ABC News is reporting a huge loss for Nintendo today as Thieves shamelessly backed up two large diesel trucks into a Nintendo warehouse in SeaTac, Washington earlier today. Police say the criminals stole thousands of consoles by using forklifts to put all the Wii U goodies into two 53-foot semi-trucks.
There is some saving grace for Nintendo, however: all Wii U consoles are traceable, meaning it’s just a matter of time before the criminals are caught selling them.
That being said, in a holiday season where Nintendo needs all the momentum they can get, the absence of those 7,000 consoles could be equally damaging. That’s not only 7,000 less people paying $300 a pop ($2.1 million total), but also 7,000 less people supporting the console, buying games, playing online games, buying online content, and moving the console forward.
Whether or not Nintendo has any extra measures in place to prevent stolen units from being used is unknown and unlikely, but buyers should beware if they’re not purchasing from a big box store or reputable online retailer. For example: say you purchase the Wii U on EBay, it’s one of the stolen units, Nintendo is able to track it, and they come knocking at your door.