More than $1 million worth of Nintendo Switch 2 consoles, which retail for about $500 a piece, were stolen from a semi-truck in Colorado earlier this month, authorities said.
A thief broke into a semi-truck transporting a shipment of the newly released video game consoles on June 8, the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office said.
The truck driver was headed to Texas when he discovered his trailer had been raided and several pallets of the console were taken during a pre-trip inspection in the town of Bennett, about 36 miles east of Denver.
A whopping 2,810 Nintendo Switch 2 consoles were taken in the heist, authorities said.
The total loss of the stolen goods is believed to be more than $1.4 million, the sheriff’s office said.
Steve Beaty, a computer science professor at MSU Denver, told 9 News the stolen video game consoles will likely end up for sale somewhere – but likely aren’t worth the hassle and possible repercussions.
"Because they're stolen, I would expect them to head to the dark web pretty quickly unless they're shipped out of country," Beaty said, noting that jailbreaking such devices can be tricky.
While Switches for sale on the dark web cost half the price, they each have a serial number that both police and Nintendo can track.
“Nintendo does have the capability of what we call bricking the device and that is to make it nonfunctional,” Beaty said.
While investigators search for suspects, Beaty urged shoppers to stick with trusted retailers when buying such devices.
“They are pricey little devices. So if you're not paying $500-$600 for one, you're probably not getting the original. And of course, you certainly want to go through reputable dealers," Beaty said.
The driver said he was driving to a GameStop store in Grapevine, Texas, from Nintendo of America in Redmond, Washington. It was not immediately clear where the robbery took place along the route.
The driver also told authorities he didn’t know the contents of the trailer before taking off on the trip, only that it was games or toys.
Investigators said they are looking for information or suspects. Anyone with information that may be able to help their investigation is asked to share a tip at 720-874-8477.
