Nintendo confirms mass DS heist
Bounty of new Nintendo portables destined for UK gone; loss of reported $2 million in product won't disrupt launch.
Late last week, unconfirmed reports began to surface that a large shipment of DS Lites were stolen in Asia. Today Nintendo confirmed that the larceny did in fact take place, and that the shipment was intended for the launch of the new portable in the UK.
"A number of white DS Lites made for the UK market were stolen in Hong Kong," a Nintendo rep told GameSpot News. "Nintendo is making every effort to ensure that there is enough product available in the UK to meet market demand at launch."
The exact amount of losses as a result of the theft isn't clear, but several Internet reports speculated that the monetary damage hovered around the $2 million mark. Others reported the handheld as turning up en masse in the black markets of Taiwan and Hong Kong.
The DS Lite, which has been in high demand in both Japan and the United States, is scheduled to make its debut in the UK on June 23. The handheld was released in America on June 11, where it sold 136,500 units in its first two days on the market.
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216 Comments
Wow. The DS is that popular. How about stealing the PS3 launch units next??
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I hope its not my chinese friend who stole them!?!?
that would suck big time!!!!
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sony hired thevies to take them and sony will get the profits
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Yeah, spray paint, but try not to paint the buttons and the screens. Getting your choice color right out of the box is easier, plus they look better.
And why not black? It's such a lovely color, it flatters almost everything. Personally, I would like a Navy over the Black though.
Heh, I wouldn't be surprised if the individuals who stole the DS Lites will paint them black after reading all of these comments.
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Why are you people obsessed with the freakin' color? Are you telling me you'd like a broken black DS, over a functional white one? C'mon! Think! Spray paint the freakin' thing!
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its probably a conspiracy by sony lol, you cant stop the BIG N, they will rule over all, muhahahahaha
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NINTENDO SUCKS!!
THIS IS NOT FANBOYISM THIS IS IHATENINTENDOISM
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Wow, is it just me or are a lot of people unaware of the black DS Lite? Well, for all of those who don't know what a Black one looks like, here's a few pictures:
http://www.mobilemag.com/content/images/7986_large.jpg
http://www.cubed3.com/media/2006/May/jb/dsblack.jpg
I hope they can recover their stock, the last thing any company needs is to lose $2 Million worth of products because of someone's greed.
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Smells like Yakuza spirit.
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I don't care, I got a Lite. And to the people who want black, ITS NOT BLACK, it's DARK BLUE.
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Disgraceful. The depths that these criminals will ascend to.
If only their mother's were aware !!!
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ahhhh ass munchin thieves, i hope wen they catch these b******s that they cut their hands off, $2 million dollers is a big loss!
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I once stole a truckload of Virtual Boys. No one stopped me.
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Well that just suks!
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WOW!!! I find it very hard to believe that a complete shipment of Nintendo DS Lite have been stolen. Without a doubt those units will be spotte in China and Hong Kong... even in some Latin American countries
Hopefully Nintendo will be able to produce enough units for Europe, America and Japan.
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i bet Sony send solid snake and that dude from splinter cell to steal those 2 million worth of a DSs, thats pretty smart job sony.
Microsoft, what stealth characters do u have? and no, master chief can't steel those DSs unless he bombs the china goverment
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looks like someone really wanted a ds...........
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i wouldn't mind having the white ds lite
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The DS is one great system you have to admit.
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hhmmm. people really want these DS's now days. black in white, true unity
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Ow thats big, hopefully something can be done, and hopefuully the amount shipped out and released on release date in the UK will be a sufficient amount for the UK consumers!!!
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I really like the polar white DS lite so I am not really affected by this but still Nintendo could have released a Black DS lite at the same time they released the polar white one
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black feels like psp, white feels like iPod. Nintendo should be different and realease it in silver.
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I can't wait to buy my Nintendo DS Lite. Only 3 days.
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Don't worry, Reggie Fils-Aime saw this comming a long time ago, "My name is Reggie. I'm about kickin' ass. I'm about takin' names. And we're about making games." He's already got the names of the people responsible, now it's time for him to kick some ass.
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guys all i did was fly my big ol' jumbo jet down and load em in the back. It was my easiest job ever. Im getting some psp's next week.
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We know that the DS is owning sony, BUT WHY DID THEY HAVE TO GO AND STEAL THE SHIPMENT.....
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I think japanesegoth found them! lol!
That's really funny. New, remain sealed, from Hong Kong, very suspicious indeed.
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ouch $2 million
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thats probably them , thats pretty funnny
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i dunno if i'm allowed to post a link, but i saw this on ebay...it looks suspicious.
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-NINTENDO-DS-Lite-White-NDS-REMAIN-SEALED_W0QQitemZ104752117958QQcategoryZ75555QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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How in the H3ll did such a huge shipment got stolen!?!?!
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sounds like another sucessful mission from G.T.A.:Real Life. it shows that it's popularity is spreading worldwide. even my grandma is beatin' up old ladies on the street for petty cash. way better than the video game IMO
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wow...stay away from hong kong then.
i heard miyamoto is going there with his rocket launcher
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I hope Nintendo is pumping out a whack more!
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They just lost 2million dollars and all you guys care about still is the color of them ... jerks
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"So good, you'll steal for one?" I'm surprised nobody's made that joke yet.
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somethings wrong man. there's a conspiracy goin on...
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"Oh wait, that's right. IT NEVER HAPPENED, BECAUSE NOBODY WANTS A P.O.S.P. "
^haha, I found that funny even though I have one
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whats the possibility that they can be tracked down if people use them to play games online?
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Lol thats funny.
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hmmm are there any PSP's stolen also????
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hmm.... I already got one, but i guess gettimg a DS Lite wont be so bad....not ALL of the DS`s coudve have been stolen, so no prob
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I take it that im the only one that doesn't mind their "big" DS
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wow, and they say americans are a bunch of crooks? i bet these people wont even be caught
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wow, $2Mil in DS lites stolen, hmmmm, Thieves must be selling them to save up enough money for the new UK PS3 Package! You can almost buy 2 1/2 PS3's for that amount! hahahahahahaha
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Wow, that's a huge theft. I'm shocked that $2 mil of DS lites could be stolen just like that.
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I think the Chinese mafia took them and went back in time and sold them to Sony so Sony would be able to create the PSP. 0__0
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The black DS lite !? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO well atleast i can get it from my local chinese merchant on the corner for half the price ;-)
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