki CEO Eddie Tsai tells Inverse, the company had no idea that revealing what it has lined up for the highly anticipated console would cause such a commotion within the gaming world. Originally, those models were meant for only insiders to view.

“We didn't expect this to happen,” Tsai said. “We told people no photos because it's really just to meet with distributors and retailers.”

Tsai said he didn’t expect his mock-ups to then leak from the industry meetings he had held.

In fact, Tsai says the eight mock-ups he 3D printed are from specific measurements he was given, and pointed to the many leaks enthusiasts and the press have been following for months.

“Everything's pretty much out there now,” he said. “I don't think anything's really hidden anymore. If you follow a lot of the leakers out there. There's maybe four or five prominent ones and we've been chasing what we can.”

One of the distinctive features in the Switch 2 mock-up that Inverse got to try was a button that helps the Joy-Con controllers detach more easily than their predecessors. The Switch 2 also loomed large and at first glance, could’ve been mistaken for the Steam Deck with its more expansive size, especially considering how Tsai 3D-printed one of his mock-up models in black and white.

Our interview with Tsai lends even more credibility to the leaks I believe to be true. For companies like Genki and Dbrand, the latter of which showed off alleged images of the Switch 2 as early as last month, it wouldn’t make sense to begin manufacturing add-ons for the new device unless it was absolutely sure of what the final build would look like. Finalizing and making products that aren’t compatible with the device would cause financial strain as it would have tons of useless inventory that it couldn’t turn into profit.

While Nintendo could swerve from the hardware expectations of the Switch 2 at the last minute and subvert the internet’s expectations, those chances are extremely slim. The form factor of a device is typically set in stone well in advance (hence why companies like Apple often see its next iPhone leaked months before its annual reveal event). Considering individual parts for Switch 2 have been floating around since last September, it is safe to say Nintendo has known what the system will look like for some time now.

Nintendo sitting on that information, however, has put companies like Genki in a tough spot, according to Tsai. For them, sitting on the sidelines as these leaks happen means potentially being lapped by the competition. The market is already fiercely competitive enough, with rival companies stopping by to peer into their opponents’ booths at CES.

The Switch successor (allegedly pictured here) will be called “Switch 2” according to reputable sources corroborated by The Verge.

“We're afraid of other accessory makers copying us,” he said. “We've actually patented some of them already.”

Genki is a small company made up of just five people creating accessories for handheld devices. Tsai says that the company has been copied by competitors in the past, which pushed it to reveal what it has in store for the Switch 2 owners as soon as it could. Tsai said that it was never his intention to spoil Nintendo’s big moment presumably coming in the next few months.

“We love Nintendo,” Tsai said. “We don't want to steal their thunder, but I think the software, the games are going to be the biggest thing.”

One of the few things we do officially know about the Nintendo Switch 2 is that there won’t be a shortage of things to play at launch. Not only is the system backward compatible with the original system’s software, but several third-party developers are rumored to be hard at work on porting some of the generation’s biggest hits to the new console. Even Nintendo is getting in on the development trend, acquiring Shiver Entertainment, the team behind the Switch ports of Mortal Kombat and Hogwarts Legacy, from the floundering mega-publisher Embracer Group.

Shannon Liao contributed reporting.

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