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
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.
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.
Sure enough, the lost Switch had Animal Crossing installed. Through the virtual postal system, the officer sent out a letter notifying friends of the Switch owner about the situation along with the address and phone number of the police station.
Impressed by the officer’s unconventional communication method, one player who got the message shared a screenshot with an Animal Crossing fan group, the Taipei Police said.
“Mr. Police officer, may I ask which island owner are you?” the post read. “Thank you Mr. Police officer for your resourcefulness … [because of] your quick alert my friend was able to regain his island.”
