We’ve been talking a lot about the Nintendo Switch, and how it’s getting an upgraded version which was officially confirmed by Nintendo some time ago.
One of the oddest things about the upgraded console, however, is how cagey Nintendo are being about it’s release. The upgrade has slowly been making it’s way onto the shelves of brick and mortar stores, but there is almost no way for you to discern between the vanilla and upgraded Switch. (The only difference is the model number, as the new one has HAC-001(-01), as well a slighty different box). So, a valid question comes to mind – what if you accidentally purchase the original Switch? Or, perhaps if you aren’t “in the know”, you may purchase the vanilla because you simply do not know there is another version out.
Surprisingly, the answer isn’t just “suck it up, buttercup”. According to the Reddit user DarthMewtwo who spoke with Nintendo of America, Nintendo said that if you purchase a vanilla Nintendo Switch after July 17th, you can actually get your hands on the upgraded one for free. This has also been confirmed elsewhere by the Youtuber GameXplain, so it seems legit so far.
The only catch to this, is that you have to pay for your Switch to be posted back to Nintendo of America to get your mitts on the newer, shinier version. But, that seems a fairly small price to pay to enjoy the longer battery life of the upgraded console.
At present, though, this has only been confirmed for Nintendo of America. There is no word either way on whether or not this is available in other regions, but I will attempt to reach out to Nintendo for comment and update this article if they give an answer.
Still, this is pretty nice to see from Nintendo. Even though it’s only a small upgrade, it’s still good to see that new adopters won’t be shafted out of the improvements.
