Dbrand Releases Switch-Themed Steam Deck Skin: 'Lawyer Paid to Say It's Legal'

General
Dbrand Releases Switch-Themed Steam Deck Skin: 'Lawyer Paid to Say It's Legal'

If you're fortunate enough to own a Steam Deck (opens in new tab), you may have mistaken it for the similarly built Nintendo Switch. Both share a form factor with a central screen and side-mounted controls, and the Switch is by far the more common portable gaming partner. Plus, there's that iconic Joy Cons, especially when it comes to the famous neon red and blue color scheme.

Whether you want to lean into the jokes or have a Switch-themed stealth Steam deck, Dbrand has the goods (opens in new tab), discovered by The Verge (opens in new tab), fully themed You can get Nintendo Switch skins and protective cases for your Steam decks.

The skin is a fairly complete new wrap for the Steam Deck, utilizing the shape of the Steam Deck but coloring the left and right sides of the controls to match the traditional Joy Con design. It even has a very blurry logo on the back, much like the Nintendo Switch.

This is one of those things you see and smell that Nintendo's lawyers are gearing up for their latest reward. Nevertheless, as Dbrand told The Verge, "The lawyers we paid to say, 'It's legal,' said it's legal," but Nintendo may not necessarily buy it.

Dbrand is no stranger to lawsuits from industry giants and famously confronted Sony over a PS5 plate. The plate was removed from the store and later replaced by a new version with significant changes. The website (opens in new tab) states that it is "not illegal" and even includes different colored light strips.

Hopefully Dbrand has learned enough from this attempt and these Switch skins will be safe from any lawsuits. That said, this being Nintendo, if you want one of these beautiful red and blue skins, you'll want to hurry up and get it before something happens, as all of Dbrand's skins are, priced at $49.99. Also available for the same price is a clear Teardown skin (opens in new tab) to help defray the legal costs Dbrand may face.

At this point, it may be worth investing in a case version of this skin instead; Dbrand's SwitchDeck case is currently on sale, with the base model dropping from $64 to $59.95. This includes the Switch skin, so for an additional $10, you can get the Swit... That means you get a case that looks safe enough to hold the Steam Deck. That is, the Steam Deck.

Just don't cut up the Steam Deck like the picture Dbrand took for promotion. Remember, no matter how similar it looks, that is not a real Joy Cons.

Categories