I lovez teh rumorz!

[gekko]

Matt responds: The "megaton" announcement. It's impossible to avoid it, quite frankly, as every other message on the boards is about it. Everyone has their own breakdown of what it could be, from some grand merger of companies to an announcement of ground-shaking new games, or even that Nintendo has some new technology in the works that will destroy the competition. There's even talk of Nintendo gaining rights to the PlayStation brand. Or something like that, anyway. The problem is, there's been no proof -- of any of it.

I'm fairly certain this "megaton" hype all stems from a single report in a less popular Japanese magazine. Later, some websites alleged that Famitsu confirmed that a big announcement was coming. Interestingly, though, our own guys in Japan said they couldn't find these confirmations anywhere in the magazines. So who knows? Surely not me.

I called NOA about it last week in hopes that perhaps it knew something, but it didn't. Which could, by the way, mean nothing, but it's not encouraging. I was told that no big announcements were planned before the end of the year. So go figure. NOA's Perrin Kaplan told me today: "There is no announcement that we're aware of."

I'd really like to believe that something huge is in the works. And all of these brilliant speculations about Nintendo canceling Space World so that it could instead drop the "megaton," so to speak, have me hoping there's some truth to it. But for now I'm going to remain the skeptic so that, if nothing happens by the end of the year, I won't be disappointed.

If I do hear anything, obviously readers will be the first to know.

:lol:

[DeathsHand]

hahahaha I hope there's no megaton announcement :lol: TEE HEE HEE WEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! That'd be funny... :D

[Dyne]

What if the Game Boy Player was a megaton announcement? Nobody actually confirmed officially that is WASN'T.

Well, what the hell, I'll go and say it: Whatever Nintendo does have planned, it's already been working whether they choose to say anything or not. Gamecube and Gameboy are selling better than ever this year! Just look at the charts! It's been good for them regardless. The Game Boy player is megaton in it's own right-- it solves a lot of problems, including lighting, and it even brings up tons of future possibilities... I mean, it makes the Gamecube brighter than ever. What's been happening is megaton, and people are so focused on this one announcement that they've been disregarding them and saying "Is THIS the Megaton???". Even the Capcom Five were very big. Just think about it for a moment.

[DeathsHand]

*before*

YEY A MEGATON ANNOUNCEMENT PLEASE NINTENDO SHOW US YOUR GOODNESS YOU HAVE UP YOUR SLEEVE PLEASE I HOPE IT'S A PONY!

*after*

NO MEGATON ANNOUNCEMENT OMG YAY GOO NINTENDO YOU ROCK THANK YOU I WANT TO HAVE YOUR BABY!

[GameMaster]

I'm tired of hearing about all the megaton announcments...

All the speculation...

:yawn::-o

[fingersman]

Like I said in another thread it would be really funny if there was no megaton annoucnement. hehehehe

[Angrist]

Hmm... :-o

Some new announced games would be nice... :)

Anyway they have a deal with Sega.com now, providing online servers for developers. :D

[Xantar]

I personally don't think this Mega-Ton announcement is as big as people are making it out to be. However, we should keep in mind that Matt said that he didn't know whether Microsoft had bought out Rareware about two days after it had already been announced on some other websites. Just because Matt doesn't know about it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. But if he says it does, it most likely does.

[TheGame]

Originally posted by Xantar
I personally don't think this Mega-Ton announcement is as big as people are making it out to be. However, we should keep in mind that Matt said that he didn't know whether Microsoft had bought out Rareware about two days after it had already been announced on some other websites. Just because Matt doesn't know about it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. But if he says it does, it most likely does.

Woah, woah... what are you talking about? He was the one comfirming Rare was sold far before the announcement.

Of course, you are right, he didn't know the details but he knew they were sold... It would be like not knowing the details of the megaton announcement, but at least knowing it really existed. But in this case, there is no comfirmation from anywhere that it does exist.

[Xantar]

As I recall, what he was confirming was that Rare will go third party or develop for other platforms, not that they would be sold to anyone. When websites started saying that Rareware had been sold to Microsoft, Matt that he didn't know what was going on (of course, IGN printed a confirmation the next day, so he wasn't that far behind).

[Dyne]

Well.... if he only called an NOA representative, does that confirm something immediatly what NCL does? Also, do you think Nintendo would spoil a suprise like that, confirming the announcement with one of the biggest names in Gamecube news? Then it would be spoiled.

...but still, it's nine days before the Zelda release, and I really think they'll coordinate it. (you know, to sell many more copies, not that it won't.)

[TheGame]

Originally posted by Xantar
As I recall, what he was confirming was that Rare will go third party or develop for other platforms, not that they would be sold to anyone. When websites started saying that Rareware had been sold to Microsoft, Matt that he didn't know what was going on (of course, IGN printed a confirmation the next day, so he wasn't that far behind).

http://cube.ign.com/articles/370/370713p1.html
September 11, 2002 - In past months, UK development studio Rare has been the subject of a seemingly endless stream of rumors, all of them suggesting the company would break from Nintendo's wings and possibly join with a new publisher. Now we have the full story, anonymously confirmed by numerous credible, high-level insiders. The reports are true. We stake our reputation on it.

Nintendo, formerly a 49% shareholder in Rare, had the chance to purchase the company outright nearly a year ago, but refused, according to high-ranking sources. With Rare software contributions amounting to only 9.5% of total revenues in Nintendo's fiscal 2001 year, and a miniscule 1.5% in fiscal 2002, the publisher weighed the benefits and drawbacks of making additional investments in Rare and decided against it.

Rare went on the market. Publishers bid on the company. Activision and Microsoft were both interested in acquiring Rare, but it was Microsoft who won out and delivered the asking prices for the developer and Nintendo's 49% stake in it. Nintendo sold all of its shares in Rare, according to insiders, and the studio's second-party status was terminated.

Read the rest if you wish. This is before official comfirmation from any Nintendo related source. I didn't see anything about them "going third party"

[Jason1]

I saw that Mailbag last night...it seems to me that matt seems to think there might now even be a Megaton announcement...thats bad news, considering all the massive hype.

[Ice Gecko]

Rumors are good for the hopes. Until they pass over then they can be deadly. I can jsut see this megaton announcement go off as small 1 million cubes have been sold cube prices will now go down and a smaller cube will be mad in Q2 2004. No I'm not talking bout a succesor I'm talking about a Ps1 type thing to hold us over till the next gen of 2006 - 07

[Xantar]

TheGame:

I was referring to this Mailbag in which Matt said that he didn't know what was going on (or whether anything was going on).

I have been hearing rumors around the web that Nintendo "offered" Sega a lot of yen(money)if Sega would become 2nd-Party I just want to know if Nintendo did infact offer Sega money.


Matt responds: I have no idea. That rumor seems to have no real merit to it at this time. I also have no idea about whether or not Microsoft has bought Rare, is planning to buy Rare, or bought and then sold Rare to Activision, which then bought Microsoft.

Source: Mailbag September 9th edition (http://cube.ign.com/mail/2002-09-09.html)

At this time, I know that two other websites had already posted news stating that Microsoft had bought Rareware. I don't have links at the moment, but the fact that Matt mentions it in this mailbag answer even though it has nothing to do with the question asked of him suggests that he was aware of what other sites are saying.

Therefore, I say that just because Matt doesn't know about something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Granted, in the above case, Matt confirmed everything just two days later. But he's not all-knowing.

[gekko]

No, but Matt's also never been wrong. If he doesn't know, he says that he doesn't know. But he never reports on a rumor until he's called many sources and confirmed whether it's true or not. So if he ever does spill the beans, we can assume it's true.

[Xantar]

You know, I think I said that very thing.

Just because Matt doesn't know about it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. But if he says it does, it most likely does.



Yep. Thanks for backing me up.

[Angrist]

Pokemon! Pokemon!!!

:(

[Perfect Stu]

:rofl:

[Angrist]

:stupid:

[TheGame]

Xantar... you think he writes responces to the mail the SAME DAY they are posted on the site?

It's funny how the next day he could turn around and spill the beans with 100% comfirmation. I think it would at least take a few days for him to get enough comfirmation for the site to post about a rumor and stake thier reputation on it.

[Xantar]

Look at the date on the mailbag issue I posted. September 9th.

Look at the date of the article you posted confirming that Rareware had been sold to Microsoft. September 11th. Where are you getting the idea that he turned around and posted 100% confirmation the next day?

But just to humor you, I think he probably does write some responses on the same day that they are posted. There have been several instances (Squaresoft games coming to GameCube pops into mind) when a news item was posted on IGN and then the mailbag that very day had questions and answers on that very article. He certainly couldn't have done those the day before.

[TheGame]

so what are you trying to prove? That the megaton announcement could still exist even if matt doesn't know about the announcement coming in the first place (let alone any details)?

Who was the person to say that there was a megaton announcement in the first place?

[Xantar]

That would be V-Jump magazine.

Unless you're pointing out that my first post implied that there is some kind of announcement coming. One of the points I was trying to make was that people are blowing this thing way out of proportion, but I freely admit that I'm not willing to just dismiss this because Matt doesn't know about it. Too many persistent rumors (Squaresoft games coming to Nintendo platforms, Microsoft buying Rare, Ura Zelda compilation disk etc.) have come true for me to do anything other than keep an open mind.

[Perfect Stu]

Originally posted by Angrist
:stupid:

damn....at times like these, I wish there was an "I'm with hopeless" smilie :(