Leaked plans for Nintendo’s original E3 2020 press conference seemed to leak yesterday, claiming thatMetroid Prime 4,a newPaper Mario,and more would be making an appearance during the company’s show. However, it turns out that the leak was simply an elaborate hoax as part of an earlyApril Fool’s Day joke.
Originally, Flipnote images had begun circulating online which appeared to show Nintendo’s E3 presentation in a sort of storyboard format. Included in the images were a rough drawing of a scene fromMetroid Prime 4,Captain Olimar fromPikmin,and a drawing seemingly of Shigeru Miyamoto with the words “E3 Direct 2020.” The images led to tons of speculation online, but have since been revealed to be fake.
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A Twitter user involved in the “leak” explained that it was a joke originally meant to “goof on a couple of Discord guilds.” However, the leak quickly got out of hand, rapidly spreading throughout the internet, driving rumors and speculation. Many have been hoping for a full-length Nintendo Direct, and whileNintendo released a Mini Directa few days ago, the incident re-awoke rumors that something major might be coming from Nintendo.
Other leaks, which seem to be credible, have revealed potential plans formost of theSuper Mariogames to be remasteredfor the Switch, from the original, retro titles to many of the more modern 3D ones. Those leaks remain unconfirmed, but various industry insiders had backed them up.
April Fool’s Day tends to muddy the waters of legitimate news every year, leading to constant speculation. With the world in relative chaos, many had hoped thatApril Fool’s Daywould take a back seat this year, though it seems that is already not the case. Since the leak was revealed to be false, the user has faced a torrent of harassment from disappointed Nintendo fans. The user has since set their profile to private to stave off any further abuse.
The images are still circulating online, which is sure to cause even more confusion. Nintendo will, hopefully, have something more official to share with fans in the weeks to come for it’s bigger franchises, but until then, fans will just have to be patient.
