Dbrand’s Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom-esque skins welcome the legal calamity
Dbrand goes Dbrand. The device maker is parachuting – possibly on its belly – into dangerous legal waters with its new don’t-name-itTears of the Kingdominspired skins for the Nintendo Switch and for the Steam Deck, because sure, why not. And based on the announcement (via The edge), it pre-launches them $49.95.
The “Clone of the Kingdom” skins for the Nintendo Switch are Dbrand’s “creative reinterpretation” of the design used on Nintendo’s own switch OLED in limited edition which was launched on April 28.
Sean Hollister of The Verge pointed out some things I missed at first glance, like Dbrand swapping the Triforce engraved on the Switch OLED dock with the Eye of Providence (aka the Illuminati symbol). He also used a decoder to translate the runes on the left side of the dock, which apparently translates to “go fuck yourself lawyers.” I suppose we’ll all find out soon enough whether Nintendo – a company known for being the opposite of chill when it comes to protecting its IP – considers Dbrand’s view a fair play, or an invitation to fight .
Each purchase for the Switch includes multiple skins for the left Joy-Con skin that swap colors from gold and green (shown above in the image slider) to gold and black. Dbrand may add that extra skin as a courtesy, but it may be a mitigation measure to save the skin own skin, in case Nintendo finds color matching on its console a step too far. It’s the same $49.95 price for the Steam Deck versions, which includes skins for the front and back of the handheld and a cover for the array of buttons on the top rail, as well as a microfiber cloth and two trackpad skins.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24653141/steamdeckdbrand.jpg "Dbrand’s Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom-esque skins welcome the legal calamity 2")
Image: Dbrand
The company has built a reputation for its antics, such as when it was released PS5 console plates in the midst of a legal battle with Sony over… earlier console records, it stopped selling due to receiving a cease and desist order from Sony. It even had a little fun at Nintendo’s expense with the “Switch Deck‘ skins for the Steam Deck, which links the Switch’s identity to Valve’s handheld PC.