Wii countdown clocks planned in UK stores, but no launch date by tomorrow

The scan of an email, detailing plans for Wii countdown clocks to be set up in various stores by a large UK retail chain is real - but reports about an imminent announcement of the launch date are fake, I can exclusively reveal.

The following scan was published on Itisme´s blog alongside claims that those countdown clocks would start ticking tomorrow.


I have been in contact with the author of that email (I won´t divulge his name or the company in question) and he assured me that these are preliminary arrangements and no launch date has been set or, at least, communicated to retail chains. Tomorrow´s date relates to further information about the installation of these clocks, not the release date.

Needless to say, he was shocked to find his internal mails circulated on the net.


Of course, we are all dying for information. I want to know the system´s launch as much as the next person. But it would be foolish to assume that Nintendo would reveal the launch date by countdown clocks being set up in UK stores.

Instead, wait for a big event to which Nintendo can invite plenty of media. But that is unlikely to happen soon, since big media need at least two weeks notice. The only alternative is, of course, having the announcement at an event to which big media have already committed their resources.

However, recent developments suggest it won´t be at the Games Convention next week. And even if Nintendo planned an event alongside the Tokyo Game Show, this would have to have been made public by now. So we will have to be patient a little longer.

At least, the countdown clocks give us a glimpse of Nintendo´s launch strategy. And that strategy spells ´hype´, if you ask me.

Source: Itisme´s blog
Thanks to: ItsInTheCave