Nintendo is once again stirring the pot regarding Wii's release date and seems to be having a little too much fun with the blogosphere and the conspiracy gurus who claim the Wii launch date will be October 2, 2006.
The latest Nintendo press release includes the latest release dates for some DS games and the Square-Enix port of Final Fantasy V to GBA but the company has also included a short paragraph on the Wii. The first part of the paragraph states: The fourth quarter of 2006 will herald a new era for Nintendo with the launch of its remarkable new Wii home video game system. But that's not what this news item is about! How could that be, you ask? Perhaps the secret to the launch information for Wii is somehow encoded in the text of this news item.
Various websites have grabbed hold of the last sentence and are using simple logic of elimination to reach the October 2 date. From the dates included in the press release there is a game released every Monday of Q4, 2006 except on: October 2, November 20 and November 27. Since November 27 is after Black Friday and November 20 just after the PS3 launch, many suggest that October 2 is the only Wii launch window left available. The logic of the argument is sound but there are two assumptions made that require further examination. The first one suggests that Nintendo does not wish to launch the Wii at the same time as a DS game, an assumption which doesn't make much sense. The other has to do with the Nintendo press release when read in its entirety.
The rest of Nintendo's text reads: You might want to pore over it for a few hours before staying up all night to debate phraseology and comma placement with your friends online. Or maybe it's all just a scam to get you to read the other games we have launching this fall. One of the two. Nintendo also manages to add insult to injury by stating: And, for Nintendo GameCube owners, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will be available for you this fall. An enhanced version also will be a launch title for Wii. That will all happen on … Oh look, we're out of space.
Whether the press release does contain some hidden Wii launch message, maybe if read backwards, many sources do seem to suggest that the Wii is set for an early-to-mid October launch as it is expected that Nintendo will want to reach the market before Sony's PS3 does. Stay with MegaGames for further Wii launch coverage.
