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Nintendo's "early 2008" prediction for the launch of WiiWare might seem like a lifetime away, but we're still not convinced that the company has given itself enough time to turn the Shopping Channel into a vehicle for new downloadable game content. Nintendo isn't exactly known for its punctuality -- one need only look to the DS's delayed WiFi Connection implementation or the GameCube's nearly-nonexistent online service for examples of stalled promises.

What're your thoughts on the possibilities of WiiWare arriving on schedule? Does early 2008 really sound feasible? Or does it sound like a bunch of duck tales (a-woo-woo!)?

When do you expect WiiWare to launch?
	Early -- 2007 holiday season!
	Early 2008, as promised.
	Slight delay to summer 2008.
	Delayed to 2008 holiday season.
	A 2009 launch, with little fanfare.
	When monkeys fly out of my butt.

Online retailers are either still showing the release date as June 26th, which was previously expected, or delayed until Thursday, Friday or even Saturday.

According to Gamestop's website, the game "usually ships within 24 hours," which generally points to the game being in stock at many stores. However, our local Gamestop in central New York says Rainbow Six: Vegas for PS3 won't be in stores until June 30th, at the earliest. Message boards across this crazy worldwide web are lighting up with tales of Gamestop employees reiterating similar tales, that the shipping date shows June 29th with expected in-store availability for June 30th.

How about other retailers? Best Buy online shows the game coming in tomorrow (June 27th). As is par for the course, their in-store clerks can only confirm its current absence in store shelves, without any further idea as to when the game will come in. Mega-retailer Amazon doesn't fare much better, showing its release date as June 26th with an 11-13 day shipping time frame. Yeesh. Sans an Ubisoft developer connection, it doesn't appear likely that gamers will be able to experience the PS3 reiteration of Rainbow Six: Vegas until later this week. Weekend releases are practically unheard of, but we at least hope this one proves true. Waiting another full week for some hot online Rainbow action? Too much. Now where's that copy of The Darkness ...

Thanks to all who sent this in.

In their preview for the upcoming PSP version of Disgaea, IGN has let slip the release date. Tactics fans (like me) can look forward to the game hitting stores in August. While it was believed that the title was just a port of the PS2 Disgaea 1, it is in fact very different. Disgaea PSP has additional story elements, acting as a sort of prequel with more Etna bits. There will also be new gameplay elements, so even die-hard Disgaea fans will be kept on their toes. The lord of the underworld and tactics games can't come out soon enough.

An anonymous PSP Fanboy reader wrote us to make us hip to the fact that GameStop has given a release date of 11/01/07 to the PSP version of God of War. This listing could be like many GameStop listings and just be a placeholder date, but at the same time it makes a lot of sense for God of War to come out in the fall and we do know it's coming this year. Don't take November 1st off just yet, but also don't plan any big events for that day. It may be Godmergence Day ... or something.

Oblivion gets a huge delay? Or not. The PSP version of Oblivion was supposedly pushed back to September, much to the dismay of many. Now, it looks like the release date has been pushed back up to April, even though we haven't seen much (if anything) about the game. Personally, I wouldn't mind a delay: it seems like the PSP version needs as much time and work as possible.

[Thanks, Raviv!]

The potentially canceled, or un-canceled, PSP version of Gran Turismo 4 has just shifted its release date once again on the GameStop website. The retailer is notorious for accidentally revealing crucial release info, but in this case, we're willing to bet that they're simply moving the date so that they can still hold on to pre-orders (some undoubtedly made nearly two years ago!).

The game is now listed as to come out on July 2nd. While that may seem like an eternity away, it'll be the slight glimmer of hope for those of you that don't want to believe in its vaporware status.

[Via PlayStation]

NoE put out a list of their upcoming games for the European market, and while it may not be quite as filled-to-bursting as the DS list there's certainly plenty to be excited about. Upcoming with a quickness is the exquisite Wario Ware and -- ooh! we're jealous -- colorful Kororinpa. Loads of titles undated as well. Check after the jump for the full list.

It doesn't seem that many games are released in Europe before they are in the U.S., but ProStroke Golf: World Tour 2007 was released last month in Europe, and publisher Oxygen Interactive (No, not the women's tv channel) recently announced the game will make it across the pond Nov. 10.

In addition to the release date, Oxygen also released information about how it's highly-touted "Prostroke" control system, which supposedly gives the player complete control of their shot, actually works.

The press release goes into painful detail about the shot, and I'm sure you probably don't want to read it all. Basically, you start your swing just like any other golf game by aiming the direction of your shot, but after you select your aim, you can zoom in even further to more accurately aim your shot. The actual swing is started by pressing and holding the R shoulder button. Once you've attained the desired power, you press the L shoulder button then release the R button to start the downswing. When the power gauge reaches close to zero, you release the L button, and you're shot is off.

Pretty simple, eh?

Pipe dream of the day: Is this blurry pic evidence that Circuit City is getting Gears of War before the official November 7 release date, or just evidence that they can't be bothered to correct their pre-order cards?]

[Thanks AZ]

IGN's Matt Cassamassina seems to think so. In a recent entry on his IGN blog, he said, "I believe Wii is $50 too expensive and three weeks too late." It's too expensive, he says, for the mainstream consumer to really pick it up and run with it, and gamers think it's too expensive because it's not enough for them.

So what do you think? Set aside the fanboy love for a moment and consider the grand scheme of things. Is it wrong for Nintendo to sell their console for a profit just because Sony and Microsoft choose to take a hit? And considering everything the Wii can do -- instead of focusing on what it cannot -- is it really priced too high? The mainstream media doesn't seem to think so; the console has been called the bargain choice for the holiday season already. And what is really important in gaming? Is it about power -- or is it about functionality? Look at the DS and the PSP. The PSP is incredibly powerful, and it's incredibly powerfully collecting dust for many gamers, while their DS enjoys a healthy workout.

And while we would love it if the Wii were to come out earlier, but is it really too late? Or will the Wii be there, bright and shining, when the PS3 sells out? Tell us what you think.

With Nintendo's American conference set to start any minute, USA Today is confirming the U.S. Wii launch date of Nov. 19 and price of $250 in the U.S. (the news was originally broken early this morning by the New York Times). The USA Today story also includes confirms $5 -$10 pricing for most virtual console games and has a picture of what seems to be the U.S. box for the system (above) complete with a big note that Wii Sports is indeed included.

Keep checking Joystiq for all the news coming out of Nintendo HQ today.

[Thanks Marty]

Just before the Japanese press event started in earnest, an article surfaced at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that declared the Wii would launch November 19 at $250. Chat rooms and forums exploded as gamers debated the legitimacy of the story, which listed the New York Times as its source.

Since no one could find the information anywhere else -- not on Reuters, the AP, or the NYT itself, we called both the New York Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer to attempt to verify the story. Though we could not reach anyone at the NYT, we did speak with the city desk at the Seattle P-I, and they verified that the story was indeed pulled from the NYT's wire and that it was not altered by the Seattle publication. Less than an hour later, the link disappeared from the main business page -- though the article was still available via direct link and still listed as the "most read" on the RSS feed. Minutes later, even the direct link disappeared, and was replaced with the following information:

The page you have requested was not found. The link is either incorrect or the page no longer exists. If you believe there is a problem, please send a message to newmedia@seattlepi.com.

Did the Seattle P-I slip up and release the information early?

Since the article disappeared, we will be reproducing it almost in its entirety after the jump. Please note that we are not claiming credit for this article -- we are just working to bring you the most accurate news possible.


[Update 2: Apparently the article reappeared. Once the cat's out of the bag .... However, as of 2:15 Eastern, the headline has not reappeared on the business page at the Seattle paper. We are working to compare the copy to see if changes have been made. Also fixed coding error.]

With the international launch details for Nintendo's Wii all but certain to be revealed in the next few days, it will be time for journalists, bloggers, analysts and forum trolls everywhere to say goodbye to one of their favorite pastimes: rumormongering. In tribute to happy guesses gone by, here's a quick round up of some of the more memorable rumors that have emerged over the past few months, with original sources and dates noted.

Whose information will reign supreme? You'll know the official word as soon as we do.

Price
America:
Official: $250 or lower - Nintendo senior managing director Yoshihiro Mori (5/25)
$150 - Vibe Magazine (9/10)
$170 - David Gardner, executive VP and COO of EA's worldwide studios (8/21)
$175 - Text of supposed Reggie speech from Go Nintendo (8/27)
$200 - Merill Lynch analyst Justin Post (5/17)
$229 - "sources suggest" to IGN (8/7)
$229 - "A source close to Nintendo" via NintendoPlayers (9/12)
$249 - EGM (5/8)
$299 - 7-11 flier (8/4)

Japan:
Official: 25,000 yen or lower ($213) - Nintendo senior managing director Yoshihiro Mori (5/25)
19,800 yen ($170) - Financial report from Tokyo-based Nikko Citigroup (8/15)

Europe/Britain:
Official: Less than 250 Euros ($317) - Nintendo's head of German operations, Bernd Fakesch (8/23)
149 pounds ($278) - Shopto.net via GoNintendo (7/14)
149 pounds ($278)- MCV (9/8)

Australia:
330 AUD ($248) - Sunday Herald Sun (9/10)

Release Date
Official: Q4, 2006 - Nintendo E3 press conference

America:
October - CNN/Money (7/5)
Oct. 2 - GamingTarget, based on software release date press release (7/25)
Oct. 2 - Text of supposed Reggie speech from Go Nintendo (8/27)
November - Insider source from Nintendo sales meeting, on Orange Lounge Radio (9/4)
Nov. 2 - Best Buy game listing
Nov. 6. - Sports Illustrated for Kids (7/2)
Nov. 6 - "an industry source speaking to Cubed3" (5/31)
Nov. 12 - "some have suggested" to IGN (8/7)

Europe/Britain:
October - Shopto.net via GoNintendo (7/14)
Oct. 2 - JeuxFrance (5/31)
Nov. 3 - EA launch date for Need for Speed: Carbon (7/19)
Shortly before Nov. 24 - MCV (9/8)

Australia:
November - Toys "R" Us

When I posted about that Peugeot PGR4 design contest earlier, I should have noted the fact that it revealed the game will be released "towards the end of 2007 or first half of 2008," which is a little better than "some day."

Gameworld Network has pieced together an outline of 10 upcoming PlayStation 2 titles, tagging the list "10 Reasons Not to Sell Your PS2 Just Yet." With the exceptions of Dawn of Mana and God of War 2, all of these titles will hit US retailers by early November -- and seven are exclusive to PS2. Starting with Rule of Rose's release next week, there's practically a must-play title dropping for PS2 every week through November 7:

• Rule of Rose (September 12)
• Okami (September 19)
• God Hand (October 10)
• Bully (October 17)
• Final Fantasy XII (October 31)
• Rogue Galaxy (October)
• Guitar Hero II (November 7)

Can anyone show us a console/handheld with a stronger fall lineup? Nope, we didn't think so ... Sony might have lost points because of a pair of disappointing PS3 announcements, but that's not gonna affect PS2's continued dominance leading up to the holiday season.

[Thanks, Matt]