Missing Europe-Bound DS Lites Confirmed Stolen

In a somewhat embarrassing and very costly twist of fate for Nintendo, a shipping container carrying a multitude of DS Lite systems as well as a large assortment of games worth a combined total of over $2.3 million (US) - rumored to have gone missing last week during its delivery to the UK - was publicly confirmed earlier today by GamesIndustry, on behalf of Nintendo, as stolen.

Having begun its trip from China, the metal crate turned up missing in Hong Kong after a brief journey rather shy of its European destination. As such, Hong Kong's police unit is willing to provide a several thousand dollar reward to anyone with helpful information regarding the retrieval of the handhelds.

Nintendo, meanwhile, has worked hastily to replace the stolen game units prior to their release date in Europe on June 23rd: "Nintendo is making every effort to ensure that there [are] enough product[s] available in the UK to meet market demand at launch." And heavy that demand may surely be; after all, the remodeled DS has thus far garnered enormous support all over Japan and throughout the US, where 135,000 systems flew off the shelves within just the first two days.