Press release decoder says Wii to launch October 2

by Blake Snow { Jul 25th 2006 at 12:30PM }

In a portable games press release out today, Nintendo beckoned the blogosphere to bite the following speculation: "Perhaps the secret to the launch information for Wii is somehow encoded in the text of this news item." The bait has been taken. Gaming Target writes:

The fourth quarter begins on October 1. Now look at the list. At least one game is released every Monday in the fourth quarter except for the following dates: October 2, November 20 and November 27. November 27 is after Black Friday, so it's out. November 20 is after the launch of the PS3, so that's out too. That leaves us with October 2. The Wii will launch on October 2.

We like their sound decoding work but heaven forbid the company decides to release the console on the same day as another platform game.

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Nel @ Jul 25th 2006 12:36PM

1st post yay. cool i hope this is true. oct 2 would be closer than in november like previously speculated!

Chessasaur @ Jul 25th 2006 12:37PM

Wii will launch on a Sunday in the US. That way it will be the front page of the Target/Best Buy/Circuit City Sunday ads.

adam @ Jul 25th 2006 12:40PM

Wasn't october 2nd the supposed launch date of Gears of War? Either way october 2nd ain't that far away =)

ry @ Jul 25th 2006 12:40PM

because Clubhouse Games would really distract the gaming public and interfere with the launch of the Wii.

Skull-Kid @ Jul 25th 2006 12:40PM

Cool nice work, I hope this is true. The sooner the better IMO.

Psaakyrn @ Jul 25th 2006 12:43PM

Joystiq, you fail. Wii WILL release with a game on another platform. The game happens to be called The Legend of Zelda®: Twilight Princess.

Ok, back to your ponderings.

miannone @ Jul 25th 2006 12:45PM

I wish it were true, but it sounds a little far fetched.

vidGuy @ Jul 25th 2006 12:46PM

Sounds too early, though it is Q4 so it's possible. My money is still on the Wii launching one of these dates: Oct 20, Oct 27, or Nov 3.

If the Wii launched in early October, I wonder if Super Mario Galaxy would be ready for a holiday release?

And, Chessasaur, movies and music come out on Tuesdays but are still in the Best Buy ad, and any console launch usually gets the front page anyway.

Looking at current games listing, I'm expecting 12 to 20 launch games, with a steady stream coming out each week through the holidays. Launch window (14 weeks) game total should be about 35 games. Sounds great to me.

wierzbicki @ Jul 25th 2006 12:49PM

you know what's funny...Wii=VVii=5-5-1-1 in roman numerals, or 10-2, Oct 2...that would make a cool ad campaign

Probot @ Jul 25th 2006 12:51PM

"because Clubhouse Games would really distract the gaming public and interfere with the launch of the Wii."(ry)

Or the Wii launch would interfere with the sales of those games. I doubt either is the case though.

BTW, if Clubhouse Games is Wi-fi compatable, I'm definitly getting that. IGN says it isn't, but Nintenod's game page says it is.

Joe Coughlin @ Jul 25th 2006 12:55PM

But doesn't Nintendo historically launch their consoles on a Sunday?

CoffeeMan @ Jul 25th 2006 12:56PM

yeah it's wifi. It will be the first DS game to be 8 players online, it will also support online chat, through a pictochat-esque interface.

Should be great, 42 games on one cart + 8 player online and off line

CoffeeMan @ Jul 25th 2006 12:57PM

Yes they did with the GC, DS and DSlite as far as i can remember

Zo� K. @ Jul 25th 2006 12:58PM

They need to start taking official reserves on the damn thing already.

Scott Jon Siegel @ Jul 25th 2006 1:01PM

I think Nintendo press release was practising sarcasm more than ARG-esque encryption. The paragraph continues on as follows:
Perhaps the secret to the launch information for Wii is somehow encoded in the text of this news item. 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.
And at the very end:
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.

Nintendo clearly knows its audience, and its copy writers are having waaay too much fun at work. -sj

Henry @ Jul 25th 2006 1:05PM

Hehe, Nintendo are funny!
It's nice to see that the company doesn't take itself 100% seriously and can have a little fun now and again.

Draco @ Jul 25th 2006 1:06PM

ok, I don't know what Black Friday is, but shouldnt it be on a Friday not a Monday?

student @ Jul 25th 2006 1:07PM

It's certainly an entertaining press release. I hope they don't release early at the sacrifice of the solid launch lineup.

Motoi @ Jul 25th 2006 1:18PM

Wow #5 you sure seem like you know how to run a blog. Why don't you go and start your own gaming blog and see how far you go with it.

Limestallc @ Jul 25th 2006 1:19PM

As much as I want the Wii I wont have the money by october 2nd (damn Audi timing belt).

ResidentGamer.com @ Jul 25th 2006 1:21PM

come on now don't you think that is just a little bit to easy? Ohh the date that's missing is the launch date of the Wii. Come on..I think you have to look a little closer

Psaakyrn @ Jul 25th 2006 1:25PM

to #15 Motoi

I don't claim to know how to write a blog. I only claim that Joystiq made a mistake by forgetting that Wii is indeed going to release with a game on another platform.

vidGuy @ Jul 25th 2006 1:29PM

@Psaakyrn,

The deducing is the work of another site, and the last line of the post is sarcastic. I think most are well aware that LoZ:TP is going to be available for GC and will launch the same day as the Wii counterpart and the Wii itself.

Izuna Drop @ Jul 25th 2006 1:32PM

@ Henry (#14) - Nintendo definitely takes itself seriously. Don't think because Nintendo has a cute image, that it's any different than MS or Sony. They are all in business to make money, and that's what they do. Not only that, they are a Japanese company and after spending a few years in Japan, I can tell you the corporate environment is possibly the most serious I've ever seen.

r-deezy @ Jul 25th 2006 1:36PM

@ Psaakyrn

Maybe you didn't pick up on the sarcasm at the end of the article: "We like their sound decoding work but heaven forbid the company decides to release the console on the same day as another platform game."

Dark Morford @ Jul 25th 2006 1:40PM

Is Crystal Chronicles set to be a launch title? In the press release, Nintendo says "Final Fantasy V Advance will make its way to Game Boy Advance SP on Nov. 6. [...] Final Fantasy loyalists will enjoy an opportunity to debate which installment was best."

FFV vs. Crystal Chronicles Wii on November 6th, anyone?

.ed @ Jul 25th 2006 1:47PM

November 5th.

vidGuy @ Jul 25th 2006 1:48PM

@Draco,

Black Friday is the biggest holiday (Christmas) shopping day of the year in America - I think it's bigger than Christmas Eve. It is always the Friday after Thanksgiving, which this year makes it November 24.

The PS3 will release one week before Black Friday (Nov 17), at least that's the official word now. Hopefully they don't delay it again.

The Wii will launch before the PS3 (Nov 17). It will thus not be released on Black Friday.

Regarding which day of the week the Wii will launch on, the likelihood depends on your locality. The GameCube released on a Friday in Japan and Europe and a Sunday in the US; the N64 released on a Sunday in both Japan and the US and a Saturday in Europe.

It's very likely the Wii will be out on a weekend; whether its a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday is anybody's guess.

Scott @ Jul 25th 2006 1:51PM

I think the hint is to watch the Zelda release date for a hint as to when the Wii will launch. They make a point in again mentioning that the GC and Wii versions come out the same day. If you check Amazon, Walmart, and EB/Gamestop, they list TP as coming out 11/2 (ships 11/1). Sounds like that's your day.

Raynre @ Jul 25th 2006 2:01PM

That's hot.

Like... hot-naked-lesbian-action hot.

...

Excuse me... >_>

Captain Cornflake @ Jul 25th 2006 2:02PM

They won't release a system the same day as a game for another platform?

If I recall, wasn't Ocarina of Time released the same day as the Game Boy Color?

Lestrade @ Jul 25th 2006 2:04PM

I think Scott's right, personally. "The simplest answer is usually the correct one." It looks like Thursday, November 2 is the day. Just in time for the weekend!

32_Footsteps @ Jul 25th 2006 2:05PM

For a bit more detail into Black Friday, it's called that because that's supposedly the first time in the financial year that most retailers go into the black (as in, pulling a profit, which is usually written in black ink on fnancial reports).

I have to admit, the logic does adhere a little too much to the idea that Nintendo is aiming for a Tuesday launch when Nintendo has clearly shown in both the recent and distant past that they're not fond of releasing hardware on Tuesdays. Last week of September/first week of October does sound like a reasonable guess, but I wouldn't pin it down to a specific date just yet.

vidGuy @ Jul 25th 2006 2:07PM

Scott's right, but that date could just be a placeholder. If it was something like Oct 20, I would believe it. But not the first or 15th of a month, those are placeholders.

Now, what we really need to be doing is looking for an official release date of LoZ:TP for GC via Nintendo's printings.

How's everybody feel about a November 3 launch in Japan with a corresponding November 5 launch in the US?

Henry @ Jul 25th 2006 2:09PM

@Izuna Drop - I know Nintendo take themselves seriously as a company. I wasn't having a dig - its just refreshing to see such a large company such as Nintendo have a little fun in a press release.

jholdaway @ Jul 25th 2006 2:19PM

I will be having wet dreams tonight. Of rabid rabbits and twilight princesses dancing in my head. You guys are such a tease.. don't stop!

Tequila Mockingbird @ Jul 25th 2006 2:24PM

This all sounds nice and everything, but that post by Joystiq just seems a little too early for my logic. As much as I wish that it would come out that early, I would guess they release at the end of october, beginning of november...I think Joystiq should set up a poll to see what everyone thinks when the Wii will come out, we need something to keep us Wii fans busy while we wait :)

darth_xamus @ Jul 25th 2006 2:40PM

This is puzzle itself is old.

contained in Blu_luminoth?

a puzzle for only a few...

Petrie @ Jul 25th 2006 3:15PM

Just to set things straight, though black Friday is a huge shopping day, the Saturday before Christmas is the biggest shopping day of the year, unless it happens to be that Christmas is on a Sunday, in which case the biggest shopping day is 2 Saturdays prior.

GSI @ Jul 25th 2006 3:48PM

"BTW, if Clubhouse Games is Wi-fi compatable, I'm definitly getting that. IGN says it isn't, but Nintenod's game page says it is."

The picture on of the box on IGN:

http://ds.ign.com/objects/827/827000.html

...shows that it is part of their Wifi network.

GameSpy (part of IGN) is working with Nintendo on the online component for the DS...so the information about the wifi networm games would be accurate.

Subnet6 @ Jul 25th 2006 3:59PM

This makes iwatas comment about price/launch info make more sense. He said the info would be revealed sometime in September. The only reason they would HAVE to reveal this in september would be if it was going to launch very early in October. After all, if it was going to release in early November, they could easily withhold the price info until early October.
But if its coming on Oct 2. They are pretty much forced to reveal the info by september at the latest.

GSI @ Jul 25th 2006 4:12PM

I think you are forgetting about the previous news that Nintendo wasn't going to be at TGS this year. Nintendo hosts their Space World expo everytime they launch a major console.

evrzeh @ Jul 25th 2006 4:30PM

Best Buy's site says games are coming out 08/02 so I'm buying a wii a wiik from today.. Best Buy would never ever ever ever mislead a customer as to the release date of an item.. Never..

Lou @ Jul 25th 2006 5:23PM

I still say ... like I did the in the last launch speculation blog post from 2 weeks ago ... that it will be released on Hallowiin.

Greg @ Jul 25th 2006 8:25PM

applaud No. 8

Oh and ummmm.....just wait geez go outside and hopscotch or something DAYUM

jonathan @ Jul 25th 2006 11:29PM

"That will all happen on … Oh look, we're out of space."
"Oh look, we're out of space."
"out of space."
"space."
"space."
"space."

My thoughts are that it's not going to be revealed until the Space world Expo.
October 2nd would still be sweet though.

Zak @ Jul 26th 2006 3:35AM

October 11.

That is all.

Goodnight.

x23 @ Jul 26th 2006 7:59AM

"8. you know what's funny...Wii=VVii=5-5-1-1 in roman numerals, or 10-2, Oct 2...that would make a cool ad campaign"

it also works out as "W" with an ASCII code of 87 and "i" with an ASCII code of 105. 87 and 105 and 105 ... or 87 + (105*105)... or 87 + 11,025 = 11,112. as in 11 + 11 with a 2 at the end. the 2 at the end is obviously just there to point us in the direction of 'doubles' or 'pairs' ... like the pairs of "11" ... as in "22" (i think it's obvious to you all now!) ... as in the phrase "Catch-22"... a popular cultural reference to a Catch-22 situation would be the "Kobayashi Maru" test as shown in Star Trek II : The Wrath of Khan... Khan of course was played by Ricardo Montalban ... who was born on November 25th. the release date of the Wii! that's going to be a super radical ad campaign! with the 11s and Khan. oh man! i can't wait!

but then i noticed this... uh oh!

WII -> V VII or 5 & 7 ... 5+7 = 12 ... and in hexidecimal 12 is represented as "C" ... C and 12... interesting. you see ... in the Year 12 the Roman Emperor Caligula was born (begins with a "C"!). and what day was he born? August 31st. obviously the Wii will be coming out then. and with the "Wii" and Caligula connections i'm sure they can make some very interesting ads.

it's all so confusing to me now! with Caligula and the 11s all trying to show me their clues!