The Nintendo Switch, the latest console from Nintendo was announced last month with a price of around $300. With an expected release date for the new console to be on Mar. 03, the media reception was arguably dull due to certainly debatable features and optional additions the Switch offers. Earlier this month, product unboxings of the Nintendo Switch surfaced online even without the product itself released into the markets.

New reports from the Japanese firm have confirmed that the said products unboxed were actually stolen off their inventories from a US distributor. Nintendo claims that the said partner was responsible for the mishap and as such, has fired some of their employees for letting it happen, also resulting in a possible criminal investigation by local law enforcement authorities.

The topic was quickly covered by Game Spot, which also highlighted the release date and the price of the new console. IGN on the other hand also covered the leaked unit that revealed the menu UI and the store as such which led to the response from Nintendo. In a statement issued by Nintendo to IGN, they also accused the employees of an unspecified distributor for allegedly selling the unit that was unboxed on the internet.

That said, the Nintendo switch as expected will tie all digital purchases to user accounts and will be independent of the hardware that was used to purchase the digital titles. Other reports from Kotaku mentioned that the buyer who managed to get an early access due to a mistake from the distributor had been bullied by Nintendo to return it back.

The buyer or the author of the unboxing has replied that he wasn't aware of it being stolen by the employees in order to send it to him. Ultimately, he had to concede to the fact that it was stolen after all but however, he was not at fault for such a mishap.

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