Genki to respond “thoughtfully” to Nintendo lawsuit

The months ahead of Nintendo’s announcement of the Switch 2 were characterized by feverish leaks, rumors, and speculation, partly fueled by a mockup of the console shown at CES 2025 in Las Vegas by accessory manufacturer Genki. The company had created the model to show off its upcoming product line for the at the time unannounced Nintendo hardware, which caused a bit of a stir once its existence had made the rounds. At the time, Nintendo even sent lawyers to Genki’s booth on the showfloor to check things out, but nothing came of the visit — until now.

Nintendo filed a lawsuit against Genki on May 2, 2025, accusing the manufacturer of trademark infringement, unfair competition, and false advertising.

In the court filing, Nintendo alleges that Genki “began advertising that it gained unauthorized access” to the upcoming Switch 2, which Nintendo had begun working on as early as 2019. In addition, the world-famous company accuses Genki of using trademarked symbols to market upcoming products, “misleading consumers into believing that it offers functional, authentic, and authorized Nintendo Switch 2 products.”

Nintendo has certainly used the time since CES well: The documents contain a detailed timeline of events, full of evidence supporting its own claims — and some of them look quite devastating, especially with how self-inflicted they are from Genki’s perspective.

Nintendo wants the court the restrain Genki from “designing, displaying, advertising, offering
for sale, manufacturing, shipping, delivering, selling, or promoting any product” connected to Nintendo consoles and demands payments for the damage allegedly caused by Genki.

Genki issued a short statement regarding the lawsuit two days later, writing that “We’re taking it seriously and working with legal counsel to respond thoughtfully.”

It continued: “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.”