The rabid Nintendo fan base can breathe a collective sigh of relief, as two sets of images that allegedly leaked the design for the controllers for the upcoming Nintendo NX console have been confirmed to be fake. Interestingly, this confirmation came not from Nintendo Co Ltd, but from the people who actually created the hoax images.

The source behind the first set of fakes was French indie game designer David Im, who seems to have pulled off a successful viral marketing stunt showcasing his graphical skills.

Im uploaded a video to YouTube showcasing the tools and methods he used to render the faked NX controllers, and he poked fun at the gaming public for believing the leak by showing a clip from Dumb & Dumber.

Screenshot via ID 2Dev | YouTube

The second set of NX controller fakes turned out to have been real, unaltered images, but the controllers they showed were actually 3D printed models created by Finnish designer Frank Sandqvist, who also posted a video to YouTube showing how he created the fakes.

“I’m sorry if I got some people’s hopes up, but it seems most people were against this kind of design, so maybe it’s just a relief to hear that it’s fake,” Sandqvist said in his video. “Basically, my brother and I run this company where we have a laser cutter and 3D, and I thought it would be funny to see how easy it would be to recreate that photoshopped leak in real life. It turns out it’s pretty easy.”

Sandqvist’s fake controller was essentially a laser-cut piece of glossy acrylic set into a 3D printed base that was spray-painted black.

It might seem surprising that Nintendo did not immediately come forward to proclaim that the leaks were fake, but the Japanese game company has a habit of remaining elusive when it comes to unannounced products.

There is also the possibility that while the images were fake, they may not have been too far off the mark considering they were based on a real patent application filed by Nintendo last year. Considering how uncomfortable and gimmicky that design looks, however, that is hopefully not the case.

Image credit: Perkele37 | Reddit