The Nintendo Switch had its big reveal last night, showing several new pieces of information, some of which are more bold than others.
But, for those of us who have been following the Nintendo Switch rumor mill, several of the details announced at this event were not what we had expected. That's because we were stuck by the same phenomenon that surrounds every major studio announcement: fake leaks.
Here are five leaks for the Nintendo Switch that turned out to be false (in no particular order).
1. Pokemon Stars
Pokemon Stars was supposed to be the big cheese at the Switch even, if rumors were to be believed. It is true that GameStop did post a pre-order description that included the ability to play "Pokemon at home" (a description that was later revised), and everyone jumped the gun to translate that into the third Pokemon game in the Sun & Moon series.
What is interesting about this, though, is that they didn't mention Pokemon at all. Not even a little bit. While there are more events coming this year that could yield more announcements, none of them are before the Switch's launch date, which raises a very important question: if Nintendo had something that could make me buy the Switch at launch or pre-order it because of future titles, why wouldn't they show it?
I mean, they mentioned a new Shin Megami Tensei even while admitting that "development had only just begun," so why wouldn't they do the same thing for Pokemon, a much more recognizable franchise that could even coerce more casual fans into a console purchase/
2. Price
There was a collective, internet-wide groan when the Switch was announced for a suggested retail price of $299 USD. That's partly because the price is on par with the PS4 and Xbox One, both of which are now three years old and Nintendo gamers are used to spending less on consoles than their competition, but it's also because of the numerous leaks that suggested or outright stated a $250 price.
While this might seem outrageous, and it might very well be, Xbox is launching a new console this year as well that might help contextualize the Nintendo Switch a bit better. Still, this rumor turned out to be a disappointing falsehood.
3. Launch Date
A much smaller rumor that was only slightly off, it was widely reported that the Nintendo Switch would release on March 17, if only in some territories. But, as we now know, the Nintendo Switch will have a simultaneous release in seemingly every major region on March 3.
This also calls into question several other rumors that leaked games not announced at the Switch event, as many game titles were leaked with the March 17 release date. A good rule of thumb is that, if you saw a leak of a game with the wrong launch date, it's probably either fake or accidentally true.
4. Splatoon Remaster & Bundle
A Splatoon Remaster, with a possible launch bundle was heavily rumored by several different sources, and it was relatively believable as one of those "meh, whatever" details. We all assumed remaster and ports were coming, and Splatoon was as believable as any, so no one really challeneged it.
But, this one was wrong on multiple levels, as, not only was it Splatoon 2 and not a remaster, but there were also no launch bundles announced. In fairness, anyone who may have seen a screenshot of Splatoon 2 could have easily mistook it for a remaster, as the visuals haven't changed much and the level design isn't easy to recognize.
That being said, this rumor is kaput.
5. GameCube Virtual Console
Like Pokemon Stars, I have to state, out of fairness, that this one could still happen. The rumor was very strong, with several places reporting that they heard it from "multiple sources." But, we're talking about the ability to play GameCube games on the Switch, a level of backwards compatibility unrivaled by anything in the competition. I have to believe that, if this idea was even in the think tank at Nintendo, they would have announced it.
I know, in the long term, it's better to under-promise and over-deliver than the other way around, but this is their last big push before the launch. This was do or die, all cards on the table, show me what you can do. If the Switch has a way to play GameCube Games, count me in.
Until that time, with what I've seen thus far alone, it will be hard to justify a pre-purchase.
