A new series of leaks Tweeted by user @forestillusion regarding the Nintendo Switch gives us a look at what could’ve been a much different console than what we got back in 2017. I’m not kidding. You would have never even recognized it as a Switch.

Funny place to put the control sticks.

As you can see, this original version of the Nintendo Switch in the leak features the entire surface facing the player as the screen, with the control sticks embedded in the screen at either end. Frankly, it’s not just that it looks friggin’ weird. I’d imagine that playing this thing would be a tad difficult, especially with the two control sticks partially blocking the action at all times. Not to mention your hands would also block much of the screen, especially around the edges. It’s really no wonder why Nintendo eventually changed it to its current version. This original design seemed to basically be as bad as the Nintendo 64 controller, if anyone remembers that.

How to use an N64 controller with 3 hands.
Ah, clearly, Nintendo made this for three-handed people.

Nintendo Switch 64 U?

Original Nintendo Switch was weird.
Like a worse version of the PSP.

In addition to its rather…bizarre and ungainly appearance, the original Nintendo Switch also had a bunch of features. Features that Nintendo eventually removed from the final version. One of those features was apparently 3D video support to allow the Switch to be backwards-compatible with the Nintendo 3DS. It’s actually a bit disappointing but understandable why this never made it to the final version. Especially in light of how poorly the 3DS performed compared to other Nintendo handhelds.

Nintendo 3DS in pink.
Still a bigger success than the Wii U.

Another feature was that the Nintendo Switch was originally going to use a 480p screen, instead of the 720p screen we got. Can you imagine trying to play Switch games in 480p only? On a screen resolution that even YouTube considers to be low quality? Now this is one feature I’m glad never made it to the final version.

480p vs 720p.
Gotta love those blurry lines and pixels.

Lastly though, bear in mind that Nintendo hasn’t made any official announcement on these leaks about the Switch. Until they do, it’s best to take this news with just a pinch of salt.

A pinch of salt.
Just the right amount of salt to make this go down.

Conclusion

The original Nintendo Switch idea was weird. And just a little bit bad. I’m actually glad we got what we got in 2017. I honestly cannot imagine how it would’ve felt to try to play games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on…that. Or even try to watch anime on it.

Source: Twitter, Comic Book