Walmart Canada Is Hyped For The Switch 2 Reveal, Apparently

Nintendo is reportedly set to announce the Switch 2 on January 16, and Walmart Canada--known for upsetting video game developers by leaking announcements early--has chimed in with a meme of its own.

Today, January 14, the Walmart Canada Gaming account posted the popular image of Mario peeking from behind a curtain. "Hey, Mario," the post said, with the waving-hand emoji. Walmart Canada is no doubt referencing the rumors of a forthcoming Switch 2 reveal.

What's noteworthy here is that Walmart Canada has a semi-lengthy history of spoiling major announcements by posting product pages ahead of official announcements. As of yet, however, Walmart Canada hasn't spoiled anything about the Switch 2.

For anyone just catching up, the Mario curtain image dates back to 2016, when Nintendo of America used it to promote the announcement of the Switch, which was then known as "NX." It was meant to suggest that Nintendo would soon pull back the curtain on the device. It quickly became a meme, and some thought it was kind of creepy. Former Nintendo staffers later discussed how Nintendo was aware of the reaction and would never do something like that again.

Walmart Canada's leaks have included the first reveal of Rage 2, prompting Bethesda to drag the retailer in comments during E3 2018. Also in 2018, Walmart Canada leaked Borderlands 3, Gears 5, Just Cause 4, and other titles.

Walmart Canada's gaming account is run by Riley Little. He said in a blog post in 2022 that it came down from above that Walmart Canada could do a better job communicating to gamers, and it was his idea to make the account "more approachable and more interesting." To achieve this, Little started posting all kinds of memes, as well as straight news and product announcements to drive people to shop at Walmart.

Walmart Canada's gaming leaks, though, have slowed down significantly in recent years. After all, video game developers and publishers generally do not enjoy having their unannounced information emerge early. As such, it would be shocking to see Walmart Canada actually reveal anything legitimate about the Switch 2, though you never know. Outside of Walmart Canada, the internet has been full of Switch leaks.

If the rumors prove to be accurate, Nintendo could announce the Switch 2 on Thursday, January 16, with the console then going on sale in May or June.

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