Nintendo black Wii US launch leak prompts GameStop threats

The black version of the Nintendo Wii isn't exactly a huge mystery – after all, it's been on sale in Japan since last year – but its US arrival was meant to be.  An announcement that the black version was seeing a US launch was expected at E3 2010, and promotional material leaking out of GameStop definitely confirms it's on the way.  Unfortunately, Nintendo aren't at all pleased about their story being scooped, and have apparently threatened GameStop with a firm spanking; that's prompted the retailer to castigate all employees for wanting to "seem cool" by sharing pre-announcement details with blogs.

An internal email that was – ironically – leaked to Kotaku, outlines how "disappointed" an unnamed GameStop exec is that their employees could give in to gossiping about the upcoming console variant.  Meanwhile, according to Kotaku's sources, Nintendo threatened to pull all of its products from GameStop stores over their recent leakiness.

All we need now is for someone to draw comparisons with this and the iPhone HD leak/theft and the circle of meme will be complete.  Please, leave your speculation and outrage in the comments.

"As you know, there is a lot of rumor and speculation about various new products and titles launching this year. One of these is the Black Wii. Various blogs and internet sites are raising awareness about this product. Gamestop stores and associates should not proliferate these rumors. Today, you received POP for your windows regarding the Black Wii. Somehow, a picture of this appeared on the internet. It may seem cool to be in the know and feel compelled to share something like this. Nothing can be further from the truth. All activity like this does is hurt our reputation with publishers and manufacturers and potentially hurts our company. Until Nintendo decides to announce THEIR product, there should be no discussion of it with customers, period. If they ask, "It's not appropriate to comment on speculation and rumor" should be the answer. The POP should be secured in the back room and left there until further notice. ANY violation of these will be treated with the most aggressive consequences. I believe strongly in the field organization, but I am as disappointed as I have been in my tenure here in how we are handling this. I am trusting that your professionalism will result in no further issues."