Earlier this monthan anonymous Reddit user surfaced with claims that he had seen the Switch 2 model firsthand. The Sea and others found it to be a potentially credible source, but fans eager to learn about Nintendo's long-awaited next console had to settle for only written descriptions . Now that same user is back with real photos that have quickly become the focus of a huge debate as to whether they are legit or just AI-generated fakes.
The Reddit user, who posted under the tool NextHandheld, had previously said that it would be too risky to share real images of the console. On December 25, however, they returned to X (formerly known as Twitter) to do just that. “This holiday season, I couldn't resist sharing this gift with you all,” they said posted. “Some may call it an early release … but I call it the best kept secret of the year. ” The message was accompanied by a photo showing a hand holding an alleged Switch 2 side by side in what appears to be a hardware testing lab.
The ravenous Switch 2 leak community immediately praised strange artifacting and inconsistencies in the image to accuse it of being an AI-generated fake. NextHandheld later followed up with a second post sharing an alleged image of the Switch 2 dock, cheekily writing, “It's just AI. There were again strange irregularities on the back and the console's outline. Looking more closely at the shared images, critics considered that the breaks were too clean to be generated by AI and instead pointed out, that the To protect the identity and the location where the photos were taken, NextHandheld simply used AI to replace everything in the series. pictures but the hardware itself.
One user on the Switch 2 subreddit, DoctorHoneywell, compared various shapes and sizes from an earlier alleged Joy-Con leak and found that the photos from NextHandheld were very close, possibly indicating that the two some actually from a production unit approximating the final building. design and layout. “It could be a very high quality resin 3D print with a good finish, and then custom stickers on it. It could be a great photoshop job over an AI image,” DoctorHoneywell concluded. “But that would mean I was still right about what I said every time I was asked about this before they came out: It's real, or a high-quality fake.” “
The debate continued on Christmas Day, and NextHandheld's own poll shared on X had 60 percent of the roughly 4,000 respondents believing the leaks were legitimate and the rest believing they were They were elaborate hoaxes. The secret leaker also promises to reveal new details in the coming days. Other once famous Nintendo readers as Pyoro, who confessed before to get a store with access to the backend of Nintendo's website, they have also tried to get in on the action, but without sharing anything definitive. For some, the whole thing is reminiscent of the famous “Grinch leak” of 2018. Super Smash Bros Ultimatein his record. That one turned out to be a carefully planned scam. Does NextHandheld pull a similar trick?
The stakes surrounding these leaks are still very low. Unless everything that has leaked out so far has been completely made up and unfounded, it seems that every rumor and statement available to Nintendo's next console very similar to the existing Switch, only with updated specifications. Every time it feels like speculation surrounding the Switch 2 might be dying down again, a new data point pops up for fans to argue about, and it's likely to continue go until Nintendo finally reveals official information. The company promised to do that by April 2025, and the time for its traditional big February Direct is fast approaching.
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