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Thursday, October 9, 2014

Smash Wii U This November! (Those Leaks Were... Right?)

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - I wish they weren't.

I haven't officially said this anywhere, so let me clear up my policy on leaks so the public knows:

I don't write about them. I pretend they don't exist. With any luck, I won't have to pretend. I won't know they exist. ...Of course, I'm in a constant AIM Blast with someone (KoopaTV editor Rawk) who goes out of his way to find all the latest leaks, rumours, and fantasy. And then take them as fact. My policy is my policy. It's not KoopaTV policy!

Still, every anonymous GameStop manager (a step up from Nintendo uncle) has been claiming for months now that Super Smash Bros. For Wii U would come out this November 21 2014, a much more specific date than "Holiday 2014" or "Winter 2014". And, uh, looks like that has finally been confirmed. Even though Rawk claimed that Super Smash Bros. 4 on Wii U would be delayed to 2015. And he believed that with absolute certainty.

Masahiro Sakurai Super Smash Bros. For Wii U release dates Miiverse announcement
Super Smash Bros. For Wii U is released in the Americas first, on November 21, 2014.


It comes out in Japan on December 6. Are you aware of what this means?

America gets the game first. ...Barely, but I guess it makes up for Japan having the 3DS version for several weeks before America. (A fact which KoopaTV guest poster Health relished.)

This, of course, means the leaks/rumours regarding the release date were true. That said, I never heard any rumours for dates OUTSIDE North America, so how knowledgeable are these insiders, really?

Even the most convincing-looking leak (the so-called Gematsu Leak convinced the whole Internet it was true because it initially predicted Wii Fit Trainer would be in) should not be taken as fact. Unless it comes from Nintendo PR or another trustworthy source, assume it is not true and someone made it up for attention. I personally didn't even know Gematsu was an existing website until that (false) leak spread around. Entities make up stuff for hits all the time. Be skeptical.

Part of my integrity involves not taking these leaks seriously! I enjoy when leaks are proven wrong. I would be more than happy if Super Smash Bros. 4 on Wii U was released in late December just to have the information first come from Nintendo itself.

For those keeping count, November 21 is a Friday. If you're wondering, unlike the 3DS version, I won't be getting the Wii U version day 1. Amazon is shipping the GameCube controller bundle to me in 5-8 business days as a birthday gift from someone else. 5-8 business days of November 21 could indeed end up being in December!

Why is it important for information to come from content providers first and not from leakers? This way, the flow of information is controlled by those in charge of marketing. Marketing campaigns for games are designed (via market research) to get your hype up for the game in the best way possible! Marketing enhances the value the product brings to society, because pre-release information flow is in itself a form of entertainment. The entire concept of Masahiro Sakurai's Pic of the Day and the Brawl DOJO!! is to slowly trickle down information so the game is constantly on your mind for over a year, yet you're constantly wondering what secrets the game still has the whole way through! Again, the information flow is meticulously designed to maximise your enjoyment and hype.

Unlockable character sihoulettes for Super Smash Bros. 4.
It's better for your enjoyment if you're just now knowing who those silhouettes are, instead of knowing them months ago.

Remember gaming before the age of the Internet? Where unlockables surprised you? And you had no idea what to expect? Now people just spoil the contents of games before they play them. That just takes away the enjoyment of the game! I specifically remember playing Pokémon Ruby and thinking that the whole Braille sidequest with Regi trio was the coolest thing. It felt like no one else had discovered that crypt! It's my fondest memory of the game. (My least fondest was leveling Clamperl up to level 100 by fighting the Elite 4 over and over again because I had no idea you had to trade to evolve it.)

Leaks not only ruin the game when they come out, but they ruin the game long before they come out. If it's true, it's bad. If they're convincing but fake, it's also bad because people think, "The game DOESN'T have this? Then it's deficient!"

It's a shame that knowledge of spoilers and leaks seem to be a requirement to participate in online gaming discussions nowadays. Ideally, I would like KoopaTV to be a place free of that sort of thing! I envy those ignorant Miiverse posters that sometimes ask, "What's a Gematsu?" or whatever. They're just so shielded, and I want to be that way too. (Although, it's hard to write a videogame blog if you don't know what's going on, though.)


Ludwig hopes that the comments section will be free of spoilers! ...But he won't censor it if it isn't. He still pretends he isn't an officially announced playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4 despite playing as himself several times now.


Amazon actually delivered Super Smash Bros. For Wii U early.
Ludwig is happy when companies fight back against the leakers, such as by lawsuit.

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