Just after the New Year, several purported Nintendo Switch leaks appeared online, leading fans to believe that the console’s launch titles had been revealed. Turns out those games were a set of convincing fakes, a prank that many Nintendo Switch obsessives have run with on their own.
Twitter user Daniel Vuckovic, of Australian Nintendo fansite Vooks, claimed responsibility for the Switch gag on Jan. 2, after sending fans who spotted it into a tizzy. EB Games’ Australian website showed a set of Nintendo Switch games listed for pre-order, including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, an updated version of Mario Kart 8 and The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim.
Man if this turns out to be real for Mario Kart my boy it is time to be hyped! pic.twitter.com/XJBWHADdwx
— NantenJex (@MrNantendo) January 2, 2017
In its Switch reveal trailer last October, Nintendo teased that each of these games would be coming to the console, while Breath of the Wild was one of the first games announced for the system. That lent credence to the store listings as Switch launch titles, even though they just appeared to be placeholders and lacked release dates.
After causing rampant speculation, however, many questioned the legitimacy of the EB Games listings. Vuckovic soon admitted on Twitter that he’d faked the games just as Nintendo Switch followers were calling foul on the images.
Earlier today I was REALLY bored. I made these, and use Webdev tools to put it onto EB Games’ site. pic.twitter.com/wqZkSeGB3U
— Daniel Vuckovic (@VOOK64) January 2, 2017
“I guess I should fess up to something,” he wrote. “I kinda did it as a social experiment to see how far it would go, I’ve seen people say they saw it on the site, they made it. Interesting.”
Nintendo fans weren’t angry with Vuckovic’s prank, however. Instead, his box art mock-ups — for which he provided the template he used — have spawned the Switch’s latest meme. Hungry for launch titles, Nintendo fans have crafted their own — albeit these proposed Nintendo Switch games have about 0 percent chance of ever making it to actual store shelves.
Switch's lineup is really shaping up well (pic via @sramdi, template via @vook64) pic.twitter.com/gyXT4XVAH1
— Tiny Cartridge (@tinycartridge) January 4, 2017
Yo the Nintendo Switch is hype fam. pic.twitter.com/T7paZ3EhHC
— Mannheimer @ MAGFest (@TailsChannel) January 3, 2017
more launch titles for the nintendo switch!!!!! pic.twitter.com/zhG5NEAyYD
— kaisuke (@arpeggiotrash) January 3, 2017
wow these leaked nintendo switch launch games look pretty great! pic.twitter.com/7IVudnMpWy
— Unit But New (@RevolverUnit) January 2, 2017
Game Theory: Have The Nintendo Switch's Launch Titles LEAKED?! pic.twitter.com/r8OovXFYJE
— Game Theory Rejects (@GameTheoryRejct) January 2, 2017
None of these are as believable as Vuckovic’s fake launch library, but it shows just how anxious Nintendo fans are to know more about the console. The company will reveal launch titles, pricing and a release date for the Switch soon: Jan. 12 at 11 p.m. ET, during a livestreamed presentation from Tokyo. The console will then be available for the public to try out as it tours North America from that weekend until March.
In the meantime, expect people to continue going meme-happy, as always.