This Nintendo Switch Mini Fan Mockup Is Really Cool

April 19 18:21 2019 by Alexei Rivera Print This Article

With sites reporting a possible smaller Nintendo Switch about to be announced – possibly this coming E3 2019 – from the house that Mario built, we’ve been keeping our ears to the ground for any possible news or rumors about that upcoming console. Along the way, we found this mockup from a redditor named, dookienyc. And yes, that means the photo we’ve embedded above, the colorful black and yellow clamshell portable game system with Nintendo and Mario logos, is not real.

We’re sensible people here, and when we found the photo circlulating on Facebook online without even proper credit to the creator – and even some people thinking it to be real – we had to 1.) set the record straight and 2.) stand in awe as the mockup looks really cool.

The original poster, dookienyc, clearly labels his reddit post as a mockup – meaning there is no intention to fake anybody, and yet in this world of 2019 Facebook idiocy, people will still tend to believe it. So just to set the record straight. What you’re seeing is a fan creation – a really good one.

So let’s talk about the machine in the photo. A really well made one with new branding, buttons, labels, and design. The console itself looks so much like a regular toy-like DS portable complete with faceplate and branding. The buttons match similar Nintendo portables and has 2 thumb “slide-pads” for analog controls.

Underneath the design of the console itself you see the fan-created “Flip” branding, and some outline-style designs of how it is held and docked. And below that are small marketing blurbs that mimic a real flyer.

Keen observers will notice how this will not necessarily work as a Switch console though – since the controllers aren’t detachable from the portable you can’t perform any motion controls easily. The text blurb also calls the original Switch the “OG” which isn’t part of Nintendo’s Marketing lingo. Lastly the slide-pad analog stick design would generally mean that they can’t be clicked in, thus eliminating that crucial button for gameplay.

Lastly, we think the design on the bottom rear of the device might be too sharply edged versus most Nintendo portable products. Generally you’ll see a very curved bottom rear so your palms wouldn’t get tired holding the device. This design style has been around since the original Gameboy, so that seemed off to us.

Either way, its a great idea of what could happen – a nice clamshell version of our portable / home console system. It doesn’t seem much smaller than it could be, as we’d like it to be more pocketable like previous Nintendo DS handhelds, but its a nice concept overall.

What do you think? Would you buy one of these if they were made available? Or are you hoping for a different style of Switch Mini?