Fans are eagerly awaiting the possible release of the Nintendo Switch Pro early next year. However, if they cannot wait, a counterfeit Switch is available for the low price of $35.
Counterfeit video game consoles have been a problem for quite some time, with the most recent popular one of its kind being the Souljaboy video game console that was eventually shut down. Recently a new fake console has appeared, and it is not at all trying to sneaky about what it is a knockoff of.
The Chinese counterfeit Switch is literally called the Switch, but it plays games that resemble those on the Neo Geo, not the actual Nintendo Switch. It can be played on the go or plugged into a TV via an HDMI cable. The design, right down to the blue and red controllers, looks exactly like what someone might mock-up as the new Nintendo Switch Pro. It is interesting that China regulates video games to the tune of a curfew for minors, but outright counterfeits like this seem to run wild.
The video trailer for the hardware actually doesn't look half bad, especially for only $35. The old-school games look to be running smoothly and the fake console can still transmit gameplay to the big screen, even if not as satisfying as the "click" of the Nintendo Switch.
Counterfeit consoles are pretty absurd. The idea of simply copying the look of another console and using assets and ideas is not only silly, it is wrong. Nintendo has dealt with this before, however, like the Vii being released in China as a total ripoff of the Nintendo Wii. There have even been fake parody consoles that have been created, like the KFConsole that was revealed this year. Between the parodies and rip-offs, perhaps there will one day be a market for collectors, but that's probably the only good that could come of all of this.
This particular China counterfeit Switch may not play the same games as the Switch, but it is clearly trying to look as much like the Switch as it can. Nintendo did report that it had no plans to release a new Switch console in 2020, but obviously, that couldn't take into account other companies' attempts to create competitors or knock-offs of the same console. Thankfully, fans shouldn't have any difficulty telling the difference between a $35 unit with a $300 one.