Were these things on show, liked hooked up or the games on a shelf or something, or in a closet?
Not that it really matters I guess, but it's even more fucked in if they were going through your grandparents cupboards.
I've had family steal from me, shit sucks but eh that's their true self so I don't talk to them anymore.
Honestly I'd have rented a tiny storage locker since those run like $20 a month but that's in the past
Sorry OP
Gees from family too. You think they would ask your grandparents first.
Are these...serious posts? You really think some just took a handheld system (well, I guess three now) and like 30 games without saying anything to anyone? I just can't see someone doing that, even a younger kid. I would think they'd at least ask, or their parents would call about it after the fact.
Framing it giving them the benefit of the doubt opens a path for them to return them to you without losing face. If they thought you'd be gone for a whole year they may have planned on playing the games and then putting them back later with no one the wiser.
If you assume this to be the truth (even though it probably isn't), you're much more likely to get your games back, because a party that thinks he'll be looked at as a thief if he comes out, isn't going to.
I think it could work but more likely on closer extended family. Sounds like you don't really know these relatives that stayed over that well. Maybe your grandpa buried them in the backyard?
Whelp, I just got back from a year long job in South Korea and I came back to my grandparents house, where I was storing my stuff while I was overseas, and am going to be staying for a bit under my next job starts to find all of my PS4 games, my 3DS XL, and all of my 3DS games have been stolen. At first I was thinking maybe the PS4 games had just been misplaced, because all of them were missing but my Switch and 3DS cases were still there. Then I realized that I had all of my 3DS games in a carry case I got from the old Club Nintendo days were I kept the actual carts. And when I went to look where I kept my 3DS, yep, it and the case were gone (I was also keeping it in a Club Nintendo pouch, both it and the case were also Zelda themed).
My grandparents have no explanation, except that there was a family reunion and few months ago and several people stayed the night. It wasn't just a random theft I think, either. They only took my 3DS, the 3DS games, and the PS4 games. I have several PS3 games, Wii U games, along with a PS3 and Wii U, but none of that was touched. That tells me that they weren't just randomly grabbing shit to pawn or whatever, they most likely wanted them to have. I mean, maybe they knew those games were more valuable or something and didn't want it to be obvious, this is possible as well, but I kind of feel like someone doing this would just go for at least the other games if they were going to steal a whole handheld and about 30 games.
Anyway, it sucks, especially the 3DS stuff. Most of them are Nintendo games, which either stay at full price or get discontinued, and the saves I had for them are, I guess, gone forever. I'll probably get a cheapy 2DS model so I can play Samus Returns and Warioware Gold that were in packages waiting for me when I got back. Might hunt down some of my favs, too, just to have. I almost left my Switch games in a separate case when I left but decided last minute to just bring them with my Zelda case just in case. Glad I did, because I'm sure those would be gone, too.
TL:DR: Read the first sentence and you get the gist of the whole thing.
If you backup your 3DS saves to the system, do they only work with the game cart they came from? That part about losing saves makes me think.
Anyway, not that it helps, but this sort of thing is something people often overlook in the whole physical vs digital "debate". Physical stuff can be stolen/lost.
Really sucks that this happened, and apparently by family no less.
Any of your relatives have consoles too or they just stole them to sell?
Very, very shitty situation Shauni, sorry to read about this.
Could you contact all the attendees via Facebook or by post, with an offer of a reward for anyone who knows who stole the items? This might trigger someone's memory - perhaps someone saw them in the room, or saw someone taking home much more than they had initially brought.
You could state that you will be reporting the incident to the police, but would like to give the thief the opportunity to return the items first, no consequences. If you don't hear anything back, you'll be supporting the police in their investigation. Add a few bluffs - state that you've found some fingerprints and have preserved these for the police - and that the 3DS has a traceable wi-fi connection (yeah its rubbish but they might not know that).
Worth a try.
Your grandparents probably sold it in a yard sale or gave it away.
Your grandmother secretly sold them to the relatives and is conning you.
Jokes aside, I hope you manage to find them. The fact that they not only took ALL your games, but ALSO the game systems, clearly reveals the thief had super malicious intent.