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Taiwan
AbacusGames

Taiwan police return lost Nintendo Switch with the help of Animal Crossing: New Horizons

  • Police in Taipei said they found the owner of a lost Nintendo Switch console by sending virtual postcards on hit game Animal Crossing
  • Animal Crossing is the hit Nintendo game of the moment and lets players mail messages to each other

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Taipei police illustrate the incident using Animal Crossing incidents. Picture: Handout
Karen Chiu

A lost wallet may have the owner’s ID card inside. A lost smartphone might still get calls from someone who knows the owner. But how do you find a person who left behind a Nintendo Switch?

Police in Taiwan found a way.

The Taipei City Police Department said one of its local stations in Daan district recently received a lost Switch. At first, it wasn’t clear if there was a way to contact the owner. According to the department’s Facebook page, the handheld console didn’t contain any identifying information.

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But one officer came up with a unique idea: Play the console’s hit game of the moment, Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The Japanese title, featuring talking animals building houses and gardens on their own islands, became an instant global hit during the coronavirus lockdown.

One way for players to interact with each other is to send letters. This can be done by heading to the island’s airport, where you can pick a postcard, craft a message, and mail it to friends who have previously visited you.

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A postcard sent by the police officer to a friend of the Nintendo Switch owner. (Picture: Handout)
A postcard sent by the police officer to a friend of the Nintendo Switch owner. (Picture: Handout)
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