Nintendo confirms mass DS heist

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.