Topic: Major Wii News Coming TONIGHT?

[RickPowers]

IGN, Joystiq, and several other sites are all "reporting" that there is major console news being announced tonight at Midnight (Eastern Time).  IGN specifically claims that the news pertains to Wii.

With Nintendo having a major event in less than a week, what could possibly be announced this early?  Is it simply an NDA being lifted?  I originally thought it was hogwash, but given Apple just unleashed new products right before a major event, it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility.

What do you guys think?  A new game announcement?  Pricing?  Date?  Perhaps the "yet to be revealed feature" Miyamoto and others keep teasing us with?  

Edit: Changed Time Zone to Eastern.  My bad.

[UltimatePartyBear]

Maybe it's something they know people will react badly to, so they want to get it out early so it doesn't choke out all other news at the event.  You know, like the name.

[Smash_Brother]

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Originally posted by: PartyBear
Maybe it's something they know people will react badly to, so they want to get it out early so it doesn't choke out all other news at the event.  You know, like the name.

Oh god, not AGAIN...

[Nick DiMola]

The anticipation is killing me. I hope Sony is delaying the PS3 till next year, man would that make me smile. If it isn't that hopefully it's something good from the Big N. With all the rumors about taking rumble out of the Wii controller I'm starting to get worried.

[couchmonkey]

I don't think Sony will do that.  I'm sure the company would rather have a weak launch accompanied by major hype this Christmas than a nice safe launch that gets no media attention in April or May.

The way Joystiq reports it, they sound like they already know the news, and it's not bad...but that's just my take.   Maybe Nintendo is going to give us the release date and price so that we can focus on the games on Sept. 14th?  Maybe Super Paper Mario is a launch title.  Maybe Virtual Console pricing?  Maybe if I keep guessing, one of them will be right!

[Ian Sane]

When I first saw the subject title I was thinking "oh what unfounded rumour is being spread now."  Then I saw Rick'sname I was like "HOLY SH!T!!!"

It might be something like Super Paper Mario being moved to the Wii or something like that.  At this point sites are going to hype up ANY Wii news since everything's so hush-hush.  It's probably an NDA considering that midnight is an odd time to annouce stuff.  That sounds like something expiring and sites giving up the info as soon as possible.

[GoldenPhoenix]

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Originally posted by: Ian Sane
When I first saw the subject title I was thinking "oh what unfounded rumour is being spread now."  Then I saw Rick'sname I was like "HOLY SH!T!!!"

It might be something like Super Paper Mario being moved to the Wii or something like that.  At this point sites are going to hype up ANY Wii news since everything's so hush-hush.  It's probably an NDA considering that midnight is an odd time to annouce stuff.  That sounds like something expiring and sites giving up the info as soon as possible.

Super Paper Mario is already confirmed to be moving to Wii, Matt said so in his last N-Query.

[Kairon]

IGN never said anything SPECIFIC connecting their "eat their words tomorrow" and the mystery news given out to sites like Kotaku and Joystiq.

Besides, if it was Wii nes, wouldn't PGC have received the same information? All sites that have received the info seem to be multi-platform sites...

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[UltimatePartyBear]

Waitaminute.  Where does it say anything about this in that IGN letters page?  It says there'll be lots of news leading up to the event, but nothing specifically about midnight tonight.  Also, that Joystiq link says eastern time, not pacific, which is good, because I might be awake when it happens.

[RickPowers]

Here's my take.  If it had been anything really major, and just embargoed, the news would have gotten out already.  No NDA can cover a group of people.

As for Joystiq, I'm pretty sure their policy is to never sign an NDA.  Either them or Kotaku, or both ... I can't remember for sure.

[RickPowers]

From IGN ...

"But, you know, we've got a few goodies planned over the next week. People who whine that we're only going to post Monkey Mini Madness movies now will be eating their words tomorrow and beyond. Nothing of megatonian proportions just yet - although people interested in Madden and Rayman will be happy early next week, methinks - but some good, solid info on some anticipated Wii games nevertheless. We may even announce a new game this week. And hey, maybe we'll show you a new attachment. Am I dropping enough hints here for you? I won't write anymore as I'm sure everything will fall through now that I've teased it, anyway."

I've seen stories about a clip on steering wheel controller, and it seems like a bunch of game announcements are all trickling out.  I'm putting my money on a new game IP.  At least, I would be if I bet on anything other than poker.

[couchmonkey]

Mmmmmm, poker...yeah, a new game announcement seems like a good guestimate.

[Kairon]

A new game announcement is not necessarily the same as the news that Joystqi and Kotaku claim to have received under orders of not revealing it until midnight.

After all, IGN themselves said that they already had to turn away Publisher exclusives and News stories because they're just so chock full of news. IGN could easily have a different piece of news than the news Joystiq is trumpeting.

And I'm still unconvinced that this is Wii specific news. It could very well be a XBox360 Wand controller or a new PS3 Game, or even a new Bungie title to appear on X360!

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com  

[wandering]

New Miyamoto IP?

...I keep saying that, and I keep not seeing it.

edit: a bit off topic, but, it seems like Matt is almost openly admitting publishers pay for ign coverage:

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I've already had to turn two publishers down for top story placement because we're already booked solid for some Wii coverage.

 

[RickPowers]

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Originally posted by: Kairon
A new game announcement is not necessarily the same as the news that Joystqi and Kotaku claim to have received under orders of not revealing it until midnight.

Show me that "claim".  There is no such thing.  As I said, I'm fairly certain that they don't sign NDAs, so if they had information, they'd post it.  They don't cut sweetheart deals with game companies like IGN and GameSpot does.  Kotaku mentions that it was sent out to a bunch of newspapers and magazines under embargo, but not that it was actually sent to Kotaku.

I also wouldn't be surprised to find out someone leaked it days ago, and it's been largely ignored.  Again, I can't see how a blanket embargo wouldn't have someone spilling the beans to a friend, then to another friend, until it gets onto the internet.

For what it's worth, Kotaku is saying that we'll find the information fascinating, but it's still not what we're looking for, suggesting that it is NOT the price/date announcement.

[Djunknown]

I'm guessing something small like a new game being announced. I've heard too many megat0ns, and they all wind up overhyped... Otherwise, what are they waiting for on the 14th?

For the chronologically impaired like me: 12:00 pacific= 3:00 a.m EST? Might as well wait until tomorrow then.

[Bill Aurion]

Oh ho ho, I now have another legitimate reason to stay up really late again tonight...

[Artimus]

Quote
Originally posted by: wandering
New Miyamoto IP?

...I keep saying that, and I keep not seeing it.

edit: a bit off topic, but, it seems like Matt is almost openly admitting publishers pay for ign coverage:

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I've already had to turn two publishers down for top story placement because we're already booked solid for some Wii coverage.

Uhhh...you familiar with entertainment journalism at all? IGN is a news site, but not in the sense of CNN or the New York Times. Their news is all entertainment related, and generally things like facts and accuracy aren't problematic (there's no reason/way to manipulate the news, usually). They also function as an entertainment site, not just news. This means that, like a magazine, a publisher will come and say "Hey! We've got an amazing new game buy you can't play it/cover it unless you agree to give it top billing." If IGN says they can't do that this week they may go to GameSpot, etc. It's not about money.

[Spak-Spang]

I for one am very happy if Super Paper Mario is moved to Wii.  I don't know if I believe that it has been yet though.  All I Matt said was that Paper Mario will be on Wii not Gamecube...and he was very reserved how he said it...then stated read between the lines.

Most likely he meant that Super Paper Mario is moved to the Wii, however, could he have been teasing us, letting us know that a new Paper Mario RPG is being made for the Wii?  You know it wouldn't be the first time Matt has hinted at crazy stuff.

Also important to note is that he wasn't sure if this new game will be able to be announced this week or not, it sounded like it could fall through.  If anything I figure Thursday night is a better date to release new information than Friday, as it becomes the talk all Friday and into the weekend.  So if its coming it will be tonight.

Finally, he hinted that videos and news stories about Rayman and Madden will be coming soon.  That could mean much more information about all Ubisoft and EA games. I really want information about SSX Wii, and I am curious about Rayman as I haven't yet decided what to do about that game.

[wandering]

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Uhhh...you familiar with entertainment journalism at all?

Obviously not! Your explanation makes sense.

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Maybe it's something they know people will react badly to

Well, the Wii's price will likely be "bad" in that it probably won't be $169.99 or whatever. Not that I think the price will be announced tonight....

[Bill Aurion]

"Most likely he meant that Super Paper Mario is moved to the Wii, however, could he have been teasing us, letting us know that a new Paper Mario RPG is being made for the Wii? You know it wouldn't be the first time Matt has hinted at crazy stuff."

Well the thing is, the IS team that does the Paper Mario games is obviously doing Super Paper Mario...I would find it fairly surprising if they were working on two games at once...

(This is, of course, assuming that the series isn't outsourced to another developer, which I don't really see happening...)

[RickPowers]

Quote
Originally posted by: Artimus
This means that, like a magazine, a publisher will come and say "Hey! We've got an amazing new game buy you can't play it/cover it unless you agree to give it top billing." If IGN says they can't do that this week they may go to GameSpot, etc. It's not about money.

If you don't think money changes hands, then you're deluding yourself.  IGN is a corporation, and the focus is on the bottom line, not "journalistic integrity".  While I'd prefer that they label any previews or features as such (like when they agree to run the info in exchange for an exclusive on future stories, or for a certain amount of advertising on the site), I have a feeling that you'd see the majority of the non-news stories labeled as such.

And please stop calling it journalism.  It's not.  It's not even close.

[Caliban]

Quote
Originally posted by: RickPowers
IGN, Joystiq, and several other sites are all "reporting" that there is major console news being announced tonight at Midnight (Pacific Time).

On Joystiq, it says Eastern.

[JonLeung]

I wouldn't say it could be overhyped if we're only hearing about it now...

I hope it's good news about the Wii, obviously.  If it's bad news, that would suck, but hopefully that's as unlikely as I think.  If it's bad news for the PS3, it's par for the course or whatever, if it's good news, it's still unlikely to turn the tide.  I don't really care about the Xbox 360 so I doubt I'll care no matter what, especially if it's another new wireless accessory or a new but generic game or something like that.

Then again maybe I'm doubting it all.  If it's MAJOR, then I SHOULD care, whatever it is for whichever console it is, but then I'm hyping it up, now aren't I?

All I THINK I care about is the Wii launch date and price, but if they announce even one of the two, aren't they killing the point of their event next week?

EDIT: If it's Eastern Time, and I live in Mountain Time, does that mean I might catch it very shortly after 10:00 PM?  I could always stay up late - but not much later than that unless I'm sure it really IS MAJOR...in which case I might not be able to sleep.  >_<

[ShyGuy]

Are you people going to jump on the PGC Chatroom like we did for the Leipzig Press Conference? I'll be there, barring interruption.