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Thursday, June 24, 2021

Comprehensive List of Media Outlets that Spread Nintendo Switch "Pro" at E3 2021 FAKE NEWS

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Accountability. ...Unfortunately, this might become a list of almost every media outlet that exists.

We have passed the end of E3 Weeks 2021. That is significant not only for what was revealed and shown at the expo, but also for what wasn't. According to many media outlets, Nintendo was supposed to reveal (or have already revealed) a more powerful hardware revision for their popular Nintendo Switch system—variously referred to as the Nintendo Switch Pro, the New Nintendo Switch, or the Super Nintendo Switch. This has been rumoured and speculated by media outlets for years, ever since before Nintendo made a supply chain adjustment on the Nintendo Switch to give it a better battery (Model HAC-001 → HAC-001(-01)).

The most recent (May 26) crop of rumours and speculation came from business news outlet Bloomberg, which has reported these kinds of Nintendo Switch Pro rumours for years (2018, 2019, 2020) that still haven't come true, citing anonymous “people familiar with the matter” and claiming these “people” said that Nintendo might announce this more powerful Nintendo Switch at or immediately before E3 2021 so third-party game developers could benefit. This hardware revision is supposed to release for consumer purchasing in autumn of 2021. The same article then says that they got Nintendo's stock price to go up on expectations of the hardware revision—demonstrating that these rumours from supposedly trustworthy media sources have a bigger economic effect than just riling up gamers on Twitter. Of course... this expected ~E3 2021 announcement did not happen. We all watched the Nintendo Direct at E3 2021. It was focused on software.

Here's how the media works: When one source breaks a story, all of the other media outlets want to also pick up that story, lest they lose potential eyeballs and revenue for not having a scoop. Especially if they report it as a juicy “leak”, because consumers think those are really interesting even though they actually don't benefit anyone. The other outlets tend to assume that the first outlet did a good job with their reporting, so they don't verify the story using their own investigative prowess because that's really hard work and they need to be quick or no one will visit them. Instead, they just go and rewrite the original story in their own words and cite the first outlet—or perhaps cite another outlet besides the first outlet if they're, say, a much later outlet to report on the story. In time, the story spreads and it looks like there are a lot of outlets all saying the same thing, which makes something seem more believable to readers. (A common tactic for readers to know if a source is telling the truth is to read multiple sources—KoopaTV has written a guide on how to be a good consumer of media that explains more about why this is a bad tactic.) Late last year, I broke down how this works using a detailed example in a story about Fire Emblem: Three Houses sales numbers that, to this day, are still unverified. A random guy made them up with no sources, but one outlet picked up on that and reported it as true, and soon lots of other outlets copied the story, but the word changes from outlet to outlet made the information progressively appear to be more and more definitively true and even official. It's a good read if you want to understand how this works.


For this article, I'll briefly explain why KoopaTV is making a list of outlets that spread this unverified rumour of the Nintendo Switch hardware revision's existence and it being shown at/before E3 2021, and then present the actual list—in a relative order of worst to least-worst reporting. As of initially publishing this, the list isn't actually complete... but I'll also explain how you can help that.

KoopaTV's credibility on this topic

First of all, KoopaTV isn't (supposed to be) a news site. We're not (supposed to be) journalists. We're commentators. That means we're basically a glorified high-effort comments section—one with our own comments section (that we encourage and incentivise you to use with a gamified rewards program—more on that at the end). A lot of what we opine about are current events in the videogame industry. That means we rely on actual news outlets for things to talk about.

When the news is wrong or fake, that harms our commentary. Sure, there are lots of Internet people who make a living off of piling onto FAKE NEWS and clickbait, but we have a fundamental principle on KoopaTV of telling the truth. What we say in our earlier commentary establishes a canon that our later commentary draws from—and if that is all established on the shaky grounds of FAKE NEWS, it all falls apart and reduces the impact of the KoopaTV experience.

KoopaTV also happens to not have the profit motivation that news outlets have. We have no source of revenue, so that eliminates many potential conflicts of interest. We're still really biased, but that's all pretty up-front and indulging on those biases is pretty much the purpose of the site.

Far too often, we know that outlets do lazy and inaccurate reporting... or just make things up. And other outlets piggyback on that. And far too often, there is no accountability for these outlets. They just keep going to the next story, and their readers keep on believing layers and layers of falsehoods. The media won't hold themselves accountable. So KoopaTV has to. It's time to finally document this happening and have something to point back to in concrete detail to teach future people on future stories.

Commentary is fun and creative. News-reporting isn't supposed to be those things—just the facts. We knew that distinction and difference when we founded. Unfortunately, it seems like many other outlets haven't figured that out. Which brings us to the list, which you won't find KoopaTV on, because at no point did we choose to commentate or signal boost such a thinly sourced news report:


Super New Nintendo Switch Pro hardware revision fake news E3 2021 Bloomberg Eurogamer The Sun My Nintendo News
I was considering putting in a Nintendo Switch into the picture and giving it clip art big muscular arms, but...
...It might be insulting to the Switch to put it into an image that's featuring a rogues gallery.


List of Media Outlets that Spread Nintendo Switch hardware revision at E3 2021 FAKE NEWS

Bloomberg—Nintendo Plans Upgraded Switch Replacement as Soon as September
They're the genesis of the most recent E3 2021-era story, citing anonymous sources saying there'd be an E3 announcement of a Nintendo Switch hardware revision. Remember the name Takashi Mochizuki—before and after this piece, he will continue to write fabricated stories about the Nintendo Switch hardware.
Eurogamer—Nintendo Switch Pro reveal expected before E3
Claims that “Eurogamer's own sources” confirm Bloomberg's reporting. Obviously, those sources are total hogwash. As an aside, Eurogamer has a long history of these untrue statements based on erroneous sources. Tom Phillips has done tremendous damage to the industry.
The Sun—New Nintendo Switch ‘will be announced in next two weeks and be out in time for Christmas’
What an INCREDIBLY deceptive headline, which is fitting of tabloid trash like The Sun. Buried in the article is that none of this is actually confirmed yet, but that is the sort of info that should be communicated at the very start.
Creative Bloq—The incredible Nintendo Switch Pro could launch VERY soon
Their article sub-title is particularly egregious... “It's finally happening.” There's nothing happening. Nothing happened, but it's “incredible” despite it being a nonexistent product. But they think other people coming up with rumours corroborates with other rumours happening and it's supposed to will things into reality. Not how it works. By the way, they also cite some nobody on ResetEra, which is pathetic.
Daily Express—Nintendo Switch Pro reveal TODAY? Surprise Nintendo Direct rumoured ahead of E3
Why do publications even bother to publish garbage like this? If there's a “Surprise Nintendo Direct” that's supposed to come out that day, then just wait however many hours and cover it then. And if it doesn't happen, you don't look like idiots publishing imminently falsifiable predictions. If Nintendo did announce on that day there'd be a Nintendo Direct happening in, say, an hour from that announcement, would the Daily Express publish another article about the announcement about the announcement, and then a third article about the actual substance of the announcement?
Centro LEAKS—We have received and verified a screenshot from a big retailer's internal system that shows a new Switch hardware-related listing will go live on June 4 (around midnight).
That obviously didn't happen, but this was cited by several other websites.
My Nintendo News—Emily Rogers backs today’s Bloomberg report about Switch Pro, could be unveiled this week
For the record, My Nintendo News is one of the worst websites (and social media presences) that you can browse for legitimate Nintendo news. I'm not sure what the purpose of going to a news site that just takes stories from other sites and then adds hints of clickbait sensationalism, with some sometimes added spoiler-y stuff. Anyway, they wrote a very short article about discredited and dopey “Nintendo insider Emily Rogers” tweeting out “🤫” to a tweet where someone is having a “pure gut feeling” that Nintendo was going to announce the Nintendo Switch hardware revision on May 26 or May 27. She's since deleted the tweet. Yeah, shushing emoji is real evidence that there was gonna be an announcement... of course, no such announcement occurred, but Emily Rogers is still believed by many foolish people (and awful media outlets dedicating articles to one-emoji tweets) to not only be a trustworthy source of information, but some sort of veritable goddess whose every word or even facial expression warrants undivided attention.
International Business Times—Nintendo Switch Pro Price, Official Announcement Seemingly Confirmed By Latest Leak
Claims that a rumour “may confirm” another rumour... which isn't how rumours work. (Of course, the headline calls it a leak.) They also cited at the top of the article that a rumour claims that the console itself would RELEASE (not just be announced, but be LAUNCHED for purchase) before E3 2021, though that's not actually supported by what's in the text...
iMore—Nintendo Switch 'Pro' release date leaked, announcement days away, says Bloomberg
Calling it a “leak” means that it's true. However, it's an unverifiable story, so... The editorial decision to deem it a “leak” is baseless.
Technclub—Nintendo Switch Pro Will Be Revealed on June 4th, According to a Leak
Again, the use of the word “leak” makes this problematic, and the title is written such so that on search engines, you'll only see the “Nintendo Switch Pro Will Be Revealed on June 4th” part and miss the “According to a Leak” part.
Engadget—Nintendo's rumored OLED Switch may arrive in September
Note that the rumour isn't Bloomberg's story, but the rumour is instead the upgraded Nintendo Switch's existence... up until the Bloomberg story confirmed it to be true, apparently. (But it's not really a rumour; instead the rumours are portrayed as “news”, so... there's just no doubt in Bloomberg here. But, of course, it didn't appear ahead of E3 like the article said might happen.)
TechRaptor—New Nintendo Switch Reportedly Being Revealed This Week
TechRaptor basically collected a bunch of the rumours and random suspicious vendor sightings into one article and acted like it's high-quality reporting.
Hypebeast–New Nintendo Switch Might Be Coming This Fall
Hypebeast reported the story as if the veracity of the Bloomberg report is a foregone conclusion, and now it's a matter of Nintendo going through the motions of an official announcement at E3 2021.
Nintendo Life—Rumour: Nintendo Switch 'Pro' Reveal Expected Before E3, Out This Year
I'm really confused by how this is written. The rumour part is in the title, which is good, and the article always stresses words that should give the reader uncertainty. However, Nintendo Life also says “our own sources support some of the same details.” They don't go into detail on which of those same details that Nintendo Life's own sources support. The fact they call it a rumour with doubt-words despite having their own sources means that Nintendo Life doesn't trust in their own sources... so... why do they keep those sources around...?
Mashable—New, upgraded Nintendo Switch model reportedly set for 2021 release
The main problem with the Mashable piece is its poor editorialising. They suggest the Bloomberg report (and others) are “credible” and suggest that the Switch Pro is a certainty, due to its existence being a “worst-kept secret.” But the worst part is their failed prognosticating about E3 2021. “For one, the alleged timeline for the release would allow Nintendo to dominate E3 at a time when Sony and Xbox very likely do not have much of any positive console-related announcements.”

In terms of what actually happened in real life, Nintendo dominated E3 2021 basically by default. As for Sony, when the Mashable article was written, it was already well-known that Sony wouldn't show up to E3 2021. It's a good thing Nintendo doesn't listen to these media people for their marketing advice.
Forbes—New Nintendo Switch ‘Pro’ Console Leaks On Amazon
Claims that thanks to more and more rumours and leaks, the Nintendo Switch Pro is looking more real and that “all signs point to a big announcement soon.” Yeah...no.
DualShockers—Nintendo Switch Pro Direct Date Allegedly Leaked, Coming This Week
Another example of an outlet not knowing the difference between a leak and a rumour. At least they say to take it with a grain of salt. ...And if you did, you would've made the right decision. (The “leaker” is a guy named Nick Baker who does an Xbox podcast; several of these other stories cite him too.)
Tom's Guide—Nintendo Switch Pro launch tipped for this week — what you need to know
What you need to know is nothing, actually. Though Tom's Guide didn't present it that way. They cited Nick Baker as a corroborating source, even though it seems like he's totally unreliable too, also saying things like a Chrono Cross remake would be announced at Christmas 2021, despite that never happening.
Polygon—Report: Upgraded 4K-capable Nintendo Switch could launch this fall
Polygon just summarised the Bloomberg story, though pointed out the relatively hidden detail that Bloomberg cited “multiple sources”... which in the Bloomberg piece, was displayed as just “people familiar with the matter said.” (Note the pluralisation of people.) Who are they? How many? Are they even actually familiar? We don't know, but without doing their own investigation, Polygon sure trusts them!
CNET—Nintendo Switch Pro may be revealed before E3
Another regurgitation of the Bloomberg report, with some tweets added about a disappearing Amazon Mexican listing for a “New Nintendo Switch Pro”... Obviously amounted to nothing.
IGN—New Nintendo Switch Will Reportedly Be Released As Soon as September
To IGN's (limited) credit, all they did was pretty much take and quote from the Bloomberg report and add words like “allegedly” and “could” and “reportedly”... which actually makes IGN's reporting totally worthless in terms of adding value. They emphasised that it could be revealed at E3 2021.
The Verge: Nintendo’s OLED Switch could come in September
The Verge also erred on the side of caution with its “these things could happen according to the report” language. But they also put before E3 language at the top.
Nintendo Enthusiast: Report: Nintendo Switch Pro may be out in September, priced above $299
Nintendo Enthusiast did a decent thing and more or less said in the article that whether or not you believe this report depends on how much credibility you, as a reader, give to Bloomberg. ...Though Nintendo Enthusiast did make the statement that Bloomberg is “reputable”, but...

Found an outlet not on the list?


This is not actually a complete list yet. It might never be. The page might be too big and break before we get there. That said, if you have found a media outlet or prominent freelancer/individual not on this list, please link to their news article (has to be presented as news, not a “here is my E3 2021 wishlist” sort of thing) or statement in this KoopaTV.org comments section and I'll look into it and add it to the list. Valid contributions will get an extra +1 points per outlet in the KoopaTV Loyalty Rewards Program (our gamified incentives system for audience participation), with no cap on the number of outlets you may submit. This can get you special stuff from our treasury, like a gift card to the Nintendo eShop, if you have more points at the end of the round than other participants.

Remember, the specific part that's wrong is saying that this more powerful version of the Nintendo Switch would be revealed before or at E3 2021. The part that this unannounced console will be released by the end of 2021 is not provably incorrect as of publishing this.



If Nintendo later officially announces a real Nintendo Switch hardware revision, KoopaTV will cover the story and link to that coverage from this article. If you don't have any additional outlets to share but want to comment about something anyway, what did you think of these rumours’ claims from the start? Do you think these media outlets will ever learn? Or do consumers have to change first before the media outlets do?


KoopaTV maintains a list of recommended news outlets, and a significantly longer list of news outlets to avoid. Those lists haven't yet been updated to take this E3 2021 Nintendo Switch list into account.
Nintendo DID end up announcing a hardware revision, the Nintendo Switch (OLED model). Here is KoopaTV's coverage, as well as a comparison of what's actually in it versus what the media was saying would be in it.
Bloomberg is enraged that they got it wrong, so they're publishing anti-Nintendo hit pieces. Unfortunately, other media outlets are parroting them.
The Bloomberg-generated FAKE NEWS is so bad that even Nintendo's investor relations team had to put out a statement.
Bloomberg's Takashi Mochizuki continues to publish FAKE NEWS that Nintendo continues to publicly reject, this time about 4K development kits and a 4K Nintendo Switch.
While media outlets didn't go and claim there'd be a new Nintendo Switch hardware revision around June 2022, they did misreport about when the Nintendo Direct would be.

12 comments :

  1. Nintendo needs to fix the drift issue before they release the switch pro. I wonder if switch lites drift, how horrible would that be?

    I really don’t want to have to save up money for a improved console when my old one works just fine. I may go back and get it for collectors sake, but not at this time.

    I hope the pro works out to be more in line with the ds-dsi rather than the 3DS-new3ds. I don’t want there to be any switch prop exclusive games or worse, a stupid name. Trying to buy a new “NEW Nintendo 3DS” whilst trying to avoid New “Nintendo 3DS” is a buyers worst nightmare.

    Anyway thanks for reporting on this, I appreciate the dedication to your fellow man. Tainted news breeds only the lowliest of scum.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't understand the "I hope it's like the DSi and not the New 3DS" because the DSi had a whole digital store thing that was exclusive to it. ...Sure, the content there wasn't good, but still! There was quantity!

      Yeah, my hope is that the message about the poor quality of the "journalism" around this extends past the usual bubbles and circles of discussion and it gets more mainstream. In the meantime, I'm probably gonna troll members of the list.

      Delete
    2. “We like to do a little trolling”

      You know I completely forgot about that digital store, thanks for the reminder. Of course it’s closed now, but still. I suppose that completely invalidates my point but I still think the switch pro needs a good name.

      The switch-i?

      Delete
    3. I never had a DSi myself since I didn't understand the point of getting one. :x
      Switch-i... Switch Eye... Sounds like something you'd be asked to do at a doctor's office.

      By the way, the Nintendo Switch Lite apparently does have drifty sticks: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/189706-nintendo-switch/79535115

      Delete
  2. It might be harder to list the news sites that did not post about the pro.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm actually having trouble finding a dedicated article from Kotaku about it. Maybe they deleted it or maybe I'm incompetent. >_>

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yo i was just saying all the journalists are blaming the youtubers but the youtubers get there info from journalists lol good article im posting it everywhere

      Delete
    2. Oh, that's a good comment.

      Yeah, the journalists are the source of the problem.

      Thank you! ^_^

      Delete
  4. Nice try but you right wing clowns got no creditably

    ReplyDelete

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