Nintendo On

Nintendo ON is a fake video game console. The console was introduced in a 6 minute and 21 second video^[1][2] released on the internet in 2005, shortly before E3. The video was created by Pablo Belmonte from Spain who goes by the screen name "psyco3ler."^[3] Belmonte posted it on message boards claiming to have found a leaked trailer of Nintendo's next console, at that time code-named Revolution. The video was very convincing to most, and it is now considered to be one of the greater hoaxes in video game history.^[4]

The music from this video consists primarily of "Guns" by Harry Gregson-Williams from the soundtrack to The Rundown,^[5] along with a medley of musical selections from Super Mario 64. The video provides no evidence that the songs were used with permission.

Reaction

At the time, many people took the Nintendo ON video as a true announcement of Nintendo's next generation system, because the console's description seemed to go along with what Nintendo had said they were planning for the Revolution. The quality of the video and the art assets used are also likely not user-created, but rather are borrowed 3D models, sprites, and other items that the creator of the video could legally use in the 6 minute fan video. However, as time went on, no further information on the console was released by Nintendo, and the Nintendo ON video was declared a hoax when Nintendo finally released pictures of the Revolution console after E3 2005.

Others believe that the video was released merely as a prediction of Nintendo's path. Some in the industry suspect that the video was meant to "test the waters" for the Wii.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ Nintendo On - The video
2. ^ Nintendo On - Higher quality (WMV)
3. ^ I Want to Believe - 1UP.com interviews the video's author
4. ^ Just in Time for April Fools - The Top Five Hoax Game Consoles at 99 Lives
5. ^ Gregson-Williams, Harry. "Guns". The Rundown: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, track 21.