Nearly 3,000 Switch 2 consoles have been reported stolen from a truck transporting stock between Nintendo of America’s headquarters and a Texas GameStop store.
Police investigating the Nintendo Switch 2 theft, discovered while the driver was mid-route in Colorado, said the value of the lost consoles amounts to $1.4 million, per local ABC News affiliate Denver 7.
Tracking down the culprit, or culprits, may not prove easy, however — as investigators say they are currently unsure exactly where the theft took place along the driver’s 1,332-mile journey.
Was this a planned operation, with the truck tracked from Nintendo’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington and targeted specifically? Or was this a random theft? Police say multiple pallets of Switch 2 stock were shifted from the truck’s trailer — suggesting at least some level of organisation.
If caught, police say those responsible could face multiple felony charges for theft. The driver, meanwhile, has said he wasn’t aware he was transporting stock of Nintendo’s new console.
Local police have asked for any information about the crime, with a tip line available on 720-874-8477.
Nintendo Switch 2 finally launched worldwide earlier this month, and went on to sell 3.5 million consoles over its first few days on sale. Despite early fears over stock shortages, Nintendo has managed to keep its new console relatively available — though incidents such as this won’t help.
Still, thieves have been targeting expensive video game stock for years. Back in 2020, around the launch of PlayStation 5, Sony’s in-demand new console was being stolen from moving vehicles in the UK via a technique known as the ‘rollover’. The Times reported that British gangs had used the technique dozens of times to swipe PS5 consoles from trucks while on the road, with other vehicles used to box in the truck while a thief attached to a rope climbed aboard at speeds up to 50mph, and used cutting tools to get inside.
Nintendo stock has previously been targeted, too, such as in a 2015 incident where an entire truck carrying stock of Switch game Splatoon, as well as various rare amiibo figurines, was stolen.
Finally, of course, this isn’t the first Switch 2 incident to hit headlines for retail giant GameStop, which infamously ruined the midnight launch of Nintendo’s new console by stapling receipts into the Switch 2’s screen.
Image credit: Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
