Nintendo Sues Genki for Showing Off Switch 2 Before Its Announcement

Nintendo has taken legal action against accessory maker Genki for revealing details about the Nintendo Switch 2 before it was officially announced.

The lawsuit, filed in California, accuses Genki’s parent company, Human Things, of trademark infringement, unfair competition, and false advertising. Nintendo wants the company to stop using its trademarks and destroy all products related to both the Nintendo Switch and the upcoming Switch 2.

Nintendo also wants to be paid for damages, saying it has suffered harm due to Genki’s actions. The company is asking the court to “treble” the damages, meaning triple the amount.

Nintendo says Genki’s “wrongdoing” began in December 2024, when the company replied to a tweet by GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen. In the tweet, Genki mentioned “the launch Switch 2 accessories [Genki was] working on.”

Things escalated in January 2025 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Genki posted on their CES page:

“Happy to discuss any Switch 2 info we may have as well as the stuff we’re making for it.”

Genki’s CEO, Edward Tsai, also showed off 3D-printed mockups of what they claimed was the Nintendo Switch 2. According to Nintendo, Tsai told reporters that the company had access to a real Switch 2 and based their mockups on it.

Nintendo says this went too far, as Tsai and others gave interviews discussing eight different accessories and shared details about the design and features of the unannounced console.

At CES, Nintendo’s lawyers reportedly spoke with Genki. But Genki still showed a video of a Switch 2 render, which included the official Nintendo Switch 2 logo. This upset Nintendo, which considers the logo and name its trademarks.

Later, Genki posted an image on social media of Tsai standing outside Nintendo’s Kyoto headquarters with the caption:

“Genki ninjas infiltrate Nintendo Kyoto HQ.”

Nintendo said this was “an apparent attempt to further confuse the public as to whether Genki had access to a Nintendo Switch 2 and/or an affiliation with Nintendo.”

This commenter has to feel really smug right now:

In April, just one day before Nintendo’s official Switch 2 presentation, Genki sent a mass email and posted on social media that it would be holding its own “Direct” event. Nintendo says this clearly copies the name of its famous Nintendo Direct presentations and causes more confusion.

Genki’s parent company now has 30 days to respond to the lawsuit. Genki commented lawsuit via social media:

The statement reads: A Note from the Genki Team You may have seen that Nintendo recently filed a lawsuit against us. We’re taking it seriously and working with legal counsel to respond thoughtfully. What we can say is this: Genki has always been an independent company focused on building innovative gaming accessories for the community we love. We’re proud of the work we’ve done, and we stand by the quality and originality of our products. While we can’t comment in detail, we’re continuing preparations to fulfill orders and showcase our newest products at PAX East this week. We’re grateful for the overwhelming support we’ve received so far. We’ll share more when we can, but for now, we’re staying focused on doing what we do best: building gear for gamers. —Team Genki

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