BODY: Hyrule's most famous hero is getting the royal treatment for his 40th birthday. During the latest Nintendo Direct, Nintendo unveiled a "The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Edition" Nintendo Switch 2 — a commemorative hardware bundle marking four decades since the original Legend of Zelda debuted on the Famicom in 1986.
The special edition arrives on October 29 at a price of ¥62,980, positioning it as a premium collector's package rather than a simple color swap. It's the kind of milestone release Nintendo reserves for its crown-jewel franchises.
The bundle doesn't stop at the console itself. Nintendo is pairing the anniversary Switch 2 with a themed Pro Controller and a matching carrying case, both dressed in Zelda-inspired design flourishes. For fans who have followed the series from the top-down dungeons of the NES era through the open-world sprawl of Tears of the Kingdom, it's a full-kit celebration meant to sit on a shelf as much as in an entertainment center.
The Pro Controller and carrying case were showcased alongside the console during the Direct, underscoring that this is a coordinated anniversary line rather than a one-off system. Nintendo has leaned into anniversary hardware before — the gold Wii Remote and various themed consoles — but a full Switch 2 edition signals just how central Zelda remains to the company's identity heading into the new hardware generation.
The insider take
Here in Tokyo, anniversary hardware like this tends to evaporate the moment preorders open — the Zelda faithful and resellers alike treat these as instant collectibles, and the ¥62,980 sticker won't slow that down. Expect Japanese electronics retailers to run lottery-style chūsen preorders rather than first-come sales, a now-standard defense against the scalping that plagued the base Switch 2 launch. If you want one at retail, register early and cross your fingers: for domestic buyers, a themed Switch 2 tied to a franchise this beloved is about as close to a guaranteed sell-out as Nintendo makes.
Originally reported by GAME Watch (Japanese).