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Over 12,000 black Nintendo DS Lite Systems Stolen 222

Posted by timothy from the is-that-retail-wholesale-or-government-contract dept.
Wowzer writes "$2.32 million worth of black Nintendo DS Lite systems stolen in Hong Kong when their shipment making its way from China, where the DS Lites are made, to Europe where the black DS Lites are launching on June 23rd. The Hong Kong police suspected that the black DS Lite units sold in Hong Kong recently were part of the same theft and offers one million Hong Kong dollars ($128,840 or 102,138) to anyone with a tip. So next time you see one being sold on eBay from Hong Kong, give the cops a call."
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Over 12,000 black Nintendo DS Lite Systems Stolen More

Over 12,000 black Nintendo DS Lite Systems Stolen

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  • is a black DS included? (Score:4, Funny)

    by gEvil (beta) ( 945888 ) on Thursday June 15, 2006 @10:02AM (#15539520)
    Is a black DS lite included in that 1M HKDollars? If not, count me out...

    • Re:is a black DS included? (Score:4, Funny)

      by jongi_ct ( 738355 ) on Thursday June 15, 2006 @10:08AM (#15539574) Journal
      Just bought one here in South Africa for ZAR-20, which is $3.3, it is being sold by Nigerians on black market, I knew anything comes out of these chaps(Nigerians) is stolen :-). I need a number wher I can reach the Police, please reply

      • Re:is a black DS included? (Score:5, Funny)

        by h2d2 ( 876356 ) on Thursday June 15, 2006 @10:34AM (#15539809) Homepage

        Dear Friend

        My name is Amaandu Butaani and I am the head of the secret police of the order of the stolen merchandise sale in Nigeria. Recently my capitan got hold of a large container with overt 5000 Nintendo GameCube DS LITE version. I can ship them to your doorstep with FedEX, in return you can send me one (1) Ipod VIDEO version. Please reply with your social security number and complete bank informacion. My wife and children in great danger, and so my life.

        Your friend,,,,
        Amaandu Butaani

    • Re:is a black DS included? (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Brain: One million dollars can buy many black DS lites!
      gEvil: Explain how!
      Brain: Money can be exchanged for goods and services.
      gEvil: Woo hoo!

  • Finally!!! (Score:4, Funny)

    by numbski ( 515011 ) * <numbski&hksilver,net> on Thursday June 15, 2006 @10:02AM (#15539521) Homepage Journal
    *Looks at RIAA/MPAA*

    *points*

    THOSE ARE PIRATES! GOT IT!?!?!?!!

    Sheesh. I'm gonna go get some coffee now. :P

  • Currency symbol? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 15, 2006 @10:02AM (#15539523)
    one million Hong Kong dollars ($128,840 or 102,138) -- 102,138 what?
    • This is a common fallacy in reports about companies getting robbed. They always state the loss of (units x price), when all they really lost was (units x cost).
      • Wow, so you didn't even bother to read the summary. Good job!

        And to whichever mod modded the GP 'offtopic,' it's a perfectly valid question. Knowing which currency the 102,138 number is in would help. I'd look it up in TFA, but fucking Websense won't let me.
        • From the summary: "$2.32 million worth of black Nintendo DS Lite systems stolen in Hong Kong when their shipment making its way"

          So you didn't even read the first line of the summary before wrongly accusing someone else of not reading the summary. Nice irony.
          • If you'd actually bother to follow the thread (yeah, I know--it's a really really hard thing to do), you'd see that voice_of_all_reason was directly responding to a question asking what currency the 102,138 was in--a value that refers to the bounty being offered, not the value of the stolen goods. To respond to that question with a comment about the value of the stolen goods makes no logical sense. So voice_of_all_reason was either answering a question that wasn't even asked, or he was referring to a value

      • Re:Currency symbol? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Cougem ( 734635 ) on Thursday June 15, 2006 @10:37AM (#15539838)
        Not at all. If they only have enough resources to make a certain number of units, and they've forcasted a certain profit coming from them, and are relying on that profit, then if a large proportion of those units a lost, then it can cause a lot of problems. Yes, they've lost the money it took to create the units, but they've also lost the profits, which they may not be able to make up for some time.

        • Insurance? (Score:3, Insightful)

          by Tetravus ( 79831 )
          I don't know if the units were insured for full retail value or less, but a big chunk of the cost is going to be caught by Nintendo's (or the shipper's) insurance company.

          If they pay out the cash quickly, it may even work out in Nintendo's favor (given interest rates and an average time to pay for merchandise ordered by retailers of about 90 days...). Actually, that's not likely but it is possible.
    • Euro (Follow the link) I wonder if /. can handle a Euro symbol?

      * Ohh, yes it can, wow I'm supprised!
      * thought not.
      (*Delete as required)

    • Re:Currency symbol? (Score:2, Informative)

      by rgravina ( 520410 )
      102,138 Euro. For some reason if you enter the Euro symbol into your comment (or at least if you use the character from TFA), it gets stripped out.
    • one million Hong Kong dollars

      I bet the guy who announced that had his pinky firmly planted in the corner of his mouth

      -------

      ALRERNATE BIZZAROWORLD CYBERPUNK BONUS EXTRA POST:
      Shouldn't those be "kongbucks"?
    • Just 102138. It's a non-unitized scalar. Unfortunately, official recognition of this type of conversion has wreaked havoc on international trade economies, as non-unitized scalars may be multiplied, fed through arbitrary functions, etc. and then converted back to familiar units of currency with rather unconventional effects.
  • They prefer to be call African-American DSs.

    • Re:Not Politically Correct (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      African-American DS Lite's stole my bike!
    • Except that you Americans are only getting white ones (insert alternative racism joke here). And here in Europe, where the machines were supposed to be going, you're more likely to find someone take offence by calling them American than Black...

  • Catch 22 (Score:3, Interesting)

    by mfh ( 56 ) on Thursday June 15, 2006 @10:05AM (#15539547) Homepage Journal
    This could be a PR stunt, because any thief stupid enough to steal ALL the black DS units would never be able to sell them without getting caught. On the other hand... maybe Nintendo should hold off on shipping more?

    Here's a mugshot of the evidence [engadget.com].

    • Re:Catch 22 (Score:2, Informative)

      by Valthan ( 977851 )
      Just a note, that is the wrong pic. That is one of the Regular black DS, where they are saying the Black DS Lites were the ones stolen.

      • Mugshot (Score:1)

        by mfh ( 56 )
        Yes, please add the word LITE in your photo. Otherwise -- they both fit the same description.
    • that would be an interesting approach.
    • Um, that's a black DS. Not a DS Lite.
    • Yes, because filing a false police report is the way to get people to buy your product. No, it's not Nintendo's doing. Why would you delay your own product being launched by saying "they were stolen" to make them sell better when... get this... DS LITES ARE ALREADY SELLING WELL! Yes, several retail outlets were out of stock when I checked (NewEgg was out of stock too). Also, your logic that "any thief stupid enough to steal ALL the black DS units would never be able to sell them without getting caught"
    • That's a picture of an original DS in black. What's been stolen is a batch of black DS lites [videogamesblogger.com], the new style.
    • Eh, I don't think they stole all the black DS lites, 12k units would not be enough for the European release. :P

  • How can people tell them appart? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Ignem ( 941653 ) on Thursday June 15, 2006 @10:05AM (#15539548)
    So how are people buying one on ebay supposed to know wether or not it was part of the stolen shipment?

    • Re:How can people tell them appart? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by blueZhift ( 652272 ) on Thursday June 15, 2006 @10:16AM (#15539657) Homepage Journal
      That's a very good question. My guess is that since the theft is relatively high profile, that eBay may feel obliged to shut down all auctions of black DS Lites for a while. And I wouldn't be at all surprised if Nintendo itself made such a request. In any case, anyone trying to sell any of the stolen DS Lites is likely going to attract more attention than usual for a while and has a higher risk of getting caught. Knowing this, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to try to get a black DS Lite on eBay right now since you wouldn't know and may even end up having to give the DS back if it turns out to be part of the stolen shipment.

    • So how are people buying one on ebay supposed to know wether or not it was part of the stolen shipment?

      Well, first of all, considering that it's a 'new product' one shouldn't be seeing it all that often. Also, I don't know if you noticed, but many consumer electronics have what's call a serial number, which may uniquely identify a particular unit. So, here's your oppurtunity to get a fancy new DS system, and collect a $120,000 reward, so get shopping. Of course, if you do find that your unit is stolen,

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • So how are people buying one on ebay supposed to know wether or not it was part of the stolen shipment?

      They're not legally available anywhere yet. Release date is the 23rd.

      The thieves could wait until then to put them on eBay, but they then lose a lot of the exclusivity value.

  • Exchange value (Score:4, Funny)

    by Rob T Firefly ( 844560 ) on Thursday June 15, 2006 @10:06AM (#15539562) Homepage Journal
    $128,840
    That works out to 1,288 1UPs! Count me in! *puts on overalls and moustache*
  • "So next time you see one being sold on eBay from Hong Kong, give the cops a call."

    This is just a fucking stupid thing to say. First off, lots of electronics are sold on eBay from Hong Kong. The chances of one DS Lite being part of a stolen shipment is not great enough to warrant calling the cops every time you see one. Secondly, to think the authorities aren't watching eBay themselves is pretty ignorant. Of *course* they're watching eBay, in addition to a million other outlets.

    Finally, just which

  • HK police contact info (Score:5, Informative)

    by mincognito ( 839071 ) on Thursday June 15, 2006 @10:09AM (#15539585)
    So next time you see one being sold on eBay from Hong Kong, give the cops a call
    Considering the reward involved i would contact the HK police directly if you have any info:

    email: pprb@police.gov.hk
    phone: + 852 25277177 (police hotline); +852 25277887 (Organised Crime and Triad Hotline)

  • Grammar grammer gramma (Score:3, Insightful)

    by kccricket ( 217833 ) <kccricket@NOspam.gmail.com> on Thursday June 15, 2006 @10:10AM (#15539591) Homepage
    Something is seriously wrong witht that first sentence. Remove the descriptors and it breaks down to this:
    "Nintendo DS Lite systems stolen when their shipment to Europe where the black DS Lites are launching on June 23rd"

    Were they stolen on the ship by pirates? I don't understand.

  • Serial Numbers (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Detritus ( 11846 ) on Thursday June 15, 2006 @10:12AM (#15539612) Homepage
    Assuming that the police have a list of the serial numbers, the thieves may have a hard time unloading their loot without being caught. "I bought it from some guy off the back of a truck" is not a good defense to buying stolen goods.
    • Thief rings scratch the serial numbers off guns. I really don't think they'll have any qualms about doing so with a game boy.

      Unless you're implying that I've missed out on some sort of law that makes owning an electronic device without a serial number equivalent to High Treason.
      • law that makes owning an electronic device without a serial number equivalent to High Treason.

        Gamers are pretty serious about taking care of their stuff. Try to sell them a device that's been defaced and you just might hear some angry words. There might even be discussion of violence. As we all know, once you get to that point high treason is just around the corner.

      • Re:Serial Numbers (Score:3, Insightful)

        by whoop ( 194 )
        One of the great things of the DS is the internet play. Nintendo just has to ban the MAC addresses/serial numbers for those units and buyers lose out on that part of the fun.
      • I wouldn't want to be a storekeeper with a dozen Nintendo DS Lites on the shelf, all with missing serial numbers. How are you going to explain that to the police?
        • Ideally, you don't have to. The great thing about an adversarial justice system is that the onus is on the police to prove your items are stolen, not for you to prove they are legit.

          Just kidding, that's not really how it works. And if you don't cooperate, they'll just sieze them and destroy your business out of spite.
    • Even if the police had a list of the serial numbers, how would that help buyers? And do you really think the cops will start inspecting every DS lite they see people carrying around?

  • Ninjas (Score:5, Funny)

    by Skidge ( 316075 ) * on Thursday June 15, 2006 @10:12AM (#15539615)
    I'd blame ninjas. They'd obviously go after the black DS Lites, since they'd go better with their outfits.
  • Oh, I can't wait for this one. Posts every 5 minutes about how they're going to get the Corona gang and how the cops don't care. Vigilante justice for all!

  • To whom it may concern: (Score:5, Funny)

    by timster ( 32400 ) on Thursday June 15, 2006 @10:23AM (#15539717)
    I am currently looking for a black DS Lite at a, uh, reasonable price. Please contact me as soon as possible if you happen to have a, er, glut of such items that you are just looking to get rid of, no questions asked.

  • Apple charges extra for black... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Speare ( 84249 ) on Thursday June 15, 2006 @10:30AM (#15539768) Homepage Journal
    Funny, Apple charges extra for a black iPod or a black MacBook. Now Nintendo is claiming that black DS Lite units will be more rare, and thus the market will probably inflate their value. I'm not saying the companies are gonna merge, or anything.

  • I didn't do it (Score:4, Funny)

    by MooseTick ( 895855 ) on Thursday June 15, 2006 @11:12AM (#15540164) Homepage
    As a side note, I have a connection who independently has obtained around 999,999 - 1,000,001 very dark brown(almost black) DS Lites and is looking to unload them cheap. Any parties interested can contact him on via PicoChat.

  • Stolen? (Score:3, Funny)

    by Maradine ( 194191 ) * on Thursday June 15, 2006 @11:25AM (#15540277) Homepage
    Item #5667815901
    ----

    1 Truck
    Big-ish, holds about, I don't know, 12,000 Pop-tarts boxes.
    Registered in Hong Kong (License: MTHRLOD) Buyer responsible for tag and title.
    Comes with full tank.
    Might want to sanitize the back.

    $50 OBO.
  • .... unavailable for comment.

  • wow (Score:2)

    by revery ( 456516 ) *
    The Hong Kong police suspected that the black DS Lite units sold in Hong Kong recently were part of the same theft and offers one million Hong Kong dollars ($128,840 or 102,138) to anyone with a tip.

    Wow, $128,840 or 102,138?

    I'll just take the number please. Now, if I can just get 456,542 I'll have s complete set...
  • A DS Lite is a Nintendo DS in a smaller form factor. If you own the latter, what the hell are you doing buying another one? If the original was great, what's the urgency to replace it? If the original was bad, then perhaps you shouldn't be buying another one.

    If you're a new buyer, why the sudden clamour to buy something which has been out there in a slightly larger format for over a year now?

    Either way I don't get it. These things aren't going to disappear overnight.

  • 1. Get a massive quantity of your top selling product stolen.
    2. Report to news/media outlets.
    3. Free publicity
    4. ???
    5. Profit?

    I really think companies need to find better ways of creatively advertising their products... oh, wait this is for real.

    Well, at the very least it is reverse descrimination. I mean why only steal the black ones...
  • I need to pick me up a few of these if they are going for cheap. Underground black market rules!
  • This sort of thing never happens in China. No corporate piracy, no theft of trade secrets, no counterfeiting industry... No...

    These units will probably turn up in the hands of "Nuntenda" a new Chinese gaming company formed to sell handheld gaming systems.
  • It's safe to assume these DS Lite's won't be showing up on eBay. And if they do, these guys aren't stupid, they'll be selling them from various nations around southeast Asia. It's also very likely the units have been sent back into China as well and are being sold through local markets. Unless someone makes the mistake of drawing too much attention to themselves it's not too likely they'll be discovered. I'd be surprised if the units were still in Hong Kong.

    I read a story quite a few years ago about car the
    • A legit car delivery service/dealership would require about the same effort, but they'd have to pay for the cars.

      So long as they're confident they're not going to get caught I'd say they're more successful commiting crimes.

      Sarcastic Version : Yea, because if you live in Hong Kong and you work hard, you're almost certainly being paid a lot.

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