‘Go f*** yourself lawyers’: Dbrand sells ‘plagiarised’ Zelda Switch decals with hidden message
Controversial peripheral company Dbrand has released a set of Zelda-themed decals which say “go fuck yourself lawyers” in code on the Dock.
The ‘Clone of the Kingdom’ set gives players a set of Joy-Con, Switch Dock and Switch back stickers for either their Switch or Switch OLED, to make it look like the recently released Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom limited edition console. There’s also a set available for the Steam Deck.
Although it’s not an exact replica, a quick glance could fool people into thinking it’s the official Tears of the Kingdom system.
The website for the decals include a section titled “The Power of Plagiarism,” in which it criticises Nintendo‘s decision to release a Zelda-themed console and says this is a cheaper alternative.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review | VGC
“Contrary to popular belief, you need to spend money to save money – specifically, by giving it to us,” the outspoken company says.
“You see, when one of the world’s most litigious companies announces a $359.99 price tag to replace your Switch with a limited edition variant, only Dbrand is up to the challenge of charging you slightly less for a ‘creative reinterpretation’ of their overpriced novelty console.
“If a dollar saved is a dollar earned, Clone of the Kingdom is the easiest $310.04 you’ve ever made.”
The dock design has a code written on it, and the code on the left appears to say “GO FUCK YOURSELF LAWYERS”.
The code around the logo says “THIS FUNDS OUR LEGAL DEFENSE”.
This is not the first time Dbrand has courted controversy by actively boasting about how legally questionable its products are.
In February 2021, the company started selling custom PS5 faceplates, which it called ‘Darkplates’. Asked be a Reddit user if it feared legal action, it replied: “We encourage them to try”. A caption on its Reddit post added: “Sue us, Sony.”
Sony did indeed respond, and in a statement in October 2021 Dbrand stated that the Darkplates were “dead”, following a letter it received from Sony Interactive Entertainment‘s lawyers threatening to sue.
“We’ve elected to submit to the terrorists’ demands… for now,” it stated at the time, concluding: “In closing, fuck you and especially fuck Sony.”
Just one week later, Dbrand released a new ‘version 2.0’ of its PS5 faceplates, with a product page headlined “Checkmate, lawyers”.
It claimed the new design was different enough that it “successfully closes the loop on this dispute and neutralises any future infringement claims from Sony”, adding that its decision to add vents to the side of the plate to help with cooling distinguished it further.
“Happy to license this design to you, Sony,” the company teased. “You’ll find that our rates are outrageous.”
It’s not yet clear how Nintendo will respond to these Clone of the Kingdom decals.
Source: Video Games Chronicle
