Replacing the Zelda Triforce with an all-seeing eye? Now that’s just sacrilege.
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Dbrand just made another quick buck by flipping off Nintendo. You can now preorder a $50 skin for your Nintendo Switch that’s a dead ringer for the $359 Nintendo Switch OLED Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Edition — at least until you look closely.
At first, the “Clone of the Kingdom” seems like just that. But then you realize that Dbrand replaced the Triforce with The Eye of Providence, a symbol often as famous for its connections to conspiracy theories and the Illuminati as for its benign appearance on the back of a US Dollar. (Admittedly, the crest of the Sheikah is an eye with three pyramids for eyebrows.)
Then, you might notice the runes. What might they read? “Go fuck yourself, lawyers” is the first one I decoded; I won’t spoil the other two for you but they’re along similar lines!
So yeah, it’s a little different than Dbrand’s “(not) Animal Crossing” skins, which gave you the look of a hard-to-find limited-edition console. The genuine Tears of the Kingdom Switch is still easy to purchase today, and this knockoff skin sends a bit of a different, edgier statement. Still, it might be exactly the message you want to send if you’re angry about Nintendo’s recent legal campaign against the Switch emulation scene.
Here are the answers to a few questions I sent Dbrand CEO Adam Ijaz:
Does the same skin work on both Switch and Switch OLED?
“No, the Console & Dock of the Switch and OLED are dimensionally different, and the kits for Switch/OLED are sold as unique SKUs.”
Switch Lite?
“No support for Switch Lite. We’re sure both of the owners will be very disappointed.”
Symbols are printed flat, or is there raised texture?
“The JoyCons and front of the Steam Deck are smooth to the touch; all prints are under a protective matte laminate layer. However, the rear of all the consoles (Switch, OLED, Steam Deck) have a very subtle textural difference on alternating shapes in the concentric hexagonal pattern. It’s designed to accurately represent the finish on the rear of the actual ToK Switch.”
Care to, um, comment on the all-seeing eye making it into the design? :_)
“It’s literally on money, Sean. What more do you need to know?”
Do you have a backup plan ready if Nintendo legally objects; if so, what is that plan?
“Nice try, Nintendo.”
Oh, and: if you want some concentric hexagons on your Steam Deck, knock yourself out: you’ll pay the same $50 for the one you see below.
