It's pretty much expected that we're going to see a more powerful Nintendo Switch successor announced within the next year or so, as the system is now in its seventh year on the market. That's well over the time frame in which Nintendo usually launches a new console, which speak volumes about the system's success and how badly the company wants to get the next one right.
With a shed load of rumors flying around and no official word from Nintendo, the situation is ripe for a ridiculous Switch 2 "leak" like we've seen in the buildup to previous console reveals. As expected, the people have delivered, as an image of a Nintendo Switch 2 has been making the rounds on social media, one that is being mercilessly mocked and roasted by 99 percent of people who come across it.
To be fair to whoever made the image, it's fairly realistic in terms of packaging. The box is very reminiscient of the current Nintendo Switch packaging, but it's the image of the console on the front which is tipping people off to the fact that it's a clear fake. For starters, the console itself has a baffling design, as it looks like Nintendo glued two Joy Cons to some plastic and stuck them on the side of a tablet.
Then you have the game icons on the front that are also a pretty dead giveaway. One keen eyed Xenoblade fan noticed that the Xenoblade Chronicles logo is missing the word "Chronicles" in the title, while others are pointing out that all of the words in the title of Tears of the Kingdom are capitalised which is also super odd. There's also the fact that the box itself says Nintendo Switch 2 on it, which would be a very odd naming convention for Nintendo to go with since it's never numbered its consoles in the past.
Of course, this entire situation has also started a contest between Nintendo fans over who can create the worst Switch 2 "leak", the post embedded above being the clear frontrunner in that competition. Others are using this opportunity as a chance to revive all of the other infamous console "leaks" from the past, including all those weird Xbox 720 orbs that were floating around prior to the reveal of the Xbox One.
I think it's safe to assume that if anyone claims to have a leaked image of Nintendo's next console, it's almost assuredly fake. It's far too important to Nintendo for it to leak to some random guy on Twitter, and we'll probably only see what the thing looks like once Nintendo itself is ready to unveil it.