An unboxing video for the Nintendo Switch surfaced online last week after a Neogaf user said he received the gaming console two weeks before its March 3 release. The video gave fans an early look into previously unreleased details about the Switch’s hardware. Now Nintendo said the Switch shown in the video was stolen by “employees of a U.S. distributor.”
In a statement released to IGN, Nintendo asserted that the Switch obtained by a Neogaf user had been stolen in an “isolated incident” and later resold illegally. Those involved had been fired, and they’re now being investigated by local authorities.
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.
The Neogaf user who got an early Switch, however, didn’t appear to be aware that he purchased a stolen console and initially thought it was a mistake. Once he found out—after the unboxing video was posted—he told other users on the forum that he ended up sending it back to Nintendo and noted that he’s not in any trouble for purchasing the Switch.
“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,’” hiphoptherobot wrote on Neogaf. “So while it was unknown to me, once I found out that it had probably been stolen I did’t [sic] feel comfortable keeping it.”
H/T The Verge