You. You’ve asked an elderly or non-gaming person to buy you either games or a console before, right? Well, the Nintendo Switch 2’s latest discourse is all about whether doing that with Ninty’s latest hardware is likely to result in you accidentally getting an OG Switch instead.
Yep, people are fiercely debating whether a box having a fairly big number two on it next to the words ‘Nintendo Switch’ is enough to stop it being mixed up with another box that doesn’t have a two on it, but does also say ‘Nintendo Switch’. This is important, please stop rolling your eyes.
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The chatter about this kicked off yesterday thanks to a tweet from YouTuber BeatEmUps, who shared a picture of Switch 2 box next to the classic Switch box, and declared that they reckon two are “far too similar and a bit confusing for the general public”.
Cue a bunch of people across Twitter and ResetEra pointing out that the Switch box’s got a fairly sizeable number two on it, while a bunch of folks who’ve worked in retail argue that probably won’t be enough to stop some people from buying the wrong one.
So, why am I writing about this? Well, for one, funny headline, and for two, I’ve made sure to do some important journalistic looking into this important issue. I reached out to members of my own family to ask whether they reckon, having seen the two boxes side by side, my grandparents or any other potential would-be Switch 2 purchasers who might not be immersed in gaming or its culture would be at risk of buying the wrong thing because of box similarities.
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“Put it this way, I’d want to be with [them] when [they] bought it,” my sister responded, adding that she could see my grandparents in particular thinking they were getting a bargain on a Switch 2 by picking up an OG Switch. My dad, on the other hand, reckoned the placement of the number two was key, arguing that making sure to put it directly to the right of the words ‘Nintendo Switch’ rather than next to the Switch logo might help erase potential confusion.
Naturally, I wasn’t done journalisming there. I asked multiple members of the VG247 team for their views, with the general consensus being that it’d obviously be no problem for those in the know, but that non-gamers could well struggle. As for what Nintendo could or should potentially have done with the packaging to help minimise any confusion, there were no solid answers. The obvious would be not making both of them red boxes of a similar size, but that’s Ninty’s branding.
So, what do you do? Make sure whoever’s asking someone who might get confused to buy them a Switch 2 goes along to see that the right thing’s bought. You might have to sacrifice Santa Claus if it’s a holiday-season related purchase, but needs must.
In other Switch 2-related news, the console’s already reportedly made its way into the hands of some online folks, but they seemingly can’t actually play any games until it gets an update.