Nintendo is reportedly selling emptySplatoon 2boxes in Japan. The company has spent much of the week hyping the upcoming Nintendo Switch game, having debuted theSplatoon 2single player trailerin a Nintendo Direct livestream just last night.
The box retails for 540 yen (equivalent to $5 USD) and is meant to be part of the Nintendo SwitchSplatoon 2bundle but it doesn’t contain a single thing; it really is just an empty cardboard box. According to one post on Twitter, Nintendo has begun selling the unusual collector’s item as the “hype is so off the charts” in the country that fans are eager to purchase a bit of sturdy paper withSplatoon 2art on the side of it, despite the game not launching for the Nintendo Switch until late July.
The decision to sell a cardboard box may seem utterly bizarre - even if excitement for the game is at peak levels right now - but it speaks to how much faith Nintendo has in the game. In addition to theNintendo SwitchSplatoon 2bundlethat will eventually come packaged in that $5 box, Nintendo has also announced a new set of Joy-Con controllers and accessories that use the game’s pink and green color scheme.
Moreover,Splatoon 2is set to feature quite heavily duringNintendo’s E3 2017 plans. While new gameplay footage is likely, Nintendo also plans to host aSplatoon 2eSports tournament, challenging professional gamers to fling ink all over the place in a battle for the title. The game also took a star spot in the initial Nintendo Switch announcement trailer, so clearly the platform holder has high hopes for the game.
However, some will question whetherSplatoon 2will totally live up to the expectations that Nintendo (and Nintendo fans) have set for it. Will the game prove to be a real system seller around the globe and not just in Japan? CanSplatoon 2outdo the sales ofMario Kart 8 Deluxe, which sold over one million copies in just a matter of days? Nintendo is hoping that it can sustain the excitement for the game, or else it’s going to be left with a lot of emptySplatoon 2bundle boxes on its hands.
