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MS nearly scoops Nintendo's new system....

G

GhaleonEB

Member
From Major Nelson's Blog (director of XBox Live programming)

I am writing this from the plane on the way to LA. It’s always fun to fly to an event of this size when so many people from group are going as well. Just waiting for the plane to board, I ran into 6 people from the Xbox team. If you are a blogcast listener, you’ll remember Scott from the Xbox Advanced Technology group I interviewed a few months ago. He’s on the flight with me, as well as folks from PR, Marketing and Retail. Of course since Nintendo is also in Redmond, we have to be very careful about our conversations since you never know who may be listening. After I was seated, I noticed that a guy coming down the aisle with a very interesting plastic Pelican case (you know the one that hold equipment) with a huge lock on it. He sat down across the aisle from me. I also noticed he has a computer case with the DS logo on it. As in Nintendo DS. That peaked my interest. What could be in the locked box? It was rather small, but could that be Nintendo’s new console sitting less then 6-feet away from me? Could it be a new controller? My heart began to race.

I decide to pull out my smartphone so I can start typing this in and not forget anything…so here I am typing on my phone…not too obvious huh..but he does not seem to notice or care.

As I am sitting here, he is flipping through a binder…but he’s too far away for me to make anything out. Secret Plans? Dates? Specs? Screenshots? What could it be?

I begin to curse my choice of window seat, since if I had taken the aisle seat, I’d be closer and I’d have a front row seat to this little voyeuristic exercise.

Oops. He just caught me looking at his binder.

Must be discreet.

Nope, I am not stealing a look at your secret plans…I was looking out your window sir….yea that’s it. I smile and try to look disinterested in his binder.
I can make out the header of the page he is reading. It says “Key Information.”

Key information for what?!

Could he really be with Nintendo? Or is he a fertilizer salesmen from Tacoma that happens to have a DS computer case? Yea, that’s probably it. But what’s with the black equipment case with the lock on it? The secret receipe for a new type of horse manure? Could the ‘Key Information’ be nothing more then factoids about some earthly chemicals?

Wait…

Oh yea..here we go.

I just got a glimpse of the tabs on the binder. They read “New Mario Brothers” and one titled “Gamecube” and another word….but I can’t make out the last word. Damn my eyes (and to quote Marty Feldman ‘too late”)

I make a mental note to get an appointment for that Bionic eye.

I grab a peek of another page and all I can make out is the word ‘Memory Card.’
Woo hoo is he on to what looks like hardware specs.

Ahh…now he seems to be interested in the women next to him and what she’s watching on her portable DVD player. Go ahead sir..strike up a conversation to allow me to freely peruse what you are reading. Nope, I guess she’s watching a chick flick and he quickly turns back to his binder-o-mario-stuff.

Alright…now things are getting interesting, he seems to be flipping back in the binder….the good stuff must be in the back!

Damn….I think he’s on to me.

He closed his binder and quickly puts it away.

Well that’s the end of my little caper….I was going to snap a photo of the binder with my phone, but I am quite sure that would have resulted in an in-flight melee attack, and my idea of fun is NOT getting detained at LAX for disturbing a flight (as well as becoming Sunday’s ‘top news story’ across the country) so I opt out of that decision.

Well, on to the rest of the day….after I land I need to claim my luggage and check into the hotel in downtown LA. Once I do that I am going over to the rehearsal
for Monday’s keynote. I am sure I can grab some good photos and maybe some audio for a blogcast. I can’t stop thinking about that mysterious black case with the big lock on it. Maybe I’ll try share a cab with him to downtown LA and introduce myself as a fertilizer salesmen from Tacoma.
Click to expand...

Hmmm.....so close.....
 
actually if it just says "New Mario Brothers", one would assume it's just a code name for a game. which would mean REVOLUTION GAME
 
I don't care if it's not even remotely true. In situations like that I've been in, quirky hypothetical situations just pop into my head with that kind of detail.

Really well written.
 
That guy is so dead when Reggie reads this.
 
XBox Live's Trixie:

Flying with the Enemy

So I end up sitting on the plane next to this lanky young man who has an iPod mini like mine--except his was silver. He didn't stink and he didn't talk too much. He was harmless. Until we start chatting when the plane lands about the crappy weather and I find out he works at NINTENDO. He asks me if we have anything left to announce after the big MTV show (which he says he didn't watch) I say I don't know. I ask him "So, are you guys busting out your new console?" He says he doesn't know because he works in game testing and they don't tell him anything. A likely story. So we get off the plane and he tells me "Have a good show" and I say "You too. I'd say 'good luck' but, well you know..."

Had a cosmopolitan with dinner. Saw Robbie Bach and Peter Moore hanging out in the hotel bar. Robbie was eating ice cream. My room does not have a minibar, ergo, no Diet Coke. Sadness.
Click to expand...
 
So we get off the plane and he tells me "Have a good show" and I say "You too. I'd say 'good luck' but, well you know..."

Hah, it would be hillarious if MS is blatently shown up by Nintendo's show after such statements. Situations like these must have an amazing awkward hillarity to them.
 
Do you know what would be cool? If the guy with the giant, locked Pelican case was a decoy and the guy with the actual goods was just strolling around with a backpack nearby.
 
xsarien said:
Do you know what would be cool? If the guy with the giant, locked Pelican case was a decoy and the guy with the actual goods was just strolling around with a backpack nearby.
Click to expand...

Oceans 12 was shit.
 
xsarien said:
Do you know what would be cool? If the guy with the giant, locked Pelican case was a decoy and the guy with the actual goods was just strolling around with a backpack nearby.
Click to expand...
Imagine if it was the Nintendo guy that leaked the MS news - he may have hacked Major Nelson's PC on the flight.
 
Hmmm, Seems the MS guys most anticipated E3 announcement is Revolution also. :lol

It's extra funny because he was so damn desperate to see what was in that lock-case and he's no N-boy this guy works for freakin Microsoft Xbox Division.
 
Most likely what happened is they actually discussed the facts, and then he wove a more interesting tale which states what he found out, in essence, being graceful.
 
ThongyDonk said:
Little was he aware of the sniper watching him all the time with the red dot trained on his forehead!
Click to expand...
sniper in the overhead luggage compartment. revolution!
 
aoi tsuki said:
i can't believe that everyone who quoted it missed the point of Wario64's post...
Click to expand...

You mean that any "scoop" about Nintendo from a high-profile MS employee's blog can be safely ignored?

No, I think pretty much everyone got that.

At least, I hope they did.
 
aoi tsuki said:
i can't believe that everyone who quoted it missed the point of Wario64's post...
Click to expand...
No it's pretty obvious. Wario's all cap sarcasm is terrible, he overuses it. I lost count how many times he had to bring up the "Online play is a fad" monsense. Sure I can see who he's poking fun at and why, but 50 times over with not a single change of style is a bit less funny.

That and all of his catchphrases, HE ruins them before they even take off. :lol
 
ThongyDonk said:
Why does he care?
More to the point, surely he should be more concerned for his own system?
Click to expand...


Cause he's a gamer u tard, it's not all about one system, real gamers are excited for everything.
 
funcojoe said:
Cause he's a gamer u tard, it's not all about one system, real gamers are excited for everything.
Click to expand...

Well the guy with the case was a tester, he's a gamer too and he seemed pretty cool compared to this guy. It doesn't sound to me like he would chase somebody suspicious out of curiosity, that screams of insecurity to me..
 
What you guys dont know is that if ever someone were to uncover secret information, Yamuchi would send his squad of cyber ninjas to elimanate you. Fear the BigN and fear Yamuchi, the only reason he is still alive is because he consumes the souls of his enemies. :)
 
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