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Report: Nintendo Switch Consoles Stolen From US Distributor, Featured In Leaked Videos
A series of recent leaked videos have shown off Nintendo Switch consoles in the wild before the official release this March. According to IGN, these units were stolen by employees of a U.S. distributor and then illegally resold. The videos, which were posted on YouTube and NeoGAF, gave an overview of the Switch's menu screens, storage space, and UI.
NeoGAF user hiphoptherobot wrote in a post that he was "lucky" when he thought his retailer shipped him his pre-ordered Switch early. According to Nintendo, however, this unit was one of the several consoles that were stolen in an "isolated incident." The U.S. distributor remains unnamed. You can view Nintendo's full statement to IGN below:
Earlier this week, individuals claimed to prematurely purchase a small number of Nintendo Switch systems from an unspecified retailer. Nintendo has determined these units were stolen in an isolated incident by employees of a U.S. distributor, with one system being illegally resold. The individuals involved have been identified, terminated from their place of employment and are under investigation by local law enforcement authorities on criminal charges. Nintendo Switch will launch worldwide on March 3, 2017, and we look forward to everyone being able to discover the wonders of the new system for themselves at that time.
Although these videos are leaked, they show off some interesting tidbits of information for the upcoming console. The video from hiphoptherobot shows several features, including the account creation process in order to create a new user on the system, customization options, and storage. For example, the Switch's internal storage is apparently limited to 25.9 GB.
According to Kotaku, user hiphoptherobot sent back his system to Nintendo after learning that it was stolen from whomever he bought it from.
You can view the video for yourself below, though it may not be available for long.
As it says in the above statement from Nintendo, the individuals who committed theft have been "identified, terminated from their place of employment and are under investigation by local law enforcement authorities on criminal charges."
We have reached out to Nintendo for further comment, and will update this article should we hear back. The Nintendo Switch releases on March 3. Check out the full list of announced Switch titles here, and also read about how eShop purchases will be tied to an online account on the Switch.
[Source: IGN]
Our Take
We've known so little about Nintendo Switch's hardware, that leaks seem inevitable. Fans have been eager to hear more about it despite its release in just two weeks time, and many would prefer to hear more about the console from Nintendo itself. However, these thefts are a blow to Nintendo, and it's good to hear that the perpetrators have been identified and are facing consequences.
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