UPDATED: Nintendo Reclaims Leaked and Possibly Stolen Switch

Published: February 18, 2017 6:43 PM /

By:


Nintendo Switch Seller

UPDATE: A Nintendo representative has come out and released a statement declaring that the individuals that claimed to have gotten early access to Nintendo Switch consoles from unspecified retailers are actually cases where people have gotten access to stolen units. The individuals have since been identified, have been fired from their places of work, and are under investigation by the police. The representative also added that Nintendo is looking forward to everyone experiencing the console for themselves on the 3rd of March.

UPDATE: GameFAQ board user mmarkster has come forward with an image of an email that he supposedly sent two days ago notifying Nintendo of the leaked information and including images of the MAC Address of the device. It is unknown whether this is the email that brought the leak to Nintendo's attention, whether this is the only email Nintendo received on the matter, or whether this image is even real. mmarkster when asked if he sent it replied "Yes. I figured it was the right thing to do."

ORIGINAL STORY: Earlier this week footage of the UI of the Nintendo Switch hit Vidme in a combination unboxing and set up of the console by NeoGAF user "hiphoptherobot." This has been the first time the UI has been shown to the public, as not even Nintendo has shown it off ahead of its March 3rd release date.

Originally releasing his video on the 16th of February, Hiphoptherobot showed off the UI, the settings of the console, and other new features that we were not aware of. At the time Hiphoptherobot had explained by some strange luck that he had had his Nintendo Switch delivered weeks early. Today, he has come forward to say that the early release copy is now back in the hands of Nintendo and all of the original videos have been removed from Hiphoptherobot's channel. He explained through a variety of NeoGAF comments that he was now out of both the Nintendo Switch console as well as the money that he had paid for it, he is not in any trouble with Nintendo and that his acquisition might not have been as accidental as he originally implied:

For the sake of clarification I will say that I don't think the person I got it from knew and therefore I certainly didn't know but somewhere down the chain some switches had "mysteriously disappeared".
It has also been noticed that prior to releasing his videos of the Nintendo Switch UI and bringing so much attention to himself he had attempted to sell the Nintendo Switch on Reddit via the r/GameSale subreddit before it was removed for not listing a price.

While it's good that Nintendo is following leads to recover these potentially stolen consoles, it's also good to take both sides with a grain of salt. At this point in time, it's really impossible to really know how the Nintendo Switch ended up in Hiphoptherobot's hands as over the course of this story his explanation has changed from being delivered early, to being purchased from an unknown third party.

What do you think of Nintendo getting back their lost Switch? What is your theory of the narrative? Who just really wants to finally get their own Switch? Let us know in the comments below!

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| Senior Content Manager

Andrew has written Video Game and Entertainment news, reviews, and guides for 10+ years. As Senior Content Manager, he assists in creating and editing… More about Andrew