Last Thursday, a NeoGAF user posted videos from a Nintendo Switch that he said he obtained two weeks early from an “unnamed store”. Today, he says he sent it back — and Nintendo says it was stolen “by employees of a US distributor”.
This afternoon, GAF user hiphoptherobot wrote on the popular message board that he had shipped his Switch back to Nintendo, two days after unboxing the system and posting videos of its user interface in action. He was vague about the details, and at first, other GAF posters speculated that Nintendo had simply bullied him into returning a system that he’d obtained because of a retailer’s mistake.
But in subsequent posts, hiphoptherobot made it clear that this system was stolen.
“I understand why they want it back and it sounds like that Switch might have been obtained in not the legalist of ways before I received it so them wanting it back is within their rights,” hiphoptherobot told me in a direct message on GAF. He says he didn’t know the Switch had been stolen until after he made the videos, and that when he found out he’d gotten it through illicit means, he sent it back to Nintendo.
In a statement to IGN, Nintendo made things clear:
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 US 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.
In other news, the Switch comes out in 13 days and we still don’t know if it will launch with a Virtual Console.
Comments
10 responses to “Leaked Switch Was Stolen, Nintendo Says”
13 days out and we don’t know squat actually. Nintendo are beyond frustrating.
Not really – we know everything we need to know other than a few minor details. I wouldn’t be surprised if 3-7 days out they drop a tone of videos or do another direct. Its a smart way to continue hype until launch. And really what else do we need to know right now?
We already know it will have VC support – we just don’t know if it includes the GameCube, though hints have been dropped it will. We already know what titles will be available outside physical release.
Really it’s coming down to surprising us and keeping the hype up – and so far they are doing alright. Its not like they haven’t said multiple times now “we have more to share very soon”.
I’m like the rest, I want to know everything now – but I’m also looking forward to the surprises the days before and even launch day.
You shouldn’t be ‘surprised’ by a $400 hardware purchase, you should know exactly what you’re buying. The only reason to hold back on details this close to launch is to ensure buyers are uninformed when they make their purchase.
Hardly, you know what the machine is capable of, and can make the decision as to whether the capability announced before launch is enough to make it worth your while buying it on launch day.
If it is, buy it, if it isn’t, don’t.
Nintendo has made it very clear what the switch does, what games are available at purchase, battery life, what is included with the system and the prices.
They are being completely honest about what the system will do for you if you purchase it.
If they make it do more stuff down the track, or even on launch day, then that is a bonus. They are being more honest than any other console maker I can remember.
They are ensuring buyers *are* informed, rather than buying for something it might not end up being able to do in the future. If what it does for you now isn’t enough for you to buy it, then don’t buy it.
Nintendo are well aware of what will or won’t be in the device at launch. The virtual console is a pretty important thing for a lot of people, as well as GameCube VC support. A simple “no, not at launch” would give people a better answer than “nothing to announce at this time”, because the former is informed and the latter isn’t.
Online functionality (especially account-based vs device-based portability) is also a pretty important detail that has been conspicuously absent.
Didn’t this guy claim he got it shipped out early from a retailer pre-order that he refused to oust? Now he’s sending it back to Nintendo when they claim it was stolen by a distributor, so did whoever stole the shipment decided to ship out to pre-orders? Because if he got it from an unnamed retailer as he claims, he should be shipping it back to the store, unless it did come from the back of a truck, a place he claims the console never came from!
The more I think about this guy’s story, the less sense it makes.
I think I’ve been playing too much Ace Attorney….
this seems to be a bit of marketing
I hope those employees of a U.S distributor face criminal charges for stealing that Nintendo Switch from a retailer because once they go to court to face before a judge they will have a lot of explaining to do because you know what those scumbags should go to jail and think about what they have done something wrong which is illegal and is a crime.
and… BREATHE
They should get the death sentence! Murica… derp
“I totally didn’t know this console that hasn’t been released anywhere else and isn’t meant to come out for just over two weeks was stolen or being sold to me illegally. Honest.”