Even odder, the cartridges appear to have been swapped out for… googly eyes.
Over the holidays, posts about the bizarre phenomenon beganpopping up on social media.
It’s not clear how widespread the issue is, nor is it clear who the culprit is.
One Reddit user says they’ve fallen victim to the googly eye switcheroo multiple times.
“Walmart refused to refund/replace, blaming Nintendo.
Had to twist their arms a bit, but Nintendo eventually gave me a digital copy of the game.
Recently, I went to Walmart to buy Pokemon Violet.
I asked if the clerk would watch me open it because I told them about what happened with TotK.
Bro was beside himself when I cracked it open to reveal yet another googly eye.
They swapped out the game for another (which we also checked).”
Neither Walmart nor Nintendo have commented on the issue.
For now, an issue at Walmart warehouses or distribution centers seems to be the likeliest culprit.
But it’s also possible that Santa simply ran out of coal this year.
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