Oddly enough, Nintendo has now put a bizarre new product up for sale: a Splatoon 2 box that contains nothing. Certainly not the oddest thing Nintendo has done, though — canceling the NES Classic Edition at its zenith of fiery demand still takes the cake.
Still, an empty box is still pretty odd, even by Nintendo's standards.
Nintendo Is Selling An Empty 'Splatoon 2' Box
The box just actually went up for preorder in Japan. It's essentially a standalone Splatoon 2 boxart, the same box where the recently announced Splatoon 2 Switch bundle is enclosed in.
Priced ¥540, or about $5, it's for those who have already purchased the Switch but still wants the Splatoon 2-themed box art. It's a pretty sensible recourse. Instead of buying a whole Switch altogether to get their share of Splatoon 2 goodness, why not simply buy the box and the game separately?
That way, it would seem one actually bought the Splatoon 2 bundle. The box, however, is seemingly only available in Nintendo's home country. It's currently not listed in the United States, UK, and elsewhere. Sorry, U.S. gamers, no empty box for you.
Nintendo Is Also Selling An Empty 'Splatoon 2' Plastic Case
To push the weirdness to the next level, not only is Nintendo selling an empty box, but it's selling an empty Splatoon 2 plastic case as well. Those who'll purchase it will get a boxed edition of the game, but with no game cartridge included. Instead, they'll get a plastic box with a download code instead.
This empty plastic case, it's worth noting, is separate from the proper standalone game card variant and a third version that only comes with a download code and no plastic case. Kotaku notes all three versions cost the same at ¥6,458, or roughly $58. No other games come with this setup, at least not currently.
Splatoon 2
The game is the sequel to Splatoon, released in 2015 for the now-discontinued Wii U. For the uninitiated, Splatoon is a multiplayer shooter that's unlike any shooter out there. Instead of bullets, players shoot slime, goo, paintballs — whatever you want to call it. The game is competitive, vibrant, colorful, and highly original, something we've all come to expect from none other than Nintendo.
Splatoon 2 along with its empty box variants will hit shelves worldwide on July 21, a Switch exclusive. Most recently, Nintendo confirmed that the game will feature a single-player mode, which is fantastic news considering Splatoon 2 is heavy on multiplayer.
Nintendo Switch
The Switch is Nintendo's latest machine, a powerful gaming machine you can take anywhere. During its reveal video back in October, a then-unnamed Splatoon game was heavily featured, most notably against an eSports background, which could suggest that Nintendo is set to market Splatoon 2 as a major eSports title.
Thoughts about Splatoon 2? Are you planning to get the game, or, by extension, buy its empty box variants? Let us know by sounding off in the comments section below!
