Rumor Control: The Microsoft-Nintendo and Ubisoft-Eidos takeovers

RUMOR #1: Bill Gates has announced that Microsoft is buying Nintendo.

Source: German finance magazine Wirtschaftswoche.

The official story: "Nintendo won't sell itself [to Microsoft]. It's not a possibility, and there is no such talk at all."--Nintendo public relations chief Yasuhiro Minagawa.

What we heard: This week's most widespread tall tale showed that the mainstream press is not above a bit of rumor-mongering. At the beginning of the week, Wirtschaftswoche ran an article with the headline "Microsoft planning to take over Nintendo?" The article contained the following quote from Bill Gates: "If [former Nintendo president and major stockholder] Yamauchi calls, I'll pick up the line immediately." While the notion was preposterous to anyone remotely familiar with the game industry, the mainstream press ate it up. Reuters, CNN, Forbes, and the New York Times all published stories about the would-be takeover. Nintendo's stock price rose 3.8 percent to 12,580 yen ($113) because of the news. GameCubers thought the apocalypse had come. However, none of it was true. It turns out Gates' comment was an off-the-cuff remark made at a cocktail reception after Microsoft's July 29 analyst presentation. "He was just saying that he would talk to Yamauchi on the phone," an informed source told GameSpot. "His comments were taken way out of context."

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus.

RUMOR #2: Ubisoft has announced that it is buying Eidos.

Source: British gaming site Boomtown.net.

The official story: See below.

What we heard: Earlier this week, Eidos admitted that it was "in preliminary discussions with a small number of parties in relation to possible business combinations." Instantly, the industry was abuzz with talk of which company might take over the financially ailing publisher. EA, Activision, and Atari were all mentioned, but the Boomtown piece actually said that Ubisoft had publicly announced its intentions to acquire the Tomb Raider-maker. The problem is, it hasn't. "We have never made any comment regarding Ubisoft's position, and we are continuing not to make any comment," an executive at Ubisoft's Paris headquarters told GameSpot. However, the company danced around questions about whether it would make a bid for Eidos. "Ubisoft has always said that Eidos is a good company," continued the exec, "[but] probably lots of companies from both the games and entertainment industries could be interested in acquiring Eidos."

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus insofar as they've announced it. Not bogus insofar as they're considering it.

RUMOR #3: The N-Gage QD has been recalled.

Source: Scattered forum posts across the Web.

The official story: "The N-Gage QDs that are in stores today are not affected."--Nokia spokesperson.

What we heard: When the first wave of Nokia's new-and-improved game deck/cell phone began arriving in stores last week, reports began to trickle in that many had to be sent back to the factory because they didn't work. As it turns out, that's not exactly right. Some N-Gages were returned, but due only to a slight incompatibility with the T-Mobile network. "We found out that the [QD's] GPRS access point settings were not configured optimally for T-Mobile's T-Zones [and] prevented access to these [online browsing] services," said a Nokia spokesperson. The glitch has since been fixed. "It only affects the T-Mobile versions sold at retail during those first couple of days," said the spokesperson, who assured GameSpot that all QDs currently on sale are in perfect working order.

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus.

RUMOR #4: The Xbox Next will be unveiled at the next CES.

Source: Gizmo-obsession center Engadget.com.

The official story: "Microsoft does not comment on rumors or speculation."--Microsoft publicist.

What we heard: While thin, the Engadget.com rumor addresses a critical issue: With Sony and Nintendo showing off their next-generation consoles at next year's E3, when will Microsoft show the world the Xbox Next? After musing that the console might be seen as early as next month's X04, the article brings up the fact that the first Xbox was unveiled at the 2001 CES. Will history repeat itself? Maybe. Showing off the Xbox Next, which is reportedly farther along in development than the PlayStation 3 or Nintendo Revolution, at CES would give Microsoft a five-month jump on its rivals. However, with company officials uttering their usual no-comment mantra, speculation about when the console will be unveiled is just that--speculation.

Bogus or not bogus?: Too little to go on.

RUMOR #5: Some lunatic has turned an original PlayStation into a handheld.

Source: Said lunatic's Web site.

The official story: Sony declined comment on the device.

What we heard: Although the PSP is less than a year away, Brian Gardiner of Rocklin, California, decided he couldn't wait that long to get his hands on a portable PlayStation. So he made one himself, using parts from several cannibalized PSOnes, the compact redesign of the original PlayStation. The result? A pretty impressive-looking gadget that measures 9.6 by 5.5 inches, not that much larger than the 6.9-by-2.9-inch PSP. Those wondering how--and why--Gardiner went about making the PalmPSone (as he calls it) can read the whole story on his site. He is also debating whether to sell the device, which costs about $500 per unit to produce.

Bogus or not bogus?: Not bogus.

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