Dbrand reveals Zelda-esque ‘Clone of the Kingdom’ Nintendo Switch skin

Dbrand is gonna Dbrand. The device outfitter is skydiving — potentially belly-flopping — into dangerous legal waters with its new don’t-call-it-Tears Of The KingdomWhy not? And based on the announcement (via The Verge), it’s launching them for $49.99.

The “Clone of the Kingdom” skins for the Nintendo Switch are Dbrand’s “creative reinterpretation” of the design that’s clad on Nintendo’s own limited edition Switch OLED that launched on April 28.

The Verge’s Sean Hollister pointed out some things I missed at a first glance, like that Dbrand swapped the Triforce inscribed 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 translate to “go fuck yourselves 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 take to be a fair play, or an invitation to fight.

Every Switch purchase includes multiple Joy-Con Skins, which change from the gold and green shown above (in the slider), to the gold and black. Dbrand may be providing the extra skin out of courtesy but could also be doing so to reduce its risk. You can also read about the other ways to get in touch with us. If you think that Nintendo’s idea of color matching its console is a bit too much, then there are skins available. It’s the same $49.99 price for the Steam Deck versions, which include skins for the front and back of the handheld and a cover for its array of buttons on the top rail, as well as a microfiber cloth and two trackpad skins.

Dbrand

It has a reputation of screwing the man antics. For example, it launched PS5 console plate in the middle of a legal dispute with Sony over… previous console plates that it had stopped selling after receiving a stop-and-desist from Sony. It even had a little fun at Nintendo’s expense with the “SwitchDeck” skins for the Steam Deck, which binds the Switch’s identity onto Valve’s handheld PC.