10 Rarest Nintendo Switch Limited Edition Consoles
Limited edition consoles are always a tempting purchase, especially if you currently don't own the platform. Why buy a vanilla black PlayStation 4 when you can purchase a red and white "Marvel's Spider-Man" edition emblazoned with Spidey's iconic logo? Unfortunately, most manufacturers have abandoned the practice of limited-edition console fashions. Nintendo is seemingly the only company that regularly makes special collector's gaming platforms these days, and some are more special than others.
Regular gamers typically see limited edition Nintendo Switch consoles for sale in stores or online. For instance, Nintendo has sold a black Switch covered in "Monster Hunter Rise" iconography and a golden Magnamalo, as well as a Switch that copies Mario's iconic red and blue colors. You can't purchase these consoles anymore (without dealing with aftermarket prices), but they are far from the rarest Nintendo has produced. In the past, the company or one of its partners has manufactured a console that truly puts the "limited" in Limited Edition — these are Switch designs that are so rare you can count all of them on your hands, or in some cases, hand. Here are some Nintendo Switches that you probably will never own, no matter how lucky or rich you are.
t6s
In 2018, The Pokémon Company teamed up with designer Hiroshi Fujiwara, better known as Fragment (or FRGMT), to produce the Thunderbolt Project. This ongoing line of clothes, plushies, and other products feature Fragment's signature minimalism, and they are instantly recognizable by their constant use of the color black, Pikachu (and occasionally Eevee, Snorlax, and other Kanto creatures), and a simple stylized thunderbolt. Arguably the rarest and most sought-after piece of the collection is the special Thunderbolt Project Switch.
In 2019, Nintendo and Fragment set up a pop-up shop in Tokyo's Shibuya PARCO shopping mall. Among the items sold was the Thunderbolt Project Edition Switch. This black minimalist console features the Thunderbolt Project logo on the Switch dock, the back of the Switch, and one of the Joy-Cons, as well as a Pikachu silhouette on the other Joy-Con and the carrying case. According to reports, the console cost 39,800 yen (around $366 at the time) and sold out within a week. Only 500 copies were manufactured, making the Thunderbolt Project the rarest Switch, as well as the rarest piece of Pokémon merch, for sale.
Jack Jeanne
Pre-orders and Deluxe Editions are a huge, if controversial, part of the modern gaming landscape. Many publishers try to tempt audiences into purchasing games before launch with special editions that include exclusive pre-order bonuses. Sometimes the included items are worth the extra cash and pre-order, other times they aren't. But when did a pre-order last include a lottery ticket to win a free, limited-edition Switch Lite?
In 2019, "Tokyo Ghoul" creator Sui Ishida announced he was creating the game "Jack Jeanne." While the game hasn't been released in the United States yet, it has been available in Japan since 2020. Before the game launched, the publisher sold several pre-order editions, including a limited "Univers Collection" that ran customers 12,300 yen (around $116 at the time). This version included a copy of the game, art book, novel, and two CDs. Sounds pretty standard as far as Deluxe Editions go, but Univers Collection's secret sauce was a lottery that gave 100 lucky buyers a very special Nintendo Switch Lite.
These Univers Collection "Jack Jeanne" Switch Lites include art by Ishida on their backs, and no two look the same. Did Ishida draw on the consoles, or did Nintendo print his illustrations directly onto the handhelds? Either way, these limited edition Switches are considered official Nintendo products and undoubtedly the jewel of every Ishida fan's collection.
Nintendo Labo
Nintendo likes to experiment with its products. Of course, you probably already knew that if you saw how wild and wacky its console and controller designs have been over the years, but then there's the "Nintendo Labo." These peripherals are constructed out of cardboard and turn the Switch into a piano, remote control robot, and even a VR headset. While the "Labo" line didn't last long — like cardboard itself — some lucky and inventive individuals received Switches that immortalized this corrugated experiment.
In 2018, several months after the "Labo" graced store shelves, Nintendo held a contest that encouraged gamers to get crafty and submit their own "Labo" creations, including toys and games. Grand prize winners received a special Nintendo Switch, dock, and Joy-Cons done up in light brown and emblazoned with the "Nintendo Labo" logo. They might not have been made out of cardboard, but they certainly looked it.
Nintendo held this contest in different regions, including the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia, then repeated it twice more in the US. It is estimated that only 10 of the Labo Switch were ever produced.
Mountain Dew
How can companies encourage sales of their products? Introduce a rewards program. The more someone buys, the more points they earn, and if they spend enough money on a commodity, they can often redeem their points for a prize that would have been cheaper to just buy on its own. But sometimes a rewards program offers a special version of a product, so while you aren't saving money on it, you're still acquiring a rarity.
Mountain Dew runs a rewards program that gives soda enthusiasts points for a variety of tasks, including purchasing cases and bottles of Mountain Dew. Currently, the program only offers digital gift cards, but once upon a time, Mountain Dew let people trade points for physical prizes. One of the most expensive items was a Nintendo Switch covered in Mountain Dew iconography. Every piece of the console, from the dock to the Joy-Con Grip, was plastered in the sickly neon green of the Dew.
Each copy of the special Nintendo Switch costs rewards program participants around 52,000 points or about 5,000 bottles of soda. It is estimated that only 25 Mountain Dew Switches were produced, and since Mountain Dew no longer lets people trade points for physical rewards, you can't acquire one anymore. And we don't know if the company already gave all these Switches away.
AVICII Invector
The game "AVICII Invector" is a tribute to the late DJ Tim "Avicii" Bergling. The game was originally released in 2019 and was ported to the Nintendo Switch as "AVICII Invector Encore Edition" in 2020. Not only is this port the definitive version that includes extra songs, but its release coincided with a giveaway aimed at gamers and Avicii fans.
To celebrate the launch of "AVICII Invector Encore Edition," publisher Wired Productions and developer Hello There Games teamed up with Nintendo and EDM.com to produce some luminously special Nintendo Switch Lites. Unlike normal Switch Lites, these limited editions feature a white body with gold highlights. To complete the tribute, the logo for "AVICII Invector Encore Edition" is emblazoned on the back, and in gold, no less.
Only five of these Switches were produced, and to earn one, audiences had to enter EDM.com's giveaway contest. Of course, the prizes also included a digital download for "AVICII Invector Encore Edition." What good is a console honoring Avicii if it doesn't include a game with his greatest hits?
Snake Pass
Everyone loves a good charity auction. Sure, you spend a ton of money on whatever you're buying, but it's going to a worthy cause — and can be used as a tax write off. However, few auctions include limited edition game consoles.
In 2017, Sumo Digital held a special "Snake Pass" charity auction on eBay for the #OneSpecialDay event. Participants could bid on grab bags that held unique items such as custom plushies of the game's protagonists, a signed vinyl soundtrack, and most importantly, a special Nintendo Switch with rare "Snake Pass" designs.
All proceeds for the auction went to the charity SpecialEffect, and five lucky participants got to walk away with one of the world's only "Snake Pass"-themed Nintendo Switches, complete with matching dock, Joy-Cons, and Joy-Con Grip. It also included a copy of "Snake Pass," because not including that just wouldn't have seemed right, given the setting.
Splatoon 2
Esports competitions aren't known for their inventive prize pools. Usually, they only offer trophies, money, and recognition, which is often enough, but sometimes rewards are a little more personalized and thematic.
Nintendo doesn't produce many shooter games, but audiences still regard "Splatoon" as a sizzlin' paint-themed alternative to FPS titles, and not just because it forces gamers to actually play the objective. Ever since "Splatoon" hit the scene, Nintendo has held contests that pit fresh teams against one another to see who is the best at painting the town red (or green, blue, or whatever their team color is). To sunset "Splatoon 2" before focusing on "Splatoon 3," Nintendo held the Splatoon 2 Fresh Four Championship 2021. The Second, First, and Grand Prize winners received "Splatoon"-themed trophies, wall banners, suitcases, and limited edition Pro Controllers, but each Grand Prize winner also received a truly saucy Switch.
The Fresh 4 Championship Edition Switch is splattered in ink blot deco, not unlike the much more common "Splatoon 3" Pro Controller, but the Joy-Cons stick out with their unique bright inkblot patterns. Only four of these Switches were made, one for each member of the champion team. Seems kind of superfluous to give someone a console they probably already own as a prize, but then again, most Switches don't exude the same sense of style.
Starlink: Battle for Atlas
During the toys to life craze, Ubisoft threw its hat into the ring with "Starlink: Battle for Atlas." This game lets players pilot starships they can customize with pilots, wings, and weapons that are represented by mix-and-match toys. As fun as this sounds, much of the pre-release hype hinged on the Switch-exclusive Star Fox content. Nintendo players received exclusive "Star Fox" missions, as well as a physical Fox McCloud minifig and Arwing. Plus, anyone who bought the game through Gamestop could have received a limited edition console — if they lived in Germany.
To celebrate the release of "Starlink," Gamestop Germany held a special giveaway that included copies of the game, but the prize everyone wanted was a special limited edition Switch. The back of the console is emblazoned with the "Starlink" logo and some of the game's pilotable ships (none of which are an Arwing), and its Joy-Cons are a unique orange and blue that mimic the game's logo colors. Granted, several common Joy-Cons come in orange and blue, but to acquire the "Starlink" color combo, you'd have to mix and match two different Joy-Con bundles. Even if you did, the shades wouldn't be right.
Gamestop Germany held the giveaway through its Facebook page, and the post has since been removed. Only three "Starlink" Switches were produced, so you had to be extremely lucky to acquire one, in addition to living in Germany.
Oreo
Plenty of independent creators produce Nintendo Switch skins, many of which you can buy on sites such as Etsy. However, these don't count as limited edition consoles since they are made to order, and so long as you buy one, they'll keep rolling out these wraps. Now if a big company were to produce its own Nintendo Switch skin, held a contest to give them away, then never make any again, that it would count as a limited edition.
In 2020, the Indonesian branch of Mondelēz International — the company behind Oreos — held a giveaway. Three lucky winners walked away with a Nintendo Switch, Joy-Cons, Joy-Con Grip, and dock covered in pictures of Oreos. To be fair, this console is nothing more than a V2 Switch with an Oreo-themed wrap, but you still can't purchase the skin anywhere, not even on the Oreo website. Plus, the console comes in a special box. If that's not the sign of a limited edition Switch, I don't know what is.
New Pokémon Snap
Thanks to the wide world of customization, the gaming landscape is full of one-of-a-kind Switches. For instance, the artist Vadu Amka has collaborated with companies such as Activision Blizzard to produce eye-catching consoles and controllers, but these only count as custom orders, not limited editions. Still, Nintendo once produced a Nintendo Switch so rare it is one of a kind, yet it still is considered a limited edition.
In 2021, Nintendo teamed up with the prominent Japanese magazine CoroCoro Comic to hold a "New Pokémon Snap" contest. To enter, participants submitted their best pictures from the game. The contest gave out plenty of prizes, but the grand prize was the crowning jewel of the competition — and the winner's video game collection.
The one shutterbug talented enough to win over CoroCoro Comic's judges received a special Nintendo Switch emblazoned with a Meganium and Pichu drawn by Machito Gomi, the artist behind some of the "Pokémon" franchise's more recent manga, including "Pokémon Journeys: The Series" and "Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution." Oh, and the Switch also sports their signature. Confusingly, some pictures of this CoroCoro Comic Switch imply Gomi drew directly on the console's dock, while magazine scans show a cleaner finish that implies Gomi's drawing was tampographed onto the console. Either way, only one of these Nintendo Switches exists, which makes it rarer than a non-hacked "Pokémon" cartridge with a Mew that was obtained legitimately.