Gamer group saves Christmas for boy who lost his Nintendo Switch

A gamer group saved Christmas for an 8-year-old boy who lost his Nintendo Switch last week, in another example of how video games may help make the world a better place.

Young Arthur Millichamp, from Mapperley in Nottingham, U.K., was in an Uber ride with his mom Esmee Millichamp on December 16, but five minutes after stepping out of the vehicle, Arthur realized that he did not have his Nintendo Switch.

Apparently, the console was left at the back of the Uber ride. Esmee tried calling the driver, but to no avail. She was able to get through the following day, but the driver said that he did not see the Nintendo Switch in his vehicle.

Esmee knew that somebody had picked up Arthur’s Nintendo Switch, because they tried to log on to the internet with the console and set up a new profile. Desperate to recover the device, which was Arthur’s gift for his birthday in July, Esmee made a plea on a local news website.

“We know this is quite a trivial plea and there are far worse things going on in the world but we wanted to ask if the person who took the Nintendo could give it back,” Esmee said. “We can’t afford to replace it for him so it is just a case of hoping someone can return it.”

The Millichamp family was worried that incident would ruin Christmas for Arthur, not just because the Nintendo Switch went missing, but also because all his presents were related to the console.

Tony Stephenson, the founder of Nintendo Nottingham, a local gaming group, saw the article and decided to help Arthur. The group had a spare Nintendo Switch that was not being used, and after consulting with other members, decided to give it to the 8-year-old boy. The group also replaced the five games that were lost with the console, which included Super Mario Party, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Street Fighter, and Lego Ninjago.

“Honestly that is the nicest thing anyone could do, I am astounded and so grateful,” said Esmee in response to the generous move by Nintendo Nottingham. “It is so kind of them. The kindness of people is amazing.”

It looks like the Nintendo Switch is getting the knack of bringing people closer to one another. Earlier this month, cops who were called to handle a noise complaint on a group of friends ended up playing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with them.